Japanese manufacturers Honda are set to unveil the concept for their new small city car at next month’s Delhi Motor Show. The cleverly named “New Car Concept” (we’re assuming it’s Honda’s working title) will be manufactured in India and Thailand and is aimed at emerging markets, though there is the suggestion that it could also be sold in the West.

Honda aren’t the only manufacturer to be entering this particular part of the market. Nissan are also targeting the global small car platform with the new model of their Micra; it seems that cars which are cheap enough to manufacture and sell to emerging markets but are also sophisticated enough for Western markets are the new target for many manufacturers in the small car market.

Lexus Dealerships around the world will be holding their breath this week as the new GX460 SUV is about to be unveiled at the China motor show. The car/van has been produced to replace the GX470 and from browsing the spy shots of the car online one thing is very apparent and that is that this car hasn’t been built with style in mind.

It is quite possibly one of the ugliest looking SUV’s I’ve seen and that is bearing in mind that there are a number of appalling SUV’s out there at present. The Lexus GX460 seems very square and boxy and appears to lack any sense of sporty qualifications, with the Porsche Cayenne leaving it for dust in the looks stakes.

It seems as though Honda are mounting a real challenge to Japanese rivals Toyota in the Hybrid market as their new Insight vehicle has returned impressive sales figures in its home country since launching in February.

Last week the Insight became the first hybrid at the top of Japan’s best sellers list. The Japan Automobile Dealers Association ranked the Insight at the top of the tree after Honda sold 10,481 units in the month of April alone, becoming the first hybrid vehicle in history to outsell all other conventional models.

The Mini E, an electric powered version of the iconic car, is being trialled in the US by 450 people in New York, New Jersey and California as BMW look for detailed feedback to see how they can get an electric powered car on the market by 2012.

BMW have invested heavily into lowering CO2 emissions in the last few years but they hope that the Mini E will eliminate them altogether if it becomes a viable consumer option.

The car sales industry has obviously been affected by the economic downturn and dealerships have had to introduce more discounts than normal in an attempt to boost sales, whilst the Government have introduced the scrappage scheme whereby a car that is 10 years old or more can be scrapped in return for a £2,000 discount off a brand new vehicle.

This has received much criticism from many in the motoring industry but early signs suggest that the scheme could be a relative success. The main criticisms are surrounding the fact that discount is limited to brand new cars as opposed to including year old used cars as well, as they have done in Germany.

Many of the world’s largest car manufacturers have experienced sales slumps since the global economic decline, yet some remain more optimistic than others.

Japanese giants Lexus are currently experiencing their worst sales period in their 20 year history, yet they aim to combat this slump by selling 25,000 new Lexus hybrid vehicles a year in the US alone as they really do believe in their product.

They have it all to do though as due to the rapid decrease in US gasoline prices, demand for hybrid vehicles – powered by an electric motor and a gas or diesel engine – has obviously dipped.

The Government scrappage scheme has received mixed reactions amongst those in the motor trade and taxpayers alike, but car manufacturers such as Honda will be hoping that it kick starts the UK motor industry, and Honda in particular received evidence that it could well do so.

Honda’s new hybrid vehicle, the Insight, flew to the top of the best sellers list in Japan having sold more than 10,000 units in April. The car industry in Japan has been in decline for the past decade – unlike the rest of the world whereby the market has been affected by the global credit crunch and economic downturn.

UK Sales figures of cars sold during the first quarter of 2009 have recently been released and they are down by 30 per cent from the same period last year, but is this really a surprise? Well, I for one am surprised: 313,912 cars have been sold during this period and I am not at all surprised by the 30 per cent decrease in sales, but what I am surprised about is that 313,912 people could actually afford to buy a brand new car during the current economic climate.

Honda have done it again! The Japanese car giants have been at the forefront of car manufacturing – incorporating the latest technology and engineering expertise and now they have designed a pet friendly car!

We all know Honda are advanced but they haven’t yet managed to allow for your pooch to chauffeur you to town and back. They have though developed a cushioned dog seat incorporated in the boot of the Honda Element utility car.

The car industry is stagnant due to the global economic downturn, in fact new car prices are set to rise despite the shortage in sales with Ford putting their new car prices up by 3.75 per cent, Seat by 3.5 per cent and Nissan by 3.4 per cent, and so the best way for prospective buyers to get value from the car market is to invest in a reliable used vehicle. And for ‘reliable used vehicle’ read: used Lexus!

It’s one of the most iconic cars in the world, but how did the Mini Cooper come to fruition? The inventor of the Mini, Sir Alec Issigonis, had always intended on the Mini being the car for the everyman, but his good friend John Cooper, who owned the Cooper Car Company specialising in Formula 1 and rally car design, had the foresight to see that the Mini would be suited to motorsport so Cooper approached Issigonis with his ideas, but Issigonis was reluctant as he had never intended his brain child for racing.

BMW has had their fair share of negative press of late after they laid off 850 agency workers at their MINI plant in Oxford with union leaders and politicians weighing in with their two pennies worth, but what has gone relatively unnoticed is the fact that BMW are one of the leaders in eco friendly engineering.

There are very few adverts that avoid being annoying, irritating or serve as a cue to flick over the channel these days, yet those that stick in the memory are the clever ones, the cool ones, the ones that you actually look forward to seeing during the commercial break and there is one particular company that fail to impress with their TV adverts: Honda.

The importance of the environment is finally being recognised by people and companies, more importantly car companies. So perhaps when deciding to purchase a new car you will consider the option of buying a used car, to do your part for the environment.

One company in particular that has looked at the environment and how it can help is Lexus. Lexus offers its customers the chance to buy used cars that are reasonably still new, cheaper than brand new models and are designed with the environment in mind. So if you do decide to go for the green used car option, perhaps a used Lexus will be in your choice.

I’m about to write an article on Used Mini’s and already I’m chastised for using the wrong term!

Apparently the term is ‘Mini Cherished’. What is the difference I ask myself?

Open any used car magazine and there will be used Minis for sale in various degrees of condition and age. Speak to any Mini owner and you will find that their vehicle has been cherished for many years. Many of them are given names by the owner to personalise them – strange but true.