Toyota unveils sexy new hybrid sports car

Toyota's new hybrid sports car in Melbourne today.

TOYOTA has launched a new vehicle which combines the slickness of a sports car with a petrol-electric hybrid engine.

The car manufacturer launched its Future Toyota Hybrid Sports (FT-HS) concept today, and said the vehicle would provide both ultra high performance and ultra low fuel use and emissions.

Toyota's manager of product development Doug Soden said the new vehicle showed that hybrids could be made not only for the masses but from a sports perspective as well.

"There is a stronger need for hybrid vehicles to be on the market, or much more fuel efficient vehicles," Mr Soden said.

"Whichever way you look at it, whether it is a petrol-electric or hydrogen-electric, there needs to be that hybrid interface."

Produced by Toyota's research and design team in California, the FT-HS mates an electric motor to a 3.5-litre petrol engine. Toyota says its front engine, rear drive layout provides optimum performance, reaching speeds of 100 km/h in around four seconds.

"What we're able to do is use a smaller capacity engine in conjunction with the hybrid transmission and electric motor ... (and) give the same performance as a vehicle with a ... larger engine," Mr Soden said.

Bearing a resemblance to Kitt from the sci-fi TV series Knight Rider, Toyota design manager Nicolas Hogios said the car was a "mind-blowing design".

"It's very edgy ... a portal or a vision into the future for Toyota design."

Toyota corporate manager Greg Gardner said the FT-HS showed hybrid vehicles didn't need to be boring and conservative.

"As well as environmental benefits, they could also be fun to drive," Mr Gardner said.

He said there could be a day when a hybrid vehicle sporting a lightweight design was taking the track in a Formula One race.

"Particularly with European customers being very aware of the environment, a hybrid race car is the way to go. We've had the (hybrid) Supra win a 24-hour race in Japan, so we can just transfer that technology across to F1," Mr Gardner said.

The car will be on display at the Melbourne International Motor Show from this Friday.

However, those planning to head to their local car yard to pick up the vehicle, will have to wait a little while.

"This is really a concept car, so we'll judge reaction to that," Mr Gardner said.

"Toyota can turn a car around pretty quickly, so for this kind of vehicle we are looking four to five years down the track."

Mr Soden said there would be a day when fully electric vehicles had mass appeal, but it still might be some time away.

"There is a market in the future for pure electric vehicles. However, their usability is going to be quite limited from the distance you can travel, and from the infrastructure which you have to put in place in order to have a powerpoint to recharge the vehicle wherever you are," Mr Soden said.

"In the end, it will happen though, especially for metropolitan short distance driving."

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Edo-period monster paintings by Sawaki Suushi

In the sophisticated popular culture of the Edo period (1603-1868), much attention was devoted to Japan’s rich pantheon of traditional monsters and apparitions, known as youkai. Sometimes frightening, sometimes humorous, these compelling Japanese folk creatures were the subject of numerous artistic and literary works. One such work was Hyakkai Zukkan, a collection of picture scrolls completed in 1737 by Sawaki Suushi, a relatively unknown artist who studied under master painter Hanabusa Itchou (1702-1772). Hyakkai Zukkan’s colorful depictions of Japan’s most notorious creatures inspired (and were copied by) youkai artists for generations. Here is a peek inside.

Ushi-oni [Enlarge]

Ushi-oni (lit. “cow devil”) is a malevolent sea monster with the head of a bull and the body of a giant spider or crab. It is most often encountered in the coastal waters of western Japan, particularly in Shimane prefecture, where it is feared for its vicious attacks on fishermen. [More]

Ushi-oni is usually seen in connection with a related monster, called Nure-onna.

Nure-onna

Nure-onna (lit. “wet woman”) is a fast-swimming amphibious creature with the head of a human female and the body of a gigantic snake. Her appearance varies slightly from story to story, but she is usually described as having beady, snake-like eyes and long, sharp claws and fangs. Nure-onna is typically seen at the water’s edge, washing her long, flowing hair. In some stories, she carries a small child, which she uses to attract potential victims. When a well-intentioned person offers to hold the baby for Nure-onna, the child attaches itself to the victim’s hands and grows heavy, making it nearly impossible to flee. In some stories, Nure-onna uses her long, powerful tongue to suck all the blood from her victim’s body. [More]

Uwan

In ancient Aomori prefecture legends, Uwan is a disembodied voice that inhabits old, abandoned temples and homes. When a person enters a haunted building, the formless spirit belts out an ear-piercing “Uwan!” (hence the name). The voice is only audible to people inside the building — those standing outside hear nothing. Uwan consists only of sound and poses no physical danger.

Ancient Japanese legends are rife with examples of formless youkai like Uwan, which consist of nothing but sound, light or other natural phenomena. In the Edo period, however, these youkai assumed physical bodies as artists incorporated them into their work.

Nurarihyon (left), Mehitotsubou (right)

Another youkai that got a facelift in the Edo period is Nurarihyon, pictured here as as a well-dressed old man with an elongated bald head. Ancient Okayama prefecture legends describe Nurarihyon (lit. “slippery strange”) as a marine creature found in the Seto Inland Sea, often seen bobbing around on the surface of the water like some sort of giant jellyfish or octopus. Nurarihyon eludes capture by diving underwater when people approach to investigate.

In the Edo period, Nurarihyon came to be known as a mysterious old man with the uncanny ability to sneak into homes and “take over.” When the residents of a home encounter him sitting around drinking tea, they are unable throw him out and cannot help but treat him as the head of the household. Nurarihyon is said to be a highly respected figure in the world of youkai.

Mehitotsubou (above right), a large monk with a cyclopean eye, is a variant of the large shape-shifting monks commonly found in Japanese folk tales.

Mikoshi-nyuudou

Another monster monk is Mikoshi-nyuudou (a.k.a. Miage-nyuudou), a large, cross-eyed mendicant encountered on mountain passes or on lonely roads at night. Mikoshi-nyuudou grows taller when you look up at him — and the higher you look, the taller he grows. Look up for too long and you will die, goes the legend, but say “mikoshita” (”I see higher”) and he disappears. Mikoshi-nyuudou’s true identity is unknown, but in some areas he is believed to be a shape-shifting weasel, fox or tanuki.

Yama-warau

Yama-warau (a.k.a. Yama-waro) are hairy, one-eyed Garappa (a variety of Kappa found in Kumamoto prefecture) who have gone into the mountains for the winter. These child-sized creatures are known to provide assistance to lumberjacks in the mountains, and they eagerly return again and again to help, as long as they are rewarded with liquor and rice balls.

Like other varieties of Kappa, Yama-warau are fond of playing tricks on people, and they enjoy sumo wrestling. They sometimes break into people’s homes to take a bath, and they have a sixth sense for danger, which allows them to escape from people with evil intentions.

At the spring equinox, Yama-warau return to the rivers to live as Garappa. They travel in groups, jumping from one rooftop to the next, all the way down to the water. If, along the way, they come across a new home under construction, they get angry and poke holes in the walls. Legend has it that anyone who goes to the river to catch a glimpse of a returning Yama-warau will become sick.

Inugami

An Inugami (lit. “dog god”) is a familiar spirit that looks like a dog and acts as a protective guardian. Inugami are extremely powerful and loyal, and they are known to carry out acts of revenge on behalf of their “owners.” They can also exist independently, and under some circumstances they may turn against their owners. Inugami also have the ability to possess humans. [More]

Ouni

Ouni is a mountain hag with a mouth stretching from ear to ear and a thick coat of long, black hair covering her entire body. According to an old Niigata prefecture legend, Ouni appeared one day to a group of women as they were spinning hemp into yarn. After accepting the hairy hag’s offer to help, the women watched in surprise as she repeatedly placed raw hemp fiber into her mouth and pulled out finished yarn. After quickly producing a large quantity in this way, Ouni stepped outside and suddenly disappeared. Legend has it that she left footprints in the nearby rocks, which can still be seen to this day.

Kami-kiri [Enlarge]

Kami-kiri (lit. “hair-cutter”) are ghostly spirits known for sneaking up on people and cutting all their hair off, particularly when they are unknowingly engaged to marry a youkai, spirit or other supernatural creature posing as a human. These hair-cutting attacks are intended to delay or prevent weddings between humans and otherworldly beings, which are typically doomed to failure. [More]

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Taking Pictures of Strangers: Part I

When most people go on vacation, they take pictures of their friends and family. Beautiful vistas. Old buildings. I like all that stuff as much as the next guy, but for some reason when I get out my camera, I take pictures of strangers. Strangers don’t pose. They do funny things without realizing they’re being watched. And when you get the pictures back, they’re never around to complain about how they look.

During a semester abroad in Ireland, I began spending free afternoons on the streets, camera in hand, taking pictures of people I didn’t know. (I tried to be as discreet as possible, eventually developing a from-the-hip technique where I could shoot without looking through the viewfinder; since I was never beaten or chased, I have to assume it worked.) Eventually I realized that there was a whole movement devoted to doing what I was doing, called street photography, and that I probably wasn’t some voyeuristic maniac after all (or at least, not the socially unacceptable kind). Below: kid in a piazza, Florence.

Since then, I’ve stopped hitting the streets with my camera (L.A. isn’t a walking town, they keep telling me) but have fallen in love with the great street photographers: Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand, Elliot Erwitt, and many more. In this series of blogs, I want to post and talk about my favorites, but I figured the best way to start was to post some of my own first (may as well put ‘em to use; they’re just moldering away in my Flickr account), which also saves me the embarrassment of trying to follow Arbus or Winogrand! So here goes. (To see larger versions of these, by the way, just click on them.)

Digg it!

On the street outside Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland:

Bemused and be-wigged ladies outside a club in Dublin. (I didn’t stick around long enough to find out whether the bouncer let them in or not.)

A stolen kiss, Dublin.

Dogs for sale: one morning I found an impromptu pet market going on outside my hotel room in Seville, Spain. (Don’t worry, dude. Those dogs aren’t going anywhere.)

French tourists eating a picnic lunch near Mont St. Michel. I like how daintily the guy facing camera is holding that French fry.

A newspaper hawker on O’Connell Street, Dublin.

I noticed this tired old shopkeeper across the street in Granada, Spain:

This Irish kid said he hadn’t caught anything all day.

A chapel in Normandie:

This silverback at the San Diego Zoo was anything but camera-shy:

A tourist in Paris stares me down.

Kids waiting to get into a club in Dublin.

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