Bolshoi in Russia: Driving like it is the last time ever. It could just be.

by Iva Skoch on

Greetings from Moscow! Bolshoi in Russia is my variation on Big in Japan. (Bolshoi means “Big” in Russian. Get it?) Stay tuned for my live dispatches from Russia this week.

A few things to know before driving a car in Russia: avoid it if you can. The traffic is terrible. I suppose anytime you have a country where half the people own fast, luxury cars and the other half owns piece-of-junk Ladas, it’s not a good set up. They have to somehow share the same roads, you know.

The funny thing about driving in Moscow is that you have to know exactly where you are going. The city is filled with one-way highways which do not give you many opportunities to turn around if you end up going in the wrong direction. This is true for taxis, too. Know which direction you are going before you flag one. Not doing so could result in a lot of extra miles on the meter.

The other bizarre thing is that their highways are built so that they could be used as landing strips for aircraft, I’m told. Honestly, every highway here looks like it was built for tanks, not cars. It’s not that they have more lanes than US highways, it’s just that Russian highways seem extra wide because they do not use a median to protect you from on-coming traffic. People drive fast and they look like they are driving right into you. I took this photo from the car I was in, praying to God for no head-on collisions.

Onto more driving tidbits. Check out these cars.

Painting kitchy images on one’s car is a Russian specialty. Apparently, it’s popular mainly because you get a discount on your car insurance if you “mark” your car with, say, a big wildlife theme. Car theft is very common here.

You see wildlife images, Andy Warhol pictures, and even entire city skylines painted on people’s cars. I guess it makes sense, in a weird kind of way. Who would want to steal that?

From Russia, with love.

Big in Japan: The future of Japanese automotive design

by Matthew Firestone on

This week (and last), Big in Japan will be bringing you scenes from the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show (???????????????????????) at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City.

For an overview of this biennial event, be sure to read Scenes from the Tokyo Motor Show. For all of you road warriors out there, don’t miss A look at the future of motorcycles. For anyone who loves crazy concept cars, check out The Nissan Pivo2 can pivot on a dime. For an intriguing look at the future personal transportation, see The Nissan Pixy will help us survive the apocalypse.

Do you love the Japanese design aesthetic? So do I.

From the chic minimalism of Japanese interior spaces to the efficiency and reliability of Japanese electronics, form and function is indeed a virtue here in the Far East.

With that said, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that form and function were key themes at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. If you’ve been wondering where Japanese automotive design will take us in the years ahead, keep reading as you’ve come to the right place.

Whether you use your car as a business, a home away from home or as your key to the great outdoors, you’re going to love what the future holds.

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Although space is something that most North Americans take for granted, the mind-blowing density of Japan’s urban landscapes necessitates good design.

Indeed, here in Japan it’s not about how big your apartment is, but what you do with the space that counts.

So, it’s only natural that automotive design in the years ahead will reflect our individual needs to a greater extent.

For instance, although most Americans choose car interiors based on whether or not they want cloth or leather, Japanese car manufacturers are hoping that fully customizable interiors will be the wave of the future.

Although the idea of relaxing in your car with good friends may seem far-fetched, it’s not so hard to imagine if your car’s interior had IKEA-inspired seats, a coffee table, a mini-bar and a wall-mounted plasma TV.

Or, what if instead of renting commercial space, you could take your business on the go?

Imagine instead of ruining the leather in your car in an attempt to bring Fido to the groomers, you could instead call up a service to swing on by your house.

And of course, even accessing the great outdoors will be less of a hassle in the future.

If you want to go rollerblading on the boardwalk, simply park your car, climb into the back, swivel the seats, lock in to your skates and you’re ready to go.

Or, what if you and the family want to go SCUBA diving?

Instead of trying to fit all of your tanks and gear into the trunk, simply extend the cab on your minivan, and load your gear with the ease of browsing through your closet.

Of course, customization doesn’t come cheap, which is perhaps the main hurdle in bringing these concept designs to the market.

However, in a country where form and function hold a significant amount of weight, perhaps it won’t be too long before our cars are just as personalized as our homes.

The future is indeed looking bright.

For photos of the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, check out the gallery below:

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Beijing to Ban Traffic in August

by Justin Glow on

In response to the high levels of pollution in Beijing, China, the International Olympic Committee is beginning to worry about the health of Olympic fans and athletes alike. To determine whether or not to completely ban private cars in the city as way to decrease the pollution, the committee will do a two-week, car-free trial run in August. If the two weeks sans cars significantly reduces pollution in the city, private car traffic will be completely banned in Beijing during the Olympics of 2008.

With almost 15-million people living in Beijing and the surrounding municipality, this seems completely crazy. How can a city continue to operate when all private cars are banned? Sure, Beijing has some decent mass transit, and many, many people travel by bike, but still. If the trial run shows a significant decrease in pollution, that means there are still a ton of people relying on private cars to get around.

Thanks to our sister site, Autoblog Green, for the tip!

Driver Shot For Honking at Green Light

by Justin Glow on

This story came up in my RSS feeds this morning, and I couldn’t help but think of my recent trip to India. What’s getting shot in the abdomen for honking at someone at a green light got to do with India?

Well, if you’ve been to the subcontinent — or most other places in Asia for that matter — you’ve no doubt noticed the differences between the way we, Americans, use our car horns, and Asians use theirs. In India, the car horn is a tool, a way to alert the (millions of) other drivers (on the same road as you at one time) that — hey! — I’m creeping up on you, or I’m about to pull out in front of you, or I’m carrying a rather large load of chickens. A trip through any major Asian city accompanied by a consistent hum of car horns; as you finally lay down to rest in your hostel or hotel bed for the night, you can still hear the faint buzz of a million horns going off at once.

So what’s different with America (and much of the Western world?)

Sure, shooting someone for honking at a green light is an isolated case…. but even so, a horn is not a tool in America. More often than not it’s an audible flip of the middle finger, a beep to let someone know they’ve just done something really stupid while driving. Or maybe it’s a way to keep from having to get out of the car when picking up a friend. On the rare occasion it’s used to actually avoid an accident.

After spending a month in India, I returned to the States, and was thrown off balance by the absence of horn noise. What a strange feeling — seeing cars but not hearing horns.

Unfortunately sometimes that beep of the horn isn’t an audible middle finger, but an actual warning, or a friendly reminder that the light has turned green. Sadly, the moral of the story for America: be careful who you honk at. [via]