Japanese Automakers Launch Their First Battery-Powered Cars

As Japan’s top automakers, Toyota and Honda, battle it out for supremacy in the hybrid car market, Japan’s smaller car companies are taking a different eco-car road. Mitsubishi Motors on June 5 presented its zero-emissions i-MiEV — Japan’s first fully electric vehicle for the global market. Production of the egg-shaped vehicle, which has a range of 99 miles on a single charge, kicked off this week; fleet sales will start in Japan next month and the car is expected to reach U.S.

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Sony, Nintendo unveil game offerings at E3

With the big three gaming-system makers all previewing new or upgraded motion-sensing controllers this week, a new arms race is under way in the video game industry. Joysticks and push-button controllers seem to be on their way out, replaced by simpler, more intuitive devices — similar to Nintendo’s Wii — that let gamers move their arms and legs to guide their avatars’ movements onscreen

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Top Mexican cartel suspect arrested

A top drug cartel suspect with a $1 million reward on his head has been captured by Mexican soldiers, federal authorities said. Japanese distributors are currently in negotiations for the rights to the film and buzz around the no-budget zombie chiller has attracted interest from some major American distributors — all of which is a very nice surprise for the team behind “Colin.” “We were almost fainting at the list of people who were coming [to the final market screening of the film],” said Helen Grace of Left Films who is helping the film’s director Marc Price publicize the film in Cannes. “Representatives from major American distributors — some of the Hollywood studios.” “When we say it’s a low budget film, people presume a couple of hundred thousand [dollars].

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Hollywood eyes $70 zombie movie wowing Cannes

A budding British director is enjoying success on a shoestring at Cannes with "Colin," a new zombie feature that cost a scarcely believable $70 to make. Japanese distributors are currently in negotiations for the rights to the film and buzz around the no-budget zombie chiller has attracted interest from some major American distributors — all of which is a very nice surprise for the team behind “Colin.” “We were almost fainting at the list of people who were coming [to the final market screening of the film],” said Helen Grace of Left Films who is helping the film’s director Marc Price publicize the film in Cannes

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Panasonic posts $4 billion loss

Panasonic, one of the world’s largest makers of electronic devices, announced it lost nearly $4 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31. The loss wasn’t surprising, but the size was — analysts had predicted the Osaka-based company would lose about $1 billion.

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