Man that is teh sexy.

If you can't officially patent or otherwise create your IP, there's always another route - distinctive branding. Maybe paint it bright orange and put a huge logo on it. Make the "authenticity" or "originality" completely unavoidable. Let the consumer know they're getting the real deal. "If it's not obnoxiously orange, it's not a REAL turboencapsulator!"

There's always a marketing solution, if the legal solution is unworkable for whatever reason. Use the same ingenuity used to design the part, and put it into giving it a unique brand.

Or protect your IP through official channels.

I feel like if a producer isn't willing to do one or the other, they're going to get culled from the market. That's how the market works.

I drove a 5-speed turbodiesel Zafira back in my European rambles of a decade ago. It was a rental, and it was actually a lot of fun to hoon around roundabouts. Maybe that's just because as a petrol-soaked 'Merican your Furrin oil-burners' copious torque was so unusual. I'm sure that an Astra fitted with that same motor would have been a total blast.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

You know, that image would make a perfect setting for that "Yearbook Yourself" site.

I swoon, sir. I swoon.

Thanks for the correction. This makes me wonder, did anyone ever make a diecast Hino Contessa???? And where was that made? Probably, ironically, in France.

Take a look here for some quick instructions: http://hooniverse.com/2010/08/03/how-to-embed-ima...

The "Japanese" part of the teaser ... could it be referring to the optional CA18ET Nissan engine?