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Tokyo Motor Show The second stop on this fall's International Auto Show circuit was Tokyo. And despite the fact that the poor world economy caused many non-Asian automakers to pull out of the show, there was still plenty of motoring progress on display. The 41st Tokyo Motor Show's theme - "Fun Driving For Us, Eco Driving For Earth" - made it clear that Japanese manufacturers are ready for higher fuel economy standards, and hybrids will play a huge role.
Honda is developing a new hybrid system for larger vehicles such as the Accord, and this Skydeck people-mover concept could be a future candidate. Honda also showed off its pure electric ambitions in the EV-N mini car concept. All-wheel drive king Subaru weighed in with the Hybrid Tourer concept; a stunning idea of what a high-mileage GT car might look like.
But it was the promise of a new-generation Alto that made the biggest splash in the minicar ranks. Mitsubishi's PX-MiEV concept adapts plug-in-hybrid technology to an all-wheel drive crossover. About the size of an Outlander, it has a 30 mile range on batteries alone.
But the headline news at the Toyota press conference was the tiny FT-EV II all-electric car, and the Subaru-boxer-powered FT-86, a hoped-for successor to the rear-drive Celica sport coupe.
As for production cars, the new Nissan Fuga will show up here soon as the 2011 Infiniti M. But not everything new in Tokyo had practicality in mind. Witness the production V10, 552-horsepower Lexus LFA supercar. While European marques were scarce, Caterham debuted its CSR300, the latest in its classic Seven series. Meanwhile the Seven's original builder, Lotus, released the sinister and supercharged Exige Stealth. Next in our car show globetrotting tour, the ever-greener Los Angeles Auto Show. And that's it for this week's MotorNews. |
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Coming soon from Honda will be a hybrid version of the promised CR-Z Coupe.
Suzuki got our attention with a plug-in hybrid version of its Swift subcompact.
Hybrid leader Toyota won the Japanese Car of the Year Award for its 4th generation Prius Hybrid. A plug-in version is due next year.
Nissan landed with its Land Glider concept, an ultra-light, ultra-narrow electric car with a 100 mile range. Rolling on four wheels with motorcycle-style seating for two, it leans into corners for maximum stability.