The One With The Motor Show (Part 2)
Enough with the girls, now for the cars.
Tokyo Motor Show has a reputation for parading more concept cars than production models, and the 40th edition lived up to it. There were lots of dreamy concept cars that showcased various new concepts, styling, technology and more.
These two websites, Wikimedia Commons and Mahalo, gives well-categorized and labeled photos of automobiles that one would have seen at the Tokyo Motor Show (東京モーターショー).
I managed to steal a shot of two cute kids posing on a bike.
Harley Davidson. I thought that the brand would speak for itself, but it was surprisingly outshown by Japanese brands like Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki.
Monster trucks!
People queuing up to sit in the driver seat of the monster truck and feel big about themselves.
GPS Navigation Systems. If not for it, I wouldn’t have been able to drive 200km to Nikko (日光). Bleah.
There was this really interesting exhibit by Aisin where a Lexus was dissected to show the various technologies in use in a automobile.
A Rolls Royce.
And another.
An interesting concept car.
The Nissan GT-R. You can see a cut-model of it here.
I love the way the doors open. Not very practical but still…
The Nissan PIVO-2 Concept Car.
Check out how the wheels turn!
Nobody in the right frame of mind would miss the Ferrari booth would they?
I can almost hear the deafening roar of the angry engine.
With the silver horse in the background.
There was this row of photos hanging on the makeshift wall of the Ferrari booth and two of them caught my eye as it stuck me as two particularly effective photos.
A yellow Corvette
A Lotus.
Another Lotus.
The Maserati Gran Turismo is back.
Mercedes-Benz. Probably the most recognizable make.
The 5.5L V8, 382 hp Mercedes SL 550.
The Smart Car, looking ever-so-smart!
The event halls were huge to say the least.
The Mazada Nagare Concept Car. See more pictures here.
This was our pre-dinner.
Some makeshift stalls probably set up just for this event.
The Suzuki Kizashi 2 Concept Car.
The Honda FCX Concept Car is powered by an electric motor running on electricity generated by a fuel stack which uses hydrogen as its energy source.
The Honda CR-Z. One of the main head-turners of the show.
The Honda Puyo Concept Car. The name is an onomatopoeia that, according to Honda, “expresses the sensation of touching the vehicle’s soft body.” Sounds kinky, but the PUYO’s “gel body” actually is soft, which Honda claims increases safety. For some reason, we still wouldn’t want to collide with one in a cross walk. It even glows in the dark and therefore would be hard not to notice while crossing the street at night. Check out more here.
Sometimes, you don’t know if the focus is the girl or the car.
Beemers! I lurve them…….
Lamborghini, the closest one can get to Batmobile I think.
Takes my breathe away…..
The Lexus LF-A, read more here. One of the nicer cars in the show.
Watch the unveiling here.
The Toyota Crown HV Concept Car.
Toyota went all the way out to showcase their concept cars this year with three all new concepts ,the i-Real, 1/X and RiN.
The Toyota i-Real Concept Car(?). Looked like a wheelchair for paraplegics. Apparently it has a maximum speed of 30 km/h and will be able to go from an upright position to a reclined position for its High-Speed Mode.
The i-Real Concept in action.
Toyota’s 1/X concept, (pronounced one/Xth) is a hybrid concept that doubles the fuel efficiency figures of the Prius hybrid in a mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive four-door body. While the interior space remains similar to that of a Prius, the concept ways a mere 420kg, or around one third the weight of the Prius. The weight savings come from building the car out of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic, which also ensures rigidity and strength is maintained. Read more here.
The Toyota RiN Concept Car. As a main part of Toyota’s “Harmonious Drive” theme for this year’s show, the RiN is the concept that not only faces the challenges of making cars more acceptable to the health of the planet, it aims to make its driver more healthy, too.
Last but not least, check out this Isuzu Elf. I mean, how retro can one get!
Whee~! Fret not, that was just a mannequin.
Even the metro/trains (地下鉄/電車) that goes towards venue of the Tokyo Motor show carry advertisements. Too bad photo-taking in the trains is forbidden in Japan as the interior of the trains were filled with interesting Volkswagen advertisements.
Anyway, I’m soooo going for the next Tokyo Motor Show in 2009. If I’m still in Japan, that is.
All my photos of the Tokyo Motor Show can be found here.
