Tokyo Motor Show 2009
第四十一屆東京車展
@www.CanadianAutoReview.com
Text and Photography by Sammy Chan
| Click any of the thumbnail pictures for more details |
Show dates: October 24-November 4, 2009
Location: Makuhari Messe, Makuhari, Chiba 千葉縣
Access: Approximately a 30 minute ride by train via JR Keiyo Rapid line from
Tokyo metro subway station, 5 minute walk from Kaihin Makuhari station to the
convention centre.
Official website: www.tokyo-motorshow.com
The 21,259 square feet show floor is comprised of east, centre and west hall. Held once every two years, the theme this year is named "Fun driving for us, Eco driving for earth".
A big far cry from shows of previous years is that there are no participants from major car companies in Europe and North America at all this year. The only foreigners present are just BMW Alpina, Caterham and Lotus. Evident at Shanghai auto show earlier this year with world debuts like the Porsche Panamera, all major car manufacturers have shifted their attention to the vibrant and ever growing Chinese market. Watch out for the Beijing Auto Show next Spring.
The total number of participating companies was also the fewest since Tokyo Motor Show came into being in 1954. There were 39 world debuts this year, a far cry from 71 in 2007. Emphasis on environmentally friendly vehicles, zero-emission EV was played out very well despite the lack of buzz. A big part of the show floor was used to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Japan’s Car of the Year.
Hybrid vehicles accounted for nearly nine percent of domestic new vehicle sales for the first six months of 2009 in Japan. Notwithstanding the fact that hybrids and electric vehicles are the major force in this event, ironically, two sports cars one from Honda and one from Toyota appeared to have gathered the most attention and megapixels from the press.
More a prototype than a concept, the Honda CR-Z is a two-seater compact designed to revoke our fond memories of the CR-X and engineered to showcase future technologies. A true production version will be unveiled at LA Auto Show at the end of the year. Although powertrains have not been confirmed at this point, it is expected that the CR-Z will sport a high revving 4-cylinder engine with a displacement of around two litres. It has also been widely rumoured that a version of the CR-Z will be another hybrid from Honda.
More known for being a strong proponent of fuel-efficient internal combustion engine than electric vehicles, Honda is finally announcing that it will market pure electric vehicles in the future. Unveiled here is a small electric concept called EV-N.
A non-vehicle that captured the most attention at the show was undoubtedly the U3-X, a one-wheel personal mobility device that incorporates the balance control technology developed through the Asimo bipedal humanoid robot. Honda Skydeck was another concept unveiled by Honda.
Amongst all the pure electric vehicles on display, Nissan’s LEAF is undoubtedly
the most significant and viable solution in our quest to reduce CO2 emissions.
Once it goes on sale in late 2010, it will be marketed in Japan, Canada, US and
Europe at the same time. By 2012, the LEAF will go on sale worldwide.
Stepping out from a two-seater electric concept called the LandGlider, Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn told reporters that "the race to zero emission has begun".
Toyota unveiled a small pure electric vehicle called FT-EV II. Designed
primarily for urban use, this lightweight concept can seat four and has electric
sliding doors on both side. A bar beside the driver replaces the conventional
gas and brake pedals. Toyota FT-EV II is expected to arrive in US as early as
2012.
Pronounced as FT-"hachi-roku", FT-86 is a compact rear wheel drive vehicle which will see production in a year or two. Its 2-litre turbo engine is actually a "boxer" engine engineered by Subaru. FT-86 will fill the sports car gap that is so void in Toyota’s line-up.
Also on display at the Toyota stand is a new Formula One race car dubbed the TF109. It weighs only 605 kg and that already includes the driver and a camera.
Mitsubishi unveiled the PX-MiEV, a world premiere, which boasts a fuel consumption figure of 50 km per liter. Utilizing separate electric motor driving front and rear wheels, the PX- MiEV features a 1.6-litre gasoline engine.
The MiEV Cargo was another interpretation of the practical and well received pure electric vehicle from Mitsubishi.
One of the only three foreign companies to take part in this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, Lotus brought the Evora to inject some excitement into a rather boring sea of electric toys. Midengined coupes are always two-seaters, so to see one that can accommodate four adults is pretty unique. Employing an all-new platform since the Lotus Elise in 1995, Evora is powered by a 3.5-litre V6 engine and weighs only 1,350 kg. Zero to 100 km/h takes about five seconds. Evora is hand built in Hathel, England.
A world premiere here is the Lotus Exige in Stealth design version. Also on display is the Lotus Elise R hardtop and Elise S Club Racer.
Daihatsu e:S is a micro car that can achieve a very low fuel consumption of 30 km/litre without the need of an electric motor.
Suzuki unveiled an all-new Alto concept and the Swift Plug-in Hybrid. Only the battery is used to propel the vehicle on short daily commute in this Hybrid. The battery can be charged at home or by its own engine-powered generator.
Coined in 2001 at the 35th Tokyo Motor Show, zoom-zoom has become a household catch-word for Mazda. With the world’s focus shifting to things green, Mazda is investing its future on its new "SKY" concept by unveiling two all-new powertrains, the Mazda "SKY-G" and Mazda "SKY-D" and a new automatic transmission dubbed "Mazda SKY-Drive".
Mazda Kiyora - smaller than Mazda’s Demio, this compact concept vehicle is powered by the Mazda SKY-G direct injection gasoline engine. Coupled with Mazda’s next-generation six speed automatic transmission, the Mazda SKY-Drive, this 1.3 litre engine delivers a spectacular ultra-low fuel consumption figure of 32 km per litre. Not only does this represents a 15% improvement over Mazda’s current 2.0-litre gasoline engine, it also generates 15% more torque as well.
RAW files of the models are available on request for a small token, how
about US $50,000 per image? Just kidding.