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Going to auto shows is part of the culture when you write about cars. You get used to models posing in front of the new vehicles, wearing oddly dated clothes. I regret not having been at this year’s ultra green Tokyo Motor Show because, judging from the photos, I missed a feast of go-go boots and micro-minis.
Remember, it was at the 1997 Tokyo show that Toyota introduced the Prius, to the general scoffing of the international press. There were 600 vehicles at the 2005 extravaganza, including some real trendsetters. Among them:
• The Toyota Fine-X, the company’s latest fuel-cell platform, incorporates a hybrid drive and an electric motor at each wheel. Other innovations include four-wheel independent steering, allowing the Fine-X to turn almost within its own length, and a "carbon neutral" system that incorporates plant materials (which absorb carbon as they grow) in both the interior and exterior designs;
• The Mazda Senku (the name means "pioneer"), an ultra-sleek four-seat sports concept that continues the Ford subsidiary’s fascination with rotary engines, but this time it uses direct injection and is coupled to a hybrid drivetrain that could cure the rotary’s traditional thirst problem. The powered doors slide. Mazda also plans to introduce the hybrid version of the Tribute, a cousin to the existing Ford Escape Hybrid;
• The Suzuki Ionis is a very advanced minivan concept that changes color depending on the light it’s in, with a truly avant-garde interior and a shape meant to imitate flowing water. Under the hood is a prototype fuel-cell;
• Honda‘s latest edition of the FCX, probably the most advanced fuel-cell car in the world, was also on display. No longer a box built on the old EVPlus platform, today’s FCX is long, low and sexy. The fuel-cell stack has been miniaturized even further and now sits between driver and passenger in a tunnel. Honda says it is aiming to achieve a 340-mile range on hydrogen gas with its new FCX, which, providing there’s no catch, is an incredible breakthrough. Honda is also introducing a home fueling unit that converts natural gas to hydrogen. On the lighter side, Honda showed off the WOW, a minivan with two, dog-sized cocoons for canine companions;
• From Subaru, there’s the B5, a three-door hatchback that looks like an Audi A3 wagon on drugs. The B5, a possible nod to future Impreza styling, features a hybrid drivetrain (incorporating the innovative Miller-cycle engine and a turbo). The B5 is supposedly good for 300 horsepower with great fuel economy and low emissions, too.
So, obviously they mean good, green business in Tokyo this year. It’s a message Detroit should get loud and clear if it’s going to stay competitive in the era of $3-a-gallon gas.
My car of the week is not as exotic as the latest from Japan, but it’s definitely competitive. The Volkswagen Jetta 2.5L’s inline five offers a 35-horsepower advantage over the two-liter base car recently tested on this page. With the Tiptronic manual, we’re looking at $26,375, close to entry-level Audi territory. The new Jettas feel roomy and that’s no coincidence: backseat passengers have significantly more legroom than in earlier Jettas – this one has more trunk space than a Camry and more cabin room than an Acura TSX.
