Tokyo—The media and the public got a glimpse of the future, and judging from the concept cars on display and pronouncements from captains of the industry, hybrid and fuel cell powered cars will be available sooner than we think.
This year’s staging of the Tokyo Motor Show, one of the World’s largest and most highly anticipated motoring event is the Japanese car industry’s opportunity to showcase its latest developments and innovations to the global stage. Everything on display at the Tokyo Big Sight caters to everyone on the lookout for the high technology, innovative design and the outright weird.
Powerhouse Honda Motors drew first blood with their Urban EV and Sports EV Concept cars. Takahiro Hachigo, President of Honda Japan unveiled two of the show’s most exciting concept cars. Both the Sports and Urban EV Concept made their global debut at this year’s Motor Show. Both and Sports and Urban EV incorporates a newly developed EV dedicated platform that suggests the future direction in terms of design and technology of mass produced electric vehicles. Their compact proportions make both concepts ideal for modern city driving.
Dominant Toyota Motors unveiled the rumored replacement for the FJ Cruiser, the Tj Cruiser, a crossover concept that represents the harmonious balance between the roominess of a cargo van with the powerful design of an SUV. The Tj Cruiser is expected to be powered by a 2.0 liter hybrid powerplant.
Suzuki on the other hand handed a dash of wierdness with their futuristic e-Survivor , a Buck Rogers style rendtion of what the popular Jimny might look like. The e-Survivor is built on a robust ladder frame which maintains its drivability. It offers new possibilities for an all electric sub-compact SUV.
For AWD patrons, Subaru took off the covers of its Sti line-up with the Viziv Performance Concept leading the charge. The Viziv is a sports sedan concept that personifies Subaru’s vision for making cars that offer peace of mind and the joy of driving. The sports concept is characterized by an hexagonal grille, hawkeye headlamp clusters with a large air intake on the hood which gives away its performance persona.
