As Tokyo Shows go, 2007 wasn't a vintage year. There was one mega-star car -- Nissan's GT-R, of course -- and the usual assortment of wacky concepts. But the buzz around the show floor was -- well -- that there was no buzz.
What Tokyo 2007 did highlight was the stark philosophical differences between the Japanese, European, and American automakers. GM, Chrysler and Ford were all present at the show, but in a very low key manner, with not a concept car between them. The GM stand had just five vehicles - two Cadillac CTS sedans, a Corvette convertible, a Hummer H3 and a Saab 9-3 wagon. Chrysler had a slightly larger selection from its current line up. The Ford stand was a miserable affair, with center stage going to a warmed-over Escape.
The Europeans tried a bit harder. Volkswagen showed an appealing four door version of the UP! concept it debuted at Frankfurt, while Audi unveiled the Metroproject coupe, and BMW teased the performance version of the 1-series coupe. Lamborghini gave the Reventon another airing, and Mercedes-Benz wheeled out the horrific F700 it revealed at Frankfurt.
So what we had was an American auto industry locked into cars of the here and now, and a European auto industry giving us a glimpse of cars of the near future. And Japan? On the evidence at Tokyo, the Japanese automakers weren't so much thinking about future cars, but whether the car has a future.
Concepts like Toyota's RiN and i-Real, Nissan's Pivo2 and Honda's Puyo aren't cars. They are personal transportation devices. Appliance-like modules with contrived, cartoonish personalities designed to make them interesting, and mandatory feel-good green powertrains. But if these ghastly goldfish-bowls-on-wheels are really the future of the automobile, I think I'd rather walk, thanks.
Or ride a motorcycle.
Late yesterday I wandered over to the North Hall of the giant Makuhari Messe to check out the motorcycle exhibits. And in complete contrast to vast majority of Japanese concept cars (Honda's neat CR-Z and Mazda's fascinating Taiki the two notable exceptions) the Japanese concept bikes were alive with passion, power and performance...
|