Yes, it’s still 403 days away but with such a fun piece of advertising we couldn’t resist posting it anyway. Always an impressive event, we’re looking forward to next years 2009 Tokyo Motor Show already.

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When imagining the future of carbon-free air travel it seems strange that so many of us overlook the obvious; super speedy solar-powered flying turtles. No, not like that famous flying turtle from Japanese cinema (Gamera doesn't sport solar panels, silly), but rather an airship with a rigid hull that derives power from the sun by day and burns biodiesel by night. Think this is just some flight of fancy? Maybe so, but Darrell Campbell, the man behind the concept, says the Turtle Airships company is building a prototype right now and may soon be flying in a sky near you. In fact, he says it will make an "around-the-world flight" sometime next year.

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If you're a child of the 80's, you may very well have gone ballistic when news of Mio's Knight Rider GPS hit cyberspace. The sat-nav unit is not only styled like the original Knight Industries Two Thousand, but even has blinking red lights along the flanks (just like KITT's voice modulator) and features voice directions recorded by the man himself, William Daniels. (What do you mean, who is William Daniels?! He was the original voice of KITT!) You can have it call you Michael and feel like The Hoff himself, or select from a long list of pre-recorded name to have KITT speak to you when that gets old.

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Just to prove that they are serious about performance cars, Lexus are bringing their IS-F Racing Concept to this years Tokyo Auto Salon. The darkened image is enough to give us a reasonable idea what the “super” IS-F looks like and its fair to say it would hold its own sitting next to something like an AMG Mercedes DTM C-class racer...

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The 2008 Tokyo Auto Salon is right around the corner and despite rumblings that Mazda isn't considering making a 'Speed version of the Atenza/Mazda6, it's trotting out a concept to Japan's premier tuner expo to gauge consumer interest...

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At Tokyo, red-badged Mitsubishi revealed the final production version of the Lancer Evo X. Meanwhile, over in the blue corner, Subaru showed the new incarnation of the Impreza STi: although also based on an all-new model range, already the Scooby's case is looking shaky...

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A few months ago Toyota unveiled their fleet of prototype plug-in Priuses in Japan and some members of the media got to sample it them before the recent Tokyo Motor Show...

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The Kizashi 2 is Suzuki's successor to the Kizashi concept car seen at the Frankfurt show in September, previewing a range of family cars destined for worldwide sales and building on the success of the Swift and the new Splash.

It's a crossover estate fitted with Suzuki's largest engine yet, a 3.6-litre V6 with a six-speed automatic gearbox and the potential for a hybrid system.

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A new Lexus RX in all but name, the LF-Xh concept is far more angular and striking than the familiar SUV that the production version will replace.

Under the new skin is an updated version of Toyota's all-wheel-drive V6 petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain, which involves a more compact electric motor and battery than those found in the outgoing RX400h.

The replacement is a bigger car than the RX and the concept has a much more avant-garde interior, although that's likely to be toned down before it gets anywhere near a showroom.

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The Fit on the Honda stand at Tokyo is about to go on sale in Japan, but in Europe we have to wait another year before it evolves into the MkII Jazz.

It's slightly longer and wider than the current big-selling mini-MPV and has only marginally revised looks. As well as freshening up the appearance, the new nose should also help secure another Euro NCAP star by improving the car's pedestrian protection.

The petrol tank retains its forward location, leaving space for the versatile 'Magic' rear seats. Expect a diesel engine to be available for the first time.

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We've predicted it for a while now. A Nissan official wouldn't deny it. And another in-the-know contact said it was "all but 100% confirmed" that the next gen version of Nissan's box on wheels will come to the US.

Nissan took a well-advised wait-and-see attitude toward the Scion xB, nobody really knowing how well American buyers would take to this type of product. Take to it we have, the first generation xB outselling the Euro-fashioned xA, even though Toyota thought it would be the other way around. Read the rest of this entry »

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Yokohama Design Center chief Yamada Atsuhiko says the Mazda Taiki concept was formed like the wind and air around the earth. It is, he says, "a design that visually expresses the flow of air." By which he means, I think, that it's like erosion forming rocks and mountains. Makes sense, not only in the context of Mazda's zenlike Nagare design theme, but also because the car proved in the wind tunnel to be very aerodynamic, with an 0.25 cD. Counter intuitively, the unique outrigger-style rear fenders actually provide downforce.

You'd think the opposite, looking at it. You'd think air would get under those fenders at speed and lift the rear wheels off the ground. This, then, is Mazda's 1959 Chevy Impala four-door hardtop, a car reputed to suffer lift thanks to its horizontal rear fins, but which exhibited no such problem when the late Motor Trend Classic put one in a wind tunnel.Read the rest of this entry »

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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. Read the rest of this entry »

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"Sustainability" is the catchword in Tokyo, just as it was in Frankfurt in September. Pushing clean, green cars is serious business, though, and for '07, the Tokyo show takes another step toward soberness. I think it started in '05 (the Tokyo show is bi-yearly).

The Honda disco-floor and Toyota Pod, with its wagging tail, were gone. Yeah, there will always be tiny pod cars. Ever since Woody Allen's "Sleeper" in 1973, the Japanese auto industry has been trying to put some version of that movie's conveyances on the road. But the exuberance has been stifled, and the Japanese pop production numbers leading off such unveilings have given way to shorter, more serious introductions.Read the rest of this entry »

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While the buzz at Tokyo this year is all about the Nissan GT-R, Mazda is apparently already working on a sports car of its own that may eventually generate as much heat as the GT-R. Word we've been hearing on the show floor is that the automaker will unveil a "true sports car" concept at the next Tokyo Motor Show in 2009, followed by the production version in 2011. Yes, four years a way, but that's only an eye-blink in the auto industry.

Details are scarce, but it's confirmed that it will be rear wheel drive and true to Mazda's history of sports cars. Does that mean rotary? It is tempting to make that connection, given the larger capacity 1.7-liter rotary engine Mazda displayed in its booth this year. This year is also the 40th anniversary of the rotary (the engine first appeared in 1967 in Mazda's Cosmo Sport). Fast forward four years, and imagine a production Mazda sports car going on sale as a 2012 model tie in to the 45th anniversary of the rotary. Perhaps the return of the Cosmo from the company that popularized rotaries? It could happen.Read the rest of this entry »

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