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Tokyo Motor Show 2007

The 40th Tokyo Motor Show 2007 will be held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City Japan for 17 days from October 26th (Friday) through November 11th (Sunday) 2007.

The show will be opened to the public from October 27th until its close.

The Tokyo Motor Show show takes place every two years, alternating with the commercial vehicle show. As always there will be a huge variety of new designs, predominantly from Japanese manufacturers, ranging from new production cars to some of the most unusual and clever concept cars.

At this year's show, upgraded special events that involve audience participation and experiences will be offered to generate excitement about vehicles, such as five types of test ride programs where visitors can actually come in contact with cars.

The entertainment aspect will be heightened so that a wide range of visitors including women and youth, as well as families, can enjoy a full day at the show.

You can enjoy a picture gallery of the auto highlights by clicking on the Gallery we have set up to the right.

Nissan Pivo2

Nissan introduced the first PIVO concept two years ago here in Tokyo, and perhaps what's most surprising is that they decided to build a second one. The PIVO2 looks like it’d be a perfect mascot car for a baseball team, with its spherical passenger compartment sitting on a 4-wheeled platform. The wheels can be turned in any direction and the passenger compartment itself can spin 360 degrees. Each wheel is fitted with an electric motor with power coming from advanced lithium-ion batteries. Not only is PIVO2 friendly to the environment, it also takes care of its driver. A "Robotic Agent" is fitted into the dashboard that recognizes the facial images of the driver, providing not only useful information for vehicle operation, but also "speaks to you to cheer you up or to soothe you accordingly." Don't look for this car driving down public roads anytime soon, but its quite popular here in Japan.

Designed to promote harmony with nature and evoke a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, the eco-friendly Toyota RiN concept car features heated ergonomic seats, an oxygen level regulator, a spot humidifier, a “mood training” steering control system that monitors the driver’s psychological state, and greenish glass that protects against UV and infrared light while enhancing the natural beauty of the view outside. The exterior design was inspired by Japan’s old-growth Cryptomeria trees known as yakusugi, which are found on Yakushima island, a natural World Heritage Site known for its pristine, ancient forests.

The Toyota Hi-CT, billed as a cool and fun next-generation urban assault vehicle, is built specifically for narrow city streets and features a hybrid engine you charge by plugging into a wall outlet. Batteries are stored under the floor for a more compact, upright design, and interior 100V AC outlets provide passengers a convenient way to power their portable electronic devices. The rear deck is big enough to haul bicycles and surfboards, or it can be outfitted with a detachable luggage trunk.

The hyper-aerodynamic Mazda Taiki is the fourth vehicle in Mazda’s Nagare series of cars based on the concept of “flow.” Inspired by Japanese koinobori (decorative carp-shaped streamers), Taiki’s design is meant to visually express the flow of air (incidentally, taiki means “atmosphere” in Japanese). With outstanding environmental and driving performance, Taiki’s next-generation rotary engine and front-engine rear-drive layout may well figure into Mazda’s future sports cars designed to help achieve a more sustainable society.*Look closely enough and Mazda’s Takai just about bridges the gap between fantasy and reality, and that alone puts it pretty close to the top of our concepts list. The latest in the evolutionary scale of Mazda concepts got started with the Nagare in Los Angeles and follows the theme of “flow” (which is what the Japanese word Nagare means). Takai looks like the kind of car that a superhero comic illustrator might draw in a 25th century cityscape — yet at the same time it looks as though it just might work. It’s all about line rather than technology, although there’s bound to be some of that under the swoopy skin, too. It unequivocally gets our vote because any car that takes inspiration from the flow of a celestial maiden’s robes and whose design process included leaving resin-impregnated strips of gauze literally to take on the shape of the wind deserves to be appreciated. Yes, it has an astonishing Cd of only 0.25, and zero aerodynamic lift all round, but in the end it just looks stunning.

Honda PUYO

Deadly Bike

Riding a bus may not the most glamorous means of transportation, but that could change.
Researchers are developing a limo-like mass transit option that picks up commuters near their homes, drives at high speeds on a dedicated track, and then slows to normal road speeds when it switches over to city streets.
The creators of the streamlined Superbus say it could not only elevate the status of the bus by promising riders a relaxing, hi-tech, and luxurious environment, but could also get people where they're going in a fast, convenient, and fuel-efficient manner.
"All of the smartness is in the vehicle," said Wubbo J. Ockels, professor and general manager of the AeroSpace for Sustainable Engineering and Technology program at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands. His team was recently awarded 7 million euros by the country's government to develop the vehicle.
"It receives requests by Internet or SMS. It then collects and gathers those people who are going roughly at the same time and to the same destination," said Ockels, who is working with former Formula 1 designer Antonia Terzi and aerospace engineer Joris Melkert to develop a prototype in time for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Unlike conventional buses and other forms of public transportation that have set schedules and routes, the Superbus will be flexible. Its schedules and pickup locations will be based entirely on the people who need rides. Software will optimize the journeys, finding the fastest, most efficient path for a group of riders.
Rubber tires allow Superbus to drive on conventional roads -- thereby offering near-home pickup -- and a low-profile, racecar-like design gives it the aerodynamics to achieve speeds of 155 mph on a 10-foot concrete track -- thereby offering fast service.
While on the dedicated track, the vehicle's frame will zoom along just a few inches above the ground. In the city, the bus will rise up to a foot off the ground.