Tokyo Motor Show presents Auto Oddities
by EVANDER KLUM
Auto sales have been recently declining and Japanese automakers wants to boost their cash with sleek, odd and fuel efficient cars. Yesterday, at the Tokyo Motor Show, the three largest Japanese automakers displayed vehicles that we can call the ��extraordinaire��. Takeo Fukui, president of Honda Motors was glad to launch their rubbery bubble-shaped fuel-cell model. Toyota President Katsuki Watanabe drove a ��personal mobility�� vehicle that is wheelchair like. For Nissan, Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn rolled out in Nissan��s flagship muscle car, the GT-R.
According to Nissan General Manager Francois Bancon, the consumer��s interest in cars is already fading not just in Japan but in Europe as well. ��They are somehow rejecting the car as an icon��, said Bancon. The Nissan official sees the show as the Japanese auto industry��s way of appealing to the interest of car consumers all over the world.
Japanese buyers are not only fewer but are also holding on to vehicle longer said Christopher J. Richter, an analyst in Canyon Capital Markets Asia in Tokyo. ��The decline in personal incomes particularly among young people has had a negative impact on the vehicle market,�� he said.
Analysts also say that Tokyo is not friendly to car owners with its costly taxes and parking fees, thus most people living in the city rather commute in trains than drive their own vehicles. The extending gap between economic status of the people also affects vehicle sales.
Last year, Japan��s domestic auto market sold a total of 3 million vehicles posing a seven percent decline of their sales in the previous year. Automakers hopes that their more than 500 display of vehicles ranging from the GT to futuristic cars can help strengthen their weak sales.
Nissan��s GT will be available in the United States next year with a tag price of somewhere below $80,000. However, it will be available in Nissan showrooms in Japan this December. Nissan was proud to say that they have already received three months worth of orders for the GT and sets to sell 1,000 GTs every month.
The Honda CR-Z is an icon representing the diversion of e hybrid vehicle being bulky with its battery and internal combustion engine. The CR-Z is a slim hybrid sports car that Honda President Fukui boasted will topple other sports car with the complex hybrid system. Fukui did not give the date to when the CR-Z will go on sale but left his ��the near future�� statement. ��As a leader in ecology, Honda (makes Acura parts) also hopes to show the fun of driving so that mobility can be enjoyed on this planet forever,�� he told the crowd gathered at the Honda booth.
Toyota��s highlight is the experimental version of their global best-selling Prius. According to Toyota President Watanabe, the new version is a plug-in hybrid that offers longer mileage than the previous version. ��Our theme is harmonious driving,�� Watanabe said. ��What we have on display shows the direction of where Toyota is going.��
