Archive for 2009 Tokyo Motorshow (brought to you by Honda)

The new Toyota Mark X’s Mazda-like wheel arches are even more obvious in real life than in photos. Toyota has basically taken the existing Mark X design and literally did a facelift on it, seemingly stretching the front design outwards and upwards.

As for the rear end, the car’s bangle butt design has been toned down a little and the tail lamp design now stretches onto the car’s bootlid. Kinda reminds me of the Sylphy really. Look after the jump for more live photos of the Mark X at Tokyo 2009.

Click here to read the rest of Tokyo 2009: New Toyota Mark X

Future automobile products are planned a few years in advance and with the volatile world markets these days the job of a product engineering team as well as a product planner is getting harder and harder.

Autonews.com has a very interesting story they managed to squeeze out of Honda’s management at the 2009 Tokyo show centering around one of Honda’s most vital platforms – the Civic platform.

The Civic platform forms the basis of other vehicles like the Stream, the CR-V, and even other Hondas not found in our market such as the Honda Element. The interview revealed that Honda’s original intentions was for the next generation Honda Civic to be even larger and more plush than the current Civic, which has already grown to last decade Accord-ish proportions in terms of length and wheelbase.

The Civic hatchback platform differs from the sedan’s and is smaller.

But that plan has been scrapped. Honda engineers have instead been told to make the Civic smaller and lighter. It’s not 100% clear what this means – the Civic may not necessarily become smaller than the current generation. It could probably mean smaller and lighter than originally intended to be, which would hopefully put it around the same size as the current generation. Honda wants to try creating an increased perception of interior space but keep the exterior dimensions within control.

Another rumour that surfaced a few months ago was that Honda could be splitting the Civic into two lines like Toyota’s Corolla and Corolla Altis, a smaller one for Japanese tax regulations and a larger one for markets that like more metal for their money.

Stream is based on the Civic platform

But such a mid-way change has caused the project to be somewhat delayed. The current Civic has just been facelifted and a new one is supposed to arrive in 2011, a 5 year cycle after its introduction in 2006. But Honda is putting in more manpower to try to meet the target. If that doesn’t happen, the Civic could be delayed for a year or so. Honda president Takanobu Ito admitted the team was struggling.

This is not unprecedented, the previous generation Corolla Altis was also delayed and we still ended up with an all-new Altis that was pretty much a reskinned previous gen.

Other new upcoming Honda products include the implementation of the hybrid IMA system across more models. Right now it is only available in small to medium cars – the Insight, the Civic Hybrid, and pretty soon the CR-Z. A hybrid minivan is coming – this could mean a few things such as an USDM Odyssey Hybrid or even a Stream Hybrid. Not much else was revealed about which minivan model. There used to be an Accord Hybrid but that was scrapped due to discouraging sales. But larger hybrid vehicles like the Accord Hyrbid is going to make a comeback soon.

Honda revealed that a dual-motor IMA system is currently under development. The dual motor system will be configured in a way that it is able to function as an e-CVT in full electric mode, much like the series-parallel system in the Toyota Prius.

This means Honda will have a two-prong hybrid strategy – a motor assist parallel mode hybrid system for smaller cars and a full hybrid series-parallel system that can be used in larger cars. A series-parallel hybrid is of course more costly and complicated to implement thus more suitable for larger vehicles that are able to carry higher price tags.

Looking at photos are one thing but seeing a concept car in real life is another. The Daihatsu e:S manages to look compact but somehow not excessively cheap at the same time, so you feel like if you bought one, it’s purely because you do not need anything bigger – just two seats and a small boot behind your front seats. The e:S has some really small rear seats though making it somewhat like a 2+2, but you’re better off using that space as a boot instead.

To give you an idea, the e:S Concept’s 2,175mm wheelbase is actually even shorter than the now-”extinct” Kancil’s 2,280mm wheelbase. It’s based on an existing platform but had its wheelbase shortened so it should mean the development cost for a production car would not be excessively high.

Weight loss techniques such as slim and lightweight seats and light materials give the e:S a total weight of 700 kg. As a result, its 660cc engine with auto-start stop can take it as far as 30km on a liter of fuel under the Japan 10-15 drive mode.

Look after the jump for a live photo gallery of the e:S.

Click here to read the rest of Tokyo Live 2009: Daihatsu e:S Concept

For those who weren’t there live at the 2009 Tokyo Motorshow, you can still have a glimpse at what an international motorshow is like. Because of the high costs of travel, alot of us will probably only get to visit the KL motorshow or perhaps the ones up north in Thailand or down south in Singapore (which was really bad last year). Honda has recorded some videos of their HELLO! Zone exhibition launch, including their President’s opening speech.

The HELLO! (Honda Electric mobility Loop) Zone features electricity-based products, including products that supply electricity, vehicles that run on electricity and other electricity-related products.

Basically the HELLO! Zone covered the main stage of the Honda booth, but the rest of the area was filled with other models, like the Honda Freed.

On the overall, the entire motorshow was really downsized this year. There were only Japanese manufacturers and a handful of 3 to 4 overseas brands, but even then they weren’t big players. The organisers had to fill the spaces up with various other displays such as an awards showcase and a gallery of paintings.

It was much more massive two years ago, with the displays covering two different halls. The bikes, buses and trucks were in a separate hall which you had to walk a good distance to reach – and it was quite tiring when you have to lug around all the press kits and your heavy bag. This year, everything is in one hall and just over half a working day was enough to cover everything complete with photos.

Click here to read the rest of Honda’s HELLO! Zone at the Tokyo Motorshow

The Honda CR-Z Concept you see here is very, very near to production. In fact, the production car probably already exists somewhere in Honda R&D, since it’s supposed to go into production in February 2010. That’s just a few months away. Honda has been talking about this car for a few years now, and a design concept study was already shown at the motorshow back in 2007.

Since then it has evolved and the result is this concept, with even a proper close-to-production interior. I don’t particularly like its gaping mouthed looks (another manufacturer to go Audi-ized?) but things start to get better towards the rear. I hope they don’t settle on this front end for its next generation of cars – that would ruin the next generation Civic.

Under the hood is a 1.5 liter version of Honda’s IMA system (currently available as a 1.3 liter in the Civic Hybrid and Insight), so we don’t really have any power output numbers yet. What’s interesting is that it will be paired to a 6-speed manual transmission. I can’t recall any other hybrid car with a manual. The motor assist will probably kick in according to road incline, etc as well as a data feed from the throttle position sensor.

Look after the jump for live photos and live videos of the CR-Z.

Click here to read the rest of Tokyo 2009 Live: Honda CR-Z Concept Hybrid

The Twin Ring Motegi is a racetrack in Motegi, Japan built by Honda to bring the IndyCar Series to Japan. So naturally you’d find a number of Honda-centric features at the track, such as the Honda Collection Hall.

Way before the Ridgeline, Honda already made trucks. Not a common thing in the present though.

The Honda Collection Hall features historic racing cars, production cars and motorcycles, mostly Hondas but not necessarily. There are a total of approximately 350 completely restored items in the hall.

The main display of the ground floor lobby

It is divided into three floors including the ground floor. At the ground floor there is not much – a few special key exhibits, a cafe, shop and reading room.

The Honda N360 is likely the design inspiration for the new EV-N

Go up one floor and you get to see the production stuff. There are bikes, cars and even power products, since Honda also makes generators and etc. Finally on the top floor, there are exhibits of racing cars and racing motorcycles.

There are even “modern classics”, such as the Honda NSX

At the facility itself there is a restoration room where the restoration is done. You can even watch the restoration process through a window if there is one that happens to be going on during the time that you are visiting the hall.

Look after the jump for a total of over 100 photos I snapped of the displays.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Collection Hall at Twin Ring Motegi

Nissan has unveiled the ROOX which is a “super space” compact car at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show. The vehicle that will make its debut in Japan in December measures 3,395 mm long, 1,475 mm wide, 1,735 mm high and has a wheelbase that is figured at 2,400 mm. The 4-seater ROOX has an interior width measuring 1365 mm and an interior length that is 2085 mm long.

According to Nissan, “No matter where you sit, the ROOX’s design gives each passenger a sense of the great outdoors”. The seating arrangement in the vehicle can be altered to suit the number of occupants. The rear seat back can be flattened as well to create a large luggage space.

Along with rear sliding doors, it also features a remote-control door opening keyfob, a drink cooler inside the upper glove box, a storage box under the passenger seat, dual airbags and more. Nissan is still being tight-lipped about what is under to hood and has only released a single image. However we now have two live images of ROOX being presented at the motor show.

Look for more images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Nissan ROOX “super space” minicar shown in Tokyo

Nissan has unveiled the new Fuga sedan at the motor event in Tokyo. The Fuga will be available in Japan with two engine options including a VQ25HR 2.5 liter V6 and the VQ37VHR 3.7 liter V6 that can crank out 325hp. The Fuga that is also sold in the US as the Infiniti M comes with features like Double Piston Shock Absorbers, a Lane Departure Prevention system, Intelligent Cruise Control, Cornering Stability Assist and more. It also features a four-wheel steering mechanism.

The Fuga also has an Intelligent Transport System that is integrated into the navigation system. The system supports safe driving by providing information to alert the driver at blind intersections for example, based on information on nearby vehicles and traffic environment which is transmitted to the Fuga from optical beacons installed all across the country.

Along with an eco-driving indicator integrated into the instrument panel, there is also something called an ECO-pedal. Basically, each time the driver steps on the accelerator (when the system is activated), a counter push-back control mechanism is activated if the system detects overly zealous throttle work, helping to inform the driver that they could be using more fuel than required.

The new Fuga will hit showrooms in Japan later this year. The automaker also announced the hybrid variant of the Fuga will hit the Japanese market by autumn 2010. It will feature a 3.5-liter V6, high-power Li-ion batteries and a highly efficient one-motor-two-clutch parallel hybrid. Look for more images of the Fuga after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Nissan Fuga revealed in Tokyo, hybrid version coming in 2010

Perhaps considered as one of the most anticipated reveals at Tokyo 2009, the FT-86 Concept (”86″ pronounced “hachi roku”) is one vehicle many of us are eager to see on our roads. The good news is that the production version is already being developed as it was recently seen lapping around the Nurburgring circuit.

The rear wheel drive FT-86 Concept is powered by a 2.0 liter D-4S boxer engine that is paired with a 6-speed manual transmission. Unfortunately the automaker has yet to release official output figures so your guess is as good as mine. Speculators are looking at a horsepower figure between 160hp and 200hp.

The concept that measures 4,160mm long, 1,760mm wide, and 1,260mm high with a wheelbase of 2,570mm also features ADVICS brakes. Inside, the 2+2 concept features an instrument panel with a gray and white base, gauges with red neon lights and digital displays as well as a navigation system.

Subaru will also produce its own version of the FT-86 and there is also word that an STI version may join the line up as well. The STI variant could produce about 250hp.

Continue reading to more live images.

Click here to read the rest of Toyota FT-86: live from the Tokyo Motor Show

The only recently unveiled Lotus Exige Scura was at the Tokyo Motorshow 2009 with the name Exige Stealth, which will be its name for the Japanese market. The Lotus stand was one of the very very few non-Japanese stands at this year’s Tokyo Motorshow and they displayed the Exige Scura/Stealth and the new Lotus Evora.

The Lotus Exige Stealth looks pretty good in real life. The matte black paint made it look like a military stealth vehicle of sorts. Lotus managed to execute the whole mini Reventon look kind of thing well. Look after the jump for the rest of the photos.

Click here to read the rest of Lotus Exige Stealth makes debut at Tokyo 2009