Tokyo Motor Show - It's a Small Small World
 Suzuki Xhead Concept |
By Marty Bernstein
AIADA Contributing Editor
Special to The Auto Channel
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Japan is the largest buyer of small vehicles in the world. Here, small cars are more than a trend; they are a force of nature – a vehicular response to a large population crammed into a small, but economically powerful, geographic region.
Seventy-one percent of the nation’s 57.5 million passenger cars are classified as small cars. And whether you are window shopping on the Ginza (Tokyo’s Rodeo Drive) or braving the cacophony of Akihabra, site of the world’s largest Best Buy store at a length of nearly seven blocks long, you are apt to see more small cars than anything else.
All things considered, it didn’t take much for media-types at the recent Tokyo Motor Show, the widest attended of all OICA-sanctioned shows, to translate Japan’s enthusiasm for the abbreviated ride into likely trend forecasts for the worldwide auto business.
The response was unified: soon to come to the world market, cars that are “small,” “green,” and tuned for “elderly mobility?”
Exhibit A: Nissan’s Pivo2 concept,
equipped with suicide doors and a pivot seat to ensure easy entrance and
exit.
As Martin Zimmerman points out in his LA Times review of the recently concluded show, “This is a big issue in Japan, where the population is not only shrinking but also aging rapidly. Tokyo, famous for its trendy fashions and futuristic neon building-scapes, is expected to have one of the oldest populations among the world’s metropolises within 15 years.”
And America as a whole isn’t too far behind, if measured by the more than 60 million “Baby Boomers” set to reach retirement age over the course of the next 30 years.
But will the auto industry’s unique solution for Tokyo’s elderly population and Japan’s 4,300 miles of expressway be a fit for America’s crop of aging Baby Boomers and the behemoth Eisenhower Interstate System, which in 2004 measured some 46,837 miles on its own?
Will Japan’s penchant for small cars with age-sensitive gadgets translate to suit the tastes of the worlds most diverse and discriminating consumers here in America?
Well, in some ways it already has. In 2006, subcompact cars accounted for 2,408,368 units of total automobile sales in America, up 4.9 percent from 2005.
In other ways it hasn’t. Notwithstanding last year’s generous climb, subcompact sales so far in 2007 have remained flat compared to the same 10-month period in 2006. What’s more, despite a 4.7 percent climb in sales of international brand midsize sedans when comparing the current 10-month period to the same span of time last year, the category as a whole is down 4.0 percent.
But, nonetheless, there were some extermely interesting small cars on display in Tokyo that deserve some attention for ingenuity, if nothing else. So, in an attempt to "feed the frenzy," here are some of the truly noteworthy small cars from the braintrusts of some of the world’s largest automakers:
Toyota, the world’s largest car manufacturer had the biggest number of smaller vehicles in Tokyo. The “RiN” an environmental car also promised the serenity of a Japanese tea room with its high, box-like shape and sliding doors. The brand’s iQ concept has the look of the Smart car but is sleeker and more stylish with room for four.
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The RiN The iQ
Mitsubishi, charging ahead, introduced the i MiEV Sport, with a shape reminiscent of the old VW bug, updated to the 21st century. But it’s what powers this nice looking concept car that’s really news: its electricity. An electric car that has a nice sound to it.
The i MiEV
Honda’s quirky little Puyo concept, according to the automaker, is meant to convey a warm, friendly impression and bring together a sense of altogether functionality in an environmentally responsible, people-friendly minimalist design. Powered by fuel cell technology, this small framed vehicle features a joystick.
The Puyo
Suzuki’s small concepts created a big buzz. With sales approaching 100,000 cars in America, Suzuki is not yet a major factor in the market, but this company is the world’s largest manufacturer of small vehicles. They do it with breakthrough concepts that others tend to follow in the small cars. Out “scioning” Scion, the Suzuki concept truck called X-Head made even cynical “we like big car” journalists turn their heads favorably with a youthful – think of the Tonka truck you played with – design. Is it for pleasure? For work? For fashion? Who really cares – it’s going to generate interest everywhere.
The X-Head
Prior to the opening of the show, Carlos Ghosn, noted small cars were going to be an important part of the Nissan line-up. One of the first is the Round Box, which looks as unique as its name. This youth-oriented compact convertible provides occupants with a unique sensation of speed and exhilaration. But check out the interior!
The Round Box
