THIS YEAR’S TOKYO MOTOR SHOW IS SHOWING THAT, SLOWLY BUT SURELY, CARMAKERS ARE SHIFTING THEIR FOCUS TOWARD ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY, FUEL-EFFICIENT CARS.

AT the 40th Tokyo Motor Show—arguably the biggest automobile exhibit in the world—there is still something for everyone, albeit not in a way one might expect.

The requisite sedans, hatchbacks, SUVs, ranging in size from miniature to large, adorn the various booths inside the Makuhari Messe complex in Chiba, where 520 vehicles are on display and no less than 71 world and 97 Japanese launches marked the Press Day on October 24.

Traditionalists and romantics, however, will probably bemoan that there seem to be fewer sports or muscle cars on display. Environmentalists, on the other hand, will be heartened to find that there are now more “green” cars than ever before.

Sleek, knife-edge shapes are now being replaced by bulbous, wind-cheating contours. Engines that run on either gasoline or diesel are now being supplanted by motors that run on various combinations of electricity, hydrogen and fossil fuels—hybrid technology in current parlance. 

This evolution was brought on, no doubt, by the threat that engine emissions are posing to our fragile planet, not to mention the world’s dwindling oil reserves, which are causing designers and engineers to rethink their creations.

Despite the restrictions forced upon them by environmental concerns, many automobile manufacturers—most notably, the Japanese—still managed to come up with interesting, nay, mind-blowing concepts that may not necessarily boil the blood of the fast and the furious, but offer hope that people will still be able to drive around the world’s roads quickly, comfortably and cleanly while using as little fuel as possible, in the years to come.

Indeed, this year’s theme—“Catch the News, Touch the Future”—could not have been more appropriate.

Thus, as a tribute to its readers, the BusinessMirror shares images and information on some memorable machines that will grace the Makuhari Messe’s exhibit hall until November 11.

AT the 40th Tokyo Motor Show—arguably the biggest automobile exhibit in the world—there is still something for everyone, albeit not in a way one might expect.

IT is a lifestyle one needs to experience to fully appreciate.

The tour given the journalist delegates of Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) to the 40th Tokyo Motor Show, a major event in the automotive industry, which is covered by almost every media outfit worldwide and wherein major announcements,

Getting high on a hybrid

IN their joint statement in the ongoing 40th Tokyo Motor Show in Makuhari Messe, a sprawling 210,000 square meters of prime land in a Tokyo suburb, Fujio Cho and Katsuaki Watanabe, chairman and president, respectively, of the Toyota Motor Corp., said: “Since its founding, Toyota has been aiming to enrich society through the manufacturing of automobiles. 

Nissan introduces all-new, powerful GT-R

THE motoring world virtually stopped for a few moments when Nissan unveiled its new dimensional, multi­performance supercar—the all-new GT-R—on October 24 during a media presentation at the jampacked 40th Tokyo Motor Show in Makuhari Messe Nippon Convention Center in Tokyo, Japan.

Full Tank: My five minutes of fame with Mr. Automobile

THE night was young.  Outside, the wind was nippy.  Inside, it was cold. But not as cold as a winter’s chill.

I opened the evening with a glass of champagne.

Eyes on the Road: Tokyo is agog with its world-famous motor show

JUST got back from the 40th Tokyo Motor Show late last week, and I tell you, it was really a very exhilarating but tiring experience for all who joined and participated in it.