Green, mean or just wacky

Zany concept vehicles, fuel efficient hybrids and muscular supercars vied for attention as the Tokyo Motor Show opened Wednesday with Japanese automakers eager to put some vroom vroom back into flagging domestic sales.

From bubble-shaped fantasy vehicles to sleek petrol-guzzling sports cars, lightweight hybrids and cars designed to feel like riding a rollercoaster, automakers touted their own unique visions of the future.

Flashing lights and pumping music added a touch of glitz to the event as hundreds of reporters snapped photos of sleek new cars shown off by glamorous models in hot pants and unwavering smiles.

Rivals flaunted their green credentials with an array of environmentally friendly vehicles crammed into a convention centre near the capital, as record high oil prices prompt unprecedented interest in fuel-efficient motoring.

The auto industry is entering an "era of unprecedented change," said Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn, adding that his company hopes to start mass marketing of electric cars by 2012.

"The age of sustainable mobility is closer than anyone realises," he said.

Toyota is among automakers trying to lighten the load so as to reduce fuel consumption, unveiling the 1/X (pronounced one-Xth) plug-in hybrid.

The car is said to be two-thirds lighter than Toyota's hot-selling Prius and twice as fuel efficient thanks to the use of carbon fibre materials.

"We have gone back to the basics and reconsidered everything," said Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe, who trundled onto the stage on the i-REAL, which resembles a high-tech armchair on wheels.

Both Toyota and Honda tried to soften the image of sports cars as gas guzzlers with concept hybrids running on a mix of petrol and electricity.

Fuel cells, which run on hydrogen and emit only water, also make an appearance as Honda shows off the "PUYO" concept car with a "gel body" to improve safety and "the feel of an adorable pet."

Despite the success of the hybrid, car makers are still hedging their bets on green technology, with electricity, biofuels, clean diesel and fuel cells also seen as potential alternative power sources.

"Nobody's ignoring or bypassing any particular technology," said Ghosn.

But it's not all about saving the planet: Nissan took the wraps off its hotly anticipated GT-R supercar, hoping that there is still a market for high-performance muscle machines despite the buzz around hybrids.

And from Mazda came Taiki, a concept sports car with a striking, wind-swept design.

With prices at the pump soaring and the Japanese car market shrinking, industry watchers said high-performance cars appear to be more about polishing makers' brand image than giving a direct boost to their bottom line.

"Generally my observations of most sporty cars are: they look great and sales start out great but they decay very rapidly," said Christopher Richter, auto analyst at investment bank CLSA.

"You can imagine why makers put sporty cars into their line-ups rather sparingly," he added.

Among the more wacky designs on show was Suzuki's Sharing Coach which looks more like a small spacecraft than a car, with two smaller one-person PIXY pods on wheels that fit snugly inside.

Nissan showed off the Pivo 2 egg-shaped electric concept car that has a rotating cabin, can drive sideways and comes with a talking "robot agent" to cheer you up or help with navigation.

And driving its "Round Box" curvy compact convertible is said to be "like being on a roller-coaster yet without any risk."

This year's show is seen as particularly crucial for Japanese car makers as they battle falling sales in their home market amid a shrinking population and signs the younger generation is losing its lust for cars.

"The Japanese market is still ranked third in the world. But the situation is not good for Japanese automakers," said Hirofumi Yokoi, an analyst at auto consultants CSM Worldwide.

"Young Japanese have a different lifestyle. They are not interested in purchasing big-ticket items like cars," he said.
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