2001 Tokyo: Subdued, Surprising

2001 Tokyo Motor Show Index by TCC Team (10/29/2001)

Things were a good bit more subdued than normal at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show. Last month’s attacks on Washington and New York were clearly on everyone’s mind and security was tighter than normal at the Makuhari Messe convention complex. In Japanese style, the show is traditionally ablaze with light and awash with sound blaring from the scores of exhibits. The lights were on, the pretty young girls were posing in their skimpy costumes, but the sound systems were largely turned off--apparently to make it easier to maintain security, insiders revealed, as most of the world’s top auto industry executives strolled the vast hall’s floors.

Still, that concession to the current political reality couldn’t steal away from the record number of new product roll-outs at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show. And with the global economy in uncertain shape, the event at Makuhari Messe carried even more weight than normal as observers struggled to read the mood of the industry—and the consumers touring the show.

In contrast to past year, there were few clear stand-outs among the scores of products making their local and global debuts. But that wasn’t for lack of trying. Automakers spent vast sums of money and manpower trying to garner attention. As always, Tokyo yielded a bumper crop of concept vehicles—13 at the Toyota stand alone.

Toyota’s protoype blitz underscored the automaker’s intent on becoming one of the dominant players in every market. Its show cars covered just about every segment, large and small, entry-level and top-end luxury. Several of the vehicles, including the WiLL VC, were part of Toyota’s new campaign aimed at conquesting young buyers who seem to be turning away from Japan’s dominant brand. WiLL is likely to appear in the U.S., insiders hint, at part of Toyota’s new Genesis youth brand-within-a-brand.

Serious attention

While it had fewer new vehicles on display, Nissan commanded serious attention with its own line-up of production cars and eight prototypes. Nissan’s strong showing was designed to send a very clear message that the automaker has moved beyond turnaround and is now focused on rebuilding market share and profitability, declared CEO Carlos Ghosn.

Nissan used its display to strike out in a bold new direction, putting the emphasis on both styling and technology. The striking Nails gave sports car dimensions to a pickup truck show car. The Ideo was a rolling communications and entertainment center, noted Brazilian-born Ghosn, “a (computer) mouse you control not with your fingertips, but with the steering wheel.”

Like Toyota, Nissan is intent on expanding its market reach, and with the MM, even lifted the covers on its planned entry into the booming micro-car market, which represents a whopping 27 percent of Japanese car sales.

Anyone who has spent time in Tokyo understands why the motorist’s mantra here is “small is better.” Roads are impossibly crowded and finding a parking spot can strain the cool of a Zen master.

Honda’s show theme emphasized what it called “space magic,” the maximum use of space in a minimum vehicle, such as the Bull Dog. Model X, the quirky prototype first seen at last January’s Detroit Auto Show, reappeared in ready-to-run mode. The edgy SUV/van crossover will hit production early next year.