TCC's Auto Show Index by TCC Team
(10/3/2005)
Our coverage of the world's major auto shows, year to year.
2005 Tokyo Motor Show Index by TCC
Team (10/18/2005)

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Lexus
LF-Sh

2005 Lexus LF-Sh concept
By all official accounts, the Lexus
sedan shown on the stands at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show is a concept. But
with its softer, prettier shape sharing so much in common with the new IS and
GS sedans, it’s hard to imagine the LF-Sh concept being anything but a production-ready
version of the next LS sedan. Beneath its comely skin, the LF-Sh
bears a V-8 engine mated to a hybrid motor system to produce “an acceleration
feeling of a different dimension,” as executives describe it. The hybrid
powertrain is capable of providing all-wheel drive. The concept LF-Sh is 199.2
inches long, with a 116.9-inch wheelbase — roughly two inches and one
inch longer than the current LS430.
Toyota
may be working on a new transmission with seven speeds for the production
version of the LF-Sh, along with a lane-departure warning system and an updated
version of its night-vision system.
MORE PHOTOS:
Toyota i-swing

2005 Toyota i-swing concept
Is it a Segway with
a seat? Or the next step in the whole man-machine integration?
Toyota
’s i-swing concept
takes the meaning of personal transportation a step smaller and even stranger.
The concept is a two- or three-wheel vehicle paraded out for
Tokyo
audiences and offered up as an alternative to a four-wheel car for urban
transportation. Steering the i-swing is accomplished by either a joystick or by
a pair of pedals that respond to driver motion, almost like a pair of skis. The
i-swing’s body is made of plastics and fabric, the latter of which can be
changed out by owners as fashion dictates. An LED panel on the vehicle can also
be programmed with the owners’ favorite video clips or still images to entertain
other i-swingers, it’s supposed. Spooky bit: the i-swing is designed to use
artificial intelligence to determine the driver’s habits and preferences.
Toyota bB

2005 Toyota bB concept
If you’re looking
for the follow-up vehicle to the Scion xB and a spiritual sister to Honda’s
Element, you’ve found it in the bB concept, one of a slew of boxy, foxy vehicles
set out by
Japan’s automakers
at the
Toyota
show. The bB is a
Scion-sized
compact with an exterior — especially in the junction of the windshield
and hood — that resembles Honda’s larger crossover vehicle. More
rounded and less blocky than the current Scion xB, the bB’s electric-green paint
is complemented by nightclub lighting inside and a nine-speaker sound
system. Turn on your favorite tunes, and the lights bounce along to
the beat — even if it’s the Carpenters. This “place to chill out” was
hardly mentioned in the course of
Toyota
’s press conference, but it’s empirically
evident that the Scion xB, due for a replacement in a year or so, could end up
looking very much like the bB.
Toyota Fine-X

2005 Toyota Fine-X concept
Fuel-cell vehicles and minivans
are staples of the auto show circuit — put them together and you’ll
likely have something like
Toyota’s Fine-X, a concept fuel-cell
people-mover with a unique four-wheel independent drive system that allows each
wheel to nearly completely rotate. That,
Toyota says, makes “U-turns easy and fun.” As
if they aren’t already! The Fine-X also has an interior crafted from
carbon-neutral materials that can be recycled with a minimum of CO2-induced
guilt. And the most attractive aspect of the Fine-X is its hospitable interior,
which is crafted around a four-passenger cockpit with front seats that power
themselves out of the vehicle to “greet” passengers and grant them easier
access, aided also by the gullwing doors.
Toyota
promises a Camry-sized interior in compact-car dimensions —
the same words they used to describe the Prius when it
launched two years ago. Hmmm.
Toyota FSC

2005 Toyota FSC concept
It’s not a
sedan, and not a minivan — and it’s not the Mazda5, despite the similarities
with that vehicle. The Toyota FSC, or Flexible Saloon Concept, is a five-door
vehicle smaller than conventionally-sized
U.S.
minivans but not quite as small as the
likes of the Scion xB. The “Vibrant Clarity” design theme gives the FSC an elegant
stance and a D-pillar reminiscent of the Lexus RX crossover. The concept’s tailgate
has a two-way action; the lower portion slides up for access to the
cargo area, or the whole tailgate can be lifted for more space. Barely acknowledged during
the Toyota press conference, the FSC looks as if it really wants to
be with its design siblings at Lexus — and suggests to us there’s room
for a smaller-than-RX crossover in the upscale brand’s lineup.
Mitsubishi
Outlander

2005 Mitsubishi Outlander
Wearing a new
sheetmetal suit that’s infinitely more attractive than the last version, the new
Mitsubishi Outlander bowed to
Tokyo
audiences two days after going on sale in
its home market. The new Outlander arrives in the U.S. next year with the new
look intact, and with confirmed four-cylinder power and a rumored V-6 option.
The re-engineered vehicle grows a bit and adopts a new shape that’s reminiscent
of the Pontiac Vibe, but the Outlander is now long enough to host a third-row
seat, available optionally in Japanese-market vehicles. The standard powertrain
is a 2.4-liter four-cylinder mated to a continuously variable transmission
(CVT); the all-wheel-drive system has been integrated with stability control for
additional safety. A Rockford Fosgate 650-watt audio system is on the options
list. Though it wasn’t confirmed during the Mitsubishi press conference, a
250-hp V-6 should be available with the Outlander when it arrives in the
U.S.
by the
middle of next year.
Mitsubishi
Concept-X

2005 Mitsubishi Concept-X
Mitsubishi Motors president
Osamu Masuko calls the new Concept-X a “new-age Evolution design.” We’re hoping
that doesn’t mean a hippie transformation for the Mitsu Evo, but somehow we’re
reassured by the handsomely styled concept, with its tall grille, sleek roofline
and tail spoiler. The Concept-X takes the “ruthlessly mechanical road machine
image” that the Evolution has earned, and puts it into a body shell crafted
partly in aluminum and outfitted with a mod new interior with aluminum trim. The
concept powertrain is based around a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder,
hooked up to a paddle-shifted automatic transmission and Super All-Wheel
Control, the latest version of Mitsubishi’s all-wheel-drive system. With a new
Evo due in 18 months or less, the Concept-X appears to point the way to the
styling of the next edition.
Mitsubishi D:5
Concept

2005 Mitsubishi D:5 concept
This square-jawed concept is a
precursor of a new Delica minivan for the Japanese market —
but we can’t help
but think the D5 would fit right in over in the more outwardly
Robocop parts of downtown
Detroit
. The D:5’s
blockish lines cloak a roomy interior with a lower floor height than the
previous Delica, and a series of structural hoops are emphasized in the interior
styling, highlighting the van’s body-building efforts. A full-length glass
sunroof lets the sun shine inside, and a CVT mated with a 2.4-liter
four-cylinder engine provides the D5’s power. The engine and the
four-wheel-drive system are both shared with the new Outlander.
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