Future From Japan: Sleek, Small

The theme of the Tokyo Motor Show is “Open the Door! The Automobile’s Bright Future.” If the doors opened at the press preview provided an accurate glimpse, the future is going to be increasingly bipolar.

Japan is all about small cars. How else to fit half the population of Tokyo onto the central city’s labyrinth of streets at all hours of the day?

So there were lots of small cars at last week’s press preview, including a few that might someday find their way to the United States, where small cars have been about as successful as the Japanese breakfast dish of rice gruel spiced with chopped clams and baby anchovies.

Japan, a land that imports all of its oil, also is concerned about fuel economy.

So there were far more fuel-efficient models than would be seemly at, say, January’s annual North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

But Japan--at least cosmopolitan Japan--also is caught up in trend and style and one-upmanship.

So there were fast cars and sports cars and design concepts that seemed to say, hey, the automotive future isn’t about boring utility boxes but about excitement and passion.

There was even one that seemed to encapsulate it all: a sleek, futuristic concept sports car from Honda with a top speed of 185 mph achieved through use of a fuel-efficient hybrid gasoline-electric engine rated at 400 horsepower. Think Honda Insight on steroids--lots and lots of steroids.

We couldn’t bring back everything but thought Highway 1 readers would like to see some of what the future holds.

So here, for your viewing pleasure, and to help whet your appetite for things to come, is a selection from Tokyo, where the show runs through Sunday for those of you without plans for the weekend.