Olympic dream drives Japan’s automakers
Country is hoping to develop easy-to-use, driverless cars for the 2020 Tokyo Games
TOKYO— At this week’s Tokyo Motor Show here in Japan, it’s been all about better mobility. That means driverless cars, more accommodating cars and easier cars.
The big date is 2020. That’s when Tokyo will host the Olympics, and the country wants a network of cars then to move athletes and spectators between venues and hotels on swift and clear highways.
Some cars might be autonomous; others will take over much of the tedium of congested roads. Some will lure young people into actually wanting to drive. All will be better than we have today.
It’s a lofty goal but Japan’s automakers are working toward it, and showed off their progress at the motor show, which opened Wednesday.
Toyota displayed a selection of concept vehicles. Two are powered by hydrogen and the company is pressuring suppliers and the government to improve its network of filling stations. In Canada, there are only two stations available to the public.
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn introduced the IDS, or Intelligent Driving System, a concept electric car that will drive itself on certain roads and make its passengers’ lives more pleasant.
The IDS can be driven directly or allowed to drive itself, in which case the steering wheel retracts into the dash, the seats turn in to point more toward each other, and the car can even make recommendations for lunch-stop restaurants based on previous history.
Honda has the largest booth at the show, filled with cars and motorcycles. Place of pride is taken by the Clarity, the company’s fuel-cell sedan that’s scheduled to go on lease in Japan next March. It will compete directly against Toyota’s Mirai, although Honda expects to sell the Clarity to local governments and established business.
Mitsubishi’s EX concept is all wedges and angles and looks like a cross between a Range Rover Evoque and a Pontiac Aztek. The company says its design is the future of the crossover. It’s all-electric, too, with a planned driving range of 400 kilometres. Most manufacturers had more than their fair share of robotic concepts, including Honda’s electric Wander Stand concept, which has room for two adults to stand or sit inside and then move forward, back or side-to-side. Think of it as a city people mover rather than a car of any kind.
But there’s fun to be found among the models at the show, and even some practicality. Perhaps the most gorgeous car is the Mazda RX-Vision concept, a long and low sports coupe that heralds the new RX-7. Mazda says it’s powered by a new Skyactiv rotary engine, but there’s still lots of work to do to clean its emissions — wankels have a reputation for being dirty.
“It hasn’t been an easy path,” said Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai. “We’ve had our share of setbacks and challenges and are no longer producing rotary-engine vehicles. However, one day, the rotary will make a comeback.”
In the shorter term, Subaru showed the concept version of its next-generation Impreza, built on a new platform that the maker will share with other models. It’s just a styling exercise so far, a little rounder with bold character lines. There are no mechanical details, but the next Impreza is expected in about a year. Motorcycle maker Yamaha revealed a little mid-engined sportster called the Sports Ride, built by Britain’s F1 engineer Gordon Murray. Again, there were no mechanical details but it’ll be sure to scream. It’ll also be sure to not come to Canada,
We can but dream. Freelance writer Mark Richardson is a regular contributor to Toronto Star Wheels. For his coverage of the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, he was a guest of Toyota. To reach him, write to wheels@thestar.ca and put his name in the subject line.