The Tokyo Motor Show—setting trends for a better future?

The Tokyo Motor Show is famous for exhibiting concept cars which are innovative, creative, and often whimsical. I walked into the Tokyo Motor Show with the same mindset I have when I walk into avant garde fashion shows. I expected to be wowed by unique, experimental creations which I would admire at the show but do not expect to see in real life. 

I make the comparison between avant garde fashion shows and motor shows because I’ve attended more of the former than the latter.  More importantly, there is something about both events that bring out in me feelings of awe and, thereafter, a sense of detachment. 

Perhaps the use in concept of cars of new technology and futuristic designs, coupled with unattainability or lack of execution in real life give spectators like me the feeling that, like avant garde clothes, concept cars are to be viewed and admired only in shows but not to be seen or used in ordinary life. 

Thus, I expected to leave the Tokyo Motor Show with the same feeling of indifference that I usually have after viewing an avant garde fashion show—i.e., I wouldn’t care if I saw any of the designs adapted in ordinary life.

The theme of the 43^rd Tokyo Motor Show 2013 was “Compete! And shape a new future”—aimed at having visitors “experience a future that doesn’t yet exist anywhere.”

If the concept cars in the 43^rd TMS are indicative of what the future of car manufacturing holds, then it is a future I look forward to. 

The car manufacturers which grabbed the limelight (or at least my attention) at the 43^rd TMS seem to shape a future centered on sustainability and green technology. 

Nissan unveiled its “BladeGlider”—a completely electric-powered sportscar. The aerodynamic design shows that the BladeGlider is meant for speed, while promising zero emissions.

Mitsubishi’s themes were “earth technology” and “drive earth,” befitting its several hybrid car concepts. 

The Mitsubishi Concept GC (Grand Cruiser)-PHEV is a four-wheel drive SUV plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. It’s equipped with a 335hp, 3-liter V6 with a 94hp electric motor and high-capacity battery—delivering serious power in exchange for minimal fuel consumption.

The Mitsubishi GR-HEV concept is a diesel-electric hybrid pickup with a 2.5-liter turbodiesel engine and an electric motor.

The Mitsubishi “XR-PHEV” is an SUV plug-in hybrid electric vehicle similar to the Mitsubishi Outlander. It runs on a 1.1-liter three-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine and an electric motor.

BMW makes a statement that luxury is no longer about excessive consumption of resources. The BMW i8 concept sports car shapes a new understanding of premium defined by sustainability.  Powered by a three-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor, the BMW i8 is a high-performance sports car with minimal fuel consumption and emissions.

Toyota introduced its FCV (Fuel-Cell Vehicle) concept car—a hydrogen-powered sedan that can run solely on hydrogen for 310 miles thereby promising no emissions.

Toyota not only caught my attention with its hydrogen-powered vehicle but it also struck a sentimental cord in me when it announced its Tokyo Heart Project at the 43^rd TMS.  

The logo for the 43^rd TMS is a blue car with a red heart in the middle. Toyota seems to literally bring life to this logo by evoking emotions or bringing heart into the 43^rd TMS. 

The Toyota Heart Project envisions a future where cars care not only for the environment but also for the human beings who drive them. Toyota’s EVP Mitsuhisa Kato explained that the Heart Project “aims to study the relationship between humans and inanimate objects.” 

Toyota tries to achieve its goal of being “an irreplaceable partner for customers” quite literally. At the center of the Heart Project is a robot that is envisioned to be a Toyota car owner’s “partner.” The robot uses the same technology Toyota developed for a robot astronaut sent to the International Space Station last August 2013 to engage in experimental conversations with the space station commander.

Toyota’s video for the Heart Project shows a robot as part of a Toyota car driven by an elderly man. A genuine emotional and intellectual connection between the man and the robot can be sensed in their conversation.  The robot appears to be aware of the needs of the elderly man as he gives the latter information during the drive including—for instance, that day’s weather forecast.

Mr. Kato points out that “as times change, cars will evolve more and more. But no matter how much cars evolve, there should always be something about them that must not change. We must not turn cars into a simple means of transport—a tool.”

Toyota has managed to maintain those fundamental traits people expect from a car—utility, reliability and comfort.  However, Toyota cars are evolving not only to become more sustainable and environmental friendly, but also to bring the connection with cars and humans to a higher level—one that allows the driver to feel both a physical and emotional connection with the car.

A step towards this vision is Toyota’s FV2 (Fun Vehicle 2) concept car which has the unique ability to sense the driver’s emotion through voice and image recognition.  Like a mood ring, the car can change colors based on the driver’s mood.  It can be maneuvered simply by leaning the body in the desired direction, thereby establishing a direct physical connection between human and car.

The FV2 sounds like a car straight out of a futuristic movie set several light years away; however it might not be impossible to see the FV2 in production sooner. 

I experienced first hand a similar technology that will bring this concept to life. The Toyota Winglet, which I took for a test drive, could be navigated by leaning my body in the direction I want to take. The Winglet is similar to a Segway, but it uses an inverted two-wheel control technology and a unique parallel link mechanism, enabling riders to move the machine by shifting body weight.

As I expected, the concept cars in the 43^rd TMS left me with a sense of awe. Surprisingly, however, I left with a feeling of emotional attachment to the designs and the visions behind the cars. 

What made me care about the concept cars in the 43^rd TMS as opposed to clothes in an avant garde fashion show? 

Perhaps it’s the fact that I don’t see the world becoming a better place if patent leather paired with chiffon became the new standard for smart casual fashion. However, I can see the world becoming a better place if the concept cars in the 43^rd TMS make it to production.

Imagine a car that produces zero or minimal emissions; cars that can be steered with feelings or shifts in body weight; cars that give us a companion we can connect and converse with.

The concept cars at the 43^rd TMS were not only a source of entertainment, but of aspirations for car manufacturers and users.  Perhaps the concept cars of the 43^rd TMS are indications that car manufacturers will continue to develop vehicles that will make a difference—capable of making the environment and human lives better.  Now that is a trend I would like to see.

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Karen Jimeno is a junior partner at the Jimeno Cope & David Law Firm and a law professor in various law schools. She is also a TV host for LegalHD at Solar News Channel and the resident legal coach of Face the People at TV5. She is a graduate of UP Law School and Harvard Law School and is licensed to practice law in the Philippines and in New York.