The annual Tokyo Auto Salon in early January used to come and go unappreciated by many of Japan's carmakers. But in recent years, this glamorous auto accessory show has gained relevance because of the increasing importance of add-ons and personalisation to Japanese car buyers, and is now supported by all the major manufacturers.
One brand that took advantage of Tokyo Auto Salon 2007 to showcase its line-up was Suzuki. Last year, it was neck-and-neck with Honda in Japanese domestic sales, and its strength in building small cars even persuaded Toyota to engage in some joint developments.
This year, Suzuki's new show stars were the SX4 and the new Cervo Kei-class car. Unlike most stunted-looking kei cars, the Cervo's proportions are very attractive. And if kei-car sales here in 2006 are anything to go by, the Cervo could make sales waves in Singapore soon.
At the Toyota stand, models such as the new Blade, Fielder and Corolla Auris shouted out the marque's new style and sporty aspirations. With the support of affiliated tuners such as TRD, Tom's and Modellista, it looks like even more stylish Toyotas will be coming our way.
Modellista showed a concept turbocharged engine for the Vitz, so expect to see it in a future limited-edition Vitz model. And there could also be a Yaris with the same engine.
The big star last year at Subaru was the S204. This year there is a hotter and meaner car - the Subaru WRX STi spec C type RA-R - with sunshine yellow paintwork, fixed Recaro bucket seats and new six-pot front callipers. Power remains at 320 PS but with the cabin stripped down for light kerb weight, it promises more oomph and excitement than the already accomplished S204.
The star at Honda was the Stream compact MPV, displayed in two lifestyle concepts. One Stream was transformed into a four-seat sports wagon, while the other became a stylised people-mover.
The recently revised seven-seat Elysion and six-seat Edix also wowed families with their Honda Access options, while Honda specialised tuner Mugen unveiled its Civic Road Racing concept.
Based on the 2008 Civic Type R, this 'secret' project will spearhead Mugen's new business of selling completely tuned cars equipped with a host of goodies such as Mugen bumper, rear diffuser, wide fenders, forged Mugen wheels, dual-silencer exhaust, special racing seats and a tuned K20 engine producing at least 260 PS. Mugen also displayed an S2000-based 'open top pure sports' concept.
Nissan unveiled the March coupe-cabrio concept with an electric folding roof. The 2007 Fairlady ST Z07 with an uprated 230 kW (313 PS) VQ35HR engine and a brand new mica orange paint finish also made its appearance.
There was also a specially prepared Nismo version with more uprated equipment such as forged alloy wheels, Nismo tuned exhaust, front and rear splitters and rear aero spoiler as options costing a fairly reasonable 4.4 million yen (about S$55,500).
The recently updated Skyline sedan, shown in full red mica glory, was a nice departure from Nissan's current dowdy Tiida and Sylphy styling.
Mazdaspeed's Mazda3 and CX-7 concepts took centrestage at the Mazda booth. In particular, the ultra yellow Mazda3, specially prepared with new Mazdaspeed aero kit, captivated most of the browsers. It is easy to make a car look sporty by adding a few parts, but Mazdaspeed engineers did a crowd puller with an upmarket combination of Rays Engineering alloy wheels, a full custom bodykit and a full custom interior.
Following its late debut in the Japan domestic market, the CX-7 was given styling treatment by affiliated tuners Kenstyle and DAMD, while the Mazda Roadster MZ and RX8 MZ versions teased with special Mazdaspeed aero parts, seats, gear knob and sporty titanium paintwork.
Overall, the mood at the 2007 Auto Salon - which ran from Jan 12-14 - was one of anticipation. With high-performance models such as the Mitsubishi Evo IX, Honda Civic Type R and Toyota Vitz Turbo, it held the promise of more excitement in the coming months. The 2007 Tokyo Motorshow in October will certainly be proof of that.
