Subscribe to Gizmag's RSS feed
Follow Gizmag on Twitter
Tokyo Motor Show 2009
Narrow track vehicles - the convergence of the car and the motorcycle
By Mike Hanlon
01:22 November 19, 2009 PST
Since Nicholas Negroponte first came up with his landmark teething ring visualization of the coming together of communication, computing and content, the term convergence has become the uber buzzword. Now there’s convergence going on in the personal transport industry, with the car and the motorcycle morphing as car makers attempt to downsize their vehicles to make them better suited to the world’s increasingly crowded roads. This article begins with Nissan’s tandem two-seat, half width tilting car, the Landglider, and examines all the other work being done around the world as narrow track vehicles seriously begin to make their case. Read More
The Lexus LFA supercar – the long awaited production version arrives
By Darren Quick
22:29 October 25, 2009 PDT
It’s been a long time coming. The Lexus LFA that first appeared as a concept car at the 2005 Detroit Auto Show is finally production ready. Lexus made the announcement at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show where a prototype of the production car was on display along with a full-scale see through model in the company's “art gallery” - and the stunning 202mph V10 supercar is indeed worthy of a place in an art gallery, although keen collectors will still have to endure a bit more of a wait since the car isn’t expected to reach garages until early 2011, with only 500 units being produced. Read More
Yamaha's Super Tenere 'art installation' baffles Tokyo crowds
07:39 October 23, 2009 PDT
Tenere is a desert region in the south central Sahara - a place where, in 1977, Frenchman Thierry Sabine famously got lost on his motorbike for three days during the Abidjan-Nice Rally. The rest as they say is history - Sabine returned to France to create the Paris-Dakar rally and Yamaha's two wheeled namesake dominated the event in the 90s. The Yamaha Tenere made a comeback in recent times in with the new XTZ660, but the brand has bigger things in store with a twin-cylinder "Super Tenere" in the pipeline which will compete against the BMW R1200GS. Yamaha gave some hints as to the makeup of the new adventure bike at the Tokyo Motor Show with its eye-catchingly bizarre mock-up - which was appropriately wrapped in desert garb - sporting a shaft drive and side mounted radiators. Read More
Lexus HB Concept 2WD pedal-assist, carbon-fiber racing bike
By Gizmag Team
09:48 October 22, 2009 PDT
Designed totally inside Lexus by Lexus designers, this sleek electric pedal assist bicycle is among the many hidden gems to be unearthed at the 41st Tokyo motor show. Sporting carbon fiber everything – including the battery cover – the Lexus HB Concept has a 2WD system that uses a smaller electric motor on the front wheel and a larger pedal assist motor at the crank. Head on through to the video to learn more. Read More
Video: Suzuki fuel cell vehicles at the Tokyo Motor Show
By Gizmag Team
04:16 October 22, 2009 PDT
Suzuki’s carbon free mobility effort at the Tokyo Motor Show used three existing models to demonstrate the benefits of its growing hydrogen fuel cell expertise: the SX4 fuel cell car, a two-wheeler based on the existing Burgman 125 feet-forward enclosed scooter, and the fuel cell powered Mio Electric Wheelchair. Although Suzuki also showed a plug-in hybrid version of the Swift, another existing car being adapted to a future power train, the company is clearly staking a claim in the Fuel Cell technology arena. Check out the video to see what Suzuki has planned for our garages in the coming years. Read More
Honda’s V4 VFR1200F official announcement all fluff and no substance!
By Mike Hanlon
16:47 October 8, 2009 PDT
Honda has finally unveiled its much-anticipated V4 road-sports VFR1200F, though sadly it has gone the verbal-diarrhea-PR route with its press announcement and not a great deal has been revealed about the machine. Isn’t it high time that Honda allowed its knowledgeable engineers to tell the story directly to a public that it should know by now is allergic to unsubstantiated prose, and deliver some facts. We understand that the bike is quite special, and raises the bar much higher for its competitors, but in allowing advertising copywriters to write the press statements and its communication strategists to indulge in prolonged onanistic delight, it is simply selling its engineering prowess way-too-short. Read More
Nissan to show half-width 'Land Glider' tilting electric vehicle at Tokyo Motor Show
By Mike Hanlon
16:25 October 7, 2009 PDT
The term convergence normally refers to the merging of consumer electronics, entertainment and media, but if recent trends are anything to go by, it could equally apply to the melding of the car and the motorcycle. BMW’s enclosed C3 motorcycle is now emerging as a road safety pin-up vehicle and at the Frankfurt Motor Show last month both Volkswagen and Renault exhibited tandem half-width cars that looked for all the world like four-wheeled motorcycles. Now comes news that Nissan is to unveil an electric tandem four-wheeled “Land Glider” concept at Tokyo Motor Show, and the wording of the press statements looks like Nissan is very confident the vehicle will reach showrooms. Read More
Toyota to show very futuristic FT-EV compact concept
By Gizmag Team
15:41 October 6, 2009 PDT
Toyota is set to show a new compact four-seat electric vehicle concept at the Tokyo Motor Show which is even smaller than the iQ. The FT-EV II is designed primarily for urban driving with drive-by-wire technology controlled by a joystick which incorporates the accelerator, brakes and steering to free up legroom in the space currently used by those components. This is a very futuristic vehicle with a second windscreen below dashboard level, and see through tailights for greater rearward visibility. Read More
Honda develops new personal mobility device – the U3-X experimental vehicle
By Mike Hanlon
04:22 October 3, 2009 PDT
A self-balancing unicycle experimental vehicle from Honda to be shown at the Tokyo Motor Show next month might just be history in the making. Weighing less than 10kg, the 24 by 12 by 6-inch U3-X experimental vehicle runs for an hour, is small enough to be carried onto an airplane as hand luggage, has a wheel which spins in two planes and is set to challenge, perhaps even change, society’s concept of personal mobility. Read More
Honda’s LOOP and HELLO vehicle2vehicle and vehicle2driver infrastructure
By Gizmag Team
10:55 October 1, 2009 PDT
Honda issued a press statement and images of its Tokyo Motor Show exhibits yesterday, raising far more questions than it answered with the brief and cryptic release. One of the primary announcements involved a car2car and car2driver and car2infrastructure communications system named HELLO! (Honda ELectric mobility LOop) and a LOOP portable communication tool that fits in the palm of one’s hand and “allows people and mobility devices to communicate with each other.” The various components of the system look fascinating. Read More
Mitsubishi i-MiEV CARGO and PX-MiEV Plug-in hybrid crossover concepts
By Gizmag Team
04:29 October 1, 2009 PDT
The 41st Tokyo Motor Show in October looks set to lift the veil on the first wave of Japanese electric cars we’ll actually see in mainstream distribution, so it’s incredibly exciting to see what will be rolled out as we are entering the pre-announcement period for the show. Mitsubishi’s MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle ) lineage gets two new offspring concept cars – the PX-MiEV (PX stands for Plug-in hybrid crossover) and the i-MiEV CARGO. The CARGO in particular looks like it will fill an immediate need for emission-free delivery vehicles in the world’s most congested cities and, not surprisingly, although it’s classed as a concept, the company is currently accepting pre-orders for delivery in April 2010. Read More
Mazda’s eco-friendly next-generation engines to debut at Tokyo Motor Show
By Darren Quick
20:57 September 30, 2009 PDT
Mazda's “Technologies for Tomorrow” display at the upcoming Tokyo Motor show will see the premiere of its next-generation direct injection gasoline Mazda SKY-G engine and Mazda SKY-D clean diesel engine, which offer improved eco-friendliness and torque thanks to optimized combustion efficiency. Mazda will also reveal the first next-generation automatic transmission, the Mazda SKY-Drive, which offers first-rate fuel economy and a direct driving performance feel. As part of Mazda’s SKY concept, the new engines and transmission are designed to help Mazda achieve its goal of improving the average fuel economy of Mazda vehicles 30 percent by 2015, compared to 2008 levels, without sacrificing performance. Read More
Honda to exhibit 2WD electric motorcycle at Tokyo Motor Show?
By Mike Hanlon
18:19 September 30, 2009 PDT
Honda has released images of several new eco-friendly two-wheelers it will present at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month, including the EV-Cub electric motorcycle, the EVE-neo electric scooter and its previously-announced PCX global scooter, the first two-wheeler to employ an 'idling stop system'. The most interesting of the new eco-bikes is without doubt the EV-Cub, which employs what appears to be car2car and car2driver communications dubbed HELLO! (Honda ELectric mobility LOop) and a LOOP portable communication tool that fits in the palm of one’s hand and “allows people and mobility devices to communicate with each other.” The EV-Cub also appears to have electric motors in both front and rear wheels, indicating that it is almost certainly a two-wheel-drive (2WD) motorcycle. 2WD motorcycles are expected to become commonplace in the future as, like their 4WD automotive cousins, they offer traction advantages on loose surfaces and wet roads and improve rider safety, especially for learners. Read More
Freedom Glen
- November 25, 2009 @ 02:47 UTC
