Power Wheels Magazine A Notch Above
Today, June 15, 2020 is the last day of the implementation of the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) in the National Capital Region (NCR). Despite the easing of restrictions, we enjoin everyone to practice social distancing protocols and help avert a second wave of infections by staying safe and staying alert. Always remember to wearing face masks and/or face shields when talking to other people who are not members of your household. And please avoid going into a crowd.
For Part 5 of our extensive coverage of the 46th Tokyo Motor Show held last October 2019, we leave the Tokyo Big Sight convention hall in Ariake, Tokyo, Japan and walk to the Aomi exhibition hall a couple of kilometers away. Along the way, we’ll walk through the Open Road Exhibition that is still part of the motor show. Here’s what we saw:
So, there I was… walking away from the Tokyo Big Sight…
… to join the crowd walking on the path walks…
… that’s near our temporary residence in Tokyo, the Grand Fresa Hotel.
The first car we saw on the Open Road Exhibit nearest our hotel was this older Aston Martin V8 Vantage roadster…
… and behind it was another V8 Vantage, a coupe in a darker shade of blue.
This Maserati Granturismo Sport Spider led a line of Italian super cars…
… that included this Rossa Corse (racing red) Ferrari California…
… and this metallic pearl white Ferrari 458.
A Porsche Cayman S represents German super cars in this impressive line-up…
… while a pink-wrapped tricked-out Nissan GT-R proudly represents Japan.
Speaking of tricked-out, it was hard to identify this heavily modified Toyota Vitz (Yaris) at first…
… and this heavily-modified Mazda RX-8 made us scratch our heads as well…
… but the workmanship was well-done that we thought this was a concept car.
Like the Toyota Land Cruiser LC100 we saw inside the Tokyo Big Sight, this Hi-Ace is a “Renoca” – renovation car with restored exterior and modernized drivetrain.
We were not sure whether this Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car was plugged to get charged or to provide power to the food trucks in front of and behind it.
The new Suzuki Jimny is so popular in Japan and owners personalize them to look like the G-Class Mercedes-Benz…
… except we think the owner of this one is still undecided about the color of his wheels.
Drifting is still a big thing in Japan as evidenced by this Toyo Tires-sponsored race car.
This third-generation Mazda RX-7 was decked out in its racing livery…
… while this one was wrapped in “Striker 5” manga or anime rendering.
Looks like being wrapped in a manga/anime theme is currently big in Japan as shown by this Honda…
… and by this Subaru WRX…
… and by this Dodge Challenger…
… and by this Ferrari 458.
JSK Custom Paint and Auto Work’s Johnson Tan couldn’t help but admire the new Mitsubishi Delica D:5 full-size van…
… to admire not only the design but the “All Blacks” custom touches as well.
This Mitsubishi Outlander got the “All Blacks” customized treatment, too.
This gold-wrapped Nissan GT-R makes me want to belt out the ’80s hit song “Gold” by Spandau Ballet.
Hino didn’t just build trucks and buses. They built cars, too, as shown by this Hino Contessa Deluxe (PC-series)…
… 47,299 of these were built between 1961 and 1964, and were powered by 893cc Renault 4-cylinder engines.
Two Subaru BRZs were displayed in their Car Graphic (CG) racing livery with #89…
… and the #88 Subaru BRZ in front.
Modified Daihatsu XPlay Sport looks like a fun little car to drive.
Fuso rapid response rescue vehicle looks like it’s ready to rumble…
… while the Nissan Leaf police car looks like it’s ready to charge (pun intended).
Yamaha displayed their 850cc Niken GT leaning multi-wheel (LMW) big bike…
… and their retro SR400 thumper, which is very popular in Japan.
We saw three Yamaha R25 entry-level 250cc sport bikes…
.. and all three were highly customized….
… and sported a strange “GAHAMA” sticker in Yamaha-style fonts at the lower fairing.
Yamaha also displayed their XYZ 1000R SS quad that looks ready for the dunes.
There were demo electric vehicles (EVs) that we can test like this scooter…
… and these cute two-seat electric city mini cars…
… some of which looked like they were built for production…
… or by a large car company like this Nissan Zero Emission EV…
… but the waiting line to test the EVs was quite long, so we decided to walk with the crowd.
We could’ve grabbed a Nagasaki Pork Burger from this vintage VW Type 2 van/food truck if only it was open.
There was just a lot of nice cars to ogle at, like this gold-foiled Ferrari 458 Spider.
Whew! Once again, our feet are sore and our legs are aching from walking around the Open Road Exhibition so we need to rest. Next time, we’ll go to the Aomi Exhibition Hall to see the display pavilions of Toyota, Daihatsu, Subaru, Hino, Isuzu, UD, Tomica, and then go to the Future Expo at the Toyota Aomi building. See you, then!
