The Tokyo Motor Show began today (press only-open to public starting 10/23-11/4) and of course there were many new concept cars unveiled.  Many automakers had decided not to participate in this show due financial difficulties but those that have exhibits there are trying to make the most of the situation.  Lexus is showing off the LF-A super car with a 500 horsepower engine.  I was reading alittle about the LF-A at topspeed.com and people aren’t saying nice things. They don’t like the look of it and aren’t buying the super car advertising of it as well.

Another concept car unveiled at this show is the Toyota FT-86.  This is a compact, rear-wheel drive sports car that supposedly provides “driving joy and excitement.  Also the Toyota FT-EV II was introduced which is a compact electric vehicle designed for short distances. 

Mazda also are showing off a new concept as well as a new engine and transmission at the Tokyo Motor Show.  The Mazda Kiyora has a Mazda Sky-G engine and Sky-Drive transmission, which are both being debuted at the Tokyo show as well.  The Sky-G engine has greatly improved fuel economy due to thermal efficiency. 

I’m sure there will be more talk of the Tokyo Motor Show as the week goes on, but I thought this was some good information about some new concepts.  The thing is that I feel like most of these concepts have the same ideas. They are smaller, with more power and better gas mileage.  I guess that’s what people want. 

The Tokyo Auto Show next month (October 24-November 4) is getting worse as the days go on.  Hyundai has just backed out of the Tokyo Auto Show and they were the last major foreign manufacturer to be in attendance at the show.  The Tokyo Auto Show used to be the premier auto show in Asia.  Now it is held every 2 years and clearly not very popular since no major automakers are going.  The Detroit 3 backed out earlier this year stating that they need to try to save money.  That’s supposedly the reason that all of these automakers have decided not to attend the Tokyo Auto Show, but not such good news for the show itself.  Hyundai actually already had paid $122,000 in nonrefundable fees for their space at the show, but that is still far less than they would have paid had they actually gone to the show. It can cost millions of dollars to have an exhibit at these shows. I guess that it makes sense for none of these automakers to want to spend the money to go to the show, so it will be interesting to see if the LA show in November or the Detroit Auto Show in January are affected by the recession and current economic state. I remember reading that last year, automakers were scaling back, but I think they still attended and had exhibits at the shows, unlike the problems that the Tokyo Auto Show is currently facing. Maybe they should just cancel the show and wait 2 more years. Hopefully by then the economy will have turned around.

So, here’s some of the highlights of the Frankfurt Auto Show last week for those of you that missed it. 

-Ferrari 458 Italia named Best in Show

-Mercedes to bring 100 hydrogen fuel-cell cars to the United States year.

-BMW will be offering 4-cylinder gasoline engines in the United States to meet the new fuel economy rules.

-Renault has 4 electric car concepts working right now. They will start selling them in 2011.

-Electric was the buzz word this past week at the Frankfurt Auto Show. 

So, there’s some of the highlights. Get ready for the LA Auto Show in a couple of months.

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The BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car is currently on display at the Frankfurt Auto Show.  This car is being described by BMW as “BMW’s most innovative concept car ever.”  Supposedly this car can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and it received a score of 62.6 miles per gallon on the EU combined test cycle according to autobloggreen.com.  The concept had a 1.5-liter turbodiesel engine but rumor has it that BMW may go with a smaller engine than this.  The doors to the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics car (that’s a long name!) flip up like a Back to the Future vehicle. I think thats cool, but something even cooler is that this car is green. It is a plug-in hybrid. It can go approximately 31 miles in all-electric mode and an additional 400 miles if you use the diesel engine as well.  Charging with a regular 220 volt outlet takes about 2 1/2 hours.  BMW has not said that it will make these vehicles, but hints state that there will be a car similar, if not the same, as the concept car available in the future.

The Frankfurt Auto Show is tomorrow and Wednesday.  This show is held every two years and it is considered the largest show in the industry.  There will be alot of vehicles introduced at the show, with Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche taking center stage to show off their stuff!  I’m sure as you can expect, there will be alot of electric, hybrids, fuel efficiency vehicles. They will probably be front and center at the show.  I always find it interesting to see who “wins” at the shows.  The reviews of the new cars will be flying around next week, I’m sure. We’ll have to wait and see.  

I’m sure most of you celebrated, but if you forgot (or didn’t know), Friday, the Ford Mustang turned 45.  What’s crazy (to me at least) is that there was a 4 day celebration for this ”big event.”  It ran from Thursday through today in Birmingham, AL.  It was expected that approximately 2500 Mustangs, their owners, and thousands of spectators would be in attendance according to G. Chambers Williams III of the San Antonio Express-News.  Specifically, 500 Mustangs left Las Vegas over a week ago to drive to Birmingham for the Mustang birthday bash.  In case you also missed it, Ford has introduced a new Mustang model, the 2010 Ford Mustang.  I’m sure there were all different models of the Mustang at the party this weekend.  There were some activities as well.  The Ford Racing Mustang Challenge was scheduled for yesterday and today.  Supposedly about 25 cars were going to compete each day.  Ford Racing also was offering performance upgrades - including installation - for newer models in the “Mustang Garage.”  There were all kinds of souvenirs to buy and new and used Mustang parts available.  There were also going to be Mustangs on sale as well.  I bet that some Ford Mustang enthusiasts were looking to buy themselves a “pony car” as Mustangs are referred to.  Happy Birthday Mustang!         

I found an article from The Associated Press about the Geneva Auto Show that is currently going on right now has a business called Rinspeedthat specializes in customizing cars.  What’s interesting is the story behind the Rinspeed company.   Frank M. Rinderknecht, the owner of Rinspeed, was 18 years old and just wanted a car that nobody else had, so he fixed one up himself.  Then, in 1975, he came to America, bought a sunroof, that was a novelty at the time in Switzerland, and installed it into his car. People thought he was nuts cutting a hole in the roof of his car!  Thirty-five years later, Rinspeed is making more outlandish concept cars as the years go on. 

In 2007, Rinspeed introduced the eXasis, which is a ”glass” car with a completely transparent body and floor.  In 2008, Rinspeed introduced the sQuba, which could swim under water.  Crazy cars!  This year at the Geneva Auto Show, they are showing off their newest concept called iChange.  To me, this is by far the most unique car that Rinspeed has created. This futuristic sports car adapts to the number of people that are on board.  Also, many of the features of the car can be controlled by using an Apple iPod, such as the moonroof, ignition, and the onboard entertainment system.  These concept cars are not cheap to make.  Rinspeed spent about 1 million euro ($1,265,000) to build the iChange.  Rinderknecht says that this is his advertising expense to show off Rinspeed’s designing skills.  I guess creating a new outlandish concept car each year is a beneficial way to advertise.  So, if you are looking to buy a car that no one else has, go no further than the Rinspeed.      

If many of you are like me, you have never heard of the Murray’s/O’Reilly’s Autorama that will be hitting Detroit this weekend.  It’s a auto show, but a different kind of one. The Autorama is a hot rod show.  The most popular auto show, the North American International Auto Show, was held in Detroit in January, but anyone that is involved with the Autorama is excited and ready for this auto show starting tomorrow. 

What’s different about this show that is expected to have about 100,000 attend, is that there will be cars that no one has ever seen before.  The cars are customized by the owners. Unique, crazy, bizarre, that’s what will be expected this weekend.  There will be fancy cars, and then there will be dumps that have been customized and supped up.  It should be fun, that’s for sure. You will definitely see cars that you will talk about afterwards.  There is a prize for the best vehicle to be shown for the first time at the Autorama.  The winner will get $10,000 and a new GM Performance Parts engine. 

There will be some ”famous” vehicles at the Autorama this weekend as well.  For instance, the Mach 5, which was the car in the movie “Speed Racer.”  Also, the 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, which played the role of KITT on the television show, Knight Rider, will also be there.   

So, if you are going to be in the Detroit area this weekend, go and check out the Autorama.  The admission is only $18 for adults and $5.00 for children.  It sounds like it will be worth the money for some good fun!

Nissan has decided to not attend many of the auto shows in the next year to try to save money.  The Detroit Auto Show is the biggest auto show that Nissan has opted out of for next year.  They did not attend the Chicago Auto Show last month and will not be going to the Los Angeles show in November. 

The chairs of the Detroit Auto Show are not overly concerned that other automakers will follow suit and start dropping out of their show. The Geneva Motor Show starts this week and Doug Fox, the co-chair of the Detroit Auto Show will be there to meet with other automakers this week to discuss auto show plans, as well as other things.  Fox says that if others are planning on not attending the Detroit show next year, it will come out this week. Though he is pretty confident that this will not be the case. 

The only show that Nissan plans on attending is the New York City Auto Show  in April.  Hopefully, more automakers will not follow Nissan’s lead and start backing out of auto shows. That’s revenue for a great deal of people. We can’t afford more economic problems.  

It’s amazing how many big auto shows have happened already this year; the Detroit Auto Show (last month), the Washington DC Auto Show (last week). We have another one coming up this weekend- the Chicago Auto Show.  I’m wondering what makes this show different than the others that have already happened this year.  Well according to Scott Burgess of detnews.com, the difference is the audience.  At the Detroit Auto Show, the carmakers were trying to sell the automotive future to Congress, and they were doing that in Washington DC last week as well.  The automakers were showing electric cars, hybrids, and the most fuel-efficient vehicles that they had.  According to Burgess, the Chicago Auto Show is the “biggest auto show in North America.”  He says that there will be a “smorgasbord of potential customers.  You can chew on a concept (at the Chicago Auto Show), but it’s not nearly as filling as meat and potatoes.” 

The buzz at the Chicago Auto Show is the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO (super high output).  Taurus lovers have been waiting for this car for years.  It will be available this summer for $37,995.  It will have 365-horsepower V-6 engine that gets 25 miles per gallon on the highway. 

The GM Camaro will be taking center stage at the auto show when it rolls out the Bumblebee Camaro, that will star in the film “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”  The Camaro will be available for sale in a few months and there are already 20,000 pre-orders. 

The cars at the Chicago Auto Show are “real cars for real people to buy.”  The is the main difference between this show and the others. So, if you can, go check out the Chicago Auto Show that runs for the next week.