Iconic Cars Debut in Tokyo

CHIBA, Japan — With sales at home skidding, Japan's automakers have turned to the odd, the sleek and the fuel-efficient to help accelerate buyer interest.

The tone comes from the top. At the Tokyo Motor Show Wednesday, Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn rolled out in the GT-R, the company's flagship muscle car. Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe scooted out in a wheelchair-like ''personal mobility'' vehicle. Honda President Takeo Fukui chose a rubbery bubble-shaped fuel-cell model.

Similar offerings, spotted everywhere in the sprawling hall, shed light on how global automakers are hoping to woo buyers in mature markets such as the U.S., Europe and Japan by appealing to their environmental conscience and passion for speed.

Nissan General Manager Francois Bancon hopes the show will spur interest in cars, which he said was fading not only in Japan but also in Europe, especially among young people. ''They are somehow rejecting the car as an icon,'' he said.

Christopher J. Richter, analyst with Calyon Capital Markets Asia in Tokyo, said Japanese are not only buying fewer cars, but also holding on to them longer.

''The decline in personal incomes particularly among young people has had a negative impact on the vehicle market,'' he said.

Tokyo is notoriously unfriendly to car-owners, with expensive taxes and parking fees. Most urban-dwellers use commuter trains. The growing gap between the rich and poor here has also hurt car sales, analysts say.

Last year, Japan's passenger car sales totaled about 3 million vehicles, down around 7 percent from the previous year.

Automakers say they hope the razzle-dazzle of the more than 500 models on display in this Tokyo suburb, from the jet-like GT-R to the futuristic electric cars, will perk public interest and help revive lagging sales.

Reporters got a preview Wednesday at the event, which is opening to the public Saturday.

The 7.8 million yen GT-R from Nissan, unveiled at the Tokyo show with much fanfare, is a rare offering from the Japanese, who are more reputed for small cars with solid mileage than the GT-R's twin turbo engine and carbon-fiber components.

The GT-R's price is being slated for under $80,000 in the U.S. next year. The cars go on sale in Japan in December. Ghosn said the company has received orders worth three months of production and plans to sell 1,000 GT-Rs a month.

Sports cars like the GT-R are crucial for enhancing an automaker's image, but environmentally friendly technology that eases consumer's global warming angst is another image-booster.

Honda combined the allure of both in the sleek CR-Z gas-electric hybrid sports car, which Honda President Fukui said outdoes rivals with its new hybrid system.

Hybrid vehicles tend to be bulky because of the size and complexity of their systems, which include a battery, motor and engine. So they're usually not known for their torque, acceleration, handling and innovative design.

''As a leader in ecology, Honda also hopes to show the fun of driving so that mobility can be enjoyed on this planet forever,'' he told the crowd gathered at the Honda booth.

Fukui didn't say when the CR-Z will go on sale but promised it for ''the near future.''

Besides the scooter-like I-Real, which President Watanabe rode onstage, Toyota showed a stripped-down experimental version of its popular Prius gas-electric hybrid.

Watanabe said the upgrade will be a plug-in hybrid, which can travel longer as an electric car by recharging from a household socket. It will also offer double the mileage of the current Prius.

''Our theme is harmonious driving,'' Watanabe said. ''What we have on display shows the direction of where Toyota is going.''

Japan has long been an elusive market for the U.S. ''Big Three'' — Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors — whose combined sales make up just 1 percent of the Japanese market.

The top executives of the U.S. automakers skipped the Tokyo show. GM, which had one of the smallest booths at the show, showed only a handful of vehicles, including a Cadillac luxury model.

By contrast, business for Italy's Lamborghini is booming as Japan's upper class grows. Annual sales jumped from just 30 in 2002, to an estimated 150 or 160 this year.

The top-of-the line Lamborghini costs 34 million yen ($298,000), but a Japanese customer recently bought the 1 million euro ($1.4 million) limited-edition model, said Carlo Zambotto, a spokesperson at Lamborghini Japan.

''The more money it takes, the better it goes — strange as it may sound,'' he said of the Japanese auto market.

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