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Every two years, the Tokyo Motor Show showcases numerous concept cars and new models from several automakers worldwide. One of the interesting new finds that debuted in the Chiba City-based event this year was the Volkswagen Space Up! Concept.

The Volkswagen Space Up! is the latest addition in the German car company’s young range dubbed as the “New Small Family”. Barely two months since the Up! Concept was unveiled in the world’s grandest biennial auto show Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA), this spacious yet small family concept car followed suit. Because of the warm response for the Up!, Volkswagen decided to come out with another car.

“The world premiere of the up! at the IAA in Frankfurt served as an initial test to see how the concept of our New Small Family would be received in Europe. And the results of this test were more than favorable,” said Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, who is the company’s Head of Technical Development.

This latest offering in the line went meticulous designing and engineering to capture the idea that Volkswagen wanted to be realized by the consumers – small car fits many. Space Up! is just around the size of regular car but is as roomy as the family van. The four-door car measures only at 3.68 meters long and 1.63 meters wide.

“In formal design terms, one can see that the space up! is fun and at the same time offers maximum space on the smallest of platforms,” said Walter de Silva, who is Volkswagen Group’s Chief Designer. “Our New Small Family brings a smile back to the road.”

Concept cars, which are mostly geared toward the green technology, are sprouting like mushrooms. The Fisker Hybrid is no exception from the large throng of these futuristic cars.

The Fisker Hybrid is another ingenious creation of Henrik Fisker, who is also the man behind the designs of the established vehicles BMW Z8, Artega GT, and the Aston V8. Carrying a burning tag price of £50,000 or so, only a hundred Fiskers will be made available in the market. Those automobile enthusiasts who can afford this pricey hybrid car can enjoy the dual power source of the Fisker. As a hybrid, this latest creation of Fisker has an electric motor and a special engine. The electric-powered motor can be easily charged via a regular home socket. This special auto part allows this vehicle to save on some gas as well as become friendlier to the environment.

“We want people to drive beautiful fast cars that make environmental sense,” says Henrik Fisker. “Cars that are eco-chic and will have less of an impact on global warming.”

For now, specifications are not yet available. Interested motorists can just wait for a while before the designer provides further details on the Fisker Hybrid.

Photo and some details courtesy of Top Gear.

A brand new car will cost thousands of dollars. Thus, instead of buying a new car and worrying about the loan, tax, gas, and maintenance, more people are leaning towards public modes of transportation like cabs, trains, and buses. In this way, one does not have to worry about parking fees and car safety and just take care of the of train fare, for example. Such realization, however, is not very beneficial to automakers for it will greatly affect car sales today and the years to come. As an answer to this call, automakers, like those from Japan, has started rubbing into the conscience of people regarding the environment.

Automobiles contribute to the big chunk of the sources of air pollution. The heart of the vehicle, which is the engine, uses fuel in combustion and in turn produce horsepower. This auto part may be the core of power for vehicles, but engines that are not that efficient in burning the fuel tend to produce harmful emissions as well. At present, most of the concept cars are geared toward green technology. Recently, giant Japanese automakers Nissan, Toyota, and Honda brought pro-environment cars in the ongoing Tokyo Motor Show in Chiba City’s Makuhari Messe. CEO Carlos Ghosn of Nissan came out behind the wheels of the company’s powerful GT-R, President Katsuaki Watanabe dashed out seating comfortably in Toyota’s personal mobility vehicle, and President Take Fukui of Honda waltzed through with the toy-like Puyo.

Most of the new and concept vehicles that graced the motor show or any other event for that matter always have the same theme of a combination of doubled strength and lower emission. Such vehicles were developed and presented to the public as a way to tell them the difference of the regular automobiles to the hybrids and the like. These pro-environment cars save on the money spent on gas and more importantly care for the earth’s atmosphere and the people’s lungs.

These products of Japanese car ingenuity hopes to entice motorists to support cleaner vehicles like that of what they offer. The only thing that may hinder consumers in buying these pro-environment automobiles is the cost.

The green technology is not limited to cars as the Japanese automakers Suzuki Motor, along with a Britain-based Intelligent Energy, came out with the environment-friendly motorbike christened as the Suzuki Crosscage.

What exactly sets the Crosscage apart from all the traditional or old-school motorbikes? This latest two-wheel machine from Suzuki boasts of hydrogen. Instead of the usual gasoline, the Crosscage will run solely using water, thus a cleaner emission can be expected.

For a long time, numerous automobile makers as well as tech companies have ventured into developing green motorbikes but have failed to push through. Aside from the difficulties of coming up with a feasible hydrogen-powered motorbike, there are likely less people who can afford it because it can have a burning price of $1 million (or £500,000). This is where the Suzuki Crosscage comes in. According to its maker, the company is looking in on details to make this two-wheel machine appealing even to the average earners.

“Bikes are an inherently simpler machine and are ideal for a fuel cell power system. They may ultimately be more affordable as the first hydrogen-fuelled vehicles that will appear on our roads,” said Phil Caldwell, who is the director of Intelligent Energy.

The Suzuki Crosscage, along with the other four-wheel machine concepts cars, will grace the 40th Tokyo Motor Show in Makuhari Messe in Chiba City starting this Friday. The annual motor show will run until November 11.

The residents of the sunny state California have to think green automobiles from now on as the law AB 236 is already being implemented after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger approved it Tuesday.

A big number of the vehicles in this western state use gasoline. With such fluid in the engines, there is a large percent of the noxious gases coming out of automobiles in California. As an answer to the cry of the atmosphere and of what’s left of the environment, the federal government that is headed by Schwarzenegger has pushed the said bill. With such law, agencies in the state have to go for greener vehicles when there are plans of adding new automobiles in their fleets. These local gov’t arms can use diesel-powered mobile machines, which produce less Carbon dioxide. Then there are the hybrid automobiles and electric cars for those who can afford. Moreover, pro-environment auto parts such as the catalytic converters, oxygen sensors, and cold air intake can also be installed in vehicles. These special parts can further keep the exhaust emission at a safer level.

Another move taken by California’s government is to increase car fees. The Assembly Bill 118 asks $3 for every new vehicle registration. From just $12, the smog assessments will cost $20. California residents, however, do not need to fret yet with the increase because it will only start on July 1.

The Audi Mobile Phone will be one of the numerous auto parts in the concept car tagged as the A1 Metroproject Quattro. This unique find of Audi has numerous managerial functions like starting the car. With just accessing the start option from the Audi phone, the concept car can already be triggered to life instead of using the traditional keys. Another notable function of the phone is that it can work as a universal remote control for the air condition, sound system, satellite navigation system, among others. Aside from all the convenience it can provide to the user, it is still a mobile phone. One can still make calls, send short messages, take pictures, and record videos. Moreover, the world wide web can be accessed through the touch-screen Audi Mobile Phone and can even download songs for the car’s sound system.

Hybrid car A1 Metroproject Quattro Concept will be the latest futuristic offering of Audi to its patrons and other auto enthusiasts. This unique find from the German automaker boasts of two sources of powers – an engine and an electric motor. The engine looks after the front wheels and provides as much as 150-horsepower while the electric motor makes the rear wheels work with the 41 ponies it can provide. On a single charge, which can be done with a home electric socket, the Audi concept car can still run for 62 miles.

The Audi Mobile Phone may look like the popular iPod from Apple but it surely has its notable uniqueness because of its car management functions. This only shows how automobile companies’ trend of not just improving the standard auto parts of the vehicle but as well us coming up with high-end add-ons with hopes of improving the driving experience of motorists.

It may still take years before motorists and auto enthusiasts get hold of the General Motor-(GM) produced Chevrolet Volt as it remains nothing but a concept car according to its parent company’s blog.

Chevrolet Volt is supposed to be GM’s maiden hybrid vehicle, which has an engine and a motor as sources for power. It seems, however, that the Chevy is still undergoing a lot of tweaking in its various unique auto parts. The company probably want to make sure that when it goes into production everything is perfect, thus the Chevy Volt design studio was built. Quite understandable for any established car company.

“Yes, the Volt is still a concept car, but GM has taken many affirmative steps toward making it a reality in the next few years,” said Bob Boniface, who is the creative director of GM’s E-flex systems.

The concept Chevy, which was said to be capable of running 640 miles in a charge, had its first public appearance at this year’s Detroit Auto Show.

Fifty years from now, the Japanese automaker Nissan hopes to come up with something more than an automobile. Christened as the 2057 Nissan OneOne, the company fondly calls it as the ‘family pet.’

Nissan OneOne is actually more of a robot that can look after some household chores for its owner. Functioning on its own, the lucky user of the futuristic pet can carry groceries or can ‘walk’ children to school,
among others.

Among its Nissan Parts, the three wheels are some of the big players for it to function. To prevent air interference when mobile, motorcycle-like OneOne can lower itself via the wheels. For a normal cruise on the road, it can simply go back to its normal level position, which is similar to a motorcycle.

The Nissan OneOne was a product of the LA Auto Show Design Challenge, which takes place every year.

Aside from being relatively small compared to the usual cars, the concept cars from the three Japanese automaker giants are all geared for a greener future as these are all equipped with alternative power supplies for cleaner emissions.

The hybrid car Toyota’s Rin, which has an electric motor and an engine that produce power, looks like a golf cab. The only difference, however, is that the Rin concept has green-colored glass sliding doors. According to Toyota, such hue was chosen to further provide the nature feeling to the users. Inside the Rin, it has a roomy space that is fitted with big and sturdy chairs. This chair design is said to make the sitting posture of the users better.

“This car is about a beautiful and healthy mind,” said Satoru Taniguchi, who directly looks after the Toyota Rin.

Hondo Motor, on the other hand, has the Puyo, which runs on cell fuel. It has a similar shape to the Rin, but this Honda find has a rubber panel. In opening the doors of the Puyo, it has to be pulled upwards. One of the notable capabilities of this concept is that its cabin can face any direction, thus reverse mode is not at all necessary. In addition, its body color suits the available light. Puyo has a green shade when it is in perfect state.

Last but not the least is Nissan’s Pivo 2. This concept is already the second version from the line. Unlike the first two concepts, it has a bubble or circular shape. The full-time electric car is capable of 360-degree rotation for the cabin and a 90-degree rotation for the wheels. These unique auto parts allow the vehicle to move in all directions and also prevents going into reverse mode. Another special auto part of the Pivo 2 s a robot’s head on the dashboard, which ‘talks’ to the user when he or she is feeling bad. It is equipped with a camera and a mike to analyze the facial expression of the driver.

These three futuristic cars from Japan, which could leave a lot in awe in the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, are not just about their special capabilities, but above all take a lot of pride in their cleaner emissions.

Japanese car ingenuity is set to reestablish in the upcoming 2007 Tokyo Motor, which will officially start on October 26. Among the participants is Honda, which is one of the giants in the industry in Japan, that is set to introduce not one but two futuristic cars in this biennial auto show.

Honda produced two concept cars christened as Honda Puyo and Honda CR-Z. Following the ‘footsteps’ of the Remix and Small Hybrid Sport concept cars, Honda CR-Z is another muscled car that has two sources of power. It has an engine that runs on petrol and an electric motor called IMA. The sleek big 19-inch set of wheels and high-powered LED headlamps are some of the notable auto parts of the Honda CR-Z Concept.

Puyo, on the other hand, is among the small cars that are going to be showcased in the motor show. This futuristic and toy-like car runs on hydrogen fuel. Similar to a video game console, Honda installed a joystick as the car’s steering wheel and gave it an air of carefree automobile. Along with Puyo, Toyota Rin and Nissan Pivo 2 are the other two Japanese small cars in the 17-day auto show.

The 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, which is now on its 40th year, will take place at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City. Visitors can see the display of new and concept cars on October 27 until November 11.