MotorShow 2005
There’s nothing like reminding me of how long I’ve been in Japan then going to the same event I went to last year. Once again, I returned to the “Tokyo Motor Show 2005(clapping and cheering sound!)” Apparently, this was the 39th Motor Show and the motto for this year is “Driving Tomorrow, from Tokyo.” The funny thing was, the show wasn’t even in Tokyo but what the hell. I don’t know if you remember about my motor show experience last year but it was a little disappointing because it was a commercial vehicle show with buses, trucks and things that didn’t go really fast. THIS year however, nothing but FAST cars and beautiful women, I mean beautiful CARS…no really, beautiful CARS. It was the type of car show I was expecting. Apparently, they switch off every year between the commercial vehicles and the sporty/luxury cars. Well, there were also non sporty and luxury cars this year but I didn’t really pay much attention to them. Can you imagine me going to check out the Mazda MPV or the Chrysler Voyager and say to myself, “wow, this can sit 7 or 8 people and the safety feature for this family van is awesome!” No, I didn’t do that! Instead, I was drooling over cars like Ferrari, Porche, Lambourghini (had to look up the spelling for that one!), Ashton Martin (oh the Vanquish….more drooling), Mercedes, Lexus and the list goes on. There was this car called “Bugatti” and the horsepower on this sucker was about 1000!! The most powerful car I have at home in LA, the Infiniti G35, is at 280hp and I can barely control that! I bet it goes really fast really quick! Even the Lambourghini and Ferrari is only about 500 or so hp! Anyway, the largest crowd wasn’t around these super fast powerful car exhibits but rather at the Nissan, Honda, Toyota, and Lexus exhibits. Go figure huh?! Lexus was a big hit because not too long ago, Lexus became an official brand of car in Japan. Hopefully you all know that Lexus is Toyota, but the luxury cars of Toyota as is Infiniti to Nissan and Acura to Honda. Well, in Japan, they don’t have a separate brand name for their higher end cars. It’s always just been Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. The first time when I came to Japan, I saw what would be classified as a Lexus in America but the mark on the car was a Toyota. Now that Lexus is out in Japan, it’s pretty much the same as the Lexus in the States but the steering wheel is on the right side of the car! I think it’s smart on Toyota’s part because they can jack up the price and people will still buy it!
So how long do you think you would spend at a car show? I was there for about 6 hours!! 12:30 to about 6:30PM. It literally took me that long to get through most of the exhibits I wanted to see. There were also presentations, getting in lines to sit in the car, and lots of picture taking so that took awhile. Unlike last year, I was there by myself this time. I actually didn’t mind it at all because I saw everything at my own pace. Well, the only person I really wish that could be there was my bro. He’s more of a car enthusiast and can educate me more about the specs of the cars. Overall, it was GREAT. Of all the fast and beautiful cars that were there, my heart still doesn’t waver on the car I want. Take a wild guess! I asked the representative if they have it in automatic because I can’t drive stick. He said it’ll be out next month! That takes a load off my mind. Now I just have to wait for a miracle to help me buy that car!
If you’re interested in cars:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/tonykao0627/album?.dir=/f3f7
Tags: Travel
Tony