Taking the next step

They say that even the greatest of journeys must begin with a single step. In my case, there were 8,524 of them. Well that was according to a colleague’s pedometer at least. But that’s par for the course in the city streets of Japan. I was there to cover the 41st Tokyo Motor Show and I had already gotten into character several weeks before, conditioning myself for the cultural immersion that surrounds the region’s biggest and most relevant motor show.

I prepared myself for the onslaught at Tokyo station, the human wave at Shinjuku sation, and the personal battle against claustrophobia on the train rides in between. Yet none of it happened.

There were no waves of commuters forcing a human current that used to push you into the open doors of a train; there wasn’t the Japanese “running of the bulls” in Tokyo station, either, where one could literally get trampled on by determined commuters just by stopping suddenly or making an unnatural change of direction. And sadly, the once deafening sound of thousands of leather shoes smacking the pavements was muffled, too.

This was not the Tokyo I remember.

It is still a wonderful place, of course, populated by the most polite and efficient people on earth, but there was something missing: more of them. To think I thought that America had it tough; Japan seems to have been at the eye of the financial storm that has torn through the world’s largest economies, and the effects were visible on almost every street corner.

But nothing screamed it louder than the walls of Makuhari Messe, home to the Tokyo Motor Show. Where there was once a time that Toyota premiered 14 vehicles in one show, today there were just 16 premiers between all the exhibitors. There were no Korean cars, no notable Chinese manufacturers and just a token appearance from Lotus and Caterham to represent the Europeans. Even the Americans couldn’t be bothered.

It’s a bad time for Tokyo to blink because Shanghai and Beijing are ruthlessly waiting. Although in fairness, considering the economic climate, I don’t think they were given much of a choice.

But more worrying than the recession is the dwindling interest that the youth are showing in cars. And sadly, this is not just a phenomenon unique to Tokyo, either, according to Mitsubishi Motor’s President, Osamu Masuko. During a private chat with The Philippine STAR, Masuko san explained that globally, especially in built up cities across Europe and Asia, the youth have simply started to snub the automobile.

“I just moved out of my apartment in Tokyo because I was paying $500 US a month for parking. For parking!” And no, it wasn’t a fully furnished parking slot, either. I asked. “What kind of people can afford a lifestyle like that?” the young and energetic president continued. Plus there’s the fact that the new generation have started to see cars as a dirty, selfish form of transportation – which is quite a problem when you are a heading up a car company. Or a car magazine or broadsheet motoring section for that matter. It’s almost as if it has become the new tobacco.

Yup. I’ve said it before in previous articles, and as much as it pains me to be repetitive, I’ll say it again. The motor vehicle – as you and I know it at least – is finally facing extinction. And only those with the courage to embrace this change will survive.

This explains why Mitsubishi launched their “Drive@earth” campaign that will drive the next 100 years of the automobile. It is based on a simple philosophy of leading the EV era into a sustainable future. This doesn’t stop at just stuffing in some electric motors in cars but also calls for the development of EV-driven environmental technologies for a more clearly defined environmental approach in all of Mitsubishi Motors’ corporate activities, from manufacturing to logistics to sales and after-sales services.

So as dark and gloomy as the 41st Tokyo Motor show may have been in terms of volume, at least there were a few sparks that should ignite that passion again between man and his real best friend. The first one was the world premiere of the MITSUBISHI Concept PX-MiEV, which is an all wheel drive cross over vehicle powered by the new Mitsubishi Plug-in Hybrid System.

Although similar in a sense to the current hybrids, the PX MiEV is primarily an electric vehicle that relies on a small gasoline engine to top it off once charge gets low, unlike those that mostly use the combustion engine and the electric motor only in low speeds or at traffic lights. Another very cool thing about the PX MiEV is that you can plug it into your household wall outlet and program it to charge only while you sleep, which is great for countries that offer off peak rates for electricity.

Even cooler is that you can plug your appliances into the car in case of brown outs. It takes roughly 7 hours for a full charge and that should get you just over 50km of touring. It also has a quick charge mode that can generate up to 80% charge in 30 minutes, but that is only available at charging stations. But the best part is the dream is only about two years away from reality.

Currently in production, however, is the iMiEV fully electric vehicle that can provide a range of up to 160 kilometers on a single charge. It officially goes on sale to the general public next April, with left hand versions being made for export around the same time, but Mitsubishi officials have confirmed to us that orders are already being taken now.

These figures may not excite you just yet, especially the range, but as is often said, even the greatest journeys begin with a single step. And they all start from where you’re standing.

Where as the first 100 years of the automobile could be summed up with building the perfect harmony between man and machine, the next 100 years needs to be focused on creating the perfect harmony between man and planet.

Here are some of your Backseat Driver reactions from last week’s Hail the new F1 champion! By Manny de los Reyes…

It’s very obvious that Team Brawn wants Button to win the championship as early as possible, sacrificing Rubens to gain points. What they did was they put a heavy load of fuel to Rubens’ car. RB complained about his car’s performance over the radio. Ross Brawn just want a Brit champ, and that’s it. – ryu_33

The 2009 F1 season was the one with the most scandals and controversies instead of competition and excitement. That’s all I can say... – KERSMcPherson

It seems there’s no protest from Rubens except from the radio transmission as mentioned here. Unlike here in RP, (slightly unrelated) the results of 2009 AutoFocus Poll especially on AUV category were flooded with negative reactions at several car forums (tsikot.com). Some say the organizers didn’t know how to classify the vehicles and that the votes were rigged. Oh, that hurts. What do you think, Backseat Drivers? – luzvi (I say we’re all very jaded this week! Sad but true…in the Philippines, hardly anybody can take not winning sitting down. Somehow someone must have been “cheated”. Sigh…)