ENG TOKYO MOTOR SHOW BLOG

Hello, I am Yoshizawa from the Tokyo Motor Show office.

At last, it is cooling down these days, and a nip of autumn is in the air.
How are you doing?

Since we now have under a month before the opening of the Tokyo Motor Show, the atmosphere in the Tokyo Motor Show office is tenser than ever.

I went to see the Moscow Motor Show that was held from August 29 to September 2.
I stayed in Moscow for one week from the end of August. (It would be impossible for me to take a holiday now to go to Moscow.)

(This is the Moscow Motor Show site.)

Did you know that a motor show is held annually in Moscow?

In Russia, the demand for cars is increasing every year. According to the "THE MOTOR INDUSTRY OF JAPAN 2007," 1,864,000 motor vehicles, a 10.3% increase from 2004, were sold in Russia in 2005.
Russia is the third fastest growing automobile market after China and India.
The transportation infrastructure in Moscow, however, is still being developed, and traffic is always very heavy.

In Moscow, we can see many expensive cars and luxury brand stores.
The city looked completely different from a few years ago.
This was my second time in Moscow. I went there seven years ago.
With the Russian economy thriving today, Moscow looks like a European city enjoying the economic boom.

Returning to the subject of the Tokyo Motor Show, the press presentation for the 40th Tokyo Motor Show 2007 was held on September 20.

(Fujio Cho, Chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association,Inc is in the center.)

Over 200 press people attended the presentation!

(The press presentation room was stuffed with press people.)

The presentation really caught the interest of the press. They took notes enthusiastically, and the question and answer session ran over schedule. Chairman Cho expressed his hopes, saying he wants the Tokyo Motor Show to be an automobile culture event, not just a mere automobile exhibition.

I would like to cover some of the interesting topics announced at the press presentation.

The first is the number of world and Japan premieres. These premieres are the main attraction of motor shows. There will be seventy-one world premieres cars and ninety-seven Japan premieres cars at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show 2007.

Some car magazines are already running articles about world premiere cars of some manufacturers. Rumors are also circulating that some world premiere cars are being kept strictly secret until the opening of the Tokyo Motor Show. I am sure you are dying of curiosity whether such cars will be shown at the Tokyo Motor Show or not.

What kind of cars are they? Enjoy letting your imagination run, and see for yourself at the Tokyo Motor Show.

The second is the many experience-based special events where visitor participation is welcomed. Such special events include the “Clean Energy Vehicles Test Ride” and “Commercial Vehicles Test Ride” events. These experience-based events were very popular at the previous shows.

At the Tokyo Motor Show 2007, there will be new test-ride events as well: “4x4 Adventure Test Ride” and “Safety Experience Test Drive” events. At the “4x4 Adventure Test Ride”, participants ride a 4x4 vehicle driven by a professional driver driving on a special outdoor course. At the “Safety Experience Test Drive”, participants drive a car by themselves, checking the safety performance of the car. Driver's licenses are required.

As for further information on these four test-ride and test-drive events, we will let you know later in this blog.

Another special event is the Tokyo Motor Show Symposium 2007.

There will be nine symposiums.
One symposium, titled “ Car user meeting with JAMA Chairman Cho - Let's Talk on the Dreams, Fun and Splendor of Automobiles! - ” looks particularly interesting.
Chairman Cho, Manabu Akaike (President of the Universal Design Institute, Inc.), Makiteru Ishikawa (motor journalist), and Kaori Manabe (talent) will talk together with car users in a talk-show style.

This is the first symposium with Chairman Cho.
The theme is the joy of automobiles. This symposium will be held from 14:00 to 16:00 on Thursday, November 8 at the International Conference Room on the 2nd floor of the Makuhari Messe International Conference Hall.
We expect that the symposium will be crowded with many people.
Please come early!

In addition, there will be a mini theater where two original films, “Cars of the Future, as Seen through ‘Information’” and “The Car Manufacturing Challenge – the Story of the 5th Student Formula SAE Competition of Japan”, will be shown. These films explain Japanese cars' most advanced safety and environmental technologies in an easy-to-understand manner.
There will be also a game corner where you can enjoy the latest version of “Gran Turismo”, a race game, titled “Gran Turismo 5 Prologue”.
This game corner was very popular at the previous show. There will also be a Slot Car Circuit. Slot Car Circuits are becoming popular among trend-conscious automobile enthusiasts. There will be many exciting events.

The “e-tix” Online Ticket System has been newly introduced for the 40th Tokyo Motor Show 2007.
The e-tix system enables buying advance tickets directly from the Tokyo Motor Show official website, which started selling the tickets on Wednesday, August 1. Many people have already bought tickets with the e-tix system.

Advance tickets went on sale through the usual channels on Friday, September 21. Information on the advance tickets was also announced.

Advance tickets can be bought at the ticket counters of major public transportation services, major travel agencies, and convenience stores throughout Japan.
Even if you are not connected to the Internet, you can buy advance tickets at these places. Buy your tickets by Friday, October 26, to take advantage of money-saving advance ticket prices. An advance ticket costs 1,100 yen for adults and 500 yen for Junior/Senior High School Students (tax included).

There was also more surprising information on the Tokyo Motor Show tickets.
From October 10, you can reserve tickets with your cell phone, which will serve as a ticket. Further information will be revealed on the Tokyo Motor Show website soon.

It was also announced that the 40th Tokyo Motor Show 2007 would support the "Reduce 1 kg of CO2 per Person per Day" campaign conducted by the Team -6%. Visitors with the Challenge Declaration Card of the campaign can receive a 5 percent discount on Tokyo Motor Show official goods .
If you don't have the Challenge Declaration Card, you can register and get the card at the Tokyo Motor Show venue. Don't miss this great opportunity to buy official goods at discount prices.

It is only one month until the opening of the 40th Tokyo Motor Show 2007. I will do my best so that you can have a good time at the Tokyo Motor Show, refraining from my favorite hobby, flamenco.

"Ole!"