ENG TOKYO MOTOR SHOW BLOG

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

We the Tokyo Motor Show office staff, are now working at Makuhari Messe, where the motor show will be held, preparing for the motor show.

Today, I would like to introduce an unusual topic:

The Tokyo Motor Show is running on the JR Yamanote Line! That doesn't make any sense, does it? Actually, train cars with bodies decorated for the Tokyo Motor Show are running on the Yamanote Line from Sunday, October 14 to Sunday, November 11 as part of the 40th Tokyo Motor Show 2007 ad campaign. It might be your lucky day if you get on the Tokyo Motor Show train on your way to your office or school.

(There are two such trains.)

Continuing from the last blog entry, I would like to introduce test-ride events where visitors are welcome to actually ride cars and other vehicles at the Tokyo Motor Show. Firstly, I would like to look at the 3rd “Clean Energy Vehicles Test Ride” . Hybrid, fuel-cell, hydrogen-fueled, electric, and other clean energy vehicles will be available for test-rides. This year, there will be thirteen vehicles in total, including two buses, from eight manufacturers.

The last test ride event is the“ Commercial Vehicleｓ Test Ride” . Nine trucks, trailers, buses, and vans from eight manufacturers will be available.

As in the last blog entry, I interviewed staff at the Special Events Office, which runs the test ride and test-drive events.

Hello, everyone!

Cars you can test-ride at the Clean Energy Vehicles Test ride event are manufacturers' next-generation cars. This event presents a very rare opportunity for the general public to test-ride these next-generation cars. Even if you search around the world, these opportunities are rare. This test ride event is unique to the Tokyo Motor Show, a show full of experience-based events where visitor participation is welcomed.

Equipped with next-generation engines, these cars provide running stability equal to or better than time-proven gasoline-fueled cars. You will be impressed by the efforts, and technology of the manufacturers.

(Experience next-generation technology. Photo from the 39th Tokyo Motor Show 2005.)

Experience the next-generation vehicles that will enter the market in the future. At the entrance of the event area, panels will describe hydrogen-powered and fuel-cell vehicles, and exhibition booths will show videos. Come and see them.

Today, global warming and other environment issues are becoming immediate issues for us. In this event, cars will showcase new technologies made possible by manufacturers' hard work and innovation for solving environment problems.

See for yourself how these cars differ from ordinary gasoline-fueled cars. Take advantage of this opportunity and test-ride these clean energy vehicles to experience their impressive new technologies.

The next event I would like to introduce is the Commercial Vehicles Test ride event, where you can test-ride trucks, buses, and other commercial vehicles that you often see on the streets. Seeing them so often, you may think they are very ordinary. Still, people rarely have the opportunity to actually sit in the front seat of a truck, closely watching the driver operating the truck. That makes this another rare opportunity. It is particularly worth sitting in the front seat of a truck, experiencing a view much higher than that in passenger cars.

(Trucks provide a much higher view than passenger cars. Photographed at the 38th Tokyo Motor Show 2004.)

As in the “Clean Energy Vehicles Test ride”, biofuel and fuel-cell buses will be available for test-rides. Like ordinary passenger cars, these larger vehicles are also becoming environment-friendly. See them in the “Commercial Vehicle and Clean Energy Vehicles Test Ride”.

In the “Commercial Vehicles Test Ride”, available vehicles will be different between the first and second half of the Tokyo Motor Show period. Please make sure which vehicles are available before participating in the event. Please note that children five years old or younger are only allowed to ride in buses. Your understanding is appreciated.

Trucks and buses on the streets may look different after you test-ride these commercial vehicles. Look around the Outdoor Vehicle Bodies Exhibition Space (open until Tuesday, October 30) at the North Hall after test-riding commercial vehicles and you will be even more interested in the commercial vehicles displayed there.

I would like to thank the staff from our Special Events Office for this explanation. I am sure these test-ride events will offer us valuable experiences. As I wrote in the last blog entry, a test-drive/ride ticket is required to participate in any of these test-ride/drive events held at the Tokyo Motor Show. Make sure to get your ticket at the ticket distribution corner at the west side of the South Rest Zone starting one hour before each test-drive/ride session.

There is one more thing I would like to tell you about in this blog entry. The Life Style Park will be held in the West Rest Zone from Thursday, November 1 to Sunday November 11.
The Life Style Park is an event space where many kinds of events, where you will like automobiles and other vehicles even more, will be held.

Among many events, the “Trial Demonstration” and “Double Dutch” events are a must to see. They are performed twice a day during the Life Style Park period. In the “Trial Demonstration”, two riders, Naoki Kobayashi and Motoharu Honda, show their techniques, going on the stage and jumping their bikes. Their movements are so synchronized that it is hard to believe they are riding on bikes. There will be a talk show, as well as the demonstration.

(Great technique. Photo taken at the 39th Tokyo Motor Show 2005.)

The “Double Dutch” event is a dance and jump rope performance by three double Dutch teams: “CAPLIORE” “ASGRM” and “Viva Onna!!” There will be a collaborative performance of dancing and jump roping together with a traffic safety quiz.

Many more events will be held at the Life Style Park, including a wrecker truck demonstration by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF), showing wrecker trucks hoisting and towing cars in trouble, and a performance by the Chiba Prefectural Police band.

As I mentioned before, a symposium, "Car users meeting with JAMA Chairman Cho," will be held from 14:00 on Thursday, November 8 at the International Conference Room on the 2nd floor of the Makuhari Messe International Conference Hall. The symposium will be broadcast live at the Life Style Park.

During the above-mentioned period, the Life Style Park will be jammed with many events from 10:00 a.m. (9:30 on Saturdays and Sundays) until closing time. A truck called “The Smile” will assess your aptitude for driving, and you can see the Chiba Prefectural Police corner, where police cars and motorbikes are displayed. Police uniforms for children will be available to borrow too. Be sure to visit the Life Style Park.

The 40th Tokyo Motor Show 2007 will open soon. If you don't have your ticket, the Cellular Phone Ticket is convenient. People have been taking advantage of this convenience since Wednesday, October 10. You can reserve tickets with your cell phone, which will serve as a ticket, enabling entry to the Tokyo Motor Show. Why don't you try this new way of buying tickets?

(With the above QR code, you can conveniently access the site from your cell phone.)