A Dazzling Display in Tokyo

By Alexander L. Taylor III

Japanese automakers unveil their latest models

In John Updike's new novel, Rabbit Is Rich, Harry ("Rabbit") Angstrom is a wealthy car dealer who pitches new autos for a fictional Toyota dealership in Pennsylvania. "Japan can't make enough of these cars to keep the world happy," Rabbit tells a customer. "Here we're supposed to be Automotive Heaven and the foreigners come up with all the ideas."

Last week, at the Tokyo Motor Show, nine Japanese automakers demonstrated some of those new ideas amid fireworks and brass bands. Among the 1 million people in attendance the first day was a delegation of Detroit auto executives.

Although the sale of Japanese cars in the U.S. has slowed down in the past four months along with the general economy, Japanese manufacturers continue to hold a hefty 22% share of the market. Now that Japan has agreed to limit its exports of cars to the U.S. for the next two years, its producers are radically changing their sales strategy. Tiny gas misers are giving way to more premium-priced sporty models, such as the Toyota Celica, and expensive full-size cars like the Datsun 810 Maxima.

At last week's show in Tokyo, new cars were displayed on rotating platforms, while miniskirted models recited memorized sales spiels. Spectators gawked, for example, at a four-wheel-drive Toyota outfitted for bird watching that had a roof-mounted camera and sound equipment to record birdcalls.

In addition to the glitz and the glamour, the Tokyo show demonstrated some dazzling applications of modern electronics and semiconductor technology that make cars cheaper, safer and easier to drive. Japanese manufacturers are using computers on a chip to improve fuel economy, monitor the engine and even make a new electronically controlled transmission operate smoothly. Three separate companies exhibited an electronic map display mounted on the dashboard that points out the car's destination, gives instructions on the best route to follow and notes the progress of the trip.

Toyota showed the shape of things to come in Japanese cars. Whenever a different driver enters the automobile, he inserts a plastic card in the dashboard that adjusts the seats, air conditioning and mirror to his specific desires. Shock absorbers automatically regulate the car's suspension to accommodate the number of passengers. Once the car is under way, a radar-activated cruise-control senses vehicles ahead and applies the brakes when necessary. In addition, an ultrasonic system warns the driver of any obstructions up to ten feet behind the vehicle. If it starts to rain, electronic windshield wipers adjust their speed to the amount of precipitation.

Nissan, the maker of Datsuns, presented a test vehicle that allows a handicapped person to drive literally without lifting a finger. The car is equipped with a "voiced word recognition system" that will carry out spoken commands from the driver. A disabled motorist can operate the lights and other instruments and adjust the driver's seat and rear-view mirrors simply by talking to the machine.

The auto is steered with a foot pedal. But the car will accept voice commands only from those whose voice it has been programmed to recognize.

The main center of attention last week was the display of new minicars that are smaller than anything now on U.S. highways. Japan has such models ready to roll, while U.S. manufacturers are still working on blueprints. Nissan showed off a front-wheel-drive mini that will be introduced next year. Code-named the NX-018, it is powered by a gas-sipping 1,000-cc engine that is about 40% smaller than those in U.S. subcompacts, the smallest domestically produced cars. The NX-018 gets an estimated 45 m.p.g. Suzuki displayed the Cervo with an even smaller motor, and Honda presented a gleaming three-door minimodel called the City. The car gets 44.7 m.p.g., has room for four and sells in Japan for $3,600. The smallest American-built car costs about $5,000.

U.S. auto executives attending the Tokyo exhibition were impressed. Some feared that Detroit will be unable to match the Japanese prices on the minis.

After looking at the new Honda, William Benton, worldwide marketing director for Ford, noted: "Their labor cost is about half of ours, and that isn't all. Their labor is also adaptable and flexible, and they work damned hard." Said Keith Grain, publisher of Automotive News: "It's like a race. All the American makers are bunched up on the backstretch, and the Japanese makers are running like hell, seemingly trying to catch up. But what they don't realize is that they aren't half a lap behind--they're half a lap ahead." If the new Japanese cars sell as some expect, Updike may have to call his next book Rabbit Is Super Rich.

--By Alexander L. Taylor III. Reported by Edwin M. Reingold/Tokyo

With reporting by Edwin M. Reingold

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