The Japanese place their bets

摘要

People used to ask me which motor shows were the best and most important. I used to reply: Detroit for the industrial background, Geneva for the political background, and Tokyo for the technical background. Now we have just emerged from Tokyo, and what messages emerged on the technical front? First of all, I suppose, and leaving aside the fascination of the popular press with "weird and wacky" concept cars, that there was no significant new diesel technology. This creates a strange impression for we diesel-oriented Europeans, but the Japanese have never been so keen. Partly this is due to existing air quality problems in their big city centres, to which they fear diesels - even "Euro 4" diesels - would add. For many years, Honda in particular set its face resolutely against the diesel (as it did against turbocharging) and only developed one when it became clear how much of the European D-segment market it was shutting itself away from by having no diesel to offer.