What can I say, the Tokyo Auto Salon 2011 (TAS) was a great way to kick off the New Year, at least for me. Despite the struggles of tuners and automakers for the past years, the show continued as scheduled with the expected glitz and excitement. Thousands of local and international car fans poured in the huge halls over the 3 days' span of the event. People didn’t want to miss a thing. I didn’t want to miss a thing.
Hundreds of cars were on display. Halls 1 to 6 of the Makuhari Messe were all about JDMs whereas Halls 7 to 8 concentrated on Contis and supercars mostly. There were some afternoon drift shows thrown into the mix as well. There was always something going on somewhere to keep the event lively. Burlesque at moments but worth the visit nonetheless. Booths were full of people, though it was hard to tell whether they were there for the cars or for the models in skimpy outfits.
Major automakers were taking advantage of the TAS to prove their staying strength, notably Honda, Nissan and Subaru. They had huge and elaborate booth set-ups to mark their presence.
Famous tuners dominated every corner of TAS, showcasing their cars and products. HKS, Blitz, Top Secret… the list goes on and on. Representing Negaraku were Proton’s R3 and Mutiara Motor’s M7.
Perhaps the most exciting line-up of cars came from an exhibitor called the RH-9 Club. This club is a group of workshops throughout Japan building Nissan GT-Rs capable of 9 second quarter mile passes in street trim! However, their collection of cars gathered at the TAS wasn’t limited to GTR's only. They had Evos and Lambos in the parade as well.
One of the most obvious trends with tuners at this year’s TAS, was creating engine components and aero kits for the eco-faggot-friendly Honda CR-Z. I reckon these will be hitting our shores soon, so remember, you saw it here first.
Another new breed of tuners will be the ones meddling with supercars as seen in Halls 7 & 8. I’m sure they’ll be expanding into more halls in the coming years.
Ok, enough of the blabbering, let’s get to the pictures.
Part 1
