Tokyo Auto Show: A Race Between Green and Performance

Tokyo Auto Show: A Race Between Green and Performance

TOKYO – Even before Wednesday’s first press day for the Tokyo Motor Show, the themes of the event were obvious -- and opposite: green and performance.

And on day one, performance outpaced green.

Nissan won hands down for most crowded press conference at which it unveiled the long-awaited GT-R.  Even an hour before the designated starting time, the Nissan conference was jammed with no spots available remotely close to seeing the stage for the unveiling.  Media excluded from seeing the unveiling, clamored for the highly sought after press kit., which Nissan refsed to distribute until after the press conference.

Buzz all week at the show surrounded last week’s leak by some U.S. media outlets of the GT-R’s highly secretive photos, distributed by Nissan with the promise that they wouldn’t be published until after its press conference.  An accidental leak by Motor Trend led to a domino effect, with other outlets breaking the embargo, creating high drama that Nissan couldn’t have bought.

The talk at the show by executives was green: electric cars; hybrids; diesels and the like.

But it was performance that won over the crowds.  For the rest of the day, the GT-R drew large crowds many people deep. Mitsubishi’s Evo and Subaru’s WRX STI attracted audiences as well.

Michelle Krebs:  is Editor-in-Chief of AutoObserver.com. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.