Dear Japan,
Thank you for making the Tokyo Motor Show happen. This biennial event is truly a grand showcase of some of the best design and engineering your country has to offer. Which makes us wonder why you continue to show silly personal-mobility vehicles like the Honda Micro Commuter concept that we know will never become a reality.
It’s not that we don’t appreciate the creativity. We do. No other car show in the world has as much in the way of pure futuristic intellectual fancy. “Twin Pivot Steering,” where the driver tilts left and right joysticks forward and back instead of turning a steering wheel, is pretty cool. As is the center driving position, and the panoramic windshield on which the instrument cluster is projected.
But really, Japan, who wants to sit in the back seat of that car? Or even the front seat when faced with a traffic battle? Dimensions of 98.4 inches long, 49.2 wide, and 56.3 tall do not inspire confidence of crashworthiness. And who wants to be limited to a range of 37 miles and a top speed near 40 mph? Okay, actually that makes sense given the small dimensions and your notorious traffic snarls, but you still get our point.
There are real people out in the world, Japan, and they need more out of their cars than something that “navigates toward new discoveries and adventures with a light and smooth acceleration feel.”
It’s true, we love the idea of running all the accessories and the air conditioner on a separate battery that can also be removed and plugged into that Motor Compo EV mini-scooter. And we’re definitely impressed with the way you made the Motor Compo fit in the cabin right next to the driver.
It’s not like we don’t care about you, Japan. We say all of this because we care about you. Think of all the things you could be doing with this amazing talent besides building glorified Amigo scooters with customizable body-panel patterns. This is a car, not a giant rolling mobile phone. Yes, it would be totally great if all the world’s citizens would just realize that they don’t need huge cars and we could all live as some connected village in harmony with both our environment and our smartphones. But reality is harsh, and maybe it’s time that you stopped dreaming and made us a few more lightweight sports cars with impressive fuel economy and a sticker price that the average guy can afford.
Love,
Car and Driver
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