2010 Tokyo Auto Salon (TAS) – Weird & Wild

In a past life, this car used to be a Toyota Supra. Or was it a 350Z? Or maybe a Ford Ranger? It’s a little hard to tell with the swooping body, vents and pieced together face. Kudos on the lights inside the wheels though

Japan is a land with a rather interesting and devout culture. For those that are not familiar, who have never been there or think that sushi is just the halfway point to a fish stick, it’s a place of strange customs, odd food and some of the most quirky electronics ever. Robotic dog and humanoid man, anyone?

Promoting the Maziora paint line. Cool. But those vertical doors and the look on the S15 were so import compact 1999. We actually didn’t really like it back then either. Looks better on the mini minivan

But the Japanese are also incredibly diehard about their work, interests and hobbies. When all three of those combine, you had better watch out. The auto and racing industry in Japan is unlike what you’d find here in the United States. Aftermarket car tuning and enthusiasm is largely centered on their domestic offerings, eliminating any different hot rod, European or sport compact crowds. Everybody simply seems to like GT-Rs, Evos and Silvias.

Conservative ol’ Toyota actually went nuts and brought out the Prius Custom Plus Concept, complete with pencil tip sharp body, gold vent covered wheels and questionable production capability

And some of those cars turned out a little strange. With their steadfast dedication to innovation and trying out new ideas, they’re bound to run into a few hiccups. Maybe it’s an element of rebellion against “the man” and maybe it’s the result of too much anime on the brain but we just can’t get along with everything that we saw at TAS 2010. Sometimes you have to break a few eggs, bedazzle them and throw them on your hood to make an omelet. Enjoy.

If it weren’t for the seats, we wouldn’t be too sure which end was actually the front on this formula inspired show car

Lowrider styling is actually quite popular in Japan, with dedicated clubs and magazines. This Toyota Aristo has a Japanese lowrider treatment applied to it. Somehow, it just seems better on a Caprice

Honda S2000s are great track cars with reliable drivetrains, lively handling and a quick pace. But not when you fit them with overly big wheels, chunky and strange bodywork and too much extra weight. Plus, if you’re building a show car, at least do something about the top!

One of our favorite strange trends at the Tokyo Auto Salon is the annual perv train. Crowds of multiple camera-equipped guys who don’t take a single snapshot of a car. Armed with pictures of the booth girls, some will return to the show the next day with printouts, eager for a signature. Who know what happens to the picture after that

At least this thing has the engine and power to match but we can’t get over the mismatched tire/wheel sizing, gaudy paint job, sparkling trim and puma symbols

One surefire way to make your fancy Mercedes-Benz look like a designer imposter from the Walgreens counter? Bedazzle it

We’ve never been big fans of stretching small tires on to wide wheels and dropping a car into the weeds for looks. But doing that and having to run like 56-degrees of negative camber, just to run a dished lip wheel? You can’t be going fast now

Continue to 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon - Part 1 >>>