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The
18th Tokyo Motor Show (1971
. 10/29 - 11/11)
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The 18th Tokyo Motor Show Poster |
This year saw capital liberalization in the auto industry.
Many more foreigners visited this second international
motor show. The press room was crowded with foreign journalists.
The show had a strong international flavor. Among the
many prominent visitors was Mr. William L. Mitchell, Vice
President of General Motors, which invested in Isuzu Motors
Limited. There were 85 foreign exhibits, slightly fewer
than in the previous show. Even the Porsche and Mustang
were regular gasoline versions, indicating the world was
moving toward anti lead pollution measures.
Most domestic car bodies became stout, influenced by Experimental
Safety Vehicles (ESVs). A good example was the Bluebird
U, which was revamped with smaller side and rear windows.
Other hardtop models also had smaller windows, indicating
a shift in emphasis from wide openness to safety. Furthermore,
Mazda s RX510 and Nissan s 216X (ESV) were mounted with
huge bumpers. The so-called "ESV look" was a trendy phenomenon
of the show.
The number of luxurious coupes increased in the mass-market
class, and a drastic increase in model variations reflected
the "age of variety." Most of the nine passenger car makers
offered a wide range of models. Differentiation was emphasized
by symbols such as GT, GE, GF, GL, GS, GX, GSL, and GTO.
JMIF organized a public demonstration of "CVS model,"
a computer-controlled urban traffic system considered
the automobile traffic system for the 1970s. This was
a system of monorails built over roads in the city, like
a grid on which some tens of thousands of unmanned cars
run automatically. Displayed at the show for the first
time was a one-twentieth-size model of what was developed
by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Machine Industry
in cooperation with MITI. It had attracted much attention
as the answer to traffic jams.
Exhibited at the show were: 294 passenger cars, 219 motorcycles,
242 commercial vehicles (exhibition of vehicles of 3 tons
or more was discontinued).Admissions decreased to 1,351,500.
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