Mercedes-Benz has made a surprise appearance at the Tokyo Motor Show to introduce a new concept dubbed Vision Tokyo.

The concept takes the form of a tall, sleek-looking van that’s capable of driving itself. Slightly smaller in all directions than the 2016 Metris van, it boasts thin headlights and a huge grille that lights up to display a wide variety of colors and patterns. Its design language is influenced by the F 015 Luxury in Motion concept that was shown earlier this year at the CES show.

The cabin is accessed via a wide, top-hinged door on the passenger side of the car. Inside, the Vision Tokyo offers space for five passengers on a lounge-like oval couch upholstered in white leather. The infotainment system is displayed on holograms, while screens built into the side panels display important information about the van and its surroundings.

The rear windows are screen printed to ensure the occupants travel in total privacy. The concept drives autonomously a vast majority of the time, but a jump seat built into the couch lets the passengers take the wheel if needed.

Power comes from an advanced hybrid drivetrain that uses a hydrogen fuel cell to generate electricity. Full technical details are being kept under wraps, but Mercedes promises the concept offers a total driving range of over 600 miles.

Although Mercedes’ Vision Tokyo concept is highly unlikely to reach production as-is, it likely serves as a preview of the autonomous technology that will debut on the next-gen E-Class next January. Similarly, the hydrogen-electric drivetrain could make the jump from concept to production in the medium-term future.

Mazda has unveiled a stunning, rotary-powered concept car at the 44th edition of the Tokyo Motor Show.

Dubbed RX-Vision, the concept takes the form of a close-to-production coupe that was built to preview Mazda’s next RX-badged sports car. Its front end falls in line with the company’s Kodo design language thanks to styling cues such as a shield-shaped grille and thin headlights. Out back, it gains four round tail lamps connected by a razor-thin spoiler and a pair of round exhaust tips.

The RX-Vision offers space for two passengers in a driver-focused cabin that’s fitted with the just the bare essentials. The instrument cluster is made up of five analog gauges grouped in three separate pods, the steering is commanded through a retro-inspired three-spoke wheel, and the only button on the center console is the one used to start the engine. There is no infotainment system, and it doesn’t look like the coupe is fitted with any kind of climate control unit.

Mazda has opted not to publish technical specifications. All we know at this point is that the concept is powered by a rotary engine dubbed SkyActiv-R that spins the coupe’s rear wheels via a manual transmission. The company explains that development of the Wankel engine has been on-going for decades even though it’s not currently being mass-produced.

Executives acknowledge there are a few obstacles on the RX-Vision’s path to production. However, if everything goes according to plan the coupe will be added to the Mazda lineup as a regular-production model before the end of the decade.

Live images by Ben Hsu.

Subaru has traveled to the biennial Tokyo Motor Show to introduce a close-to-production design study dubbed Impreza 5-Door Concept.

As its name implies, the Impreza 5-Door Concept is an accurate preview of the next-generation Impreza that will likely land in time for the 2017 model year. It looks a lot sharper than the Impreza that’s currently on sale in Subaru showrooms thanks to swept-back headlights, an angular grille, a more rakish window line, sculpted flanks and C-shaped LED tail lamps.

The concept’s overall proportions are closer to those of the third-generation model that was axed in 2011 than to those of the current model. It’s about four inches wider than the 2016 Impreza.

Surprisingly, Subaru hasn’t published technical details and pictures of the concept’s interior.

What’s next?

While official launch information isn’t available yet, the production version of the next Impreza is expected to bow at a major auto show next year. Essentially a toned-down version of the concept that will be shown in Tokyo, it will be lighter and wide than the current model because it will ride on a brand new platform developed to underpin most of Subaru’s next-gen lineup.

Mechanically, the 2017 Impreza will usher in more efficient flat-four engines fitted with direct fuel-injection and Subaru’s fuel-saving cylinder deactivation technology. A plug-in hybrid model might join the lineup a little later in the production run.

Honda’s latest Fuel Cell Vehicle, due out this week at the Tokyo Motor Show, looks radically different from anything else in the automaker’s lineup, but that could change by the end of the decade.

That’s because Honda is working alongside General Motors to develop an all-new hydrogen fuel cell system by 2020. That new fuel cell promises to be significantly smaller than today’s unit, making it easier to package into conventional vehicles.

“The most important thing with this FCV is getting the fuel cell stack under the bonnet,” Kiyoshi Shimizu, chief engineer for large projects at Honda’s R&D center, told Autocar. “That means that it can be accommodated with gasoline engine-like packaging in the future, and this opens up lots of possibilities; we could use the same stack in an SUV as in a saloon. In the future we will not need a dedicated design for a fuel cell vehicle.”

Using more conventional styling could help jumpstart fuel cell sales. Cost reduction will be another big help; The fuel cell stack in Honda’s FCV is 90 percent cheaper to build than the one used in the company’s previous FCX Clarity. Those costs should only continue to fall with further development.

Honda will introduce its next-generation FCV in 2020, but it remains to be seen when the tech might be offered in a run-of-the-mill model like the CR-V crossover or Accord mid-size.

Thanks to brisk sales of its higher-margin vehicles in the United States, Ford has posted its best quarterly results in company history.

Ford announced on Tuesday that third quarter pretax profits shot up 89 percent to $2.7 billion. That figure is the highest quarterly profit recorded in the company’s long history. Ford pocketed a net income of $1.9 billion, up from $833 million during Q3 of 2014.

Fatter operating margins were a large part of Ford’s success during the quarter. The automaker’s operating margins checked in at 11.3 percent during the period, up from 7.1 percent during the same period a year prior.

“The Ford team delivered an outstanding quarter — with record third quarter profit, best quarter ever for North America, higher wholesales, higher revenue, higher market share and improved margin,” said CEO Mark Fields. “We are delivering a breakthrough year.”

After a sluggish start, Ford’s new F-Series line had its best third quarter in nearly a decade. Sales at Ford’s Lincoln luxury brand were also up 15 percent during the period.

North America was easily the brightest spot in Ford’s portfolio, with the region pulling in $2.7 billion in pre-tax income. Europe remains a weak point, with the division losing $182 million on a pre-tax basis. That compares to a $257 million pre-tax profit in Q3 of 2014.

In South America Ford posted a $163 million loss compared to a $7 million profit last year. Ford’s Asia Pacific arm went from a $24 million loss in 2014 to a pre-tax profit of $20 million in 2015.

Ford isn’t expecting a repeat performance during the fourth quarter due to costs associated with an upcoming UAW contract.

Photo by Mark Elias.

Toyota will travel to tomorrow’s Tokyo Motor Show to introduce the JPN Taxi Concept. Designed to replace the 20-year old Toyota Crown Comfort, Japan’s most popular taxi, the show car accurately previews the high-tech, eco-friendly cab that will roam the streets of Tokyo by the end of the decade.

Careful observers will notice the JPN Taxi Concept is essentially a toned-down version of the eponymous show car that was displayed at the 2013 edition of the Tokyo event. It gains a less futuristic-looking front end with horizontal lights that stretch into a five-slat grille with a chrome frame, a body-colored bumpers, less chrome trim and steel wheels fitted with plastic hubcaps. A surprisingly tall green house gives the passengers a clear view of the world around them.

The cockpit is wheelchair-accessible thanks to a sliding door on the passenger-side of the taxi and a low loading floor. Interior pictures won’t be published until the start of the Tokyo show, but Toyota explains the cabin was designed with Japanese hospitality in mind.

Power for the JPN Taxi Concept comes from a hybrid drivetrain that’s made up of a small electric motor and a four-cylinder engine that runs on liquid petroleum gas (LPG). Full technical details haven’t been published yet because Toyota is still fine-tuning the drivetrain in order to make it more robust and smoother to drive in stop-and-go traffic.

The JPN Taxi Concept is expected to make the jump from concept to production with only minor modifications. It will go on sale in April of 2018, though it’s too early to tell whether or not Toyota will offer it outside of Japan.

A new report coming out of England finds Honda is busily developing an all-electric sports car.

The yet-unnamed model will be powered by the next generation of Honda’s SH-AWD torque distribution system. The 350-horsepower drivetrain is expected to consist of four inboard electric motors — one for each wheel –, a torque vectoring system and a four-wheel steering system designed to enhance both handling and maneuverability. A large lithium-ion battery pack will give the coupe a total driving range of about 300 miles.

Honda’s futuristic, battery-powered sports car was previewed by the heavily-modified CR-Z that took 11th place overall in this year’s edition of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Interestingly, the automaker recently revealed that the project was launched in 2012 in order to develop a production car, not a race car. Competing in Pikes Peak was simply a way to put the technology through its paces in challenging conditions.

Honda insiders told British magazine Autocar that the electric model hasn’t been given the green light for production yet. If built, the coupe will land by the end of the decade with a base price of approximately $100,000. It will be sold as a Honda and positioned right below the 2017 NSX (pictured) in Japan and in Europe, but whether it will wear a Honda emblem or an Acura badge on our shores is up in the air.