GreenCarReports: 2009 Tokyo Motor Show Coverage

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2009 Tokyo Motor Show

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It's a sad thing when an auto show loses its exhibitors, and this was a tough year for Tokyo.

Foreign automakers shunned the show--unless you count England's Lotus--so the biannual event had pretty much only Japanese products on display.

Despite the downsizing, green cars abounded, ranging from new production models like the 2012 Nissan Leaf electric car to concepts pointing the way toward even greener offerings for future hybrids and electric-drive vehicles.

Here's the GreenCarReports.com rundown of everything worth noting from last week's press days at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. Regular readers will note we've covered many of them before, keeping you current on all things green and auto-related.

2009 Tokyo Motor Show: Production Cars

2009 Honda CR-Z concept car

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2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid: The CR-Z sports coupe, the spiritual successor to the much-loved and highly fuel efficient 1983-1991 Honda Civic CR-X, has had a particularly long gestation. It was first shown as a concept back at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show.

The version shown this year, however, is very close to the production version that will go on sale in Japan next February. We should see that car arrive in the U.S. next spring, after making its debut at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.

Like the CR-X all those years ago, the CR-Z will use a 1.5-liter gasoline engine. This time, however, it'll be fitted with Honda's mild-hybrid Integrated Motor Assist system, paired to a six-speed manual gearbox, the first ever in a hybrid car.

Nissan LEAF electric vehicle

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2012 Nissan Leaf: The 2011 Chevrolet Volt didn't appear at the Tokyo Motor Show, but if it had, it would have been fascinating to see it side-by-side with the 2012 Nissan Leaf.

Why? Both are five-door hatchbacks, and they're also the first two plug-in vehicles from major global automakers to go into mass production.

But they take very different approaches to driving on fuel from the electric grid. The Volt battery pack gives 40 miles of range, and a gasoline engine "range extender" switches on for longer trips, giving range up to 300 miles.

The 2012 Nissan Leaf, on the other hand, is a pure electric car with a 100-mile range from a full charge of its 24-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. Power is delivered to the front wheels by an 80-kilowatt (108-horsepower) electric motor.

That's enough to cover the daily driving of far more than 90 percent of U.S. drivers, even before a network of public charging stations arrives. We were impressed with our test drive of the 2012 Nissan Leaf powertrain.

How buyers react is a big question, though, as is the cost. Nissan hasn't yet said how it will price the Leaf; it may offer the car at a base price around $25,000 and lease the battery pack separately.

2010 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Concept

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Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid: Toyota is the undisputed global leader in hybrid-electric cars, having built roughly two-thirds of the 2 million hybrids now on the world's roads. But the company has been slow on plug-in vehicles, frequently criticizing the technology as impractical and insufficiently reliable.

Nonetheless, private owners and fleets have now converted almost 1,000 Priuses to plug-ins, and Toyota is now following suit. The company will build 500 plug-in Priuses with lithium-ion battery packs, a more advanced technology than the nickel-metal-hydride used in all standard Prius models.

Importantly, unlike "series hybrids" that include the upcoming 2011 Volt and the 2010 Fisker Karma, the Plug-In Prius does not run entirely in electric mode until its pack is depleted before switching on its engine.