Tokyo motor shows: past, present and future

By Tim Pollard Motor Shows 20 August 2009 09:30 As bets in this topsy-turvy, unpredictable industry go, it’s a banker: of all the motor shows on the global calendar, the Tokyo exhibit is always the barmiest. Although the Chinese shows are rising in importance – and amusement value –  there’s something peculiarly bonkers about the biannual Japanese bash held in downtown Tokyo. So strange is the exhibition at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba City to westerners, that you don’t bat an eyelid at talking cars, vehicles with feelings, or cars designed for dogs.

Volkswagen Polo wins European Car of the Year award

Volkswagen's new Polo--slated to enter the U.S. market within three years--narrowly beat the Toyota iQ to win the 2010 European Car of the Year award. The Polo scored 347 points against 337 for the iQ city car.

New Mercedes GLA SUV: Frankfurt 2013

The new Mercedes GLA SUV (pictured) has debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Mercedes may not have been exactly overwhelmingly good at producing a compact car with the old A-Class, but the new A-Class is a very good little car, and it’s rapidly spawning more variants to mop up more sales. We’ve already got the new A-Class and the swoopy-coupe Mercedes CLA and now we get the compact SUV take on the A-Class – the new Mercedes GLA.