KiwamiWe thought "Kiwami" meant "land of the big beavers" in Cherokee, but now and forever we'll think of it as this big, flat-faced concept from Honda that jams a fuel-cell powertrain under the hood of what looks like a TI scientific calculator after a run-in with a Lambo Murcielago. The powertrain's pretty advanced, actually, and can operate below freezing, a big stumbling block for fuel cells. Now that they've fixed that problem, Honda will continue working on bringing million-dollar fuel-cell prototypes into the affordable range over the next decade. We expect they'll have to call out for pizza at some point.
Hyundai/kiaNeos-iiDespite what you may have heard, the NEOS-II is not a character in Matrix: Revolutions. But the black wardrobe of the Hyundai concept seems like maybe it wanted to audition for the flick? Undoubtedly the NEOS-II is more entertaining than Keanu, with its futuristic interior and four-seat cabin. Hyundai says it's got the room of a luxury car inside and we believe them. Sometimes you just have to trust strangers, Mom says.
Kia KCV3Kia is a part of the Hyundai conglomerate, but from the concepts on display, you'd have to guess it's not a healthy family relationship. While Hyundai made a fuss over its SUV ideas, Kia brought the KCV3, a petite convertible concept that is under development but probably will be beaten to market by the bigger convertible on the way from, you guessed it, big sister Hyundai. Hyundai even got a trip to Europe for graduation, we're told, bitterly
MitsubishiTarmac SpyderThe name sounds as if Mitsu wants you to drive it right up to your Gulfstream before jetting off to Mustique. But the Tarmac Spyder is meant for a whole other economic strata-one that buys Mitsubishis, say, instead of islands or planes or people's souls. The four-seat concept is the first vehicle to come from a new platform that will be shared by Chrysler and Mitsubishi; the first spawn from it will arrive in 2005, and eventually, everything from the Chrysler PT Cruiser to the Mitsu Lancers will ride on similar mechanicals. Now that's progress.
MazdaIbukiThe Miata is not getting any younger, and queer-eyed guys across the nation are probably already judging the unbelievably cute Ibuki as a worthy successor to the evergreen and very, very gay Mazda Miata. Mazda won't admit that the Ibuki is the replacement for the Miata, just like they won't admit to experimenting in college. But the show car's crisp lines and compact proportions are in the ballpark. Mazda also says it's planning coupe and roadster derivatives of the RX-8, and that the future Miata will share the same chassis with the RX-8, so maybe it will all end happily without the intervention of the Fab Five and the use of any "product" in our hair.
SubaruB9Funny thing: we hear "B9" and we think about the mole we had removed last fall. Subaru thinks B9 is a great concept convertible name, however, and its hybrid B9 Scrambled concept from Tokyo is said to presage the look of Subarus yet to come. The hybrid package here gets an estimated 48 mpg and is strapped to an all-wheel drive system, lest it be confused for anything except a Subaru.
R1eA city car for the future: that's what Subaru wants you to think of the R1e. A four-seater and a two-door, the R1e draws power from a lithium-ion battery kind of like your cell phone. We can only hope this city car won't drop you in the middle of a conversation, leaving other drivers to ask in bewilderment, "Can you move out of my way now? How about now?"