Autoblog UK

At the IAA in Frankfurt, Honda were prominent by their absence. Now, at the Tokyo Motor Show, the Japanese carmaker seems determined to compensate in full. They have the biggest stand of all the exhibitors and have filled it up with an array of design studies that are brimful of new ideas, albeit eccentric in part. One of the design highlights of the show is bound to be the Honda Skydeck Concept. This futuristic, airily named family van is clearly a long way removed from being a production-ready vehicle, yet it arouses more than just passing interest. With its windscreen blending into a glass roof, driver and passengers have an impression of unconstrained freedom. The seating too has been designed with leisure in mind. The front doors open upwards and the rear doors slide backwards. In other words, they're doors, Jim, but not as we know them. There is no B-pillar to impede ingress. And if you prefer to sit in the third row, you can push the second bench under the front seat. Under the bonnet, a hybrid PLUS engine provides an eco-friendly drive.

Visitors to the Tokyo Motor Show can admire a prototype of the Honda CR-Z hybrid sports car that is claimed to be ready for series production, though whether this gleaming white vision ever makes it onto the road is anyone's guess. For the present, at least, Honda are once again showcasing the sporty hybrid model just as a design study. So will they or won't they? Honda have the biggest stand of all the manufacturers exhibiting at the Tokyo Motor Show. It would be a pity if they were merely using the CR-Z to fill up what would otherwise have been an empty space.

Honda will be presenting a special series of the Civic Type R with white bodywork. This "Championship White Edition" first took its bow at the Geneva Motor Show and as a contrast to the white bodywork, the door handles, tank filler cap, radiator grille and exclusive four-digit type badge are finished in a dark chrome design. This new top model of the Type-R series has 18-inch tyres and the well-known two-litre engine with 201bhp and a maximum revving limit of 3,000rpm, and costs 28,990 euros.

At the Shanghai Motor Show, Honda presented a concept car named Linian, that is to be specifically targeted at the Chinese market as an autonomous marque. The Linian has typically Chinese design and was developed by Guangzhou. Honda Guangzhou is a joint venture company between Japanese constructor Honda and the Chinese car company Guangzhou Automobile.

At Easter, for some strange reason, we all become fixated on bunny rabbits – well almost all of us. At Honda, they also spare a thought for the four-legged friends who loyally accompany their four-wheeled owners. At the New York Auto Show, the Japanese car maker is exhibiting the 'Dog Friendly Honda Element Concept'. By which they mean the components that turn a trip for a pooch into an exclusive excursion. It starts with a convenient ramp for boarding and alighting. A nicely padded couch on a raised platform turns even the longest journey into a pleasurable outing. A ventilator ensures fresh air and agreeable temperatures at all times. And there are a host of additional features to excite our canine companions.

There will certainly be those who hope that that New Zealander Alex Hodge's latest work does not just remain at the compact car stage, three-wheeled dream as it is. There is a chassis with fiberglass shell and a Honda RC51 engine running up to 10,000 rpm, meaning that this formidable piece of kit could reach a top speed of 230 kph. It's still not possible to buy it, but we can wait. So come on Alex, get your nose to the grindstone.

Honda have chosen Bologna to debut the FCX Clarity, the first small family series car equipped with the technology of tomorrow. A quality saloon vehicle with coupé styling and the dimensions of a Honda Accord. The revolutionary aspect of this vehicle is to be found under the bodywork: a fuel cell powertrain. The energy is supplied by hydrogen which reacts with oxygen inside the fuel cell. This in turn generates electricity which, to all intents and purposes, propels the car without any harmful emissions (just water vapour), thus creating minimal environmental impact.

Once again, it is the French who have allowed their imagination to run riot and have come up with two spectacular design studies – the crossover Citroën Hypnos and the Peugeot RC Hybrid 4 sports sedan. Unfortunately, we shouldn't have high expectations of seeing these on our roads at any time. Both may be regarded as pure 'haute couture', the Hypnos as a diesel hybrid, the RC as a petrol hybrid with a 1.6-litre turbo plus electric motor packing 313bhp and emitting a mere 109g CO2/km. The Japanese have once again created a stir with their snazzy compact concepts. For example, Nissan with the sweet, curvaceous, electrically powered Nuvu, and Toyota with the eccentrically designed Fine-T with its fuel cell. The future is a funny place.

A motor manufacturer can have any number of reasons for presenting a design study. They may wish to demonstrate a particular capability without ever moving on to the series production stage. Or it may be intended to whet the appetite for a new model in the pipeline.

But one of the most important reasons is to enhance the image of the marque. Honda have been working on their green credentials for a number of years and have now made inroads into Toyota's hybrid monopoly by thinking two steps ahead and concentrating on the fuel cell technology of the future.

Bruno Senna thought he was so close to realising his long-cherished Formula One ambitions. Then came the shocking news that Honda were withdrawing from F1 with immediate effect. Senna's main hope must now be that the team finds a buyer who also happens to be impressed by his recent test performance and by the potential pulling power of his name.

But the Brazilian has no intention of sitting on his hands. "We'll have to look around and see what other options are open to us," said Senna. "These things happen. It's never been easy to get into Formula One – you just have to keep plugging away and see what turns up."

Obviously, he is hoping that the now ex-Honda team keeps going: "And I'm not burn any bridges there, but I can't wait for ever... On the other hand, the financial situation is tough everywhere at the moment and it is difficult to see where things are heading. So in the circumstances, you have to be very flexible."

The LA Auto Show has just kicked off, and on the very first day of the press preview, there was already one minor cause for astonishment.

And this is what it looks like - the first genuine surprise of this year's car show held in Los Angeles: a Honda design study of the FC Sport fuel cell. Honda's designers in Pasadena are veritable masters when it comes to packaging. The fuel cell has been accommodated in the mid section of the car and powers the electric motor located between the rear wheels.

The FC Sport is a three-seater styled like the McLaren F1, with the driver occupying a central position and the two passengers sitting somewhat further back. The Honda FC Sport is currently no more than a styling concept. But it would not be all that surprising if a fully functional version weren't eventually to appear at some showroom or other. But whether there would be many takers is a wholly different matter...