2016 Tokyo Auto Salon Part 3 – Wild, Crazy and Amazing, We Love This Show!

By Steve Laser reporting from Tokyo, Japan

The greatest thing about the annual Tokyo Auto Salon is that we never know what to expect. While the car companies have joined the party (see parts 1 and 2), this is a custom car show limited only by imagination and creativity. Here’s a photo and video gallery of some of the sights.

2016-01-15 13.15.19This car is an excellent example of the wild and crazy vehicles on display. It originally started life as a 1985 Nissan Bluebird. Now, it’s part custom, part science fiction and all for show and go. (The front approach angle would likely limit its practicality as a daily driver.)

2016-01-15 11.51.54At the other extreme of the custom car spectrum, we spotted this vintage Mercury leadsled tricked out to the max. How many of these could there be in Japan?

2016-01-15 09.46.51Glittery cars are not just for stars. Anyone with the desire (and money) to make their Mercedes sparkle should make a beeline for this company.

Heres’s a look at some of the custom vans and SUVs in our video. Be sure to check out the cool VW microbus.

2016-01-15 11.04.53What happens when a Nissan Cube and a Ford F100 have a child? The result is something like this.

2016-01-15 11.05.23This was a remarkably well-finished conversion with nicely integrated parts and components. The rear door is the main giveaway to the donor car.

2016-01-15 11.06.44The interior received the full custom treatment too, with a color scheme that reminded us of a 1950s American Diner.

2016-01-16 11.29.58Speaking of trucks, we spotted this mini-truck turned into a serious off-roader. It must be quite a hike just to get into the cabin.

We were happy to see these Toyota Land Cruisers outfitted for camping or just cruising the town. Check them out in our video.

2016-01-15 13.11.06Vintage Land Rovers like these made us wish that we could bring them back to America. They were in beautiful condition and looked factory fresh.

2016-01-15 13.09.43It’s a Nissan camper! This cool van was ready for travel. And it will be noticed along the way thanks to the bright orange paint like a traffic cone.

2016-01-16 09.37.02 HDRSports cars? Yes there were lots and lots of them at the Tokyo Auto Salon. We liked this AMG on display at the Mercedes-Benz exhibit.

This video takes a closer look at the wide array of sports cars at the Tokyo Auto Salon in a rainbow of color choices.

2016-01-15 13.17.25We felt a little homesick when we saw this Corvette on display at the Chevrolet exhibit. Actually, we were surprised to see a Chevrolet display here!

2016-01-15 11.31.20Our vote for the weirdest custom from a manufacturer goes to the Toyota Style Mb. It looks remarkably different from the Sienta that we tested last fall in Nagoya.

2016-01-16 10.18.12The interior was dressed in a two-tone white and pink color scheme that made us think of Hello Kitty plush toys.

This wraps up our coverage of the 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon.

Visit the links below for our additional 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon stories:

2016 Tokyo Auto Salon Part 1 – Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Lexus Displays

2016 Tokyo Auto Salon Part 2 – Daihatsu, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Suzuki

Story, photos and videos © 2016 CarNichiWa.com