No sign of global auto meltdown at Tokyo Auto Salon

With more than 600 cars on display and a record number of exhibitors, nothing at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Salon tuner show hinted at the global economic downturn. As always, there was a great mix of styles, from hard-core, 1,000-hp, supertuned machinery to weird customized scooter tricycles.

Auto manufacturers tried hard to capture the minds--if not the wallets--of the younger-than-30 crowd with customized versions of production cars, while tuners were busy persuading power junkies to choose them for their next engine modification.

The new Nissan 370Z took center stage, and Nissan's in-house tuner arm, Nismo, used the opportunity to unveil the S-tune version. The 370Z S-tune should eventually make it to the United States. Zele Performance stunned crowds with its Lamborghini-orange 370Z, which joined the GT-R we saw at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show last fall.

Mazda had its ready-for-tuning 2010 Mazda 3 on hand, with a few modified versions for the crowds to check out.

On the wild side, Power Enterprise bolted a second set of superchargers onto the GT-R, effectively creating a quad-supercharged, 700-hp engine, while Mugen's widebody Acura NSX-RR concept was the talk of the show.

Ciick on the gallery for photos and info on a dozen cars that were at the show.

By Dino Dalle Carbonare