Tokyo Auto Salon pits performance autos against hybrids

The world's other big January auto show, the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon, opened its doors to tuner enthusiasts in mid-month with a record 402 exhibitors. The Auto Salon fuses numerous styles, but the overriding theme this year was hybrid cars, with customized Toyota Priuses and Honda Insights at every turn. Good old-fashioned engine tuning is alive and well in Japan, where even new sports cars are being heavily modified, with cars such as the KRL Mitsubishi Evolution X and the HKS Nissan GT-R both boasting in excess of 600 hp.

Video: FiDU technology creating lightweight, inflatable metal structures

This short video, featuring designer Oskar Zieta, details the process and design possibilities behind products developed with FiDU (Freie Innendruck Umformung – "free internal pressure forming") technology. Zieta, a Polish designer, explains how the lightweight yet robust metal appears as a soft object yet when you touch it you realize that it is actually a hard metal. "Working with FIDU technology is similar to carving clay," Zieta explains.

Peugeot 2008 Concept

Peugeot will unveil its new 2008 Concept at next week's Paris motor show, developed by design teams in Paris, Shanghai and Sao Paolo. The automaker has confirmed that the 2008 will go into production; first in France, then China and then Brazil as a global product. It comes after Peugeot displayed its Urban Crossover concept at this year's Beijing auto show, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the 2008.  The 2008 concept, which measures 4,140mm long and 1,730mm wide, is painted matte fluorescent yellow with dark chrome surrounding the now-familar floating grille and the air inlets integrated into the fender.