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"  Despite the current struggles of the Japanese automakers and tuners, the Tokyo Auto Salon (TAS) took place as planned at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, with more glitz and pizzazz than expected. While the Nissan GT-R was the standout last year, the theme was green for 2009, with more environmentally friendly machines taking the forefront.   According to our correspondent, Taro Koki of GTChannel.com, TAS organizers announced that 230,000 people visited this year&amp;#039;s show compared to 250,000 last year. This year, the event organizers decided to merge the &amp;quot;Import Auto Salon,&amp;quot; a separate show that features tuner cars from Europe and America, into the mix, resulting in an increased number of exhibitors, cars and booths.   Toyota, the only Japanese carmaker left in Formula 1, announced the continuation of its Gazoo Racing Project. The Gazoo booth had a customized Toyota IQ, as well as the Lexus LF-A and Altezza that raced at the 24 Hours of the N\u00FCrburgring.   The Nissan 370Z was the favorite car to tune this year, with examples from noted tuners such as Mine&amp;#039;s, Zele and MCR. Honda cars, which are always well represented at this show, were fewer in number because there haven&amp;#039;t been any new models. Therefore, Honda tuners such as Mugen and Spoon were forced to get creative. The former had a crazy wide-body NSX on display, while the latter showed off a red NSX Type R with a unique twist: It was left-hand drive.   &amp;quot;We converted a left-hand-drive U.S.-spec Acura NSX into a Japan-spec Honda NSX Type R,&amp;quot; said Spoon president Tatsuru Ichishima. &amp;quot;We thought it would be fun, and we plan on bringing this car to America.&amp;quot;   There were obvious absentees at this year&amp;#039;s show, most notably Trust/GReddy and HKS, as well as some manufacturers. Regardless, our correspondent Koki reported that the 2009 TAS was an entertaining event, and a great way to kick off the new year. For more, check out our gallery of the 2009 Tokyo Auto Salon. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-shows/news/a14499/2009-tokyo-auto-salon/>