Strangeness in a strange land; Tokyo show promises worldwide array of wild concepts.(News)(concept cars to be displayed at Tokyo Motor Show)

Byline: BOB GRITZINGER

Japan's heavyweights can be expected to take advantage of home field at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, but European and U.S. automakers also plan strong showings. All told, things will probably appear pretty foreign compared with North Amer-ican big car, big truck, big ute standards.

Toyota rolls out three new concepts the company says showcase its commitment to engineering environmentally friendly vehicles that can still pump up an enthusiast's heart rate. These are Fine-N, PM and NLSV (along with the home-market debut of the Frankfurt show car called CS&S).

Fine-N is a fuel-cell vehicle with by-wire controls housed in a mini-minivan with electric motors at each wheel. Toyota touts Fine-N's full amenities from air conditioning to audio and navigation systems, along with a driving range of 310 miles. The Scion-styled NLSV is Toyota's conceptual take on a future multipurpose vehicle. It wears a high roof, low floor and power sliding doors on each side that allow the vehicle to become a walk-through room on wheels. But the real oddity is the PM, or Personal Mobility concept, which is a one-person pod on four outrigger wheel hubs that can be linked to other PMs to create a "platoon'' of cars rolling in an evenly spaced train, the first car taking the lead and the others following on autopilot while their drivers/ occupants socialize.

Back on terra firma, Mazda is devoting considerable attention to various forms of its Miata (Roadster in Japan, MX-5 in Europe). Mazda is showing a future two-seater concept, along with a turbocharged Roadster concept that features a lightly boosted 1.8-liter four-cylinder that the company says particularly aids the car's mid-range performance. The car also gets a 4.10 final drive ratio (up from 3.91), a better limited-slip differential, firmer suspension and a lowered ride height.

With any luck, the turbo Miata will appear in the States after it gets production approval for the home market. That's the good news. On the downside, Mazda has no ...