London - November 27, 2008
1. Mid sign reading Japan Car - Designs For The Crowded Globe
2. Wide sign reading Japan Car - Designs For The Crowded Globe and people walking in front
3. Wide Nissan Pivo 2 revolving
4. Mid Nissan Pivo 2 revolving
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Eva Ng Kon Tia, Communications Associate, Nissan:
"Pivo2 is a concept car and it has been developed by Nissan based on market research that showed a lot of people have experienced difficulty with parallel parking, parking in general. So this car is revolutionary because the cabin rotates 360 degrees, so it allows you just to rotate the cabin, the wheels rotate as well and you just go straight through the parking. It's also an electric vehicle, so Pivo2 has been developed to have independence of 120 kilometres, so you can be health conscious and you know, saving the environment conscious."
6. Close Nissan Pivo 2 revolving
7. Pull out Nissan Pivo 2 revolving
8. Close Nissan Pivo 2 revolving
9. Wide Honda Insight
10. Set up shot Shigeru Ban, Architect
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Shigeru Ban, Architect:
"In Europe especially the car is a purely transportation means to go from one place to one place as quickly as possible. But the Japanese design is not simply the transportation means but also that it is the extension of your house or your room because our living space is a lot smaller so young people try to escape from parents so they use the car as an extension of your house or room. So that is also very different and also some of the cars that you see here it's like a Japanese traditional house. If you open up all the sliding doors you connect the inside and outside. Very flexible - that is a very particular design of the Japanese car."
12. Wide Toyota Plug in HV (Hybrid Vehicle)
13. Various plug in to recharge car battery
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Nahum, Principle Curator of Technology and Engineering, Science Museum:
"This is the Honda Insight, one of the environmentally responsive cars in the exhibition. Like the Toyota Prius, that everyone has heard of, it uses a petrol engine to or gasoline engine to drive a dynamo, and also charge a battery. And the car can switch intelligently from running on battery power or on petrol engine power if you like, depending on circumstance. The great advantage of the system is it mean that the engine is running at peak efficiency all the time whenever it's on."
15. Pan Honda Insight
16. Pull focus Honda Insight light
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Nahum, Principle Curator of Technology and Engineering:
"The cars in the exhibition are pointing to a future where the overt styling cues that suggest power, speed and in a way it can be seen as an incitement to aggression disappear in favour of more cubic cars where - if you like - are designed from the inside out. What's important in those cars is that the living space that you inhabit not, if you like, the impression it gives to the neighbours. So they are looking to a future which is much more collaborative, more gentle and where cars have to co-operate more in order for you to get around and get your journey done on time."
18. Pan Daihatsu Tanto to Toyota IQ
19. Wide Toyota bB
20. Tilt up Toyota bB
21. Pan Toyota bB rear light
22. Wide Toyota i-REAL
23. Mid Toyota i-REAL
24. Tilt up Toyota i-REAL
25. Tilt down interior entrance area Science Museum
26. Wide exterior Science Museum
LEAD IN:
It's a question that many economists and designers are asking themselves at the moment: "what will the future of the car industry look like?".
And for some at London's Science Museum the answer could lie in Japan.
Is this the vision of the future?
Nissan think so. This environmentally friendly electric car embodies - they say - cutting edge technologies and user-friendly innovations to create an unique car-driver relationship.
The centre piece of Pivo 2's design is its revolving three-person cabin which rotates 360 degrees.
It also also has unique facial and voice-recognition software in the form of a small robot that detects the mood of the driver which could have an impact on driver behaviour like road rage and sleepiness.
Eva Ng Kon Tia is a representative from Nissan.
She says that the Pivo 2 was designed based on market research which revealed that many people have trouble parallel parking.
In addition, she adds that being an electric car it is environmentally friendly.
The Japan Car exhibition also focuses on compact and environmentally friendly cars, showing how Japanese car design reflects the spirit of Japanese culture.
Shigeru Ban is a Japanese architect and one of the organisers of the exhibition.
He says that Japanese car design is more than just about transportation.
He explains that the car is seen as another form of living space because Japan is so crowded.
Environmental concerns are high on the list of Japanese car design.
Climate conscious hybrids are part of the exhibition and have been designed to reduce carbon and other emissions.
Andrew Nahum is Principle Curator of Technology and Engineering at the Science Museum.
He explains that the Honda Insight uses a petrol engine and is also able to charge a battery without affecting efficiency.
Nahum goes on to explain that that the cars in the exhibition reveal a possible future where cars are designed from the inside out.
He says that the emphasis is on the space inside the car acting as a living area rather than as a means to impress others.
Other vehicles featured in the exhibition include the Daihatsu Tanto which maximises inside space, the Toyota IQ which combines compactness and style, the Toyota bB and the futuristic Toyota i-REAL - a personal mobility vehicle.
Japan Car - Designs for the Crowded Globe runs at the Science Museum in London from 29th November 2008 until 19th April 2009. Tickets are �8 (US $12.40).
