1996 Daihatsu Hi-jet on 2040-cars

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Daihatsu Compagno concept makes us wish the company was still in America

Here at Autoblog, we frequently talk about cars we love that we just can't get here, and Daihatsu just revealed a car that will surely reignite those conversations. It's a new concept called the Compagno, and it's a revival of a vintage Daihatsu of the same name. It's also a little sedan that, because of its sleek shape, is called a coupe. Debate over naming conventions aside, the Compagno is a lovely little sedan to look at. It's very well proportioned, and it has a refreshingly clean and taut shape with long, simple curves and little adornment. It gets a little bit of flair and aggression from the shoulder created by a creased line that runs from the top of the headlights to the top of the taillights. The fast, sloping roofline and hidden rear door handle help sell the coupe look. It's also nice to see a retro-inspired design that isn't shamelessly so. You can see the retro elements in the shape of the grille and the way the fascia leans forward, but most of the rest of the car looks quite modern. We like this sedan a lot, and we really wish something similar would come here. It's not the only Daihatsu we'd like to see either. The company has a really cool little kei-class roadster called the Copen. It's available with different appearance options that will appeal to fans of modern and vintage cars alike, and it features a line of customizable body parts. Daihatsu also designed a thoroughly adorable kei-class van called the Move Canbus. It looks like a tiny VW Microbus. Bring over all three, and you'd have a really appealing lineup. But if we leave our wildest dreams and examine our cold hard reality, a lineup like this probably wouldn't survive here. All of those cars are extremely small. The Copen is about half a size smaller than a Miata, for reference. Even this Compagno concept is probably too small. The company says it has either a 1.0-liter turbocharged engine, or a 1.2-liter hybrid engine. That means there's no way it's any bigger than say, a Ford Fiesta sedan. And if that's one of the largest cars Daihatsu might sell, the company wouldn't have a prayer in a world where the F-150 is king. Oh well, even if we never get the Compagno, hopefully Japan will see a production version. And then in 25 years, crazy car enthusiasts such as ourselves might start bringing some over. Related Video:

Question of the Day: What's the most irritating car name?

You hear a lot about how the Chevrolet Nova was a sales flop in Mexico because "No va" means "it doesn't go" in Spanish; in fact, the Nova sold pretty well south of the border, and in any case most Spanish-speakers know that "Nova" means "new" in Latin and Portuguese. However, General Motors doesn't deserve to be let off the hook for bad car names, because the Oldsmobile Achieva— no doubt inspired by the excruciating "coffee achievers" ads of the 1980s— scrapes the biggest fingernails down the screechiest chalkboard in the US-market car-name world. That is, unless you think Daihatsu's incomprehensible choice of Charade was worse. Meanwhile, Japanese car buyers could get machines with cool names like Mazda Bongo Friendee or Honda Life Dunk. It's just not fair! So, what car name drives you the craziest? Related Video: Auto News Design/Style Chevrolet Honda Mazda Daihatsu Automotive History questions car names

Daihatsu's tiny concepts bring big weird to the 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon

Daihatsu will have nine concepts at its 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon stand, featuring influences from the club to the clifftop. The most important is the Taft, which takes the Daihatsu Waku Waku concept showed at this year's Tokyo Motor Show closer to next year's production-ready form. In 1974, Daihatsu released a small, Jeep-ish 4x4 called the Taft, the name an acronym for Tall & Almighty Four-wheel Touring vehicle. The rebirth of the name on a kei-car that Daihatsu bills as "the world's first light crossover," and that comes standard with front-wheel drive and a CVT, necessitates editing the acronym to Tall & Almighty Fun Tool. The rugged pretensions of the Waku Waku are dialed back on the new Taft, with panoramic roof replacing the storage area in the Waku Waku's upper deck, rear doors and windows replacing the orange interior panels and jerry can motif, a more traditional front fascia and less cladding. Three Tanto kei cars dress up in three vastly different guises with three different front fascias. Because no auto show display can go without an overlander, the Tanto Cross Field concept delivers "Active gear you can rely on for your family," said gear appearing to be a roof rack and a set of fog lights. All we know about that Tanto Custom Premium is that it "gives off an overwhelming presence with a fearless black face" that seems to have taken design notes from the Toyota Prius and Mirai, not totally surprising since Toyota owns Daihatsu. The Tanto Marvel Spider-Man concept looks the most like a stock Tanto, wallpapered in panels from a comic book. Three Hijet microvan concepts don personalities for three different career days. The Hatsune Miku Marche concept is a working coffee stand and pop-up store dolled up in collaboration with the turquoise-haired, pony-tailed, "Vocaloid software voicebank" known as Hatsune Miku. Designers of the Hijet Peaks worked with Peaks magazine on the "playable overlander" with indoor climbing wall holds decorating the sides. Since the Hijet is only about 72 inches tall, it won't take much to climb, but Daihatsu will have a more challenging bouldering course in the stand for kids from three to 12 years old. The Hijet Jumbo DJ could be considered a giant DJ booth, DJ Kakushika making an appearance at the show to play a set in the Hijet's bed.