Nissan’s Foria concept is a full-on design study of a premium 2+2 sports (sedan?) that, from the neck up, evokes a late 1960s aesthetic — we’d almost expect it to sport a Datsun badge. Still, it’s full of all the high-tech gewgaws that make a concept worth eyeballing, like a wide dashboard monitor that allows the driver to grasp navigation position and point-of-interest information without looking away. It’s also fitted with premium interior fittings that reflect its upscale positioning. Maybe we’ll see this styling reflected in a new sports coupe, possibly in the 240SX tradition.

Toyota’s latest concept — the conservation-minded Fine-X — to be unveiled at the Tokyo motor show, showcases the benefit of fuel-cell power and the use of plant-based building materials in reducing its environmental impact, the company says. Using independent drive motors at the wheel, the FIne-X can maneuver the tightest of spaces (parallel parking? puh-lease) — one practical benefit of fuel-cell power. What’s more, the concept achieves a carbon-neutral status through the plant-based materials used in its construction, which absorb carbon dioxide as they grow (er, they grow?). Even if the components are burned when the vehicle is junked, no additional CO2 is emitted. Hmm, we were wondering what Toyota was doing with those plants it was developing.

Mercedes would like you to believe that this is just another innovative fuel cell concept. In fact, we have heard that the F600 Hygenius is also a design study that may hint at a redesigned C-class. Some of you may say that this A-class-like concept will share absolutely nothing with the next C-class, but we’re saying that some elements of this design may make it into the next C-class. Take the fenders and lower rockers, they are flared in a way similar to, but more exaggerated than the new S-Class. Look at the front grill and headlights, there is a new design language being expressed here, and it’s a design language that recalls the past. The wide low grill harks back to the designs from the Seventies, like the S-class or even the SL-series of that time period.

Besides the design elements, the concept has a few interesting features. The fuel cell powerplant can also be used to power a home or recreational vehicle. Also, the vehicle is fitted with next generation LED headlights, a technology that will undoubtedly make its way into production vehicles in the near future.