Honda Creates Best Japanese Car Name: Freed Spike Transporter

Just the Facts:

• At the 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon, Honda is showing a variety of customized and "accessorized" vehicles for the Japanese market.
• Honda's TAS display includes the Flash Box, the Freed Wa, the Freed Spike Transporter and the Beat Auto Salon Special.
• The auto salon is Japan's answer to SEMA.

TOKYO — Honda is having a rollicking good time at this year's 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon, with the outrageously outfitted Flash Box and the delightfully named Freed Wa and Freed Spike Transporter.

The Tokyo auto salon, which is basically Japan's answer to the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas, runs this weekend, featuring a wild mix of production, concept, tuner, racing, prototype, customized and "accessorized" vehicles.

Honda said its display was designed to "present an exciting variety of approaches to customization while conveying the joy of mobility and the appeal of motor sports."

The Honda stand features the Flash Box, which is based on the new N Box Custom minicar that was released in December in Japan. The Flash Box gets custom paint and employs LEDs and reflective decals to adorn the exterior and interior of the boxy hatchback.

The Freed Wa — wa refers to traditional Japanese culture — is based on the Freed Hybrid compact minivan and showcases a lacquered exterior with a four-seasons interior motif.

Honda Racing has created another Freed spin-off, the Freed Spike Transporter, which was designed to haul off-road motorcycles.

Finally, an Auto Salon special edition of Honda's now-defunct Beat micro-roadster wears a special lower skirt and a custom paint job.

Inside Line says: The Japanese love their custom cars — the wilder, the better.