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Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
16705 messages, Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 6:56 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 17, 2008 6:54 pm)
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Replying to: andre1969 (Dec 18, 2008 7:14 am) You would not want to pilot anything bigger than a accord/malibu/camry in the rest of the world.
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" ...thought the Japanese did other things like mandatory inspections of the imports, then drag their feet inspecting them, to discourage their importation." That was true in the 1980's - I had personal experience with it. However, that was more than 25 years ago. Things have changed. I spend at least two or three weeks a year in Japan and have for years. The increase in "foreign" (non-Japanese) cars is significant, and you'll commonly see them on the streets of Tokyo and other major cities. However, the cars you see are the type that are practical for a big city with very narrow roads, limited parking, a tax on displacement, and right-side-of-the-road driving. Additionally, since the Japanese have dozens of cheap domestic (Japanese) cars available to them, the only reasonable market for foreign cars (American or European) is in the upscale market. Once you start to define the available choices within those parameters, you can see there's not much demand for American Cars, no matter how good they might be. |
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Replying to: nwng (Dec 18, 2008 7:48 am) Actually, the Japanese do get you on width as well. The magic number seems to be 1700 mm, or about 67 inches. Interestingly though, the Civic and Corolla are actually wider than the Cobalt and Focus! Civic: 69" Corolla: 69.3" Cobalt: 67.9" Focus: 67.8" I'm not sure how the size scale is graduated, but in this case it looks like the Civic/Corolla would incur as much of a tax, if not more, than a Cobalt/Focus. Is the Japanese Corolla and Civic pretty much the same as the ones we have here, just with the choice of smaller engines?
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Andre There is a car class that is not subject to taxes (or at least have minimal taxes) called the Kei class. They're the tiny cars that you read about.... All Kei-cars are no more than 1.4m wide, are no longer than 3.4m, have a maximum height of 2.0 m, have maximum engine displacements of 660 cc's and a maximum of 64 HP. Anything above that size is subject to road tax and bi-annual inspection which include a weight tax (typically $800 to $5,000) and a mandatory insurance (about $3,000. You'll also need personal insurance just as in the States, although it's generally cheaper than in the states for the same coverage. I can't find anything on the net about additional displacement taxes or width restrictions for larger cars... above those limits, it's just weight. However, as a design feature, you'll notice that most Japanese cars (or at least the designs intended for the Japanese Domestic market) have flat sides to maximize interior space while still making it easier to get down the crowded streets. As for Japanese Civics, et al, yes, they're the same, and no they're not. The Japanese have a variety of internal brands and tons of options that we don't see here. Additionally they have stripper models that we don't see here. Model names are different there too. I'm not up on most of them currently, but I used to own a Violet, and then later a Cherry (Yes I bought it new  ). Examples of options that come to mind are beautiful tapestry brocade materials for the interiors instead of leather, refrigerators for the trunks, self-drying outside mirrors(they vibrate the water off), televisions in the dash that the driver can watch, and on and on. By the way, before you can buy a car in most Japanese cities, you have to be able to prove that you have a parking space big enough for the car - before you can buy it. Car dealers actually come out to your house and measure it! |
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Replying to: andre1969 (Dec 18, 2008 8:06 am) Pretty much but there are usually some fairly minor detail and option differences, plus in the Japanese market those cars occupy about the same market segment as an Impala does here so you get the occasional Blade Master G (Matrix with the Camry V6). Something like 40% of the Japanese market (which fell below 5 million this year) is kei cars. |
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Replying to: dieselone (Dec 18, 2008 4:52 am)
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Replying to: 62vetteefp (Dec 18, 2008 3:55 am) |
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Replying to: steve_ (Dec 18, 2008 9:29 am)
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Replying to: steve_ (Dec 18, 2008 9:29 am) I guess it's just WHICH corporate interests are seeking government favors that really matter, but the critics have failed to make that distinction over the past eight years. And if the UAW members do take it into the shorts, I suggest that they aim their ire at both Daimler and Cerberus, not the Bush administration. He is just rightly refusing to clean up the mess that they have made. |
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