Archive for October, 2007

Tokyo Motor Show 2007 Vol.2

Monday, October 29th, 2007

Those are photos of concept cars lined there up in Tokyo Motor Show 2007.
First is Toyota RiN, its concept is based on matching in the forest. Its green color is charming!

Toyota RiN

Next is Lexus LF-A. This car is more practical than another concept car. (more…)

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Tokyo Motor Show 2007 Vol.1

Saturday, October 27th, 2007

I went to Tokyo Motor Show 2007, held at Makuhari Messe, with one of my customers coming from Maldives yesterday. It was opened only to the press or people in auto industry yesterday, they opens to the public from 27th October (Sat) to 11th November (Sun). This is one of very excited events for Japanese car maniacs and they are gathering there from all parts of Japan.
We found various kinds of next generation cars then and had a very exciting time!!

I’m going to write about then in Tokyo Motor Show 2007 with some photos next Monday. Check it out!!

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Serious Sumo Crisis

Friday, October 26th, 2007

Sumo is well-known sports for the whole world for the sports originated Japan, it is big men’s game. It has long history in Japan, and there are a lot of fans not only inside but also outside of this country.
Now, it, Sumo, is facing a serious problem from two scandals, one is about Yokozuna and another is about young Sumo wrestler. (more…)

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Eid Festival in Japan!!

Thursday, October 18th, 2007

My staffs and I attended a party greeting by Muslims, Eid Festival, at one of our staff’s house held last Saturday. He is a pious Muslim from Bangladesh and his wife and his brother, too. We had an incredible time with them. It was for the first time to watch the TV show broadcasted Bangladesh with the Internet and I have found Bangladeshi women is beautiful!! Spicy Bangladeshi cuisine is always so good for us!! There is the difference of culture between other countries’ and ours, we sometimes feel it when we talk with our customers and our non-Japanese staffs, however, it is also interesting to learn and get to know another culture very much.

Bangladeshi Cuisine (more…)

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Agressive Scheme of Japanese Major Vehicle Makers 3

Thursday, October 18th, 2007

As you have already known and I have mentioned in my recent blog posts, renewal of some popular car models, like Landcruiser 200, Mark X Zio and GT-R, have launched and will be coming soon. Toyota also announced their new product “Corolla Rumion,” Mitsubishi, eager to get their trust back, launches new Lancer Evolution X. They are expecting that their sales would be increasing with them, however, it is not clear so far.
Some people who are called “celeb” in Japan (please note: this does not mean real celebrity, everyone in Japan calls rich person “Celeb”) like high-grade car, especially, imported car like Mercedes, BMW, Ferrari etc. In Ginza and Roppongi, where rich people are gathering at night, we can see more imported cars than Japanese luxury cars like Toyota Celsior, President, Nissan Cima and so on. It is not unusual scenery around those town today. All they can afford to buy expensive car but do not buy Japanese car because it is one of their status to be appeal their wealth. On the other hand, young people who likes car are tend to buy American car, not Japanese sports car. That’s why there are some American car magazines published here. Almost car owners do think mechanical techniques of car are not the matter when they choose their car, for them, the most important thing when they purchase is its exterior.

Then, do you know who the target of vehicle maker’s sales scheme is?
The answer, I suppose, is car maniacs in manhood. They are not young but can afford to buy car whatever they want. In their youth days, they liked to buy the “middle-grade” passenger car which has 5 or more seater for their family, but their children have been getting growing and independence from parents, finally, some of them have been about age of retirement.
They do not have to spend their earnings on education for children and can spend their money on their hobby!! If there are a lot of car maniacs among them, they are going to boost sales of new car.
Following object is one of reason why I think so, Nissan has already received rushing purchase offers of new GT-R (Official Website), launches on December 2007, unless they had announced all information of it yet. I heard its price would be at least 7,000,000Yen for standard model (actually, it would be possible to be about 8,000,000Yen!!). Who can buy such expensive car!? —Of course, rich person can. Moreover, car maniacs who addicted to old Skyline in the old days have been getting older and now are willing to buy new GT-R, always can’t take their eye’s off it!!

I’m feeling young car maniacs is getting decreasing and they are tend to buy non-expensive car in Japan these days. Vehicle makers attempt to make various car matching their interesting, however, it is not sure that have reached everyone’s mind…
And it is getting easier to buy high-quality used car now through appearing used car distribution like Japanese used car auctions which we buy cars for our customer when we export them.
But we should not forget that, we cannot buy used car without new car because used car was new car when it launched first. Decreasing of sales of new car is serious problem not only for car makers but also for us, used car dealer, in the future.

Toyota is still the best company in Japan. They succeeded to make strongest and loved car, finally, people all over the world love their car. But in Japan, no one take Toyota car considering as special one, needless to say, it is ordinary for everybody. How an ironic it is!!

I would like to expect  the future of Japanese auto industry and Japanese people to love Japanese car…

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Agressive Scheme of Japanese Major Vehicle Makers 2

Friday, October 5th, 2007

Japanese well-known makers always have developed a lot of vehicles and keep everyone’s eyes on their products. People who love cars did not used to regard the car as just vehicle, but as their hobby, however, we cannot see this car boom any more here except for car maniacs still being.

Suzuki Wagon R

Then, what car is well-sold in Japan now? The answer is “Kei car” which is the vehicle under 660cc. (more…)

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Agressive Scheme of Japanese Major Vehicle Makers 1

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007

Today, as everyone knows, Japanese vehicle makers have expanded their business day by day. We can see almost Japanese dealers the whole world. It’s not rare that you can buy Toyota car in your country, not from Japan, and there are some cars that we cannot get in Japan because of appearance of international model like Japanese car with LHD.
I have mentioned that young people don’t own their car these days in my last post yesterday, and it is true, it is getting decreasing the numbers of registrated car in Japan.
The reason why is that, I think, it is not only parking issue but also expensive taxes on owing car and few attractive cars for them recently. According to an article on one of Japanese famous newspapers last month, young people tend to spend their weekend alone in their house and save their earning for their future because Japanese Social Security System, especially Japanese public pension plan, will be about collapsing due to many disgraceful affairs by officers of government. And one more reason I guess is that so many young people are gathering urban city, and there are the various available transportation even if we do not have car, so, there is no necessity for being owner of car near big cities.
Once in a time, owing car was in a sense that was status for everyone in Japan. After the World War II, in high growth between 1955 to 1975, population who eager to buy and purchase their own car has been getting increasing, in the time of ”Made is Japan” was not considered good quality then yet. Everyone in the world laughs at things manufactured in Japan and no one could imagine there would be so many Japanese vehicles everywhere around the world in their future days. Now, Japanese cars are loved by people living in different countries, continents and even opposite to Japan.
Japanese car company like Toyota, Nissan, Honda etc. have been no more local companies in Japan getting global and multinational ones in 21st century for their brilliant sales. Toyota is the best company in Japan nowadays, still some of makers had to change their sales strategy because of a few bad scandals and changes of laws about ecological regulation.  But totally almost Japanese car makers have been bigger and bigger year by year thanks to their close mechanical progressings.

(Continued on my next blog…)

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Serious Parking Issue for All Drivers in Japan

Monday, October 1st, 2007

I cannot imagine how many people living far apart from Japan have ever visited Japan.
Once you are in Tokyo, the capital city of Japan, I think you would find it is so messy town because now we have to share so much narrow space with other people due to the highest population density around the big cities as well as Osaka and Nagoya, which are the other biggest cities. (more…)

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