| Author | Message | ||
| Andrew (Enzo250gto)
Junior Member Username: Enzo250gto Post Number: 87 Registered: 2-2002 |
Repainting is a little over the top but I wouldn't put it past them. I've actually seen at least a dozen riced out Ferraris here in Tokyo. A F355 with a black wing, wheels, and tinted windows (it was very ugly). A 360 also altered heavily (could tell just by the sound) with a large wing. A 328 and Testarossa also modified. | ||
| Jeffrey Wolfe (86mondial32)
Junior Member Username: 86mondial32 Post Number: 215 Registered: 5-2003 |
This is amazing. I had thought that in japan they were performance car nuts. Seems that msot of the really nice cars during the 80's went to japan never to be seen again. Can't imagine them driving an IMpala | ||
| Mark Lambert (Mlambert890)
Junior Member Username: Mlambert890 Post Number: 102 Registered: 4-2002 |
I never see many American cars in Europe either. Seems like when there's no patriotism angle, they're a tough sell! LOL... Juuuust kidding... Seriously, I think most American cars are just too large to be successful in these markets. Case in point is the Escort which was very well received in Europe... | ||
| Taek-Ho Kwon (Stickanddice)
Intermediate Member Username: Stickanddice Post Number: 1228 Registered: 11-2002 |
It is not unusual to see extensive work done with exotics prior to sales in Asia. Cheers | ||
| Chris Coffing (Valence)
Junior Member Username: Valence Post Number: 94 Registered: 3-2003 |
Tako, are you kidding? | ||
| TAKO (Tako)
Junior Member Username: Tako Post Number: 215 Registered: 4-2002 |
Even most of ferraris are repainted by the dealers before it's sold in Japan...... | ||
| Bob Campen (Bob308gts)
Member Username: Bob308gts Post Number: 675 Registered: 9-2001 |
The top 3 were VW 59882 MB 47983 BMW 35728 Others down the line Chev 6159 Porsche 2044 Cadillac 1130 | ||
| david handa (Davehanda)
Intermediate Member Username: Davehanda Post Number: 1048 Registered: 5-2001 |
Bob, Interesting comments. From my trips I too have noticed few American cars, but BMW seems very popular. I remember several years ago seeing a show on American car sales in Japan. The importer for Jeep products complained that they spent at least 20 hours or more on each vehicle to adjust the doors, hood and such to get the gaps even. There were many other things they had to fix and adjust to meet the standards of the Japanese car buying public (making an already expensive vehicle, plain outragous in Japan). Basically, he was lamenting that American quality standards where much lower than Japanese. | ||
| Yoshi Ace (Tiger_ace)
Junior Member Username: Tiger_ace Post Number: 69 Registered: 5-2003 |
James, your comment "chiisai" made me smile. I think Japanese likes small cars as they looks cute, and you see many 1,000CC cars in Japan as they are practical for their lifestyle. I am interested how Mini Rover will fare in the USA. That car has followers & club in Japan. Steve, tariff is not a lot anymore since '90s. European cars have same tariff as US cars, and M-Benz, BMW is selling quite good (not good as when their economy was in Bubble period) If the US mfr built their cars in Japan, they can be competitive in Japanese market. There's reason why US mfrs don't do this yet. You see pros & cons of the situation, and decide. I would be interested in these pros & cons. Buying Mazda by Ford is another way to approach, too. Cherokee & Mustang was popular car for while there, but still, repair cost wasn't acceptable level so it didn't last long. In mid '90's, Astro was pretty popular because it has big interior but small body size. | ||
| Andrew Menasce (Amenasce)
Intermediate Member Username: Amenasce Post Number: 1194 Registered: 10-2001 |
We're taking over GM ! Yeah  | ||
| Steve Magnusson (91tr)
Intermediate Member Username: 91tr Post Number: 1910 Registered: 1-2001 |
Why is this a surprise? Isn't there a huge tariff/tax on US vehicles sold in Japan? | ||
| James P. Smith (Tigermilk)
Junior Member Username: Tigermilk Post Number: 173 Registered: 7-2001 |
If you've ever been there, you'd see just how few US cars are there. I've spent over a month there from 3 different trips and can recall only seeing a handful of US cars - a '60s Mustang in great shape, a 90s Camaro, a Viper in Tokyo, and a few others. Not counting the Ferrari/Maserati exhibit in Tokyo last year, I've seen about 5-6 Ferraris, mostly 355/360 variety. You see plenty of minivans, and I mean MINI. My wife laughs every time she sees one of the chiisai cars. | ||
| Bob Campen (Bob308gts)
Member Username: Bob308gts Post Number: 674 Registered: 9-2001 |
Just got an industry pub in the mail, for 2002 Ferrari sold 410 units, GMC also sold 410 units in that same period in Japan. |