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[Hachiroku]

On Tue, 06 Dec 2005 21:53:37 +1300, Greg wrote:

[Jimmy]

It's all about demand. Sell them what they want.

Here's an interesting take:
--------------------------------------

http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=7320


Why Can’t America Sell In Japan?
We can — just think about what would sell.
by Mike Davis (2004-07-19)

Here we go again. It seems like I'm frequently cast in the role, or
rather cast myself because no one else is doing it, of trashing
conventional wisdom. Especially as it applies to matters automotive.

Let's take the common belief that you can't give away American cars inJapan.

This wisdom, usually passed on to journalists by Japanese auto companies
or government officials, holds that (1) American quality is unacceptable
to Japanese customers, (2) Americans are really stupid to think Japanese
would buy left-hand drive cars in a right-hand-drive autoscape, (3)
American cars are too overpriced by the time they are homologated to
meet Japanese regulations and (4) they are just too big for narrow
Japanese streets not to mention the necessity of having a parking space
where land is precious.

I have heard myself that the only Japanese who would dare to drive an
American car is a gangster, a racketeer. Everyone looks down upon them
as the dregs of society, so no respectable Japanese would think of
driving an American car and having their neighbors and relatives think
they were low-lifes.

Indeed, the new-car sales statistics reported by Chrysler, Ford, and GM
cars in Japan are so close to zilch that no one even bothers to question
this conventional wisdom.

I too have bought into this. My belief has always been that when General
Douglas MacArthur was the de facto ruler of Japan, he decreed that the
American auto companies could not regain the strong foothold they had
held in Japan before World War II. The General thought Japanese industry
should be given an opportunity to recover.

Several attempts by Detroit to export cars to Japan in any kind of
meaningful volume appear to have failed. Ford even tried badging a Mazda
as a Ford and it wouldn't fly. GM broke its pick putting RHD in certain
models, and they didn't seem to sell either. Chrysler designed its 1996
re-do of the minivans with RHD and I've never seen much evidence that
was a big success.

RHD markets, in case you hadn't thought much about it, are the British
Isles, most former British colonies and Japan . Sweden and some South
American countries also used to be RHD but switched to LHD several
decades ago.

The big fat lie

Now I'm going to tell you, the myth of American cars being unpopular in
Japan is a BIG FAT LIE.

The proof of the pudding is the big fat - about 450 pages - April 2004
issue of A cars, a beautifully color-printed Japanese auto enthusiast
magazine that my active-duty-military son sent me from Okinawa, a
Japanese island prefecture. A cars stands for American cars, and the
cover is emblazoned with American flags, as are many of the lavish
advertisements within.

By the way, Japanese magazines go from what would be our back-to-front
and read right-to-left.

To the extent that pictures (and numbers) tell the story - since I can't
read Japanese - A cars reminds me of the British magazine Motor, which
when I first saw it in the early '50s was a national weekly in the UK
thick with classified ads for cars, parts, accessories, service, and
dealers.

Evidently, there is HUGE market, perhaps a gray market, for used and new
American cars ­ especially SUVs, full-sized vans, luxury sedans, and
vintage muscle cars - in that Asian nation where the Big Three can't
make headway.

I judge this by the full-page or several-page-spread Japanese dealer
ads, complete with liberal illustrations of their wares. Clearly from
the illustrations, they specialize in American iron, not their own
rice-burners.

As noted, this monthly magazine has about 450 pages, of which I estimate
at least 200 pages are advertising; it's hard to separate the editorial
content from the ads due to my language barrier. A typical advertising
page may have as many as 28 photo ads for American iron. So in a very
unscientific way, that indicates something over 5000 American vehicles
for sale in April in Japan.

By no means are all "previously owned," though they predominate. The
amazing thing is the NEW '04 ones for sale at these Japanese retail outlets.

Examples: Lincoln Navigator, Cadillac "Escarade" (no joke), Cadillac
SRX, GMC Yukon Denali 4WD, Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Express Van LS,
Chevrolet Suburban LT4WD, Hummer H2, Dodge RAM 1500 Quad-Cab 4WD, Dodge
Durango, Corvette Z06, Infiniti FX45, Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 4WD,
Ford E-150 Wagon.

Note these are largely the same models that elitist industry critics decry.

The used car list is endless but curious in its selections. Full-sized
station wagons, clearly vintage, are popular. Muscle cars, as previously
noted. Tons of Cadillacs and Lincolns, especially the rear-wheel-drive
versions.

Even the availability of what we would consider collectibles or classics
is interesting. Again, some examples picked randomly from A cars:
Mustangs, Firebirds, Camaros, 'Vettes, T-Birds, '77 Town Car, '67 Nova,
'71 Pantera, '68 Roadrunner, '86 Buick Grand National, '90 "Coloney"
Park, '56 Nomads (three at one place), '59, '61 and '65 Chevy wagons,
many Starcraft van conversions, Town Car stretch limos, '63 and '66
Country Squires, '66 and

'68 Caddy convertibles, '76 Cougar wagon, '71 El Camino, '67 Newport
convertible, '64 Galaxie 500XL, Challengers, 'Cudas and Cordobas, '54
Olds 88, '56 Nash Ambassador, '72 Riviera. Also, a '65 "Catarilla"
wagon. Hmm. That one got too far lost in translation.

Huge and curious

Anyway, you get the idea, a huge and curious market for Detroit iron.
But again, SUVs and full-sized vans predominate.

In other words, exactly what Japanese customers cannot buy from
world-beating Japanese manufacturers in their own country.

Ironically, however, there are a few ads for "imported" Toyota SUV and
pickup, Lexus SUV, and Infiniti SUV models. These are, except for the
pickups, manufactured in Japan, shipped to the U.S., then returned to
Japan to feed the demand for "American type" vehicles which their makers
won't sell in the home market.

I suspect that there are "buyers" operating in West Coast used-car
markets with pockets full of cash. It's a bargain to ship them westward
across the Pacific on what would otherwise be the empty bottoms that had
just brought hordes of Japanese-built Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Acura,
Nissan, Infiniti, Mazda, Subaru, and Mitsubishi products to the U.S.

The Japanese auto magazine also is rich in ads for a variety of
accessories to make a SEMA convention envious. Not only are they
importing U.S. vehicles like mad, they are customizing them to a fair
thee well - especially wheels and grilles, to judge from the ads.

The names of the Japanese retailers are often inventive also. A sample:
Pacific Coast Hwy, Pomona, Roadhouse, Zapp-auto, Auto Reverse,
Garage-US, Mulholland Auto, Rokky, Red-Line Automotive, Chariotz,
Fairline, v5 Auto (every car ad against an American flag backdrop),
Speedworx Japan, GunBall, Speed Nuts, I-5 Corporation. All these names
are printed in English, but the rest except for numbers is
incomprehensible to anyone who doesn't read Japanese.

Prices seem to be in line with the American domestic market, and
discounting and rebates do not appear to be in the picture. Example, new
Lincoln Navigators in the $60,000 range (6,980,000 yen). Few of the more
mundane '04 Ford Explorers seem to be in the market, just as the upscale
Chevy SUVs outnumber the TrailBlazers. Japan, if nothing else, is a
premium-price market.

Maybe that's why Cavaliers and Saturns didn't go over so well.

So I wonder, were our guys inept or have they been bamboozled by
game-playing Japan Incorporated authorities?

Cuz there's sure an enthusiastic enthusiast market for Americans in Japan.
-------------------------------------------

Muhammed Mustafo Goldstein Jr wrote:

[Sharx35]

"Muhammed Mustafo Goldstein Jr" <Pwee@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:11pcubo2s19ih0c@corp.supernews.com...

[Muhammed Mustafo Goldstei]

"Steve T" <fotocord@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3vi6ruF164hv9U4@individual.net...

[Night Spirit]

Muhammed Mustafo Goldstein Jr Boldly typed:

[Guest]

Now that GM is at the end of its life cycle it is very interesting to
watch

It is like seing an elephant falling down in slow motion

Maybe it is more like seing a big tree being eaten alive by figs

Question is who or what are the figs
The autoworkers unions or other car competitors

It will be interesting to see how long the figs will live after the
host dies

Strangler Fig: Ficus destruens
Many species of fruit-eating birds eat the succulent fruits of
strangler figs. The indigestible seeds are then voided by the birds and
will germinate in a tree crevice or hole.
The young fig starts its life as an epiphyte in the canopy unlike
other tree seedlings that have to start their struggle for survival on
the forest floor. It grows slowly at first, for there is little water
or food for it, but its leathery leaves reduce water loss.
The plant puts out long cable-like roots that descend down the
host tree trunk to the forest floor and root into the soil beneath. It
can then readily absorb nutrients and water and the young fig tree
flourishes.
The thin roots become thicker and interlace their way tightly
around the supporting tree trunk. The expanding leafy crown of the
strangler starts to shade the crown of the support tree and its roots
start to strangle its host. The host tree slowly rots away leaving a
totally independent strangler fig which may live for several hundred
years or more.
The most famous of all individual fig trees in the Wet Tropics
are the 'Curtain' and 'Cathedral' figs, on the Atherton Tablelands.

Life Cycle of the Strangler Fig:
A bird, possum, tree kangaroo or rat drops a strangler fig seed
in the top of a tree.
The seed gets covered with leaf mould and grows.
The roots of the seed grow down the side of the host tree until
they reach the ground.
The initial roots take root in the ground, while more and more
grow down the sides of the tree to the ground.
The roots eventually totally enclose the host tree and the host
dies.
The tree that remains is totally the strangler fig.

[Peter Hill]

On Tue, 06 Dec 2005 19:00:52 GMT, "Jonathan"
<Fire_Capt651@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Andy Champ]

Peter Hill wrote:

[GRL]

In the early '90's Porsche was losing so much money it was on the brink of
going out of business. Now they are the most profitable car company on earth
and recently bought a 20% share in struggling VW. We all know how Chrysler
has had two near death experiences, one with the U.S. government bailing
them out and one with Daimler. Today, they are the healthiest of the U.S.
car makers (I know, faint praise). A few years back Nissan was in the
toilet, Renault bought a large stake in them and sent over a French
executive to do some plant closing and ass-kicking and today Nissan is very
successful.

You think it will be any different with GM?

Hah. They just need the near-death experience to make them do what should
have been done long ago.

- GRL
<gosinn@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1133962519.889246.174680@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...

[Muhammed Mustafo Goldstei]

"Sharx35" <sharx35@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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[Ray O]

"GRL" <GLitwinski@CHARTERMI.NET> wrote in message
news:a8rmf.5739$Eu3.992@fe07.lga...

[Guest]

VW is having a lot of problems in germany
They have been decreasing the number of workers in germany many years
The unions are strong but when companies do not hire they can not do a
thing
Same is happening to GM
The unions in US are strong
So strong that they are killing GM operations in the US
if GM is to survive they have to close down in th US and move abroad
like VW

GRL wrote:

[AirborneDSM]

your name is muhammed?
figures! and i bet your living in america?

"Muhammed Mustafo Goldstein Jr" <Pwee@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:11pl46pmvn4i62e@corp.supernews.com...

[AirborneDSM]

I dont think its at the end of its life cycle, it is still the biggest car
maker

it might shrink but it has a long way till it dies and along the way it
prolly can and will shift its management and production method. and still be
okay.


<gosinn@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1133962519.889246.174680@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...

[Guest]

The lifecycle of companies can vary in length just like for animals and
trees
Company grow and some can become very big
They eventually reach their top and after a while they start to decline
If GM had taken right steps many years ago they could have remained big
longer
Their problems have infested for so long and so deep that if they are
to survive at all they will become a lot smaller
They will have to sell and close down a lot of its holdings and assets
In that process they will likely be overtaken by other companies
GM as an invincible colossus is no more
The decline has already started and there is no turning back