Shiotsu Autotrade Japan – President’s Blog

Last week I had been to Odaiba in Tokyo, which is the new popular seaside tourist area of  Tokyo. There I got an opportunity to visit Toyota’s giant showroom known as Mega Web. As its slogan suggests “Look, Ride, Feel  Car Theme Park,” Toyota Mega Web is indeed an exceptional showroom on earth and truly a dreamland for all car lovers.

Through Mega Web, Toyota displays all its products and brands, so that people can get closer view of all their products and get an opportunity to look at the latest technology in auto Industry.  Mega web is a giant  showroom built over an area of 24,000 square meters, which includes Car Museum, Theme park, E-com Ride and History Garage.  It has over 150 cars on display of over 70 various models. Apart from the cars, there are plenty of other things to do there to keep us entertained throughout the visit.

The main attraction of this Mega Web is the Toyota City Showcase where every one can have a look at all the latest as well as future brand of Toyota models. Visitors can actually test drive these cars, but since I went there on a Saturday, the place was so crowded and needed prior reservation for a test drive. You can test drive even luxury cars like the Lexus. There is an outdoor driving course for all car enthusiasts who want to test drive and experience the magic.

Then there is the Mega Theater where one can experience rides called as Ride One or E-com (Electric Vehicle Commuter)  Ride.  Ride One gives opportunity for test drive but only thing needed is a valid driving license.  Kids section has also been included so they enjoy their 150m circuit drive known as Kids Hybrid Ride One.  I truly missed my kids, I wished I could have got them along with me. I, however, took advantage of this opportunity and tried my hands at the E-com ride.  This ride costs just around two hundred yen, and it is definitely worth spending few yen on this.

There are also other areas of the Toyota Mega web which provides rides – the History Garage and Universal Design Studio.  History Garage section of Mega Web is the one were you can go back in to the history of Toyota and find out all the vehicles manufactured by Toyota from 1950 – 1970.  The Universal Design Showcase is a great learning experience as you can have closer look on how cars specifically designed to better suit our lives.  Car museum section displays iconic cars from all over the world which includes brands other than Toyota also.

Other attraction of this Mega Web is “Hybrid Wonderland” section which showcases the green side of automobiles. This section is designed specially for all Furl Cell powered and hybrid cars created by Toyota.  So that people can gather more knowledge about relatively less used hybrid cars.  Other than Toyota’s products, you can also get to know its latest technology which is used to design different cars.

Inside the Toyota Megaweb there are many restaurants for visitor’s refreshment.  So on a whole, my visit to Toyota’s Mega Web was entertaining, knowledgeable and fulfilling.  So you all can also visit Mega Web with your family or friends and spent your whole day enjoying.  If you are planning to visit Japan, I definitely recommend you to visit Toyota Megaweb at Odaiba.

Technorati Tags: Toyota, Car museum, Toyota Megaweb, Japan, Odaiba

Samoa switches to left hand driving

Samoa car dealers can now import Japanese used cars

Samoa has switched from Right Hand Drive (US style) to Left Hand Drive (Japan style).  This switch in driving style from RHD to LHD took effect from September 7, 2009, 6am local time Samoa.  This change has made Samoa first country in 4 decades to switch their driving style from one side of the road to the other.

Initially there was some reluctance amongst the Samoa citizens about this change, but soon enough traffic started flowing as usual and many onlookers even clapped to appreciate the enthusiasm of drivers.

So far cases of accidents or difficulties in driving have not been detected, even if the opponents have accused the government of announcing this change pretty early without preparing the drivers adequately to get used to left hand driving. To make this change trouble-free, Government of Samoa announced two days national holiday and 3 day alcohol ban.

To facilitate the change in driving style, Samoa Government has taken many precautions such as making the roads wider, adding road signs and markings to avoid confusions and also installing speed-breakers on two most important islanda of Samoa which are Savai’i and Upolu respectively.

The Samoan government decided to introduce this change in driving style to end its dependence on expensive, left-hand drive car imports from the United States. The government of Samoa wants to make Samoa like other South Pacific country like New Zealand and Australia. This new change can also support around 170,000 expatriate Samoans from these countries to send used cars having right side steering wheels to their relatives in motherland.

Even though the change in driving style has already taken effect, the government has decided to allow vehicles with left-side steering wheels. However, there will be a major issue with the existing buses as their doors will now open on the wrong side.  It would also take some time for the motorists whom to get adjusted to the new traffic rule and flow of traffic.

With Samoa switching its driving style, it has opened doors for Samoans to import high quality Japanese Used Cars at affordable prices .  So, used car importers, and private individuals from Samoa can now import used LHD (Left Hand Drive) vehicles from Japan.

Used cars from Japan are of good quality and reliable.  Japanese used cars are much cheaper than the normal used cars available in Samoa second hand car market. Thus, Samoans can get a better performance at lesser price if they import used cars directly from Japan.

We, as a Japanese Car Exporter,  hope to assist private importers as well as used car dealers from Samoa to import Japanese Used Cars and Trucks from Japan. We can ship to APIA and Pagopago ports.

Technorati Tags: Samoa, Japanese Car Exporter, Japanese Used Cars

Global recession has affected the world economy.  Automobile industry is also facing the effects of this global economy setback.  Around 90% of the vehicles are fossil fuel dependent and this puts lots of pressure on the economy, environment and owners of the vehicle.  In such troubled times, Japanese Car makers are investing heavily in Hybrid Cars to cope up with this difficult situation.

Major Car manufacturers from Japan are considering this bad situation as blessing in disguise.  Japanese Car makers like Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi and Toyota are researching to create HEV’s (Hybrid Electric Vehicles) which are not only good to the environment but are also powerful and strong enough on the roads.  According to Japanese car makers, the hybrid electric vehicle is the future of Car Industry, as the whole world is already suffering because of the shortage of crude oil to support the car fuel demand.

Hybrid car is considered as eco-friendly car by global automobile leaders,  due to less emission of harmful gases.  Hybrid cars combine a conventional gasoline based internal combustion engine with an electric propulsion system driven by batteries. Hybrid car also consumes less fuel than the normal fuel consuming car. Research is still going on to develop super-efficient car batteries which can remove or at least minimize the fuel dependence.  When the whole world is still crying over the economic slowdown, Japanese car makers have already taken 1st step to make a better future.

Honda Insight and Toyota Prius are examples of hybrid cars manufactured by Japanese car makers Honda & Toyota respectively. Many Japanese car owners already own hybrid cars.  Japanese Government encourages buyers of hybrid car by giving out tax exemptions. Tax incentives are also given to hybrid car makers. Japanese car manufacturers believe that even when the Government stops giving tax incentives, hybrid cars will still sell due to their fuel saving technology.

Shiotsu Autotrade is trying to contribute its bit by making people understand the significance of buying a competent used hybrid car.  Shiotsu Autotrade has many used hybrid car models – such as Toyota Prius and Honda Insight which can give you the satisfaction of driving the best car in the world and also contributing to the world’s economy. During this time of global recession it really makes sense opt for competent used cars instead of new ones.

Technorati Tags: Japanese Car, Japan, Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Hybrid car, Honda Insight, Toyota Prius, Toyota