Shiotsu Autotrade - President’s Blog

We now live in a generation where even entry-level cars and subcompacts are surprisingly well made. It was possible because of a revolution started mainly by Japanese Car makers like Toyota and Honda.  Many of the mainstream French, British,  and Italian car makers are no more favored by car owners because they neglected issues of quality, engineering and design.  Today’s cars have become more complex, and the owners prefer them to be cost-competitive. Mediocre cars are going out of business. 

In a recent survey conducted by iMotormag, nearly 25%  Brits picked the Allegro as the worst car, even though production of it ended 25 years ago. The Austin Allegro has been described by most Brits as the world’s ‘worst car ever’.  Made by British Automaker Leyland between 1973 and 1983, the car was plagued with so many design problems, it was dubbed the “All-aggro”.

According to a survey, the world’s ten worst cars are as follows:

1. Austin Allegro

2. Morris Ital

3. Talbot Sunbeam

4. Austin Princess

5. Hillman Imp

6. Rover 200

7. Triumph Acclaim

8. Rover 800

9. Morris 1800

10. Triumph TR7

You can note that not a single Japanese car features in the world’s ten worst cars!

Technorati Tags: Japanese, Car, Toyota, Honda, Allegro, worst car

As per recent news article by BBC, Cars made by Japanese Car manufacturers are the most reliable, according to a survey by Which? Car magazine in UK.  Japanese car manufacturers have once again strengthened their already formidable reputation for first class engineering by leading a reliability testing done by one of the UK’s most detailed motoring surveys.

Cars manufactured by Japanese Auto makers comfortably outperformed British models when it came to dependability and reliability, as per the survey carried out by Which? Car magazine.  Japanese Car makers took the top seven places for reliability in a table compiled after a study of 89,768 cars of 38 brands.  Honda was the winning car manufacturer from Japan, followed by Toyota, Daihatsu, Lexus, Mazda, Subaru and Suzuki.

Statistical analysis based on readers’ reports of total breakdowns, faults that required a vehicle to be taken to a garage and minor niggles - was used to calculate a Brand Reliability Index used in scoring. 

Eight of the top ten most reliable brands were from Japan. The seven manufacturers in the “very good” category were all Japanese.  Only Hyundai and Porsche from Germany were the only non-Japanese car makers which made it into the “good” category.

Technorati Tags: Japanese Car, Japanese, car, Auto, British, Honda, Japan, Toyota

Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Nissan, recently said in a statement that Nissan is aiming to launch an electric car in the Japanese and US market by 2010. Nissan aims to offer their electric cars globally by 2012, in their long term plan.

In this world of rising gas prices and pollution, Nissan Electric Cars would also be able to meet the stricter fuel-economy standards in developed nations through this initiative.

Nissan has plans to develop subcompact electric cars powered by self-developed lithium-ion batteries. With this Nissan has now become the first Japanese automaker to announce their plans to develop and sell mass market, all-electric vehicles globally.  This would put them in direct competition with domestic rivals Honda and Toyota both of which are already selling hybrid cars in Japan and USA.

Technorati Tags: Nissan, electric car, Japanese, cars, pollution, Honda, Toyota, hybrid, Japan

Japanese Mini-Trucks also known as Kei-trucks are normally used as work trucks in Japan. But these days some Drift enthusiasts are modifying these truks for Drifting. So do not be surprised if you see a Japanese Minitruck competing with Nissan Skyline sports car in a Drift Event.

Well, there is always some excitement for those who want to try something different. And if you watch this video, you will definitely agree that it is indeed fun to watch these trucks doing challenging course at top speed in drifting events.

Though we do not deal with modified mini-trucks for Drifting, we can definitely supply new or used mini-trucks for other purposes.

Technorati Tags: Japanese, Mini-Trucks, Kei-trucks, Japan, Drift, Drifting, Nissan, Skyline

Based on news from Trading Markets, Hino Motors - Japan’s major manufacturer of heavy duty trucks, is planning to export trucks to Russia and India in 2009. Hino aims to sell 10,000 units a year in each country.

Due to a construction boom and rapid economic growth, Russia has a growing need for trucks. According to Avtorevyu, Russia imported 39,469 trucks (new and used) in the first eight months of 2007.

The truck demand in India is growing at a rate of over 30% every year. Tata and Ashok Leyland are major truck makers in India.  But there is clear demand for environment friendly trucks because of stricter pollution control rules. Hino is planning to tap that market.

For the time being, Hino will ship the trucks from Japan, but it will consider local assembly when unit sales reach 10,000 in each market.

This is a good news for our customers in Russia and India who import used Hino trucks, that they will soon have authorized Hino service centers in their countries.

Technorati Tags: Hino, Japan, trucks, Russia, India, used

In my earlier post about Nissan’s Diversity Drive for its female workforce, I had mentioned about the limited role women in Japanese Car Industry and how Nissan is planning to change its corporate culture to include more women.

I recently came across the book Why Women Mean Business which gave a similar message looking at the global corporate culture. This book suggests that gender equality in the labour force could increase GDP by as much as 9 per cent in the US, 13 per cent in Europe and 16 per cent in Japan.

I agree with this view. Women have become probably the greatest neglected resource in business, both in their productive potential as employees and their market potential as buyers.

Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of  Nissan,  recently mentioned that women directly made or influenced two-thirds of car purchases in Japan. So women definitely play a big role as buyer in Japan. As per Nissan’s surveys, 80 per cent of women buyers and half of men would prefer to see women sales executives in car showrooms. Yet only one out of ten salespeople in the Japanese car industry are women.

Companies are learning that they need to change how they market to women. And to start with, I have included my wife and one more female staff member to give more attention to our women buyers.

Technorati Tags: women, Japanese, Car, Nissan, Japan

Talk of a compact,elegant and simple car,then the suzuki A-Concept car is very great.January of next year(2008),suzuki is unleashing their concept car,The Suzuki A-concept This will take place at the Delhi motor show.Concept cars often do not become production models,being more an expression of futuristic technologies and designs.But the suzuki A-Star concept will culiminate in a production model.
The A-star concept,foretell`s the automakers next global compact car.The technical details are sparse,but reports state that the production version will be powered by a 1.0L Euro 5 emissions compliant engine. The vehicle indicates of what suzuki`s next global car will look like.when the prodution version hits the global market-although the U.S market isn`t likely to get the car-The vehicle should have a very low price of entry.
The vehicle has been developed jointly by Maruti Suzuki and Suzuki motor corporation. The suzuki A-star concept is for a compact car.Compact cars are normally simple and elegant in design,while retaining elegance and simplicity,will demonstrate sportiness and emotion in a compact car.
The A-star:so-called because it`s positioned in the heart of the A-segment or mini car class-will feature a new 1.0liter aluminum engine that meets the tough Euro 5 emission standards,including drastically lower levels of Carbondioxide.

Technorati Tags: elegant, Suzuki, A-concept, concept

The Honda Puyo concept car was presented at this years Tokyo motor show. Puyo is a japanese Onomatopoeia that is a meant to convey a warm,friendly impression,the sensation of touching the vehicle`s softbody.Sounds kinky but puyo`s ‘gel’ body is actually soft .Honda claims the soft body increases safety.During the dark puyo`s body can glow,emitting light.Therefore in the night it is very easy to notice when in the streets.
Puyo is a green vehicle,powered by a fuel cell.Its design is that of a cornerless box.The small tyres are at the extreme corners of the vehicle.It has been designed in away that it can turn in 360 degrees.The puyo has got what is called the scissor doors!
The interesting part of the puyo is that instead of the steering wheel its got a joystick.Describing the puyo,most probably the suitable words are Quirky and impractical,this is what is expected of concept cars.The inside is designed to have a silky feel,providing a refreshing and people friendly space.

Technorati Tags: Honda, Puyo, concept, Onomatopoeia, green vehicle, joystick