First American To Break Japanese Trade Barrier!
Now that Japan has said kankei nai ne (who cares, not worth the trouble) and opened their cash for clunkers program to American imports, even if they did not go through mandatory homologation, and even if they weren’t rated by the Japanese government to get 35.5 mpg or better, which car is the first to qualify? You are looking at it – very closely. It’s a, it’s a, it’s a …
It’s a SUV! To be exact, it’s a Jeep Patriot. Chrysler Japan announced that it will roll out on Feb. 1 the first American vehicle eligible for the Japanese government subsidy for new-car purchases. The new Jeep Patriot sport utility vehicle (some might debate that moniker) will get 10.6km on a liter of gasoline. Says the Nikkei: “Although the government relaxed the eligibility requirements for imported vehicles, the new Patriot would qualify even under the previous standards.” See? Where there is a will, there is no need to make a big fuss.
According to the Nikkei, the Jeep will do its patriotic duty with a 2.3-liter, 4-cylinder, 16-valve engine. The suggested retail price starts at 2.91 million yen. That’s 2.66 million yen for you, if you scrap your 13 year or older vehicle. Now let’s see, how many will change hands to help the trade imbalance?
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Why a Jeep Patriot? It's not even that fuel-efficient.
Metric fuel economy is expressed in l/100 km. That makes it easier to compare apples with apples, unlike mpg or km/l. A car that does 3.0 l/100 km is three times more efficient than a car that does 9 l/100 km. 10.6 km per litre is 9.4 l/100 km, or about 24.9 US mpg. Which is not very good for a car that has a 2.3 litre engine. My wife's auto Honda Jazz (Fit) currently averages 5.6 l/100 km over the 14,000 km we've done in the year we've owned it. It's easy to tell that our car is nearly twice as efficient as this heap of junk.