At just 10:30 AM the sun was already near its full zenith and it beat down upon the city of Osaka with an intense, angry glare. Waves of heat shimmered up from the pavement and superheated the air which blew around in tepid, weak breezes that offered little respite. Perhaps later, the column of heat created by the great city’s many square miles of pavement would spark a sudden thunderstorm as it rose high into the stratosphere and the resultant rain would bring relief as it cascaded down and turned the streets into raging torrents. For now, however, there was only the glare of the sun, the stifling heat and, for me, the thought that riding an 1100 cc air cooled sport bike in a full set of leathers was a choice I should have avoided making.

The morning had begun as all summer mornings do in Japan, with the incessant shrieking of cicadas and the knowledge that sweltering heat and insufferable humidity were to follow. Regardless, my bike had sat unused for far too many days and I knew that if I failed to get the it out on the road I would regret my inaction later. To mitigate that future guilt, I decided I would make the trip across town to get a hot dog at Costco. My silly, trumped up excuse for action firmly fixed in my mind, I rolled my mighty GSXR from its hiding place under the stairwell of our apartment house, slipped into my familiar riding gear and set out.

It was still early enough that traffic was light and despite the big bike’s size, I weaved through traffic with relative ease, splitting lanes as needed but never really putting bike‘s full power to the ground. When it had been built back in 1991, my GSXR was as close to a street-going race bike as you could get. Regardless of that fact, its first owner had modified it to be even faster, adding larger carbs and a full stainless steel race exhaust that raised the bike’s horsepower well into the triple digits. It was loud, temperamental and, compared to the newer, fuel injected sport bikes made today, crude and it hated to be constricted by real world concerns like traffic laws and my own will to live. By the time I got close to my destination, the bike too was having trouble with the heat and was beginning to show signs of a fouled spark plug.

I rolled onto the wide boulevard that led the last half mile to my destination and pulled up at a stoplight. Ahead of me, the road stretched out wide and straight, three lanes wide in each direction and on its surface only the shimmering waves of heat rising from the pavement gave any indication of motion. The light turned green and I revved the bike, using the open road as an opportunity to raise the revs a bit higher into their range to tray and blast loose that bit of carbon that I knew was clinging to the electrode of at least one of my plugs. It was the city, however, and I stayed in the lower gears, letting off the gas and killing my acceleration just under of the speed limit. Ahead, the last two lights between me and my destination turned green in tandem and I held my speed.

Just then, out of the entrance to a blind alleyway, a bicyclist shot out into the main street. How he failed to hear me, I have no idea, but the distance between us negligible and a collision looked imminent. I laid on the horn and just as quickly clamped on the brakes. I squeezed down hard and the big Suzuki’s brakes bit deeply, unsettling the bike’s suspension and shifting the bike’s weight forward onto the front end, almost bottoming out the forks. With me baring down upon him, the bicyclist stopped dead in the road and right in my path – a deer in the headlights.

You learn to make choices fast on when you are on the back of a sport bike and years of experience had taught me my options were limited. There was no time to swerve, and a sudden pivot in any direction would leave me dumped on my side in the street. There was no swerving then, my best option, I decided, was straight ahead, right up and over that stoplight running SOB. It was going to be ugly.

I bore down on him like a freight train, my big bike’s dual headlights boring into his soul as I closed the gap, my horn blaring steadily. The distance closed to inches and then, a split second before impact, in an act of sheer desperation the bicyclist kicked forward with is foot and rolled just one foot forward. That movement saved us both and I slid past behind him with a bare inch to spare stopping about 5 feet beyond what would have been our point of impact. I turned my head, glared back at him over my shoulder and extended my arm palm up, giving him my best sign language version of “WTF?” With a downward motion of his hands and a slight bow, he placated me and, with the cars behind beginning to bare down upon us, we separated, him to his destination and me to mine.

The manual operation of the bike occupied my attention while I covered the remaining distance to Costco and parked, but once inside the store the entire experience hit me hard. It took some time to compose myself, it isn’t every day you almost kill someone, after all. After a brief period of adrenaline related butterflies in my stomach, I headed into the store and my mind was filling with the other possible courses of action I might have taken. Lost in deep thought, I approached the food court.

For whatever reason the line at the hotdog stand was huge. Hundreds of small dark haired women, many with children scuttling around their feet, waited patiently in long lines, each one taking a few extra moments to verify the complicated menu that listed so many odd, Western food options prior to making their order. The process took far too long, but it was OK, after the events of the morning waiting mindlessly in a long, slow moving line was rather cathartic. After many long minutes I found myself before the counter, made my order and scurried away to condiment table where I dressed my hotdogs and filled my cup with cold soda.

I turned towards the tables and found myself shocked at the site of a sea of sullen faced men, none with food in their hands, occupying virtually all of the tables as they waited for their wives who were lost somewhere in the mass of humanity lined up before the counter. There I stood, two dogs gripped in my right hand as it stuck through the chin bar of my full faced helmet, my leather riding jacket in the crook of my arm and my tank bag and a soda tenuously sharing the grip of my left. There was nowhere to sit, and I found myself flushed with sudden anger. This was typical.

Like a well practiced team, these men had rushed to the tables and staked out their places while their wives ordered and prepared their food, Meanwhile, no one else would be allowed to sit. I stalked into their midst staring them down and forcing them to turn and look away whenever they dared to glance in my direction. At last in the middle of this group I found a single table, a carefully folded jacket draped across one side of it. Frankly, I didn’t care anymore, chances are I would finish before the jacket‘s owner returned anyhow so I sat down and unloaded my food.

I unwrapped a dog and had only taken my first bite when they arrived. An elderly man, perhaps in his 70s, his small, silver haired wife, their daughter and grandson approached the table furtively and made to take the coat away. In their hands they each had a plate of food, a drink and I could tell when I made eye contact that, like me, they knew there was nowhere else to sit. I began to wrap my hotdog back up and rise, but the man bade me to sit and after a word with his wife the family sat down with me, the little man across from me, his wife to my right and the daughter across from her with their grandson on her lap. It was only mildly uncomfortable for us all and soon they were chatting away with one another about the most ordinary of subjects, carefully and politely avoiding the subject of the giant gorilla of a man who had stolen their spot. I finished quickly, gathered my trash and made to leave when the old man spoke to me for the first time.

“Are you an American?” He asked in English.

I paused. It could be something of a loaded question, I knew, but I am what I am and I looked him in the eye and said, “Yes.”

He bade me sit again and leaned in close. “I speak English,” He told me in a quiet, almost furtive voice. “I worked for the American Navy in Yokosuka at the end of the war.” And then he told his story:

I was 12 years old and my father had been killed in the war. Times were very bad and I needed to work to buy food for my mother and sisters. I went to the Navy base to look for work. I was scared. I had been told the Americans hated us and I thought they might kill me. But I knew that without food, we would die anyway, it was that bad.

They didn’t kill me, instead, they gave me a job shining boots. Every morning, I would go to the base and meet with the other workers in a small hut. Someone from the base would come to take them men to their work sites and bring us boys boots to shine. It was hard work and we got little money but whatever I earned, I gave to my mother and with it she bought food. It was never enough, though, and we were always hungry.

One day just before it was time to go home, an American sailor came into the hut where we gathered. He had a big shoulder of beef in his arms and he put it on the table in front of us. He told us, “Don’t anyone touch this! This base has a rat problem and we need to see if this shack has rats in it. I will leave this beef here and if it is gone in the morning I will know there are rats here and can call an exterminator.” Then he left.

We thought he was crazy! We were starving and he was going to leave the meat for rats! When he left, we cut up the beef leg and took it home. We knew it was wrong, but our families were starving. We thought we would be punished.

Fraternization was strictly forbidden in all theatres after the war.

The next day, the man came back as we were going home and instead of punishing us, he put another large piece of meat on the table. He told us, “There must be many rats in this building because in the morning I didn’t even find a single of the meat left yesterday. I need to know how many rats are here, so I will leave this meat here as well and come back again tomorrow.” Naturally, we cut that meat up and took it home as well.

The man came every day for several months and we always laughed about how foolish he was. Today I am older and I understand what he was doing. That man had been told it was against the rules to give food to the Japanese, but he saw us starving and found a way to help us. He might have been arrested and punished for disobeying orders, but he put himself in grave peril in order to give us food. We laughed at him and I am sorry about that today.

The old man looked at me with tears in his eyes and, to the shock of his wife and daughter took me by the hand. “The Imperial military abused the Japanese people and they would have let us die for their glory. Our enemy came and saved us. I love America. I know it is the greatest country in the world. Thank you.”

I can see that sailor in my mind’s eye now. He is typical of those we call the greatest generation, tall, hollow eyed and raw boned. He might be a farmer from the Kansas plains, his brown hair bleached blonde from long hours of hard work in the sun. He might be shorter, heavier, and a survivor of the hard streets of New York or some other crowded North Eastern city. He might be an American Indian from the Southwest plains whose family had been consigned to a life of poverty on an isolated reservation, or an African American who had gone into the service despite his own country’s lack of respect or concern for him and his family’s well being.

Whoever he was, that sailor knew what suffering was when he saw it, because he had lived it. He had felt the bite of hunger, seen the swollen bellies of his brothers and sisters and he knew, despite the fact that the people in whose faces he saw it reflected had recently been our sworn enemies, that he could not let human suffering go unanswered. Instead, he chose to make a difference, and that choice echoes down through time to this very day.

On Monday, our country pauses to honor the men and women, our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers, fathers and grandparents who swore their lives to our nation’s service. We will remember their great deeds, the battles they fought and the obstacles they overcame. It is all too easy, however, to let slip away those other important things that they do in all our names, those times when they act out of compassion and simple human concern. We should seek to remember those things as well, because it is through them that we win the peace.

To all of you who have served, thank you for your service, and your sacrifice. More than that, however, thank you all for your humanity and your kindness. We honor you, because you have honored us all. Thank you.

“The American Way” Painting by Norman Rockwell

Thomas Kreutzer currently lives in Buffalo, New York with his wife and three children but has spent most of his adult life overseas. He has lived in Japan for 9 years, Jamaica for 2 and spent almost 5 years as a US Merchant Mariner serving primarily in the Pacific. A long time auto and motorcycle enthusiast he has pursued his hobbies whenever possible. He also enjoys writing and public speaking where, according to his wife, his favorite subject is himself.

Honda’s jet was supposed to be commercially available in 2012, and then in 2013, but it will be another wait of another year. The FAA certification of Honda’s small business jet is delayed until late next year, “due to a minor issue in the certification procedure, which has since been resolved,” says Reuters.

“There was a minor issue in the process of the engine approval, but the fundamental design of the jet is not being swayed by this,” Honda spokesman Shigeki Endo told Reuters.

Like Boeing’s grounded (and recently released) 787 Dreamliner, the HondaJet also uses a lithium-ion battery in its jet, but the delay in approval has nothing to do with its battery system, Endo said.

Nissan Dayz or Mitsubishi eK Wagon?

TTAC finally found the holy grail of the auto-blogosphere: We busted a stringent embargo that won’t lift for more than two weeks. We did that on cars that are unobtainable for most. We blew the tarps not off one, but two makes.  We didn’t find a dealer brochure, we caught the cars while they were made.

This is where they keep all the tooling

It was easier than it sounds. Last Friday, I was invited to a super-secret  briefing about an upcoming car at Nissan. I had to swear on a stack of bibles and the scriptures of various far-eastern religions that I wouldn’t write anything before June 6.  Actually, I didn’t go.

Nissan Dayz or Mitsubishi eK Wagon? No idea

That way, I didn’t perjure myself, and instead I got up at 5:30 today in the morning to go to Mizushima, near Hiroshima. Mizushima is home to one of Mitsubishi’s two Japanese car plants, and as of today, it is home to two new cars you can’t buy. Unless you come to Japan. With TTAC in attendance, Mitsubishi cranked up the line today for the cars that will go on sale when the embargo lifts, on June 6.

Definitely a Nissan

Three years ago, Nissan and Mitsubishi started a cooperation. One of the projects was a joint kei car, one of those Japanese oddities  with a pint-sized engine. Instead of rebadging  minimobiles made by Suzuki and Mitsubishi, as it had done in the past, Nissan co-developed a new kei car with Mitsubishi. The car is made in the Mizushima plant and sold as the  Nissan DAYZ and the Mitsubishi eK Wagon. The cars have small body changes on the outside – like a slightly different grille. On the inside, they are mostly identical. But then, all kei cars are quite similar on the inside, the tight specs (not more than 11.2 ft long, no more than 4.9 ft wide, engine displacement not over 660 cc, power not more than 63 hp) don’t leave much room for self-actualization.

High grade: Dayz Highway Star

Why joint development? “Having a car built somewhere else caps profits in the long run,” a Mitsubishi official tells me today. “Own development can be quite profitable if sales take off in a big way, and it can be much too expensive when sales don’t take off.”

Make my Dayz

Sharing development costs while realizing scale effects when the car is successful is seen as a good strategy. The kei segment is big in Japan and growing. Nearly 40 percent of all cars sold in the island nation are keis. However, that’s mostly it. Keis are a Japanese phenomenon, and nearly non-existent outside of Japan. This stunts their global growth potential.

Neither Nissan nor Mitsubishi want to give production targets, at least not before the official launch on June 6. The back of an envelope quickly reveals how many they want .to build. They are targeting 20 percent market share, together. That would be 20 percent of 2 million, or some 30,000 a month. Currently, some 230,000 keis are sold annually among Nissan and Mitsubishi, That would be around 20,000 a month. Somewhere in that neighborhood.

We’ll try to snag one for a from-the-backseat car review when one is available,.

“What I can tell you today is that the Skyline name will continue in Japan,” said Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn in regards to luvmyv8. When pressed further, Ghosn said that bringing Infiniti to Japan “has always been the object of a lot of discussion within the company.” Ghosn started his answer with a mild put-down:

“With the arrival of newcomers … by Johan de Nysschen now heading the Infiniti business, he also brought with him a lot of very competent people from the industry who have a very good knowledge of the premium market. We are debating and challenging everything. But so far there is no decision that has been taken about the introduction of the Infiniti brand to Japan. But it is being discussed. There are pros, there are cons. Usually, we make thorough business decisions based on the analysis of the pros and the cons. For the moment, all I can tell you is that there is no decision to introduce Infiniti in Japan. The Skyline will continue in Japan.”

TTAC readers know that Infiniti chief de Nysschen is a strong advocate of Infiniti coming home to Japan. In an interview last year in Hong Kong, de Nysschen said :

“Ironically, we take models that are unique Infiniti platforms, developed for Infiniti, and in Japan, we put a Nissan badge on them.”

De Nysschen may be a newcomer to Nissan, but not to Japan. He managed Audi’s business in Japan, and came here in 1999, at the same time as Ghosn arrived in Tokyo. Ghosn immediately wanted to hire de Nysschen, but had to take a rain-check. De Nysschen knows the market, and that it is not easy.

When a reporter asked de Nysschen in Tochigi about Infiniti’s homecoming plans, the questioner found himself instantly castigated:

“So, that means that if you ask Mr. Ghosn a question and he doesn’t answer, you are making another attempt to get an answer out of me?”

Nevertheless, there was an answer, delivered wrapped into de Nysschen’s trademark carefully carved sentences:

“To be a global brand, you might well want to compete in the premium sector in your domestic market.

We spend a lot of time talking about Infiniti brand values, and how those are to be communicated, not only in the tone and manner of our marketing and our advertising communication, but also, they need to be expressed and conveyed through the product, through design, through technology, through the engineering.

It seems to me to be very difficult for all the men and women who work on expressing these values in the Infiniti product to then not also see the vehicle and the brand being available in the domestic market.

Also, in term s of the international flavor for the brand, our customers are internationally mobile. And one important cornerstone of premium brands is that wherever you encounter them, they are positioned consistently, they portray the same values and qualities, whether you meet them in New York, or in London, or in Beijing, or indeed in Tokyo.”

After having made a strong philosophical case for estranged Infiniti coming home, de Nysschen sees himself faced with the realities:

“One of the disadvantages of course is cost of entry. It is very expensive to set up a distribution network in Japan. Last time I looked, not too many free open spaces were shouting to come and build an automotive showroom.”

Again, this is coming from a former Audi manager who had busted a cozy (and largely unknown) distribution agreement between Volkswagen and Toyota, and who had talked Ferdinand Piech into setting up an exclusive network in Japan. Eventually, this led to the end of Volkswagen’s Japanese distribution agreement with Toyota. This case should be a required course in the education of carmakers, especially those who feel entitled to major shares of the Japanese market without really trying. Continued de Nysschen:

“It is my commitment that Infiniti will achieve profitable growth, and that we will achieve very quickly a positive contribution to the overall operating profit of Nissan. That means that we have to balance the speed with which we want to enter the Japanese market.”

I take that as a carefully wrapped no.

In regards to luvmyv8’s question and with regards to luvmyv8, de Nysschen said that “on the Skyline, I really have no further comments to add other than those already expressed by Mr. Ghosn. I would urge you to be patient for just a little while.”

As this is a question and answer session, let me try to answer  28-cars-later’s inquiry. He said: “Bertel, how do you get such access to Ghosn… is Nissan just *this* friendly to the press?” Instead of a simple and pat “yes,” let’s make a separate story out of that.

Of course, Carlos Ghosn did not miss this opportunity to talk about his most favorite topic: The value of the yen.  As last Friday, the CEO of Renault and Nissan still does not want to hear talk of a low yen. Ghosn says the Japanese currency “is coming back to normal levels,” and as far as Ghosn is concerned, the yen still has some ways to go. Even if this freaks-out  the CEO of Ford.

For Ghosn, a normal level would be when a dollar buys 110 yen or more. Today, a dollar bought 102 yen, a four year low of the yen.

In the interest of equal time, let’s listen to what Ford’s chief Alan Mulally had to say about the yen two months ago. In March, when the yen traded at around 93 yen to the dollar, Mulally complained about what he called Japan’s “devaluing of the yen”. and he reiterated his opposition a trade free pact with Japan.

“The markets should determine the exchange rate,” Mulally told Reuters. Japan is “the most closed automobile market in the world,” Mulally said for the umpteenth time. “They should open up their market, they should restructure their industry, and that’s why we’re encouraging the people negotiating the free trade agreements that they deal with that.”

The story of other countries devaluing their currency is an easy sell to an American public that generally lacks sophistication when it comes to currencies. Ford and its lobbyists complained about Japanese currency manipulation when the yen climbed to untenable levels, nearly killing Japanese exports. Ford keeps complaining.

For Ghosn, who was offered the job as Ford CEO, and who turned it down, because he did not want Executive Chairman Bill Ford breathe down his neck, said today that “the abnormal situation of the yen is hopefully something from the past, which means we can continue to build this car at the motherplant.” If the yen would have remained at last year’s levels, Nissan would have had to close shop.  “During the dark years of the yen,” Ghosn said, “we were losing money on practically every single car which we were exporting from Tochigi.”

Yoko Kubota of Reuters had already written half of her story before we boarded a bus this Tokyo morning. It took us north to Nissan’s Tochigi plant, where we were promised to see the new Infiniti Q50 roll off the assembly lines. Kubota wrote that “in the financial year ended March, Infiniti sold 172,615 vehicles globally, up 12.1 percent year-on-year,” that the brand needs to grow, that the backbone of Infiniti’s volume has been the G37 Sedan, and that its successor, “with a new name Q50, will go on sale in the United States in the summer.” Today, we see how the Q50 is made.

Built in 1968, the Tochigi plant in Kaminokawa, a two-hour drive from Tokyo, is the backbone of Infiniti. Finished cars go from there to the port of Hitachi, and most of them go straight to Los Angeles, where, as Kubota-san has written, “nearly 14 years after the launch of its first car, the Q45 luxury sedan, Infiniti continues to be largely a U.S.- centric brand with meager overseas sales.”

Before we see the plant at work, we see the first real Q50. It rolls on stage with the usual aplomb customary for such a line-off. Plant manager Ryoji Kurosawa is pleased, while CEO Ghosn backslaps a representative of the workforce.

Photo-op with the boss.

And the car without people in front.

Ghosn is here with his personal translator, Yuki Morimoto. When he addresses the workers, he speaks in Japanese.

The workers like it.

The workers sit on the shop floor when the boss speaks. This is not a sit-in, and it is not unusual at all in Japan. There is a lot of sitting and kneeling on the floor. Can you imagine what would have happened in a UAW shop?

You can sit on, and, if necessary, eat off the floor because it is immaculate. The slippers are here for a reason.

In other plants, one might be forced wearing shoes with steel caps. In Tochigi, you see a sign that forbids the wearing of shoes at all. The shop is as sacrosanct as a Japanese house, where no one would dare to soil the serenity of the home by wearing shoes. It has been that way for thousands of year, and it won’t change. Footwear is removed at the entrance to help keep the house clean.

This rule applies to all. Even the CEO and his translator would not dare to desecrate the clean shop floor by wearing shoes.

On to the next part of the plant.

This is where the front end goes on the car. It is done with a jig. The jig is cleverly hidden by a cart with parts. The cart zooms in front of me whenever I lift the camera.

Actually, taking pictures is not allowed in this part, and I am nonverbally reminded of that by Infiniti chief Johan de Nysschen. You met him a while ago.

We see how quality checkers probe the surface of the car for impurities that can’t be seen, but felt with the touch of a thinly gloved hand.

CEO Ghosn tries his hand as a quality checker while Murimoto-san translates, and while Infiniti-chief Johan de Nysschen looks away.

Soon, this car will be en-route to America, where it is “scheduled to go on sale in summer,” as Ghosn promises. On the bus, en-route back to Tokyo, Yuko Kubota already had her story on the wire. I wish I’d be half as fast.

In case you wish more driving impressions  and less arm waving, I refer you to a test drive presented by someone who is far more attractive than yours truly.

Infiniti’s Q50 will come “this summer” says  the new York Daily News, which nonetheless already “reviewed”  it, coming to the conclusion that “the all new Infiniti Q50 will be base priced at just $36,450, and the expected to be most popular trim level, the “Premium,” featuring an optional, navigation system is expected to come in at $40,700.”

Alleged Motor Authority meanwhile breathlessly reports that, OMG,  the “2014 Infiniti Q50 [was] Leaked By Canadian Retail Site.” Never mind that the Q50 was already revealed at NAIAS, and then again in Shanghai, as the self-made picture above proves.

Be it as it may, TTAC will trek tomorrow at o-dark-thirty  to Kaminokawa-machi, somewhere deep in the Japanese boonies, to watch the first real Q50  roll off the line at Nissan’s Tochigi plant. Look for the pictures. There probably will be a little more arm waving also.

Then, finally, a reporter asks Ghosn when he intends to pack up and leave. Of course, this is Japan, and the question is asked in a circuitous way. The reporter argues that Nissan now makes solid profits, hence Ghosn could perhaps put the company into the hands of someone else, such allowing Ghosn to focus fully on Renault, which needs all the help it can get.  This suggestion earns the reporter a likewise polite rebuke. Ghosn thanks him “for taking care of my own organization.” Pierced by Ghosn’s trademark laser eyes, the reporter deflates into his seat.

The meme that gaijin has done his duty, the gaijin can go back to Paris, is nothing new. The Nikkei  tried it two years  ago, which earned the wire a robust reprimand. A year later, Bloomberg tried it, and was likewise rebuffed. Now the matter degraded into a question on the mind of freelance journalist Inoue-san. Ghosn tells him, and the room, that he’s not going anywhere – unless he’s told by the people who really have the say at Nissan.

“I serve the shareholders.  As long as the shareholders of Nissan want me to continue to be the CEO of Nissan, I will continue to be the CEO of Nissan. As long as the shareholders of Renault want me to continue to be the CEO of Renault, I will continue to be the CEO of Renault. The day the shareholders say: ‘Stop, we want someone only dedicated to us,’ then it will be different.  If the shareholders are happy, you continue. If the shareholders are not happy, you stop.”

Ghosn’s contract at Nissan was extended on April 1, 2013.

And this concludes our Nissan Friday. Have a nice weekend.

Finally, a chance for Ghosn to speak about his favorite topic: The value of the yen. Two years ago in Kyushu, Ghosn said that its valuation against the dollar and other major currencies was a crime against nature, a perversion. Back then, you got 77 yen to the dollar, and I assure you that 76 yen buy next to nothing. Ghosn called a high. The rise of the deviant was arrested. In the following year, the yen turned around, fainthearted first, then, with honest Abe getting behind the wheel in Japan, a dollar now buys 100 yen.

Ghosn does not want to hear talk of a “low “ yen.

“The yen is in neutral territory. The headwinds have been removed. But there are no tailwinds. I don’t want anybody to think that we are getting tailwinds from the yen. Before the financial crisis of 2008, the yen was on average at 110. But 100 yen is better than where we were at 76.”

One yen more to the dollar helps Nissan’s books to the tune of $150 million, but Ghosn warns that it won’t all translate into profits. All Japanese manufacturers, competing with Nissan, gain from a lower yen. “Part of the lower yen goes to the consumer,” says Ghosn. Meaning that it can be invested into lower prices, or better value.

Asked today at the annual results conference in Yokohama whether he wants to back off from his old target of putting 1.5 million EVs on the road by 2016, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn displayed an astounding degree of determination. He still believes in the 1.5 million. Maybe a little later than 2016.

So far, Nissan sold 62,000 Leafs. In the last months, Ghosn observed “an acceleration of the sales of the Leaf.” The people who bought the battery-operated car are happy, says Ghosn.

Happy owners spread the word “that this is a good car, and that charging the car is not such a big problem – if you know where to do it.” Ghosn banks on a better charging infrastructure, and he sees good signs of one in many countries. Says the man:

“This range anxiety, which is more a charging anxiety, will disappear and will help a lot to increase the sales. I maintain the 1.5 million. I think it will be difficult to reach in 2016, but without any doubt it’s still on the radar screen.”

Our last look at the Accord was back in September when we ran a two-parter (part 1, part 2) after being invited to the launch event. Yes, shockingly our invite wasn’t lost in the mail. As TTAC has said in the past, there are problems with launch events. Usually you’re running around in a pre-production car that may not be “quite right” yet, you have to split your driving time with some dude from another publication (shout out to Hooniverse on that trip).  Drive time is limited, and exclusively done on roads selected by the manufacturer. Sometimes you don’t get the trim level you want either. What I wanted was one step up from the base model, the mainstream EX and I wanted it on the same roads I’ve driven the other Camcord competitors. Here’s that review.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Exterior

Honda has long been known as a serious kind of car company. Press events are orderly, the Honda folks wear suits and their products are similarly starched. While we have a new corporate nose up front with a chrome “smiley” face and aggressive headlamps, the rest of the profile is buttoned up and professional. The large (and low) greenhouse says “I have kids,” an image that Honda has been embracing with their latest commercials, essentially admitting they are leaving descriptives like “sexy” and “dramatic” to Hyundai and Ford. I have to admit I am quite torn, I love the Fusion’s sexy sheetmetal making it my first pick in terms of looks, but oddly enough the “plain Jane” Accord is number two for me because it’s simple clean. The new Kia Optima is a very, very close third thanks its nose job for 2014. I’m not convinced that the Camry’s nose or the Sonata’s dramatic character lines will age well, let me know what you think in the comment section. Something important to keep in mind is the Accord has bucked the growth trend and has shrunk on the outside compared to the previous generation making it among the smallest in this segment. Good if you live in the city, bad if you were hoping for a Honda land yacht.

Typical for Honda, the Accord has no factory installed options to choose from, you simply pick your trim: LX, EX, Sport EX-L, or Touring. LX, EX and Sport models can be had with a manual or a CVT while EX-L and Touring models are CVT only with the four cylinder and auto only with the V6. Aside from the lack of fog lights in the LX and a tiny bit of black trim on the LX and EX models, the only visual clues to which Accord you’re driving are the wheels and exhaust tips. When it comes to sleepers, there’s nothing that fits that description like an Accord.

Interior

Honda’s interiors have long been known for their simple functionality rather than opulence or elegance and Honda is still singing the same tune. Despite being an all-new model for 2013, Honda hasn’t radically changed the interior design, opting instead for incremental improvements and more standard features. All Accords now get standard dual-zone automatic climate control, Bluetooth phone integration, a backup cam and active noise cancellation. Honda seems to have listened to the complaints from reviewers and customers and took a methodical and dedicated approach to making the Accord quieter on the road. In addition to the fancy noise cancelling software, there’s more foam, more carpet and a one-piece dash designed to prevent squeaks later in life.

Honda’s seat engineers seem to be designing seats specifically for my back lately. The Accord and the refreshed Civic both sport supportive seats that coddled by back and backside on long journeys. There is a caution I must toss in however, the lumbar support in Sport, EX and LX models is fixed and pronounced. If you need some adjustability in your back support, you’ll need to step up to a leather model to get it. 2013 has brought a raft of materials improvements to the Accord cabin from improved seat fabrics to more squishy dash bits and the ever-so-popular stitched pleather. Thankfully Honda spares potential owners the shame of faux wood trim, instead opting for a modern brown pattern that I found attractive. The trim and the style are not as stylized or futuristic as the competition, but controls are easy to locate, and consistent in their high quality feel.

Thanks to the Accord’s upright profile, getting in and out of the back seats is an easy task, something I can’t say of the Fusion. Once inside the height pays further dividends with more headroom than the coupé-like competitors. Despite being smaller on the outside and having a smaller wheelbase than the outgoing model, legroom is up by a welcome 1.3 inches in the rear and the trunk has grown to a [finally] competitive 13.7 cubic feet. On the down side, Honda forgot that sometimes people need to carry large items and three people, not possible in the Accord if you fold down the rear seat since it folds as a single unit.

Even base model Accords are well equipped with dual-zone climate control, auto headlamps, cruise control, backup camera, and a one-touch up/down window for the driver. Because of the comfortable seats and high level of standard gadgets, the Accord is the poster child of “easy to live with” like that comfortable sweatshirt.

Infotainment

Honda’s relentless drive to streamline options means a high level of standard tech on the Accord. All Accords get an 8-inch high-res screen in the middle of the dash, Bluetooth integration for speakerphone and audio, iDevice/USB interface, Pandora internet radio app integration and SMS messaging features if your smartphone supports it. (At the time of our drive, Pandora radio is restricted to Apple iDevices and SMS messaging to Android devices, Honda giveth and taketh away.)

Browsing the lots of my nearest Honda dealers, it seems the EX and EX-L models account for the bulk of purchases and lot space, not surprising since they straddle the middle in terms of price from $24,605 for a manual EX to $32,070 foe an EX-L V6. All EX models get keyless entry/go, Honda’s up-level audio system and their Lane Watch blind-spot viewing system. (Trust me, LW is more exciting than it sounds). Stepping up to the EX-L model or above gets you a higher resolution 8-inch screen and a 5-inch touchscreen LCD in the center of the dash that acts as the primary audio control interface. The addition of the second display allows you to see some audio information at the same time as the 8-inch display either shows you the navigation screen (if you’ve opted for it) or some other information source. Want to know more? Check out that video above.

Drivetrain

I know we’re here to dream of EarthDreams (which is quite possibly the worst thing anyone has ever named an engine family), but we should start out with that optional V6.  As before the V6 has cylinder deactivation tech, but Honda decided that the old system which would cut out 2 or 3 cylinders depending on the load was more trouble than it was worth, so for 2013 the V6 will only drop to 3 cylinders but the range of operation has been expanded. Thanks to the tweaks and a new 6-speed automatic, the V6 is good for 278HP and 252 lb-ft of torque while delivering 21/34MPG. The V6 has a well-tuned exhaust note and scoots to 60 in the same 6.2 seconds that the Altima 3.5 managed, but the Accord lags the Altima in real-world fuel economy by 3 MPG. This isn’t the engine you want.

What piqued my interest at the launch event was Honda’s new 2.4L direct-injection four cylinder engine. The engine and new CVT turned my impression of the Accord on its head. The engine’s 185HP still arrive at a very-Honda high RPM of 6,500, but thanks to the direct-injection sauce torque jumps to a [nearly] HP matching 181 lb-ft with a strong pull from idle and a peak at a decidedly un-Honda 3,900RPM. If you choose the 6-speed manual, you no longer have to rev the nuts off the engine to get the Accord in motion. Most shoppers however will findP a Continuously Variable Transmission under their Accord’s hood, although they may not even notice. Why? This is quite possibly the world’s best CVT.

Yes, I know I have a rep for the love-that-dare-not-speak-its-name, but I have my reasons for liking a CVT: fuel economy, mountain climbing, and maximizing acceleration in underpowered cars like the 107HP Versa. This CVT is actually pleasant to drive. I’m not sure how the boffins managed it, but Honda’s new CVT switches ratios quickly and crisply with a feel that is so close to a standard automatic the average person might not be able to tell the difference. If you have driven a Nissan with a CVT, you get what some call a “rubber band” feeling that pressing the throttle gets instant response but builds, levels, then after you release the throttle it takes a while for the engine to “return” to a dull roar.

The Accord on the other hand has the feeling of a downshift where the engine shifts to a high RPM almost immediately, then like a normal CVT, stays there while you accelerate and when you lift it drops rapidly like a normal transmission upshifting. Passengers in the car were confused, some thought they detected shifts and thought it was an auto, while a few realized it was just a good CVT. This is as it should be. If you need another reason to give the CVT a shot, the 27 city, 36 highway and 30 combined MPG rating should make a believer out of you. In my mixed driving I averaged a stout 32.5 MPG. If you absolutely must have the manual, you’ll be limited to four-cylinder LX, EX and Sport models (the V6/MT combo is Accord coupé specific). The manual will save you $1,200 at the register but cost you more at the pump with fuel economy dropping to 24/34 and in my testing the combined number was some 5MPG lower than the CVT.

The Accord has long been known for its double wishbone front suspension, a design that some prefer because of increasing negative camber gain as the suspension reaches the end of travel. On the downside it’s heavier, more expensive and according to Honda contributed to the NVH that owners and reviewers whined about. What does that have to do with anything? The wishbone is gone, replaced by a MacPherson strut arrangement like just about every other FWD car in the USA. Does it matter? Not really, most people would be hard pressed to tell the difference since the Accord is hardly a track day car. Or is it?

The mid-size sedan is the ultimate comprise car, just watch a sedan add some time. They are supposed to schlep the kids to daycare and then carve that canyon on your way to your impressive day job where everyone congratulates you on making the smart decision to buy the family car instead of the Mercedes roadster. Truth be told, any mid-size sedan carves corners with shocking aplomb, holds at least two car seats with ease, looks good enough to valet park and manages to keep from breaking the bank. You know, except for that Dodge Avenger I’m trying to forget. But I digress.

Honda made a big deal out of the weight reduction at the launch event, but in truth the 3,336lb curb weight merely represents a tend in the right direction and lands the Accord in the middle of the fray. What is different is how Honda chose to tune the Accord. Out on the road the steering is moderately heavy with a hint of feedback (more than can be said for most sedans these days) and the suspension is firm for a family car. The combination create a feel that I would almost describe as “Germanic,” something that paradoxically cannot be said of the latest Passat. When the feel and suspension are mated with 215/55R17 rubber on the EX and EX-L models, the Accord can dance with the best of the competition. The Sport model’s 235 width tires might sound attractive but beware, the rubber is bundled with new steering stops that increase the turning circle from good to enormous. My suggestion would be to buy a regular model, jump to 225s and deal with the occasional rubbing.

Thanks to a combination of excellent road manners, a surprisingly quick 6.8 second jump to 60 and the best mid-sized non-hybrid/non-diesel fuel economy we have tested so far and the Accord EX becomes my favorite four-cylinder mid-size sedan. It’s not as sexy as the Fusion, but it’s cheaper by a nose, more exciting than a Camry, more mainstream than a Kia or Hyundai (yes, I did use that as a factor because you know shoppers will) and statistically more reliable than some of the other options on the road. There’s always a “but” and here it is: the Altima 3.5 starts at $25,760, weighs the same as the four-cylinder Accord, clears 60 in 5.5 seconds and averaged a shocking (and totally worth it) 27.6 MPG during our week.

Hit it

• The best CVT ever created.
• Our average fuel economy was only 1MPG lower than a Civic.
• Excellent chassis dynamics.

Quit it

• Lane Watch is as gimmicky as it sounds.
• You have to upgrade to the EX-L to avoid the urethane steering wheel.
• I still don’t understand the split screen radio/nav situation. Someone explain that to me over a beer.

 Honda provided the vehicle, insurance and gas for this review

Specifications as tested

 0-30: 2.8 Seconds

0-60: 6.83 Seconds

1/4 Mile: 15.25 Seconds @ 93 MPH

Average Observed Fuel Economy: 32.5MPG over 659 miles

Nissan closed  the year in America with U.S. sales up by 10 percent, but that wasn’t enough to please Ghosn.  Said the CEO today in Yokohama:

“China was not our biggest disappointment last year. It was mainly the United States. We were expecting a strong year. It did not happen. We postponed it to 2013.”

 Then, Ghosn calls up his EVP Colin Dodge to explain what happened last year in America. Dodge does not mince words either:

“We did not quite make it. We did not quite make the delivery targets, we did not quite make the cost targets, and we certainly destroyed our car flow, the reliability of our cars arriving at the dealers.”

Dodge booked it as a learning experience: “We learned what we were not very good at.” Now, he says, things are back under control. Mostly:

“This year, our carflow is in an orderly  way, we are now delivering the cars our dealers are expecting, with one exception, the Sentra. We have about 50,000 backorders of the Sentra, and that will come in in Q4.”

Ghosn and his Lieutenants all skipped the class where they teach the art of the spin. I like that.

Nissan is the largest of all Japanese automakers in China, and therefore has the most to lose. With about a quarter of its global sales in China, Nissan has the highest exposure to the ups and downs of the Middle Kingdom. When  Chinese rioted in the streets, overturned Japanese cars and torched their dealerships , Nissan was beaten hard.  At one point, sales of Nissan cars were cut in half.

Recently, the situation has improved a bit. Nissan’s April sales in China even booked a slight increase over April  2012. A month and a couple percent do not make a trend. Says Ghosn:

“I consider recovery achieved completely when our market share will come back to what it was before the unfortunate events of September 2012. And our forecast is that we will reach this level by the last quarter of 2013 – supposing there will be no other adverse events to deteriorate the relationship between China and Japan.

In a way, we would have lost more than one year.”

Shortly after the riots, TTAC predicted that the effects of the island row would  last longer than predicted, and would hit Japanese carmakers harder than tsunami and floods – at least as far as lost sales are concerned.

If any carmaker is hoping for an imminent turn-around in Europe, or is telling shareholders (I am looking at you, GM) that better times will be here again real soon now, then Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn has a bucket of ice-cold water for them.

“Europe is going to be bad,” Ghosn predicted today in Yokohama. Ghosn also serves as CEO of Renault, a company that is taking major lumps in a market that has been careening south for five years in a row now.  One would assume that a man in his position paints a rosier picture. Instead, Ghosn’s pallet is all gloom.

Ghosn knows what is on the mind of the European customer:

“The European consumer lacks confidence, is confused, he does not know when Europe will get out of this crisis, and until he sees and understands what’s going on in Europe, he is not going to come back buying cars.”

Ghosn does not “foresee any growth in Europe probably before the end of 2016, or even later.” He thinks the worst is yet to come:

“We are absolutely not forecasting any growth in Europe. And we are preparing to face Europe with a decrease in 2013, probably another decrease in 2014, and at best a stabilization of the market in 2015. We hope we are wrong. If we are, better for us.”

For the case that Ghosn’s predictions are wrong (they rarely are), his companies “have capacity in Europe and we are ready to respond to any pent-up demand, even if we don’t believe it is going to happen.”

Listening to Ghosn’s dire predictions, one begins to believe that European turn-around may not happen until the end of the decade. And it must be brought on by governments that are tired of austerity measures. Says Ghosn:

“I don’t think the European countries can afford to continue to see a decline in the economy for much longer. At a certain point in time, the focus will be put on growth.”

In a Europe that is not known for speedy decisions, this refocusing could take many years. Ghosn recalled how he demanded action on the obscenely high Japanese Yen 5 years ago, and now finally, there is action.

In the meantime, says Ghosn, “we are not banking on a recovery of the European market, because it may not happen.”

If you wanted to have a ten minute advantage (for placing those jumbo derivatives order into the mainframe of your hedge fund) before Nissan’s annual results for the last fiscal were announced in the newly redecorated meeting room on the 8^th floor of their Yokohama headquarters, all you had to do was read the smiling faces of Nissan’s top lieutenants. Executive VP Andy Palmer was all grins.

U.S. and Canada sales chief José Muñoz was all smiles. Grinning, Nissan EVP Colin Dodge quickly turned away from the camera and tried to mislead this reporter by saying the cheery faces are “because it’s Friday.” Sure.

Minutes later, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn took the podium, and announced (with a serious face) that Nissan finished the year with an operating profit of $6.31 billion, and a net income of $4.13 billion. All of this contributing to a cash pile of $9 billion, good to have in these unsettled times. Ghosn promised a net profit of $4.23 billion for the year to March 2014. That was the boring part.

What is much more interesting is what Ghosn and his Lieutenants said later while chatting with reporters. We will hear them talk about Europe, China, America, about Leaf sales, about the foreign exchange, and even about Carlos Ghosn’s career. Some of it is good, some bad, some awful. We will cover all this in the course of this Nissan Friday. Because we don’t want Dodge to lie.

Found around the corner from Toyota

It’s not quite the all clear, but Japanese automakers (and their government-owned Chinese joint-venture partners) breathe a bit easier after receiving April sales numbers for China. Numbers had been down severely after last September’s anti-Japan riots. Latest “figures suggest that the firms are closer to recovering their lost sales,” says The Nikkei [sub].

Honda, which was one of the hardest hit last October, is  down only 2.4 percent year-on-year. Nissan even eked-out a 2.7 growth for April. Toyota  is down 6.5 in April, but Toyota managers don’t miss a chance to mention that some of the problems are theirs, and that new product is needed and on its way.

As the table shows, some Japanese automakers wish they would be that lucky.

By now, most of you who care about these things are aware that Toyota today announced an annual net profit of $9.73 billion for the fiscal that ended on March 31, more than three times of what the company made in the year before. By now you probably heard that the “weaker yen” is the reason. Not really, says Toyota, claiming that “effects of FOREX rates” added only $1.5 billion to the bottom line. There is another number you may not have heard.

Buried in the supplemental materials, handed out at 3pm in the packed basement conference room at Toyota’s Tokyo HQ, is the news that for the first time, Toyota budgets to cross the 10 million unit mark this fiscal. According to its plans, Toyota wants to sell 10.1 million units this year, including Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino, and, often a source of confusion in the past, but no longer this time, including China. China is looking a bit better after emotions over the islands have cooled down a bit. April sales in China were at 93 percent of their previous year levels, I hear today, and with a few new and sorely needed products, Toyota wants to sell more than 900,000 units this fiscal in the Middle Kingdom.

A few weeks ago, we predicted 10.06 million units for Toyota’s calendar year.

If Toyota delivers this plan (and they usually budget like a porcupine having sex – very carefully) it would be the first auto manufacturer in the world to cross the magical 10 million unit line.

Toyota is even more careful when it comes to bricks and mortar. Other than some OEMs who build new factories faster than cars, overcapacities elsewhere be damned, Toyota wants to use what it has. It will stick with building planned factories such as in Thailand and Indonesia. It may add a little capacity here and there, but otherwise: “No new factories,” its CEO Akio Toyoda says today.

Whenever we talk about production volumes and new records, there are the usual comments that what counts is profits, not volume. Toyoda agrees. “Growth is not the same as the expansion of sales volume,” says Toyota’s CEO today. “Some may think that now is the time to get aggressive. However I think that we are just about to start our sustainable growth.”

Like no other carmaker, Toyota went through a series of gruesome catastrophes that would have brought many others to their knees. What did not kill it, made Toyota stronger. It also taught it to plan for other catastrophes.

For those who advocate that profits are more important than volume, here is a handy table with volumes for the last calendar year and profits for last year’s reporting period. In case you wonder about Volkswagen, refresh your memory here.

The mantra before, during, and after the bailout was (and still is) that without the bailout, gadzillions of jobs would have vanished, the American car industry would have been wiped out, wheels would have come off the arsenal of democracy, and the sky would have fallen into Lake St. Clair.  Of course, that’s nonsense. There are more than enough other carmakers in America. They would have received the sales, and added the jobs.  They would have been mostly non-union jobs though.

The truth is, without the bailout, the UAW would have vanished, and with it millions of Democratic votes.  

Rutgers University professor Thomas Prusa says that the much maligned Japanese auto industry in the United States “has emerged as a major contributor to the U.S. economy.” In a new study, the professor says that the Japanese auto industry is “responsible for 1.2 million U.S. jobs based on the U.S. production and sales for Japanese-branded automakers,” and that these jobs generate over $76 billion in annual compensation.

Rather than posing risks to U.S. jobs, “the Japanese-branded automobile companies have increased the international competitiveness of all U.S. auto and auto parts workers,” the study says.

Declares the professor:

“While many parts of the U.S. automobile industry have struggled in recent years, the Japanese-branded auto segment has emerged as an important job creator and a leading contributor to the United States economy. The role of Japanese-branded automakers’ investment has grown significantly over the past two decades.  In the mid-1980s less than 15% of the Japanese-branded automakers’ U.S. automobile sales were produced in North America.  Today approximately two-thirds of the Japanese-branded automobiles sold in the United States are built in North America. Moreover, Japanese-branded automobile plants account for nearly 40% of all U.S. automobile production.”

The study was prepared for the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. Spool-up the prayer mills!

There probably is no other major car market where oil-burners play less of a role than in Japan. Even diesel-averse Americans buy more. Excitement about brown diesel wagons notwithstanding, diesel-powered cars limp along at around 3 percent market share in America. In Japan, where diesel-powered cars were banned from the streets of Tokyo 14 years ago, and where they carry the onus of being smelly, their market share is below miniature one percent. In both markets, there are hopes for a big diesel turn-around.

In America, most of diesel’s featherweight is carried by Volkswagen which just doesn’t want to understand why diesels won’t sell in European quantities, where every other new car bought is a diesel. In Japan, Mazda bets big on diesel.

Mazda sells diesel versions of the CX-5 SUV in Japan, and also of the Mazda6, called the Atenza in the Nipponese market. Says The Nikkei [sub]:

“Their success encouraged Mazda to also equip its smaller cars with diesel engines. This year the company will add a diesel version of its fully remodeled Axela — sold overseas as the Mazda3 — and in 2014 will offer a diesel version of the fully remodeled Demio. The Axela will initially be equipped with a 2.2-liter diesel engine, but Mazda is developing a 1.5-liter engine that it plans to use for both the Axela and the Demio.”

The Demio is better known outside of Japan as the Mazda2.

Mitsubishi is planning to offer diesel-powered vehicles in Japan. Volvo will release a diesel car this year, and Germany’s Volkswagen plans to introduce a model in or after 2014. In addition, both Daimler and BMW plan to bring more diesel cars to the island nation.

Says the Nikkei:

“By 2014 at least 10 different models of diesel cars will be available, or double the present number. Overall annual sales, stuck below 10,000 units in fiscal 2011, are predicted to balloon to 200,000 to 300,000 units.”

Assuming the Japanese market remain what it was in 2012, this would be a take rate between 5 and 7.5 percent.

In some ways my initial move across the Pacific was a lot easier than my return. I was at the end of my personal rope when I went to Japan in 1999 and, even though I was stepping into a dead end job, there was nowhere to go but up. Coming home was quite the reverse. Of course I had a job offer, but I had learned the hard way about birds in the hand versus the two in the bush and, truth is, I was scared. I had carved out a nice little life for myself in Japan. I had friends, a decent place to live and, for a change, money in my pocket. I had even purchased a car and a motorcycle, but now it was time to sell out and move on.

The car in question was my 1986 Twin Turbo Supra and it was in great shape. In the two years I had owned it I had taken good care of it, corrected a few minor paint issues with rubbing compound and special wax that turned the paint back to its original brilliant white, added new tires, a kick ass stereo and even completed the shakken. Back home in the States a similar car would have sold for several thousand dollars and there was no way I could have lost money, but in Japan, as usual, it was a different story.

Someone once told me long ago that Japan is like the pond in the center of a Zen rock garden. From the outside it looks tranquil, placid and is a perfect reflection of the sky above. Underneath, however, everything that happens in every other pond is taking place. Bugs are laying their eggs, frogs are eating the bugs and the fish are eating the frogs. The entire circle of life is going on under that water and it isn’t until you decide to plunge in that you really understand how deep and how murky the pond really is.

The Japanese, as I had learned during my initial purchase of the Supra, don’t generally do person-to-person sales of used cars. Sure, you might sell a vehicle to a family member or a good friend, as I discovered when I sold my Mazda MPV to my “Japanese family” when I left Okinawa in 2010, but selling a used car to a stranger is practically unheard of. I’m not sure if anthropologists have ever conducted a study as to why this is the case, but rumors about the Japanese belief in evil spirits attaching themselves to things that others have used in a personal way aside, I think it is because public transportation is nearly universal, parking is limited and cars are expensive to own. The result is that young people don’t need to own a car to get around and, thanks to all the fixed costs of car ownership, are effectively priced out of the market. Therefore, most cars are purchased by adults who can and usually do buy new because of status issues, increased reliability and other benefits given to new cars under the shaken inspection system.

The average Japanese person trades in their old car when they buy a new one. The money they receive in trade is ludicrously low, but given that most people don’t have the need, desire or even the extra space to keep an older car it works out well. Sure, like anyone who trades in a car they lose out on some money, but they are essentially paying for the convenience of disposing their old car. I had learned, however, that a little elbow grease and an unconventional approach could often circumvent the natural way of things in Japan and so I determined to turn to the “international community” for a solution.

There are quite a few foreigners in Japan. The vast majority of them are tourists, then in decreasing frequency come the international students on exchange trips, the Mormon missionaries, the JET teachers, company-men on temporary assignments and finally the dregs of Western society that end up as ESL teachers at for-profit English conversation schools, spouses of Japanese citizens and all the other flotsam and jetsam of the world that get swept into the relatively sheltered waters of Japan and end up staying there for years at a time. As with many communities that fail to fully integrate into their host countries, Westerners in Japan have built for themselves a vibrant and fun sub culture all their own and all it takes to access it is the time and willingness to sit down in an Irish pub and listen to people who have no intention of ever returning to their home countries bellyache about how much they hate Japan.

About a month before I returned home I put an ad in the local Gaijin (foreigner) classified ad paper, known as the Kansai Flea Market and waited for the calls to roll in. I got some quick bites on my bike and sold it after just a week at a small profit, but the car languished in the paper and generated just one call from an Australian bloke who was hoping I knew about any laws that might prevent him from taking it home. As my departure neared I checked with my girlfriend’s friends to see if any of them wanted it and was given a resounding “no” by everyone we asked. Finally I decided to take it to a place called “Gulliver” that ran frequent ads on TV about buying used cars.

In retrospect I should have probably guessed that any company that has the money to run almost constant ads on TV wouldn’t pay much for the cars they bought, but when the guy told me my car was so old that they would only take it for free I wasn’t very happy. Still, as the time for my departure was drawing ever nearer, I went ahead and struck the deal and told him I would bring the car back the next day. Of course one thing led to another and I didn’t bring the car back until the following week but since I was giving it to them who would have thought it would be an issue? Well it was, and imagine my surprise when the guy told me that because I had failed to honor my word and bring the car the next day the terms of the deal had changed. Now, instead of simply giving them my car, they wanted me to pay them $50 to take it. I wasn’t happy, but with my tickets to go home in hand, I went ahead and paid the money and bade my Supra farewell.

Had I known that I would eventually get the job of my dreams, marry my Japanese girlfriend and end up living in the same region of Japan just three years later, I would have paid up my parking fees in advance and let the car sit until my return. But at that point in time, with the future still uncertain, I know that it was better that I let the car go. Still, whenever I visit Japan and return to my “hometown,” I feel a sudden flash of shame and anger every time I drive by that shop. I know I was cheated and, frankly, it grates on me. Of course, outside of a snarky article on a car blog, I will never exact revenge. Still, it’s nice to think that someday, maybe someday, I will.

Thomas M Kreutzer currently lives in Buffalo, New York with his wife and three children but has spent most of his adult life overseas. He has lived in Japan for 9 years, Jamaica for 2 and spent almost 5 years as a US Merchant Mariner serving primarily in the Pacific. A long time auto and motorcycle enthusiast he has pursued his hobbies whenever possible. He also enjoys writing and public speaking where, according to his wife, his favorite subject is himself.

April sales in Japan were up 1.5 percent in April, with sales of kei cars lagging behind resurging regular cars while imports surprise.

Sales of regular cars were up 2 percent. However, the growth came  from imports which jumped a surprising 35.5 percent in April. Sales of domestics are down slightly at – 0.6 percent. This according to data released by  the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.  This is a welcome change after the first quarter was down. Sales through April are down 11.4 percent with imports up 10.8 percent.

Sales of minivehicles grew marginally. Kei cars are up 0.9 percent in April, and down  0.7 percent for the first four months, the Japan Light Motor Vehicle Association says.

Total vehicles sales are up slightly, with imports the strongest gainers. Toyota is the only Big Three automaker that is up in April.

Last weekend, we were in Kuniyoshi, Chiba, the peninsula across Tokyo Bay, to check on some old cars. This is what and who we met.

TTAC’s cross-cultural adviser, Frau Schmitto-san walked by what looked just like the 360 Subaru we test-drove a year ago in Japan.

Minutes later, we saw a skinny, bespectacled man who looked very much like Chiharu Tamura, owner of said 360 Subaru, and Deputy Chief Engineer of the Lexus LFA supercar. The test drive had been a ruse to distract from my secret mission: To observe the making of the LFA.

It was him, it was his car. Tamura-san had driven Subie-san all the 250 miles from Toyotashi to Kuniyoshi to attend an event that celebrated old cars, old trains, old buses, and an old town.

The event was to help revitalize Kuniyoshi, a town that needs a revival badly. The town doesn’t even exist anymore, at least not officially. In 1955, it was merged with a few neighboring towns into Isumi. In 2005, it was merged again.

The only thing that reminds of Kuniyoshi is Kuniyoshi Station, a stop on a narrow gauge line that had been threatened with closure, many times.

This is the old train that brought us to the station.

It didn’t look much different than the old train that is now a museum piece, parked on a short piece of rail that leads to nowhere.

In front of the station, we find a rarity: A 23-window 1967 Volkswagen Bus, the DeLuxe version with sunroof and eight skylight windows. The bus is in great shape, its interior and upholstery have been restored. Later, in the evening, we’ll take it to a nice dinner by the beach and watch a big fat red moon rise over the Pacific Ocean.

The bus belongs to the station, and is driven by the station master, Daisuke Kurihara. He is a multi talent. Living with his mother in a farm, he is a trained opera singer.

At age 25, Kurihara retired from the opera, studied drawing and started producing highly detailed miniatures of old cars, old trains, old buses, and old motorcycles.

This is his rendition of a Volkswagen Beetle.

This is the original, which we find by the road around a corner. It is a 1967 Beetle 1500. The Beetle was exported to Japan in great numbers and was the foundation on which Volkswagen built its empire as the largest importer to Japan.

Naturally, Japanese cars dominated the Kuniyoshi event. This is the convertible version of the Toyota Publica, introduced in 1963. The Publica was intended as Japan’s Volkswagen: It traces back to MITI’s “national car” concept of 1955.

Before anyone makes tired jokes about Toyota and unintended acceleration, let me preempt and assure you that any intended or unintended acceleration during the event was made impossible by way of this simple device that was issued to and mandatory for all participating vehicles.

This is the 1967 Mazda Familia, aka Mazda R100, with the rotary engine, that made it a Mazda Familia Presto Rotary.

The rotary engine quickly received a reputation of being finicky and thirsty. No wonder the owner is asking for donations.

This modern-looking kei car is from the early ‘70s: A Honda Z GS. Its 354cc engine spun at a dizzying 9,000 rpm for a 36 hp output.

This is a 230 Nissan Cedric in the Deluxe trim. Built between 1971 and 1975, the Cedric was sold abroad as the Datsun 200C through 260C

I lifted the pertinent information from the all-knowing Wikipedia. Actually, the car we saw in Kunioshi is not simply the same, but identical to the car pictured in Wikipedia. Wikipedia’s PC police blanked out the bottom part of the license plate, but left the upper third, and that’s all we need for a very close match.

I could go on and on about the historically significant vehicles parked by the roadside in usually sleepy Kuniyoshi, but I am afraid this could bring the TTAC server to its knees. So here are the Japanese bookends of the event:

The three-wheeled Daihatsu Midget, introduced in 1957 with a 250 cc engine that produced a breathtaking 12 hp, quickly became the mainstay of transportation throughout Asia. There were a few of them on display in Kuniyoshi, and some of them may still be in use.

Although production officially ceased in 1972, copies of the Midget are still made in Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia where they do duty as “tuk-tuks,” or motorized rickshaws. The orange one in the back is a Mazda three-wheeler, formerly used by a moving company. Its size is more than adequate to move the average Japanese apartment.

On the other side of the Nipponese spectrum is the Mitsubishi Debonair. Introduced in 1964 and built nearly unchanged through 1986, this was a big car – by Japanese standards.

Designed by former GM designer Hans S. Bretzner, the car looks a little bit like an old Lincoln Continental that was washed too hot and shrunk .

This 1975 Executive model sports the 2 liter ‘Saturn 6” engine, which makes it a rarity.

As far as foreign cars go, it is interesting to observe what constitutes a classic car in the eyes of the Japanese collectors, what is seen as representative of an era and a car culture. The doitsu, or Germans, are well represented by their iconoclastic Volkswagens, mentioned and shown further above. The French are exemplified by a lone Citroen CX 25 GTI, parked in front of a house that is in need of revitalization.

Turkey is here, not with a car, but with Turkey’s national food, the doner kebab.

America is epitomized in Kuniyoshi by a rolling symbol of excess, a very much stretched Cadillac. According to some in Detroit, the Japanese car market is closed, but some cars appear to manage to squeeze through.

Intentionally, or by happenstance, the stretch was placed in front of a symbol of Japanese frugality and bonsai culture, the Mazda Carol, a kei car that was powered by one of the smallest 4-cylinder automobile engines in history, and that grabbed an amazing 67 percent of the kei car market in its first year in 1962.

This is the American car that made the strongest impression on Japan.

An impression so strong that the Willy’s Jeep is the only car shown in duplicate at the Kuniyoshi event.

It comes complement with a faux Cavalry Major.

There are the original Signal Corps radios, in duplicate.

Shockingly for a society where public display of weapons is rare, and where even antique swords need a license, there is a regulation M1, thankfully under lock and key.

Even more shocking: “He’s one of the very few American Army Majors who can eat rice with chopsticks,” says Frau Schmitto-san.

Around the corner, and mostly ignored, a Made-in-Japan Jeep, built under license by Mitsubishi. The Made-in-America Jeep is the most successful American import to Japan.

Meanwhile, back at the Subaru 360, Tamura-san explains a little mishap that occurred on the long way from Toyota-shi to Kuniyoshi.

The 45 year old exhaust manifold finally gave up the ghost and separated from the engine.

Something like that does not faze a leading Toyota engineer: With a field-expedient wire, a nearly invisible and mostly inaudible fix was effected.

We thanked Tamura-san, and we thank him again for this fascinating trip down memory lane and down the alleys of Kuniyoshi. Who could be a better guide through Japan’s living automotive history than one of Toyota’s leading engineers?

Ooopps, one of the leading engineers of Lexus, of course. The ID holder is made from carbon fiber, a memento of the carbon fiber LFA, a car that also is history. All members of the sadly disbanded LFA team received such a holder, and made from CFRP, car and ID holder will most likely live longer than any car we have seen in Kuniyoshi.

Jac Nasser, the former head of Ford, is warning that Australia’s car industry has passed the point of no return, and expects to see it die within the next few years.

Nasser placed the blame at the politicians doorstep, citing a dearth of state subsidies for the auto industry and a lack of clear vision on the part of politicians for the decline of Australia’s domestic car industry, which employs some 224,000 people. While Holden, Ford and Toyota are the big name vehicle assemblers, the vast majority of jobs come from parts suppliers rather than the manufacturers themselves. The Australian quotes Nasser as outlining the challenges ahead for Australia

“The signs aren’t good,” he said yesterday. “You’ve got an exchange rate at a 30-year high, you’ve got higher costs in Australia, you’ve got excess capacity in the motor industry worldwide, you’ve got a very weak currency in Japan and you’ve got a weak euro. When you put that mix together, it’s very difficult to expect a relatively small but talented Australian auto industry to work its way.

As soon as you have a reduction in the scale of domestic manufacturing – let’s assume one of the three decide to exit Australia in terms of manufacturing – then you end up potentially with sub-scale supplier infrastructure…Once that happens, I think it’s a domino effect. It would be a very sad day for Australia but unfortunately it looks like it could be inevitable.”

One of the major issues cited by many observers (as well as the B&B) is that of tariffs. A report in the Australian business publication BRW states

Australian tariffs on imported motor vehicles fell to 5 per cent by 2010 from 10 per cent in 2005. Where Australia has a free trade agreement, there is a zero tariff. Industry bodies such as the Federation of Automotive Products Manufacturers (FAPM) say the hurdles on entry of foreign vehicles are much lower than those imposed by other car manufacturing jurisdictions and the country should demand reciprocity on tariffs with other producing countries.

The reduction in tariffs is often cited as a reason for the freefall of traditional Australian-made vehicles like the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore. The big Australian iron has been replaced at the top of the sales charts by vehicles like the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla and Hyundai i30, as well as the Toyota Hilux and Nissan Navarre pickups, all of which are made offshore. At the end of the quarter, the Commodore was just barely hanging on in 9th place, while its perennial rival the Falcon ranked a dismal 37th in the sales standings.

The retreating yen allowed Honda and Mazda to report bigger profits for the last quarter of their April to March fiscal year. Now the two are faced with a new problem, one that will also be shared by its Japanese peers: Higher costs of badly needed foreign investments.

“We are investing a huge amount, especially in new plants … the reality is that such costs related to growth are eating into our vehicle volume growth,” Honda Executive Vice President Tetsuo Iwamura told Reuters today.

The strong yen made exports expensive, but turned foreign investments into a bargain when they hit the books in Japan. In September 2012, the obscenely strong yen took a turn and  lost about 30 percent of its value compared to its highs.  Suddenly, exports make money, at the price of suddenly expensive investments.

Honda plans 700 billion yen of capital spending in the current financial year, and this money now buys 30 percent less bricks, mortar and assembly lines abroad.  Mazda wants to double capital expenditures to 130 billion yen. Honda and Nissan will announce results in two weeks, but will see themselves faced with the same conundrum.

Tough.

Folks who are not intimately familiar with the peculiarities of the European auto industry often call Renault a similar basket case as its French rival Peugeot. January through March, both are down in Europe, PSA (-15.3 percent) more than Renault (-8.3 percent), but the big difference is that Renault has a much wider international footprint. What’s more, Renault owns 44.3 percent of Nissan. This international footprint helps Renault solve problems in ways Peugeot can’t touch. For instance, by making Nissans.

In a statement, Nissan announced “that the replacement for the current Nissan Micra compact car will be manufactured at a Renault plant in Europe.” Of course, the official reason is not that Nissan comes to the aid of Renault, and helps it to solve its labor problems. Officially, “available capacity across the relevant plants in the Nissan manufacturing network is already planned to be fully utilized and led the company to look at alternatives within the Renault-Nissan Alliance.” Again, Peugeot PSA would love to have a partner that doesn’t know where to make all the cars it sells. PSA only has ailing Opel.

Starting in 2016, the Micra (in some markets sold as March) will be built at Renault’s plant in Flins near Paris. The Flins factory currently builds the Clio , which shares a platform with the Micra. “The next-generation Micra will share even more parts with the Clio,” Automotive News [sub] learned  from French newspaper Les Echos.

With the move, the Micra will come back home to Europe, so to speak. In 2010, Micra production moved from Nissan’s Sunderland, England, plant  to Chennai, in India. Nissan’s statement says that the Micra made in France “will be exported across Europe’s left-hand drive markets.” Meaning the large part of Europe where they drive on the right.  The RHD cars built for driving on the left will continue to be built in India.