Japanese Buy More Imports. Sadly, The Wrong Ones

I read many years ago ('90s) an article about Astro and Caprice being big in Japan. Don't remember which magazine is. I still have it at home.

We aim to please: http://www.iasc.jp From Tokyo, The BS

I forgot, Jalopnik and Hooniverse ran a month ago an article about Ram 150 vans converted to track duty.

I'm more a fan of MPVs that have been converted to look like mini versions of U.S. domestic full sizers. I'm not sure where I saw it, but there's a website out there that sells the body kits. To me it was amazing to see how much they mimicked the look of the large vans.

Bertel, Thanks for the link. Yikes! A 430 hp Astro with a bazillion speakers. Yes, they are crazy alright.

It simply shows how much Japanese value imported cars: Not a whole lot. Sales are not a measure for import friendliness. Japan has a zero percent tariff on cars. Japan imports between 200,000 and 300,000 cars per year. That's what the market takes. The numbers in Europe btw. are not much different (in the grand scheme of things) Sure, Japanese and Korean imports are a bit higher, but still, the bulk of cars bought in Europe are European. See also http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/japanese-import-restrictions-shall-we-draw-you-a-map/

Tariffs aren't the only form of restriction available.

(Sorry for the double-post, my edit is broken) Ford is currently the top seller in Europe. Has a foreign car company ever been a top seller in Japan? I don't see how you can say the two are similar.

This is a discussion about imports. Fords and Opels made in Europe are European cars, not imported cars. In any case, both Ford and Opel are widely regarded as European, even German cars. They have been there longer than Volkswagen. And GM says it's up to the Europeans to bail out Opel ... As for "Numbers please?" - It is 1:24 am in Tokyo. I'm hitting the futon. Google is your friend. (Hint: Try ACEA - but be careful, a lot of foreign sounding cars are actually made in Europe, and a few European cars are imported from abroad...)

You can make a case for Opel to be considered German and not American. Personally, I think Opel is neither yet both, like Chrysler under Daimler. But Ford is an American car company, an American nameplate, even when they build their cars in Europe. The Ford family is not a German family, the headquarters of the company are in Michigan, not Germany. You could have Ford cars assembled on Mars and sold to space aliens and it would still be an American brand.

Brand yes. Cars no. Focus? German. Ka? Italian. Mustang? American. Of course they don't sell that last one.