by "Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
Published 11/06/2017 at 20:38
by "Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
Published 11/06/2017 at 20:38
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STARS: 8
So here’s the deal, Oppo. I’ll post some pictures on Oppo. But all the pictures from all the angles and in the best resolution will go on my Patreon first, then lower versions on Nippolitica . Articles will go on Patreon , then Nippolitica, and then maybe I’ll bring some them over to Oppo. Gotta get paid, you understand. But I promise Oppo will always get some “free” content from me. Also, this kid was winning TMS.
That’s it for part 1. Need to do some more editing for part 2.
"Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch" (bman76)
11/06/2017 at 20:48, STARS: 5
I love this concept, retro-chic done exceptionally well.
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/06/2017 at 21:01, STARS: 1
It has clear Honda design language, that’s what I like about it.
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
11/06/2017 at 21:04, STARS: 1
This could totally pass as a new generation smart roadster. Can we please get a offroadster, smart? :)
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/06/2017 at 21:06, STARS: 1
I got a bunch of Smarts coming later.
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
11/06/2017 at 21:06, STARS: 0
Oh gosh!! <3
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
11/06/2017 at 21:13, STARS: 0
Damn, makes me think I haven’t posted pics of the TMS yet... I’ll get to that now then :)
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/06/2017 at 21:15, STARS: 0
And certainly steal my thunder and my income potential. :D
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
11/06/2017 at 21:16, STARS: 0
Do the French actually have a following in Japan? They’re pretty big in Europe obviously and have niche markets in South America and China but I’ve yet to associate them with having a sales mass in Japan although I haven’t looked into it so I could be mistaken.
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/06/2017 at 21:19, STARS: 1
Peugeot has a huge presence here. Citroen to a lesser extent. I will have full posts on both of their displays on Patreon, then Nippolitica, and a few of the Citroens in Part 2.
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
11/06/2017 at 21:35, STARS: 0
That’s funny, Citroen is generally more “European” and “chic” I would assume, things that the Japanese market seems to like based on their mimicry of Western vehicles.
"Variance" (Variance)
11/06/2017 at 21:41, STARS: 0
Is that some kind of new-age Suzuki Jimny concept? It reminds me of some of the crazy Jeeps FCA does, and I dig it.
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
11/06/2017 at 21:52, STARS: 0
oh lol sorry... didn’t mean that haha :)
I just completely forgot about posting pictures of the TMS on Oppo haha I’ll post them later :)
"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
11/06/2017 at 21:53, STARS: 0
Hey Kat. Love all the sweet jdm cars. Out of curiousity what percentage of cars are kei cars? 30%? I remember reading how the government wanted to crack down due to safety, but they still seem to be going strong.
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
11/06/2017 at 22:00, STARS: 0
well, huge is a big word no? :)
I think they have like 0.15% of market share or something ridiculous like that..
EDIT: 0.14% actually and that’s for PSA, which includes both Peugeot and Citroen together... Renault is at 0.10% of market share.
https://www.best-selling-cars.com/japan/2016-q1-japan-best-selling-car-brands-models/
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/06/2017 at 22:17, STARS: 0
40%
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/06/2017 at 22:18, STARS: 0
Huge relative to other foreign cars outside of BMW and Mercedes, I see them around at a much higher rate than I ever did in the US.
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/06/2017 at 22:19, STARS: 0
I was joking. :3
"SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media" (silentbutnotreallydeadly)
11/06/2017 at 22:19, STARS: 0
That Honda CC110 makes me so happy...
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
11/06/2017 at 22:24, STARS: 0
Well, Peugeot, Renault and Citroen are not sold in the US at all...
But among foregin manufacturers, french ones are are among the least sold in Japan. They even ignored them completely from the Q1 to Q3 stats haha:
https://www.best-selling-cars.com/japan/2017-q3-japan-best-selling-car-brands-models/
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/06/2017 at 23:28, STARS: 0
I saw a few in the US. Just not very many. So perhaps not huge presence perhaps “presence, which seems huge by comparison to the US where there is essentially no presence, with a few exceptions.”
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
11/07/2017 at 01:09, STARS: 0
How many NSX has Honda sold in Japan? I only see two where I live in Marin.
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/07/2017 at 01:15, STARS: 0
I have not seen a single new one on the road. I see the old one every so often.
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
11/07/2017 at 01:22, STARS: 0
Nah they have zero sales in the US or Canada, cars aren’t NHTSA and DOT legal. Private importsof those aren’t legal either... But you might have seen Mexican market cars visiting in the US. They do have dealerships in Mexico, which is most likely what it was.
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/07/2017 at 01:28, STARS: 0
Well as I am from two border states, that would indeed make sense...
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
11/07/2017 at 03:20, STARS: 0
mmmmm.........................Alpina BMW’s
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/07/2017 at 03:37, STARS: 0
I’ll be posting just a post of all of them on the Patreon.
"RT" (rt-p)
11/07/2017 at 10:08, STARS: 0
Hey Kat, loving these posts! I’ll have to think about subbing to your Patreon.
I have a quick question, since someone asked about Peugeot, what would you say are the most popular foreign (not Japanese) car brands in Japan ?
These are my guesses.^
"RT" (rt-p)
11/07/2017 at 10:19, STARS: 0
If you’re talking about this, it’s the Suzuki e-Survivor concept.
No chance for production of that thing anytime soon, but it does exist to preview/promote the new Jimny, which is slated to be launched in 2018 (making it the first all-new Jimny design in 20 years). Here’s a leaked image of it.
"RT" (rt-p)
11/07/2017 at 11:42, STARS: 1
I have sales records in Japan dating from the 70s/80s to the early 2010s. Suggest a year and I should be able to provide data for the success of French brands in Japan.
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
11/07/2017 at 14:54, STARS: 0
How about ‘05, right in the middle of Peugeot’s malaise?
"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke)
11/07/2017 at 16:17, STARS: 1
I took around 600 photos and 20 minutes of video I will edit down to a coherent whole. The more patrons I have the more I can spend to travel to go cover things. $5 a month will get you all my photos, videos, and graphic arts type thingies. Plus any articles I write before the public gets them.
And I would day by far Mercedes and BMW are probably the most common?
"RT" (rt-p)
11/07/2017 at 19:32, STARS: 1
Update:
I’m using a book source which documents every car available in a given model year (AutoKatalog), complete with pictures and in-depth statistics. I don’t have any Japanese sales data pre-1975 though, because only European sales were listed. I also don’t have any post-1991 as they got rid of the international sales section in later issues.
So, let’s try again. Pick any year from 1975-1991.
"RT" (rt-p)
11/07/2017 at 19:37, STARS: 0
Thanks for the details on the Patreon, I’ll look into it for sure.
To clarify though, I already assumed European luxury brands were popular and must’ve forgot to mention the full question: what is the most popular foreign car company in Japan - excluding luxury brands?
Excuse my forgetfulness, I should’ve proof-read. :P
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
11/07/2017 at 20:28, STARS: 0
Hmmm, how about 1970? A strong year for Citroen to be sure.
"RT" (rt-p)
11/09/2017 at 12:40, STARS: 1
I said I only have Japanese sales data from 1975-1991.
Of course, that means 1970 is too early, but since you asked… here’s some hastily-taken pictures of Citroën’s lineup from the 1970 Autokatalog. After all, I agree 1970 was a great year for Citroën (and just about every car brand).
I need to scan these things sometime, but rare several-decade-old foreign car magazines are a little too delicate for me right now.
Anyway, if you want Japanese sales data, choose a year from 1975 to 1991 please.
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
11/09/2017 at 17:08, STARS: 1
Oops, I is stupid—let’s go ‘75 in that case, that was right after OPEC hit in the U.S. at least.
"RT" (rt-p)
11/10/2017 at 18:51, STARS: 1
Third time lucky, right.
Yeah, they’re very low that year - though Peugeot and Renault are nowhere to be seen. I’m guessing they go under the ‘Sonstige’ section (as that word means ‘other’ in English).
So, to save more back-and-forth, here’s the earliest sales count of the French big three in Japan that I have:
It dates from 1980, still fresh from the wrath of the 1979 oil crisis. Sales are still tiny, not even a thousand each. After all, Japanese cars were the popular choice for transport. Considering most of Peugeot and Renault’s cars overlapped with this market, it’s the flashy Citroëns which had the biggest ‘following’.
Now, just for fun, let’s have a look at these numbers during the height of Japan’s ‘bubble era’, when the economy was more accodating. I’ll take 1986 and 1987 as good examples of this:
There. PSA actually make it into four digits in ‘87. The lowly Renaults are still forgotten about. And heck, even selling 1,000 is nothing considering 70s Lancias sold multiple times as much in the USA!
So, if there’s anything to be learned, the most thriving ‘foreign’ brands in Japan are usually oriented around luxury, speed or some kind of spectacle. People buy these cars to show off, which you’re not going to do in most French cars, as most would buy Japanese instead.
The more you know
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
11/11/2017 at 01:08, STARS: 0
!Autobianchi! I suppose it makes sense in Japan considering their cars were basically as close as you could get to Kei status in the Euro market.
And in ‘75, 4000+ Mercurys?! I suppose there has always been a bit of an Yankophile movement in Japan, but nowhere near the Euro-craze.
As for the French, that’s exactly what I was assuming—this, again, goes back to how Trump says there’s a trade imbalance between Japan and the rest of the world—there’s a very good reason for that; the Japanese make things, very good things, and there’s no reason for them to outsource crappy things when they can have very good things for cheaper while supporting the domestic economy. What the U.S. specializes in manufacturing (and indeed, many other automaking countries) are vehicles that are very good within the domestic landscape, e.g. Suburbans, Wranglers, F-150s, while being awful at making cars to compete with the Corolla and the like. I suppose in the case of French cars they have always had a certain flair to them which is appealing beyond the Japanese standard and their diesels are famously stout, so I could see a bit of an interest there, but again, I have no idea why Trump thinks the Japanese would ever buy anything American outside of computer technology (which, even then, is debatable).
"RT" (rt-p)
11/11/2017 at 07:56, STARS: 1
Goes to show there’s a reason you can drive an A112 in Gran Turismo.
That and, you may remember this Oppopost - it probably explains the Mercuries. US cars in Japanese pop culture are still, this:
What you said about Japan vs rest of World exports sums it up all quite nicely too. I remember seeing on the FP, a post about how foreign countries don’t buy many US cars, which most of the comments couldn’t seen to comprehend.
‘BUT FORD SELLS IN YUROPE!!!11’
I mean, they’re not wrong - but probably not in the way they expected.
Woops.