ishigakisensei said:
janstett said:
My point is that you said import restrictions were preventing us from seeing more models from Japanese manufacturers, which isn't the case.
I completely disagree. The restrictions were put on when the US only made gas guzzlers that fell apart and the Japanese were beginning to import reliable fuel efficient vehicles. Americans were introduced to only a handful of models before the restrictions were put on. German automakers also enjoyed tighter restrictions due to several Americans buying Euro-spec model cars for much less than those sold in the US even with the added cost of shipping. Higher prices added a aura of exclusivity that does not exist in Germant. Most Americans were then and remain now very ignorant of what is available beyond our borders and they have no motivation to even learn.
Well, I suppose we are just going to go around and around on this issue, so I'll just drop it after this... You have a very pessimistic view of the market and I don't think it's justified.
Import restrictions were a reactionary measure of the 1970s and 1980s. We're in 2006, I'm not so sure those restrictions even still exist (do they?), and even if they did, we live in a world where the Big Three's market share has plummetted, the Toyota Camry is the US's best selling car, and pretty much every major manufacturer has plants in the United States. Today, manufacturers are free to introduce whatever they want to the market -- when they don't, I maintain it is an issue of cost to certify and modify, as well as suitability to the market. NOT an import restriction.
ishigakisensei said:
This is not an open market. It took a Playstation game to introduce to a generation a plethora of cars never available here leading to Subaru and Mitsubishi making US compliant models.
Actually, that
proves that this is an open market. The EVO and WRX were consciously not brought onto the market by Mitsubishi and Subaru. If they didn't want to sink the money into bringing them up to US spec, that was THEIR choice. The US government didn't prevent them from bringing their cars here, as they eventually did. So I fail to see how this is proof of a protectionist market. Cars that weren't on the market before suddenly came on the market without an act of Congress.
On the subject of Mitsubishi, word is they are considering pulling out of the US market entirely due to poor sales (as have Peugeot, Renault, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and more in the past). Isuzu has been on life support for years and Japan's oldest car company will probably fold. Is this due to nefarious import restrictions, or is it due to their cars not selling?
Japanese models fail on the US market all the time even in the tide of overall success. Further, catering to the US market has actually lead to even MORE variety in the portfolios of the Japanese manufacturers -- examples include the Accord coupe which is made in Ohio and shipped to Japan, the Honda CR-V which was created for the US market and sent back to Japan, and all the gigantic SUVs and trucks the Japanese created for the US market.
ishigakisensei said:
These cars were available worldwide in various markets where they met all environmental and safety standards. I could also mention the Skyline GTR not being able to meet US restrictions despite having a masive following for the ones legalized by MotoRex (before they went under due to fraud) and counteless illegal ones.
And again I would counter that it was Nissan's choice not to bring the car here... Which of course, now they are with the next-gen GTR. More proof of a free market and not government meddling.
ishigakisensei said:
I see your point of view, but when I look at history, Japan, and Europe, it is most clear to me that the import restrictions lessen our choices on what we can and cannot buy. One cannot choose what one does not know.
I see your point of view too, but I believe the blame lies more with the manufacturers choosing not to bring product to the US market for reasons I've outlined before. Certainly not import restrictions which may not even exist anymore. Further, those restrictions (which I might point out the UK had at one time too before the collapse of its domestic auto industry) limited the number of cars, not the number of models, that were imported. If the Japanese wanted to bring in a wider variety with fewer numbers of each, I don't know of anything that would have stopped them. Quite logically, they thinned the herd to limit their efforts to models that would have the best chance to sell.
Even today, with Toyota becoming the world's #1 automaker, I don't think Toyota could bring every single model it makes in Japan to the US market successfully. It would cause brand confusion and cars that serve niches in Japan would all bleed together under the differring conditions of the US market. Again, do we really need 5 cars that are in the Camry's demographic?