From: CONSLT24@Zeus.unomaha.edu (Issa El-Hazin)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: Do buy Japanese(WHY?)
Date: 8 Apr 92 03:00:46 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.1992Apr8.030046.5161
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.11

> > In article <1992Mar18.133257.9443@usenet.ins.cwru.edu> ai065@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Thomas Hill) writes:
> > !
> > !   The vast majority of Japanese people do think that Americans are lazy,
> > !overpaid, and even stupid. A recent survey proved this. On another note, to
> > !answer those who think "Americans are overpaid", a recent statistic just
> > !was shown to me- America is 10th in the world in terms of pay scale. It
> > !would be interesting to note just how much of a trade problem with Japan
> > !these other 9 countries enjoy. I'm willing to bet that most of them don't
> > !have a trade problem, and that the reason for this is enforced trade (not
> > !letting Japan have full run of their market because Japan DOESN'T do the
> > !same for anybody.
> > !
> > !   Tom
> > !-- 
>  

Dear Tom

According to a recent 20/20 show (and many other shows) they all showed
your statement to be totally wrong. In a matter of fact they showed the
other way was more true (i.e. the US is a lot harder on them than they are
on the US). Few things I like you to know about why Japanese don't buy many
American cars are:
	1) Japan drives on the left hand side of the road same as in England
	   (steering wheel is on the right) and the US is trying to sell
	   them the same cars they sell in The US (steering on left, so
   	   lets see somebody try to sell you a Honda with the steering
           wheel on the right hand side to drive in the US).

	2) Japan is very over crowded country and they usually drive small 
	   compact cars, and who makes the best small cars (Americans?)

	3) When [large] American cars reach Japan they sell for more than
	   twice the price you and I pay for them in the US, and also more
	   than what an equivalent Japanese built car go for (they have
	   no problem buying European cars, why?)

I for one will buy the best car for the dollar and one that will not insult
my intelligence (i.e. taking a Japanese car and putting an American name tag
on it and say wolla, who said we don't make cars as good as the Japanese? or
many more stupid and dumb things like after driving the Honda accord and the
Dodge Acclaim a 100 people were surveyed and 93% said they rather own the dodge 
just to find out later that the government had banded dodge corporation of 
airing this and many of their other misleading commercials since these 100
people surveyed were all from the same small town (that is proud of American 
cars) and that none of these 100 people ever owned an import before.

Both parts are guilty to some extended, and there is no doubt in my mind that
if the US could get away with the same thing they would be doing it now and
it will be called good business, they've done it before.

My family and I mostly drove American cars and we viewed Japanese cars as
cheep. All that changed few years ago when I bought my first Japanese car.
Since then I've noticed how much real pleasure a car can be to drive. They
talk to you when you want to listen, they tell you what they can and what 
they can't do and when you don't want to listen like a good friend they keep
quite. I have nothing against people buying an American car if they are doing
it for the economy but if they buying one because they are better I can't help
but wonder what color is their neck? bright red, medium red or dark red.

I really hate going on with this subject, but according to all the magazines
I've read (excluding Motor Trend (Ford vs. Chevy thou they are coming around))
they all are saying the same thing, Japanese cars, motorcycles and audio/video
equipments are superior to American ones (more reliable, better designed and 
well put together). As an example this month's (April) consumer report issue
ranked 166 cars first for safety, next performance, then reliability and 
finally price, they buy the cars like everybody else so they can look at a 
typical production line model and not a sample that had been meticulously 
hand-picked and fitted (it takes several months and about 6000 miles of 
driving to test each car), and divided them to different categories, 
small cars, sporty cars, compact cars, mid-sized cars over $25,000, under 
$25,000, large cars, small vans and sport/utility vehicles. Needless to say
in every division a Japanese car won first place in over all except for one 
division where American cars won all 5 top places, large cars and that was 
due to the fact that Japanese don't make any (the Lexus LS400 and the Infiniti 
Q45 are mid-sized cars, the Lexus was the highest-scoring car they ever tested 
to date with the Infiniti in a close second (both were the only two cars 
ranked as excellent). This is one small example why I'm saying what I'm and
not because I'm blinded with patriotism.

I've heard all the stories out there and would only say to all his own. I for
one enjoy driving a Japanese car and feel one with the car when driving it. I 
have nothing against or for Japanese or Americans, just the cars they make. 
I'm from neither of these two places and maybe that's why I see it for what 
it is.

Just my .02 cents worth.
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