Japanese cars

Global demand for minivans is gradually falling: crossovers are entering the scene. It happens in Europe, in the USA, in Russia ... but not in Japan. There are a lot of varied vans on the local market, and they are in no hurry to give their share of all-terrain vehicles. What is not surprising: there are few rural expanses in the Land of the Rising Sun, it is difficult to meet snowdrifts in the yard, and it is unprofitable to skip curbs for parking because of high fines. Why, then, need crossovers?

Three whales of the Japanese minivan segment are Toyota Noah (as well as its close relative Voxy), Nissan Serena and Honda StepWGN. The leaders, as you might guess, are Toyota products, although the other two have their own audience. Structurally, they are similar to each other: extended bases from the golf class, up to eight seats, mediocre engines, a variator and an optional four-wheel drive. The main buyers are, of course, the heads of families and their wives.

Given that minivans are a niche product that is gradually disappearing from car dealerships, those who want to buy just such a car, and not a pseudo-SUV, go to gray dealers or car dealers. There are a huge number of Japanese vans on the market, from the models of the 80s to the very latest, including the aforementioned trinity. The largest choice, of course, is in the Far East, but you can pick up a car in both capitals.

As America is inconceivable without large pickups, Japan would not be Japan without key cars. In 2013, 40% of new car sales came from these tiny cars. In the late forties, when the country was bloodless by war, the authorities created a standard for ultra-small cars with a length of not more than 2.8 meters, a width of not more than a meter and with an engine capacity of not more than 0.15 liters. Such cars turned out to be very cheap in production and allowed to quickly transplant the nation into four-wheeled vehicles from horse-drawn carts and motorcycles. Now the Japanese have no need to stimulate motorization, but the concept of key car remains. The goals have changed: in the 2000s, the authorities stimulated the development of this segment in the name of reducing parking spaces, saving fuel and reducing harmful emissions. Therefore, on small cars set a reduced transport tax and provided other benefits. The ultimate performance of key cars has been steadily increasing since 1949, and since 1998 the length cannot exceed 3.4 meters, width - 1.48 meters, and engine displacement - 0.66 liters. Although the problems of traffic jams and environmental pollution are still relevant for Japan, the authorities decided to reduce the attractiveness of the purchase of such vehicles by raising the transport tax on them immediately by 50%. The reason is simple: Japanese manufacturers spend a lot of money on the development of key cars, and the potential market is small: nobody needs such micromachines abroad. To reduce their financial losses, officials decided to move towards getting rid of the dominance of key cars. The Japanese themselves, however, are not happy with this turn of events.

Obviously, the segment of micromachines is unlikely to collapse in the coming years due to a fairly high domestic demand. True, it is very possible that instead of today's diversity we will see one single platform for all manufacturers, on which they will build slightly different bodies from each other. There are already prerequisites for this. What do you want? This is a global economy. The audience of key cars is very diverse. It is made up of young people, women and simply not very rich Japanese who want to travel inexpensively on their own vehicles. Also, key cars with cargo platforms and spacious bodies are popular with business: farmers take their products to the market on them, and logistics companies carry documents and parcels.

During the dominance of the right-hand drive behind the Urals, a lot of key cars were imported into Russia, and there are many of them in the secondary market, although the vast majority are concentrated in the Far East. There, "cute" and "kawaii" cars are really appreciated by girls and just lovers of extravagant style. You will not find a single typical Japanese car among the new models - there are not enough hunters in our country to buy cars with a 0.66-liter engine. Other models of the Japanese market that are not officially imported into Russia:

Toyota

Toyota Vellfire. A minivan that differs from the Alphard that we know in Russia with a more brutal youth design. Toyota Premio. Sedan, standing between Corolla and Camry, the heir to the model Carina and Avensis.

Toyota Century. The flagship Toyota sedan for true conservatives, as the design has changed little since 1967. The only carrier of the 5-liter unique Japanese V12 engine. Toyota Mark X. An alternative for those who like the dimensions of the Camry, but would like rear-wheel drive, more power and more luxury. Heir to the "same" Mark II.

The automotive industry of the Japanese cars in the Land of the Rising Sun appeared relatively recently, but the pace at which it developed evoked the envy of many.

Until 30-40 years of the twentieth century, the issue of cars was not even discussed. Toyota and Suzuki were engaged in the production of looms. The technical reconstruction of Isuzu was carried out by the British, they also solved all emerging technical issues. The first car released by Mazda was copied from the English Austin. The remaining companies, starting their development in the automotive business, tried to borrow the experience of leading Americans in this business.

What do you call a yacht

All leading corporations are named according to the names of their founders, the sound of which is not very familiar to a foreign ear and language. They underwent a significant transformation, with the exception of Honda and Suzuki. So the Mazda in the original sounds approximately like “Matsuda”, in Toyota's name the sound “d” was transformed into the familiar “t”. The stamp "Made in Japan" did not yet inspire due respect, it was easier and safer to pass off their cars as American or English. The list of Japanese car brands was accepted by the public much later.