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Tarriffs are only one of a number of levers to play regarding trade back and forth. To concentrate on just that one item alone is short-sighted. If you think VW is celebrating in Germany because they sold a whopping 50,000 cars in Japan you're kidding yourself.
So why do you think Toyota/Honda have so much trouble selling in Korea and the same with Hyundai/Kia being shut-out in Japan? If there was open trade and no barriers in those countries there should be tons of sales back and forth between those two countries given how close they are.
Someone tell me if I’m wrong, but I think there’s also a lot of national pride built into each of those markets. I get the impression it’s a hard sell.
Qualitywise, IMHO your mainstream brands seem to all come out roughly the same in my experience, while German and luxury brands tend to suffer from more serious reliability issues. It’s one reason why the fewer features, the better on any car I buy. Heck, I don’t have power steering.
Tarriffs are only one of a number of levers to play regarding trade back and forth. To concentrate on just that one item alone is short-sighted. If you think VW is celebrating in Germany because they sold a whopping 50,000 cars in Japan you're kidding yourself.
So why do you think Toyota/Honda have so much trouble selling in Korea and the same with Hyundai/Kia being shut-out in Japan? If there was open trade and no barriers in those countries there should be tons of sales back and forth between those two countries given how close they are.
Japan only has 1/3 of the population of the USA. So it's not realistic to sell in US numbers there, even if it was a US state. If they were being wronged, VW and BMW would have every reason to complain and complain loudly about it, so I'll believe their President of VW and CEO of BMW when they explain in a very full way that there's no problem for them.
People also rant about prohibitive barriers to selling US cars in China. Yet GM actually sold more cars in China last year than in the USA! The Chinese sure are lousy at setting up a prohibitive system if that's the best they can do. https://www.statista.com/statistics/...rs-by-country/
Someone tell me if I’m wrong, but I think there’s also a lot of national pride built into each of those markets. I get the impression it’s a hard sell.
Qualitywise, IMHO your mainstream brands seem to all come out roughly the same in my experience, while German and luxury brands tend to suffer from more serious reliability issues. It’s one reason why the fewer features, the better on any car I buy. Heck, I don’t have power steering.
In the case of Japan with both Korea and China, there are major tensions that go back many years. You have the history of Japanese imperialism in China and Korea, which Japan has never *fully* acknowledged or apologized for, that's a real problem. Then there are the present-day territorial disputes and security threats to Japan from North Korea and China.
Last edited by OutdoorLover; 02-23-2020 at 04:00 PM..
I could never understand how America is looked up at being one of the most, if not THE most advanced country in the world, with U.S. made products being considered world renown for high quality and reliability.
Yet when it comes to American vehicles, the world generally shuns them.
This wasn’t always the case, way back in the day when American cars were truly outstanding, the 40’s-60’s and probably up into the 70’s depending on the make and model. America used to build the best of everything, from tools, to household appliances, I mean we were truly the best of the best and that was because of hard work, dedication to making high quality products with durability in mind was job #1.
For proof of this just look at all the old appliances you hear people still using in their homes that are 30-60 years old still going strong.
I have super old Thor drills from the 40’s or 50’s that are built like a tank and still work great today! An old Toastmaster from the 70’s or 80’s that is still in use in my kitchen and it has never had problems. Lastly my old chrome metal Vitamix blender from the 70’s that just destroys whatever you throw at it with ease.
Don’t think all this new Chinese crap will last 3 years especially with daily use. As nothing made today is built for longevity. My father that owns a restaurant was continuously going through different blenders because they all kept crapping out so soon, it didn’t matter the brand either, so he decided to take my advice and purchase an older Vitamix that looks like it’s from the 80’s that he bought off OfferUp. So far so good it’s been about 2 years since he’s had it and it’s a beast of machine as it’s held up to literally hourly abuse with no problems as the waiters and waitresses love it too.
I think GM and Ford are making good stuff right now it’s just the competition is doing even better when it comes to vehicle tech and interior styling. We also have to understand that they aren’t many auto suppliers like they used to be. Many suppliers such as Magna, supply many parts to just about every OEM. This goes for others as well. So it’s not like domestic and foreign automakers are making their own seats or dashboards or material for certain components in house, because they are not. They are all pretty much assemblers now.
If problems occur with certain vehicle components, who do you blame? The automaker or the supplier?
In an ever shrinking automotive landscape with part suppliers consolidating left and right, quality could actually become worse as less competition creates arrogance and control from suppliers that put a stranglehold on OEMs.
In the case of Japan with both Korea and China, there are major tensions that go back many years. You have the history of Japanese imperialism in China and Korea, which Japan has never *fully* acknowledged or apologized for, that's a real problem. Then there are the present-day territorial disputes and security threats to Japan from North Korea and China.
Yet a non-Chinese company can't come into their country and sell the products as they see fit. They have to sign a 50/50 joint venture with a local Chinese firm - SAIC in this case. So in reality, GM is really only selling half of what the #'s indicate.
Can you imagine if the US told Honda "Yeah, you can sell here but to do that you have to sign a 50/50 venture with Ford, meanwhile Ford can still sell their own vehicles on the side."
Japan only has 1/3 of the population of the USA. So it's not realistic to sell in US numbers there, even if it was a US state. If they were being wronged, VW and BMW would have every reason to complain and complain loudly about it, so I'll believe their President of VW and CEO of BMW when they explain in a very full way that there's no problem for them.
People also rant about prohibitive barriers to selling US cars in China. Yet GM actually sold more cars in China last year than in the USA! The Chinese sure are lousy at setting up a prohibitive system if that's the best they can do. https://www.statista.com/statistics/...rs-by-country/
As far as Japan is concerned the issue isn't the total volumes - everyone knows that market is not as big as the US, but the market shares is what to focus on.
In Japan they sold 5.2 millions cars/light trucks in 2019. Mercedes was the top non-Japanese seller with 66K sales, a meager 1.2% market share.
Collectively all import brands (euro and American) sold 250K cars in Japan in 2019. That is only 4.8% of the market.
The Japanese people actually have a high affinity for euro products, which are considered more high-end than what the local Japanese firms make. Problem is, the pricing of those euro vehicles end up being way higher than they should be given the trade barriers so it becomes impossible to sell them at decent volumes.
A lot of Japan's car sales are also small engine micro cars, and given the lack of success that Smart had trying to break into the Japanese market, there's not enough of a profit to be had for foreign car companies for the risks involved in that localized vehicle niche.
Yet a non-Chinese company can't come into their country and sell the products as they see fit. They have to sign a 50/50 joint venture with a local Chinese firm - SAIC in this case. So in reality, GM is really only selling half of what the #'s indicate.
Can you imagine if the US told Honda "Yeah, you can sell here but to do that you have to sign a 50/50 venture with Ford, meanwhile Ford can still sell their own vehicles on the side."
The Chinese have been historically difficult for American companies to deal with. And, they have been stealing American I.P. - that's been a real problem. Still, I prefer to keep discussions factual. Tesla recently opened a huge $5 billion plant in China that was built in less than 1 year. And there is no joint venture. And they got Chinese financing as well as Chinese tax breaks. So maybe Tesla has cracked the code.
Yep, I saw that :-) They like nearly everything that Subaru is making these days except the WRX, which enthusiast reviewers on other sites also say is getting long in the tooth and needs a major overhaul.
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