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Will @ Dec 11th 2007 11:47AM
Chrysler sold 6500 units in Japan last year. Ford, 6,200. I can't find published numbers for GM, probably better for my own peace of mind. The fact is, even with the introduction of the aggressively styled "Dodge" brand this year, American cars total less than 1% of Japan's new car sales. And in a country where gas is 33% more expensive than in the US, I have a feeling that it's going to continue this way for a while. On top of the styling, quality, or efficiency issues, there's the trade imbalance that impacts the American brands. Even more so than here in the US, there's a strong fuel-efficiency market there, with lighweight fuel-sipping cars being all the rage. In an economic slump similar to our own, Japanese car sales have fallen again, with small cars deftly beating everything else. It's just a market we can't compete in, not with the American cars you and I would recognize. Now, a Euro-spec Focus or Ka, that may be competative, but not an H3. And certainly not any of our sedans.