Could the country that gave us the NSX, Godzilla -- and the other Godzilla -- and The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift be on the verge of giving up cars for good? With car buying down by close to 33-percent since 1990, Japan is claimed to be in the grips of kuruma banare, which, for Japanese carmakers, is the polar opposite of hakuna matata.
It's being labeled the "demotorization" process, and it involves large numbers of people in Japan's urban centers not buying cars. Surveys have revealed a variety of reasons, from the cost of purchase and ownership, to vehicles simply not being status symbols anymore, to cars being passé -- as in "so 20th century." The greatest worry is that young folks are simply not into cars, preferring cell phones and gadgets to Cubes and keis. Losing their audience before the love affair has even begun is no doubt causing JDM manufacturers to lose sleep.
And the even worse news is that the trend is expected to continue, with another 1.2-percent drop in sales predicted this year. Japanese carmakers are fighting the perception that cars aren't cool or worth the price by expanding their marketing and sales efforts in an attempt to form emotional bonds in other ways. It is certain, however, that they aren't the only ones interested in the outcome: Japan's kuruma banare is expected to befall Europe as well. Thanks for the tip, catgirlshyla!
Kids in the U.S. want computers in their cars, but kids in Japan want computers instead of cars. Add that craziness to Japan's dwindling population and popular mass-transit options and you'll understand why the Japanese car market dropped to just 5.3 million vehicles, a 27-year low. Toyota, Japan's sales leader in America, is not immune to the sales downturn, accounting for 2.26 million of those new car sales. In order to catch the attention of younger potential car-buyers, Toyota has taken drastic measures: opening its own mall, complete with 220 stores, restaurants and... car dealerships? Not only are there a number of dealerships integrated into the mall, but there are Toyota's littered throughout the walkways.
In addition to showcasing its latest new vehicles, Toyota is also showing off its high-tech robots, some of which, oddly enough, play musical instruments.
General Motors can claim about three percent of the car market in India, and it wants more. Tata's $2,500 Nano will still be the lowest priced new car in the world, but GM wants to offer something less expensive than its $7,350 Spark for Indian buyers. Group Vice President David Reilly points out that while a sub-Spark would be inexpensive, competing directly with the Nano is not something GM intends to do. If a bargain basement GM were developed, it could be leveraged in other markets besides India – it seems feasible that it'd be easily ported to the also-emergent Chinese market.
Three quarters of cars sold in India are small vehicles, and if the General can ratchet up its market share with a new model, the gains in other new markets with explosive growth could help further offset the sluggish performance of sales in the United States. To help achieve that goal, another manufacturing plant is currently underway in Pune, and should be fully up and running by the end of this year. There are also plans for an engine plant in India, though no details are forthcoming yet.
If you or somebody you know is looking into purchasing a new vehicle, this is a must read. We know new and used car salesmen can be some pretty slick dudes, but many of us step on the lot with a great deal of emotion and usually little preparedness. Even us car nuts may come in knowing more than the next guy, but a great deal of knowledge about the product you're about to buy may still not prevent you being taken for a ride.
Some dealers use a selling system called the "Four-Square" to play psychological warfare with your wallet. They work this confusing system several times per day, while you purchase a new car every few years. Obviously, they're the wolf and you're the sheep.
The "Four-Square" is a sheet of paper with boxes for trade-in, vehicle price, down payment, and monthly payment. It looks very simple, but for most people, it's like solving Rubik's Cube. Former used car salesman Alan Stone gave The Consumerist some tips on how to tackle the Four-Square, and we've got some of our own ideas, too. Hit the jump to see what a Four-Square looks like, and how you can beat the dealers at their own game.
While crosstown rival Ford Motor struggles to find its Way Forward, General Motors seems to be making solid progress with its North American recovery program, with General Motors vice president Brent Dewar reporting that the company is on track to sell 3 million vehicles in the U.S. this year, virtually unchanged from 2005, when sales got a boost from massive incentive programs.
With monthly year-over-year numbers down in the summer months, when 2005's incentive programs were in full swing, GM is expecting strong growth through the rest of the year, driven by its new SUVs and trucks (and their high profit margins). GM is also making progress on reducing its dependence on incentives to juice sales - the automaker reports that 2006 incentives are down an average of $900 per vehicle.
With two key new models launching in the near future, the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra, the company is expecting another boost in the truck segment, aided by its new five-year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty program.
Sure, we all know that sales of big SUVs have been driven down by higher gas prices, but Autobytel's latest "Consumer Choice" report shows that we've only seen the beginning of a fuel price-driven restructuring of the automotive landscape. Based on online purchase requests for the second quarter of 2006 compared to the first quarter, here are some losers:
Jeep Grand Cherokee: -58 percent
Dodge Ram: -47 percent
Ford F-150: -40 percent
Hummer H3: -39 percent
Dodge Charger: -29 percent
Chrysler 300: -13 percent
As you might expect, just about every small car on the market showed a surge in demand in the same period.
According to Autobytel, Q2 was the first quarter where trucks really felt the impact of higher fuel prices, with year-over-year purchase requests way down for the Honda Ridgeline, Toyota Tundra, Nissan Titan, Chevy Silverado, Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram.
Autobytel's current "Hot List" for the second quarter:
Toyota Yaris
Toyota Camry Hybrid
Toyota FJ Cruiser (style trumps fuel economy)
Honda Fit
Lexus ES 350
Toyota RAV4 (a fuel-efficient big SUV replacement?)
Honda Civic
Dodge Caliber
Hyundai Sonata
Ford Escape Hybrid (fuel-efficient, with incentive pricing)
European Union new car sales were up in May, and one-time General Motors partner Fiat came out of the month as the big winner, with market share rising from 5.5 percent to 7.8 percent.
As always, Fiat's best results were in the Italian domestic market, but it recorded strong sales in other key European markets, with its popular new Grand Punto (at right) helping to drive sales for the Fiat brand, while Fiat Group's Alfa Romeo and Lancia brands enjoyed similar success.
Investors were pleased, with Fiat shares up nearly 5 percent in mid-day trading Thursday.
Among other manufacturers, most Asian brands did well, Renault and Nissan were down, while Volkswagen enjoyed an excellent month for the VW brand but disappointing results for its Audi, Seat and Skoda brands. DaimlerChrysler posted strong results, with the exception of the struggling Smart brand. Both General Motors and Ford increased sales but lost market share.
The Korea Times reports that Hyundai is offering up $2,000 to its dealers for every Sonata they can move off the lot. Sure, it's not the $10,000 Volkswagen was using to bribe its U.S. dealers to sell the unpopular hunk of metal that is the Phaeton, but 10 percent of the Sonata's asking price is still pretty significant. Samsung Securities, a brokerage house, said the high incentives could result in a lack of profitability for the automaker, but other analysts point to similar practices by Toyota and Honda as well as the automaker's growing market share to argue that it's not a big deal in such a competitive market.
Hyundai is currently clawing and scratching striving for the ranking of seventh largest automaker in the world.
Nissan's April sales in Japan dropped 18.5 percent under those of April in 2005, which gave a big wake-up call to the country's no. 2 automaker. Without minicars, otherwise known as vehicles with engine displacements up to .66L and within certain size constraints, the loss was a whopping 27 percent over April of 2005. The automaker is considering adding more minicars, which are experiencing big sales due to government incentives, in order to tighten up the boost sales overall.
Online sales are now a big and fast-growing part of U.S. retail sales, for everything from books to auto parts. True, the total amount of retail sales booked online is a small fraction of the total volume of consumer goods, but it is the fastest growing of all sales channels, tantalizing manufacturers with its efficiency and low cost (not to mention the potential boost to the bottom line).
This week, The Economist looks at the prospects for online auto sales in the U.S., a market locked in the grip of the nationwide franchise network of auto dealers. To date, attempts to sell cars online have not been promising, but things may (slowly) be changing.
With a whopping two-thirds of new car customers researching their purchases online and virtually complete access to the byzantine maze of rebates and incentives, consumers have been using their new-found knowledge to drive down the dealer's profit margin. This is making some dealers, notably consolidated dealer networks like Lithia and AutoNation, consider how to better integrate online retailing into their operations. As a direct result, AutoNation is launching its SmartChoice online service in June.
Meanwhile, financial institutions like Capital One and Chase (think auto loans) are looking at online auto retail channels as a way to streamline the buying process for their loan clients - using volume buying power to guarantee a fixed price for its customers before they set foot in dealerships. Capital One has partnered with Zag - an internet-based company that brings its car buying expertise to affinity and membership organizations (think credit unions, buyers clubs like Costco, etc.). Even Amazon is rumored to be looking at auto sales.
Is this the death knell for the dealership? Well, no. By law, independent online sellers cannot buy "factory direct" - they must buy their cars from a dealer. Besides, virtual test drives aren't very much fun.
Have you/would you bought/buy a car completely online through eBay Motors or another service? Fess up in 'Comments.'
Could the country that gave us the NSX, Godzilla -- and the other Godzilla -- and The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift be on the verge of giving up cars for good? With car buying down by close to 33-percent since 1990, Japan is claimed to be in the grips of kuruma banare, which, for Japanese carmakers, is the polar opposite of hakuna matata.
If you or somebody you know is looking into purchasing a new vehicle, this is a must read. We know new and used car salesmen can be some pretty slick dudes, but many of us step on the lot with a great deal of emotion and usually little preparedness. Even us car nuts may come in knowing more than the next guy, but a great deal of knowledge about the product you're about to buy may still not prevent you being taken for a ride.
European Union new car sales were up in May, and one-time General Motors partner Fiat came out of the month as the big winner, with market share rising from 5.5 percent to 7.8 percent. 
New KITT Attack Mode revealed at Comic Con
London 2008: Honda OSM concept roadster says, "Cheerio!"
London 2008: Lotus unveils the Evora
2010 Chevy Camaro - Official Details and Images
2010 Chevy Camaro - LIVE from the reveal
In the Autoblog Garage: Aprilia RSV 1000 R
First Drive: Maserati Quattroporte S in Europe
First Drive: 2008 MINI Cooper S JCW
In the Autoblog Garage:2009 Nissan GT-R
North American Exclusive First Drive: Alfa MiTo
