Japanese Cars
With the improvement of technology, cars became one of the most important parts of our daily life. Transportation is a large concern in today’s world. People opt to buy cars for their personal use because it makes life more convenient. One of the most important steps in becoming an adult is your first car. When you have a car, you don’t need to rely on others for help concerning transportation. The main thing to consider now is what type of car today is the most efficient and at the same time stylish.
There are thousands of new models of cars manufactured every year. Among the famous makers of cars are Japanese, German and American car manufacturers. German cars are known to be elegant, expensive and durable. Brands like BMW, Volvo and Mercedes are famous German cars. American cars on the other hand give us more speedy cars. Their luxury sports cars and GMC sports utility vehicle give us the flexibility we always wanted for cars plus their price is not that high. Then there are also the Japanese cars. For years, Japanese companies like Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Mazda etc has produced hundred of car models that sold a lot of units worldwide. The reason for this is that Japanese cars are durable, classy, sporty and not priced as high as German cars. They are perfect for ordinary folks to buy. Japanese cars also are highly sophisticated in terms of their gadgetry. Their cars usually include lots of new improvements.
Japanese cars have been known for a long time as the most economic cars in the world. Japanese cars are known as the most high quality cars and gas saving around the world. In terms of efficiency, Japanese cars are known to perform at its best. With a reasonable price and a good engine, you’ll be sure that it is money well spent. Since German cars are too pricey and not practical nowadays, let us compare and see how economic Japanese cars distinguish with American cars. According to a study, Japanese cars has had increasing shares of new models in the past two decades from 1980’s to 1990s (Dardis).
Cost price is perhaps the first difference that the consumers consider about the American cars and Japanese cars. America has been known before as the land of automobiles. For example if you go back forty years ago you will find most of American’s road full of cars and most of them just American cars. Because there was no many imported cars from outside of America. And it was so default to find imported cars such as Japanese cars. But now you can see many Japanese cars on American’s road. In past to import cars from outside cost lots of many, so the American prefers to get local made cars instead of getting imported cars. But now with the technology and the improvement of the transportation, it has become more easy to export or import cars around the world. The American and Japanese cars almost cost the same. On the other hand, when you bought American cars brand new and you used it for at least one year and you want sell it as a second hand car, it will lose a lot of its original value. The success of Japanese cars in the states in the 1980’s is due to its efficiency, good operating cost and workmanship (Dardis). But if you want to buy Japanese car second hand the situation will be different because the Japanese cars value doesn’t go down as much as American car do. The depreciation rate of American cars is far bigger than Japanese cars.
The second difference is the sizes of American cars and Japanese cars. Most of the time, American cars are big in size and luxurious in terms of design. Even if you go back two decades or more you will find that most American cars are designed as luxury cars and big. In comparison to Americans cars, Japanese cars are designed to be easier in the accessories and size department. Japanese cars are designed to be more easily accessorized and modified than American cars.
The third difference is labor cost. If we try to compare the total labor cost between American companies and Japanese companies, the Japanese companies will be much less than American companies (Potter). Because in general the average cost of one employee between American and Japan is totally not the same, the Americans employees are getting more than the Japanese employees. So that will affect in the selling price of the car. To make a selling price, the companies must calculate the total cost of the items including the profit margin. If the labor cost is high so, the price will be high and so on. Japanese manufacturers have less health insurance than American manufacturers. This does not mean they don’t give their employees enough health insurance. They just make sure their employees get the needed insurance and cost cut to make cars more affordable. The labor cost is a big factor because this has been a problem in many companies. The higher the labor cost will be the higher will the price of the cars be. This is an issue companies must address to themselves. American workers are taken care by their employers too well. This is a good side of their labor laws but it has its consequences. This bottom line is that if Americans can adjust their labor cost then they can match the prices of Japanese cars. There were cases where American companies like GM started to remove health care for salaried employees (Potter). This was the effects of Japanese companies’ competition in the United States.
The fourth factor is durability. Japanese cars were famous due to the fact that they perform well even years after they had been bought (Impactlab.com). Owners only need to have regular tune-ups and adjustments in order for the car to be well in condition. American cars of course are also durable but today their numbers are going down because people feel that they can’t rely on American cars for longevity (Impactlab.com). Japanese cars are also known to have efficient fuel consumption.
Overall, there will never be a clear winner of what kind of car or what country produces the best cars. There are some people who prefer to have American luxury cars and there are some prefer to have economy Japanese cars. Japanese cars have many drawbacks too like any other cars. The BMW is a luxury German car but it also has its downside like price and availability. We have to look at the competition of car companies as an advantage. With a good competition, companies will try to improve their product for us to pick the best one. Maybe Japanese cars are too small for some people while others might go for the big GMC trucks. There was a study where Japanese cars where American women are more likely to buy Japanese cars (Dardis). It’s more of a personal choice. The only same thing we all share is that we need cars for transportations. And to buy a car you must look and think about the price, expenses, brand, warranty and the other expenses if needed. For me I still prefer American cars even it costs me a lot of gas because I drive too much and I love traveling. I know Japanese cars are the next big thing in car business because of their new sporty cars but I like to use the good old vintage American car. My preference on American cars is that by supporting locally made cars, I can help in supporting our economy too. The car business in American should take pride on their products after all it is where automobiles were invented. Many people might go for the Japanese car for its value and price. Some might think of going for a Volvo for its classy look and brand. But I will prefer to use a Ford car that I really like because it’s bigger, fiercer in looks and it’s very American. Cars like any commodity are always a matter of preferences.
Work Cited
Consumer Preferences for Japanese Automobiles. Rachel Dardis. 1994. 13 June 2008
<http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing/market-research/462617-1.html>
Japanese Cars, American Retirees. Eduardo Potter. 2006. 13 June 2008
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/19/automobiles/19auto.html?ex=1305691200&en
=88c4a9b0c7347298&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
Japanese Cars Top the List of ‘Most Dependable’. Unknown. 2006. 13 June 2008
<http://www.impactlab.com/2006/08/14/japanese-cars-top-the-list-of-most-dependable/>
The not-so-big Three. Unknown. 2008. 13 June 2008
<http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/autos/bigthree.html>
