8 Japanese carmakers team up on green engines

That all sounds great, but pls build cars that will be able to compete outside Japan as well. Can you see that most of the cars and electronics from Japan have only been selling well in Japan? One of the reasons being: because here is the only place where people will still cough up more money to buy something that has a domestic sticker (even if it was manufactured outside) no matter if the product is similar or inferior to a imported one. This has made our industry stop evolving and striving to be the best, since no matter what you make they will sell well here!

The Toyota Prius has been selling ridiculously well here in the US. About 40~45% of the vehicles I've seen in my state alone are a Prius. I've also been seeing a growing amount of Tesla (US) vehicles on the streets too. For a $70k car that's pretty good. I've seen a few Nissan Leafs and some Ford EVs but the percentage is quite small compared to the hybrids. I know in about a few years Tesla will be releasing a much more affordable EV for about $35k with the same good range as its Model S. I wouldn't mind if Japanese auto makers are trying to lead the way for low emission (and hopefully affordable zero-emission) vehicles, but both Japanese and US automakers really need to work together for a permanent zero emission engine standard.

Yes, they will develop the engines, consumers will pay more, and China and India will continue to be the major air pollution producers.

".....the Japanese government set to subsidise two-thirds of the first year costs."

So you want to know why US automakers needed bailouts or the Europeans need their tariffs? It's because their Japanese competitors like Toyota routinely receive so much taxpayer money just so they can remain "competitive."

There is no "free market." They're all -- including the Japanese -- propped up by their respective gov'ts.

@Honest. Glad to hear that the eco-friendlier Prius is selling well in your state, but is your '40-45%' just based on your experience, or does it reflect actual Prius ownership?

The Toyota Prius only accounts for 40% of the TAXI market in CHICAGO, Dallas or NYC.

They didn't catch up, Japan ignored diesel because it was essentially banned in Tokyo for non commercial vehicles because it was seen as a pollution creator.

http://www.dieselnet.com/standards/jp/tokyofit.php

I hope this produces results. Japanese cars have been slipping in quality over the past few years. I imagine it's due to the pressure created by consumers who care about price more than quality. It would be nice to be able to have confidence in Japanese brands again like I had in the 90's and early 2000's and hopefully people in NA will start paying for better products again instead usually choosing the lazy, cheap disposable consumerism promoted by the culture here.

No more product recalls...please get it right the first time.

GM has made some real gems like the Cobalt. Then there is the Chev Malibu, broke down once and bought one. It had issues soon after I bought it. The trunk that opened by itself. The doors that opened and locked by themselves. Really It is Japanese quality that has made them #1. I think great things will arrive from this cooperation.

I just want to see a next gen rotary engine :(

It's a tug o war between the oil companies and the car companies.

I believe that japan and rest world-automakers should make zero emission cars like in Iceland with H20, but modified to handle and impurities but constant performance with added fuel boosters it will reduce seventy to eighty percent reduction in carbon emissions better for all human beings on the planet!

I suspect I will be reading a headline on JT a year or two from now which reads:

'EU and US competition authorities issue record fine to 8 Japanese carmakers for teaming up to fix prices on green engines'

I think what is happening is that the Japanese automakers are pooling their resources to turn the homogeneous charge compression-ignition (HCCI) engine design to a production engine. The result is a engine fueled by gasoline (petrol) that will have diesel-like fuel economy but with the emission levels normally associated with gasoline-fueled engines.

The project is forecast to cost about two billion yen in its first three years from the current fiscal year which started on April 1, Nikkei said, with the Japanese government set to subsidise two-thirds of the first year costs.

Yep, free market economics at work here.

Thats a wonderfull initiative ... Just a point to be noted by noriyosan73 ... Instead of bashing India , please check the emission and energy consumption per capita. Average Indian is consuming atleast 10 times less energy than a Japanese have a look at these links ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_electricity_consumption

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions_per_capita

It's because their Japanese competitors like Toyota routinely receive so much taxpayer money just so they can remain "competitive."

Source??? US manufacturers have received subsidies for decades as well, look at the tax incentives granted to manufacturers to open a plant in a certain area.

Japan's no worse about this than the US has been historically.

Rahul_R_K, India has 10x the population of Japan, and you are not confining yourself to automobile exhausts. I think you'll find the average Japanese car/bike is way less polluting than the average Indian equivalent.

"Green" is surely what petrol/gasoline engines are not, but they have already come a long way, and if everyone pools their resources to work towards a more efficient and less polluting engine, who is to complain?

Not saying it is a good thing, but name one country where government-subsidized higher education is not linked to industry.

It's because their Japanese competitors like Toyota routinely receive so much taxpayer money just so they can remain "competitive."

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????? Isn;t Toyota sales has been top in the world? They can remain competitive? Top sales in the world is same as competitive?

How much Toyota receive from Govt routinely?

@JeffLee

GM needed bailout by the government because they kept making crappy cars while the CEO Wagner made $50M/year salary when the company was losing $200M every month !!!!!

Also they were giving out generous retirement packages and health insurance ti their unions, but keep blaming the Japanese if that makes you feel better

Hide Suzuki May. 20, 2014 - 04:00AM JST Also they were giving out generous retirement packages and health insurance ti their unions, but keep blaming the Japanese if that makes you feel better

In the late 80's to mid-90's why should one country export over two million cars to U.S. and import 10,000 cars to Japan? U.S. really didn't need Japanese cars. Heck, people in the U.S. could've put up with the crappy cars and GM, Ford, and Chysler would've survived much better and kept the jobs and benefits. Only U.S. has free trade and all other countries have restricted trade.

@Hide Suzuki

There is a popular perception that GM, Chrysler, etc. are dependent on gov't support for their survival, while Toyota and other Japanese carmakers are so competitive they don't need such support. But this is a myth, as shown in this article, and in many other cases. In fact, the US automakers' "bailouts" were loans that they've paid back already. Will Toyota be paying back any of the free money it's receiving for this project?

Anyway, as a taxpayer in Japan, I'm peeved that our money is being handed to huge wealthy corporations that just posted record profits, especially now that we consumers are now paying more money for food and other essentials thanks to the hike in the consumption tax.

And as sfjp pointed out, one of GM's biggest expenses was social security for its workers. How much "social security" did the Brazilian migrants in Aichi receive from Toyota while they built its cars? Hard to know, since they were kicked out of country once Toyota and Japan Inc. deemed them no longer necessary.

@sfjp330MAY. 20, 2014 - 04:53AM JST Hide Suzuki May. 20, 2014 - 04:00AM JST Also they were giving out generous retirement packages and health insurance ti their unions, but keep blaming the Japanese if that makes you feel better In the late 80's to mid-90's why should one country export over two million cars to U.S. and import 10,000 cars to Japan? U.S. really didn't need Japanese cars. Heck, people in the U.S. could've put up with the crappy cars and GM, Ford, and Chysler would've survived much better and kept the jobs and benefits. Only U.S. has free trade and all other countries have restricted trade.

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which Country exported 2 million cars to USA in 80' and 90'?