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Ford, GM, Chrysler skipping Tokyo auto show

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Should not be a problem - the local US dealers can still exhibit their current models - if they are serious about promoting them in Japan.

Of course most attendees seem to be their for the models accompanying the car models...

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Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Flake said the company will use other ways to make Japanese car buyers aware of its vehicles.

We know about American cars thanks, and frankly it's the reason why we don't buy them!!!

FORD - Fixed Or Repaired Daily!

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I look for other major auto manufacturers to follow suit. Fact is Japan's markets remain closed to all foreign auto makers anyway... why bother with the expense of showing some of the most popular cars on the planet if the national government fails to provide fair access to the market place ? Seems like a no-brainer, and once again, it's the Japanese consumers that are hurt, unfair business practices only lead to higher prices and poorer quality. This greatly explains how Toyota managed to lose it's "automatic" favorable quality ranking with major news outlets around the world, that and millions of recalls over the past 5 years. The only thing to wait for now is the moaning and whining from the sponsors of this event. Too funny !

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Fact is Japan's markets remain closed to all foreign auto makers anyway...

Import tariff to Japan 0% for all vehicles (since 1978)

Import tariff to U.S. 2.5% (passenger) 25% (commercial)

http://www.jama.or.jp/lib/jamagazine/200311/09.html

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It's no wonder the Americans have chosen not to participate... there are merely no opportunities to sell foreign cars here... Oh yeah, Volkswagon agrees also. Top management there has stated time and time again that with greater access VW could increase its sales by as much as 30%. Lets hope da Germans bail on the Tokyo motor show also.

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It's no wonder the Americans have chosen not to participate... there are merely no opportunities to sell foreign cars here... Oh yeah, Volkswagon agrees also. Top management there has stated time and time again that with greater access VW could increase its sales by as much as 30%. Lets hope da Germans bail on the Tokyo motor show also

Import tariff to Japan 0% for all vehicles (since 1978)

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What's the former Big Three's market share in Japan? 1%?

"FORD - Fixed Or Repaired Daily"

I thought it was Found On the Road Dead...

FIAT - Fix It Again, Tony!

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Ford, GM, Chrysler skipping Tokyo auto show

Japanese automakers Nissan Motor Co and Mitsubishi Motors Corp are not at the Detroit show

looks like boys sulking, maybe they had some argue? ^^ Anyway as you said, japanese buy japanese cars.

Sarge : hehe good one

Unklesam : you guy really have a problem with Japan !

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Cars from America sell less than rice from America. The fact is that American success suffers more than ever, never mind why. American car companies should focus on learning from the Japanese car companies and vice as verse. Moreover, they will end up losing success to China's or India's new companies. Competition should be welcomed and addressed not dismissed and forgotten. I think it is a great time for change and redevelopment for all, let's see who survives the storm. A great need for sharing is now at hand as companies struggle not to lose profits,business or face. Buyer beware...what is right today maybe wrong soon. Place your bets on the big guy with a big gun... Same old same o.

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nigelboy,

I know you posted the link twice saying there has been no tariff on imported cars since 1978, but when I was in Japan in 1979 and then again in Los Angeles in 1980 and talking to car exporters/importers about the tariff, they laughed and said, yeah, no tariff. Other costs required by the government, though, worked out to about 300% of the price of the car.

Cheap and sometimes used VW Beetles were considered rich people's cars in the 70s and 80s in Japan (and cars for college students in the US). That your statistic comes from a journal put out by the Japan car manufacturers lends some questioning to its academic honesty.

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Well Nissan is skipping Chicago so it looks like makers are concentrating on shows where they can have the most impact. Look for GM and Ford to attend shows in Europe which is a major market, GM for sure in China and all three of course in the US. Japan is a tiny market for US makers and not really worth the expense of doing the show.

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borscht: right on the money, why is it that I owned a Saab in the states that was bought for $30,000 US and that same car here would cost me nearly $50,000? 0% tarrif my foot, they may not call it a tariff but somewhere huge money is heaped on the prices of imported cars. I have a friend who's boss drives a Pontiac that back home would have cost $20,000 but here was $40,000. We laugh because his boss thinks he's pimping in the Pontiac which in the states is a cheap car.

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Where do you get no import tarrif. Isnt tax a tarrif. You pay 4% of the declared value of the car when it arives at the port, then they tax you again and again just to get plates on it. I have been threw this alot. Your allowed to bring your own personal car in within the first year of your arraival with no tax.

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Get real folks !

Nigelboy wants to talk tariffs. Um, gee, I wonder why the US might impose tariffs on foreign cars. Could it be that nations like Japan, Korea, et al have enjoyed huge advantages in currency exchange rates ? 130-150 yen to the dollar over the past 15-20 years gave the Asian auto industry a hugely unfair advantage on every car sold. Now... with the US suddenly enjoying a mere 10 yen advantage over it's Asian rivals... well just listen to the complaining coming out of Tokyo ! Seems our Asian friends simply can't compete when the playing field is leveled. This also may explain why American auto makers are boycotting this event in Tokyo... exchange rates have shifted in the US favor, why waste money trying to nudge into a closed market with limited access. International studies have Japans competitive ranking in the 20's, while the US remains #1. These rankings include categories like market access.

WillB,

"Unklesam : you guy really have a problem with Japan !"

What, and you don't ? Unpaid overtime at japanese auto manufacturers, hidden defects, unfair trade practices, blatant pollution of natural waterways, death by overwork etc. The list goes on with Japanese car makers. I'm extremely happy the Americans are bowing out of this event. The Japanese have been deceiving the American public and have maintained unfair trade practices for years. I see no reason to not enjoy the chickens as they come home to rest.

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There's no way the US makers will ever be able to sell their vehicles in Japan until they do another Perry - twist their arms or shut them out of the US. It's amazing how the people used to promote Japanese makes always tool about town in Hummers, Fords, Durangos, Caddies etc... Before Ford bought Mazda Mazda executives bad mouthed the product. When I asked for prooof of product experience they said "JAMA tells us".

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Holyman..."American car companies should focus on learning from the Japanese car companies and vice as verse."

Why ??? GM has been the worlds largest auto manufacturer for 70 years. Ford has dominated it's industry as well. Both companies are in the top 20, as well as Chrysler, according to Forbes mags "worlds top 500 companies" ! Toyota trying to claim the crown of #1 a single time in 70 years hardly indicates a trend. And with the exchange rates beginning to favor American exports... well, it appears Toyota's time at the top is truly nothing more than a nano second at best. I tend to agree with unscrejects, its time for the USA to simply close the markets to Japanese auto makers. The effects to the consumers will be minimal, trust me, the USA will do just fine without Toyota, Nissan, Honda etc. The exchange rate alone will price these companies out of the market... why not send a symbolic message to the Japanese just in case... Stay out !

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