i’m not surprised, I wonder if they will even be able to change there minds.

it’s their country, they can do what they want, but this does further the image of japan as a closed market with blurred lines between government and corporations…

I don’t like Japanese doing this. Actually imported cars in Japan is much lesser than ones in the US. They should learn to get more about long-term benefit.

I love how Japan does this after sending this letter; http://www.leftlanenews.com/japan-voices-concerns-over-buy-american-provisions.html

Solution… If Japan does not change their mind re-instate the Cash for Clunkers and put the same restriction on Japanese imports. I am sure they will figure out that the pissed off their biggest market for cars.

I don’t get why they need this program in the first place. They have a stringent bi-annual vehicle inspection program that gets most cars off the road by the time they are 6 years old.

I’m not surprised, but the real issue is the U.S. congress is comprised of a bunch of idiots. The original cash for clunkers program in the U.S. would only give credit for U.S. brand cars. Then it changed to any car that was built in the U.S. by any manufacturer. Then the Toyota, Nissan, and Honda lobbyists got their way, Congress caved into them (or got bought out), and ultimately any car built anywhere was eligible.

The Japanese are laughing their arses off at the “stupid American” once again.

Impose teriffs on cars imported from Japan…maybe they’ll get the picture

….ugh tariffs…whatever

And we all wonder why our manufacturing base is gone. Well I guess by the opinions on LLN some wonder.

Road_AMS – Putting Tariffs on would just cause a major pain with all the lobbyists. If you do the same as what they are doing to American car companies and European car companies you might have a better chance of getting that through.

@ leftwingagenda, OK, this is OUR country, and we decide to impose tariffs…Road_AMS beat me to the punch, but I agree, they want to protect their own, well we want to do the same. After all, the American people have an ownership stake, interst in payment back from the loans GM and Chrysler borrowed.

ajm11, and what is that? “what they are doing to American car companies……” The exclusion part?

The big question is: Why should we care what the Japanese do in their own country? I’m well aware of Japan’s protectionist policies, but why should we care about what they do with the imports that we send to them?

I don’t know why the Big Three care about whatever tiny sales they have in Japan. As far as I concerned, American imports make up even less than 5% of sales over there. And the only Japanese people who would buy them are mainly just rich people who have no interest about their domestic counterparts.

If only Congress knew any better…

tariffs won’t end well for us, i don’t think…if the US wasn’t constantly operating at a trade deficit, then we’d have more leverage, but the fact is we buy much more stuff from japan than japan buys from us…so if we start putting tariffs on things, they will respond in kind and we’ll end up on the short end of the stick…

that’s one reason why we’re in a precarious position with constant huge trade deficits…

Tariffs will only hurt US consumers. Most of “Japanese” cars sold in US are made in US. Reality is that neither Ford nor Chrysler developed a single vehicle for Japanese market. Their gasoline is 8 bucks a gallon please let them know which Hemi or Triton powered truck they should use?

I’m not surprised that Japan did not include imported vehicles in the program. There have been so few American cars sold there that such a program would not really benefit American manufacturers.
There are more VWs. MBenzs, BMWs sold there for imports

DenverGuy217@ +1. I totally agree.

For all you who want us to block imports if we do C4C again…

You do realize that half of all Japanese-branded cars are built here in the US, right?

Most is true:

15% of vehicles sold in the US were built in Japan.

40% of cars sold in US were Japanese

That 15% represents about 6 assembly plants.

How tragic – both of the American cars sold in Japan this year are ineligible for clunker rebates. Face it, nobody in Japan would give a ****e about an American car even if it was available for free.

let’s get real here, how many american cars do you think that this actually affects? It’s not like some person in Tokyo is going to buy a jeep, the only american cars that are probably small enough for the majority of the population are the caliber, focus, and aveo.

This has a lot to do with the fact that sale trends in Japan have been leaving the auto industry. They have a functional and versatile public transportation system. Not everyone needs a car. And the younger generations are putting their paychecks into electronics rather than car payments. While people complain about the bailouts that Chrysler and GM had taken from the government, its the same story over there. Economically the country isn’t looking to good in the next 40 years. They’ll need a lot more than “cash for clunkers” to keep alive. I don’t expect them to lift restrictions, but I don’t expect it to do a lot of good.

Even if half the japanese cars are built here, it doesn’t mean the money taken in will stay in the US. And that was probably the gist of our C4C. Just as much as theirs.

If anyone has ever been to Tokyo, you’ll be surprised just how small/narrow your average Tokyo street is. Any American car, in comparison, would look like a goddamn behemoth to the majority of kei cars walking around on those streets.

You all realize the only reason that the D3 don’t have a lot of sales in Japan is because Japan has restrictions as to how many cars they can sell in that country.

I really hate Japan, we help them rebuild their country and get it to where it is, and now look what we get for it.

Further, so what if those manufacturers build their cars here, the profits do not stay here. That is a big issue as well.

@ZL-1

It’s more like “nobody wants to buy a car over there”. The amount of insurance and taxes you’ll pay for a car in Japan are so massive, that nobody wants to bother with that stuff. Even city parking is not cheap over there.

Besides, they have such an advanced and well-executed public transport system over there that buying a car for private use just seems like a waste of time and money. Most people over there would just use bicycles instead if they need private transport.

Still, keeping their restrictive policies won’t do them much good. Even if it won’t help out much, I’d rather they would be open to accept Western imports instead.

Hard to find support for such blatant discrimination
I’d hope they’d be better than that
DrFill

After POSident Obolshevik bowed to the emperor, what do you expect Japan to do?

All I know about Japan comes from a certain website that I frequent from time to time. I haven’t seen any car pictures yet but I’m bound and determined to keep going back until I do.

Could take years.

@ johnny
That was funny.

About the article. Even though the big 3 might not sell that many cars in japan if they pull this BS I’m personaly done with japanese car companies.

It not even like it’s fair to begin with. The J 3 sell Millions of car here and do to limits on importing in japan the big 3 (Even if they had the best cars in the world) would still only be able to sell only in the thousands.

I know toyota has enough money to make sure they would never lose the U.S. market but if we cut them off how far down the list would they fall when it comes to vehicle sales yearly? Even honda for that matter. If we cutt them off they would not be fighting for the number 4 spot that’s for sure.

“they have such an advanced and well-executed public transport system”

Yes,they even employ people to shove other people onto their trains and make sure they are full. Wonderful.

rpmfan, exactly.

DrFill, I second your sentiment. (this is an odd and rare alliance)

Smegley Wanxalot, great point but more colorfully stated than I could have achieved.

0-60, ditto.

Wow, I was thinking this was going to take more effort, until I got rpmfan’s comment and below.

DrFill – totally agree.

Jingoistic dreck. Nobody gets pushed onto a train in Japan, look it up. And while you guys are at it, check out how many European cars are sold in Japan – at the university where I spent 3 years, my colleagues drove Opel, VW, FIAT, and Peugeot. American cars are not on the radar in Japan, for reasons obvious to anyone who has ever been outside of N. America.

@Smegley Wanxalot

It’s even funnier when you shoehorn and misrepresent Obama’s name in a news article that has absolutely nothing to do with him. Great failure there!

@DrFill

That’s the only time I’ll ever agree with you on.

@rpmfan

Yeah, keep bringing up that old WW2 diatribe about “the U.S. blasting them to oblivion and then helping to rebuild their country”. Only goes to show you just how little you understand about other countries affairs. And while I do admit that Japan isn’t really doing the whole world a favor with their protectionist attitudes, that doesn’t prevent companies like Ford, Chrysler, and GM to bring their cars to other markets outside Japan.

Even if the Japanese profits off of cars being built and sold in America, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s still THEIR profits, since Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc. are Japanese and always will be. The same rule could also apply to American cars as well, just not in places like you-know-what.

Why are the Japanese so interested in the American car market anyways? Because there are good incentives to make money over there than in their home country. There’s really no point selling so many cars in their own country when they have to deal with political, geographical, and social issues that only exist in Japan, and not in the U.S.

If this makes you hate Japan, watch The Cove. That will make you hate them even more. But they are good at making, er, eveything.

Integrity is defined as what you do when no one is looking. Japan has shown ZERO integrity when it comes to fair trade. I am amazed that any American would support Japan espessially after this fiasco. If the U.S. tried this, we’d get blasted. It’s perfectly ok for Japan to protect their auo industry (which they have done for decades) & some americans will defend & support them in doing so. However, the second the U.S. government helps & supports their own auto industry, those same thick headed, blinder wearing morons will publicly smear those same companies for taking taxpayer loans.

The stubborn stupidity of some people amazes me.

If anyone buys a Japanese car or truck after witnessing the discrimination & self-serving attitudes of Japan, you should be ashamed to call yourself an American.

You can thank the good old Free Trade Act passed during the Clinton years. The chickens have come home to roost…so to speak. While tariffs may indeed be more of a burden on the consumer, this is only for a small percentage of Japanese vehicles. Tariffs, in this case, are more of a message to the Japanese than a solution to the ongoing problem. That’s just my opinion, of course.

Smart Japanese, they were waiting till the American cash for clunkers program finishs to start their own program with these unfair rules.
Can the American government now ask everyone bought a Japanese car under the cash for clunkers program to return it back?

GO FINGER, BUT IF WE DID THE SAME TO THEM IT WILL BE WRONG?

IT’S THE PRINCIPLE OF THE ACT!….

NOT HOW MANY CARS WE SALE OVER THERE,

WE LET THEM HAVE A PACE OF OUR THE PIE WHEN WE BERLE HAD ENOUGH FOR OUR SELF’S,

NOW THEY DON’T LET US HAVE A PEACE OF THERE’S?

IF YOU WELCOME ME TO YOUR HOME FOR DINNER, WON’T YOU EXPECT THE SAME HOSPITALITY FORM ME?

I HAVE TO SAY, I’M SURPRISE…..

I do not understand the grief here.

Does anyone really expect our competitors to play fair if they do not have to? This is and always has been war in the market. WE, the American people, have been losing for years but we seem either not to know it or care, as long as we get our cheap toys.

people won’t even want american over there.

WOW…I just watched the trailer to the movie ” The Cove”….I never knew. Japan has alot of issues unlike ours to deal with.

@Stix

The profit thing is my exact point. The profits go there, and don’t stay here.

jdasch1, don’t just watch the trailer, watch the movie, it’s moving to say the least. I’m no environmentalist and I don’t care much about animals, but that movie made me livid.

gabnmantha:
I say you’re a hater, but at the same time I have a feeling you agree with global warming and other government funded bullsh!t. So I ask you, should we buy cars from japan, and keep the planet “green,” or buy from America, and “raise global temperatures at alarming rates” and put ignorant Americans in a state of fear in order to raise taxes for funding of more, you guessed it, bullsh!t. You can boycott Japan because the way you grew up is different from the way they grew up, and make you car purchase based on ignorance, but I’ll keep paying the few extra dollars for foreign until we get some changes here.

“WE, the American people, have been losing for years but we seem either not to know it or care, as long as we get our cheap toys.”

Everyone wants to get the best deal or the cheapest things out there. The difference is asians tend to spend only when they have lots of savings unlike americans with their loans and credits. If americans can start saving and put off shopping for a while they’ll be able to even out the playing field. Otherwise, they’ll continue to be addicted to oil and cheap christmas presents.

This story is so one-sided and far-fetched as far as I’m concerned.

Japan’s version of the cash for clunkers program is targeting so-called “eco-cars”.
I detest and do not believe in the argument of CO2 being the main cause of climate change.
But it has been “decided” CO2 is and Japan is trying to be the leader in CO2 reduction.
Quite frankly, it’s a crock of ****.

Fuel consumption as well as CO2 emissions are regulated by the program.
American cars, unfortunately, do not qualify above regulations.
Mercedes-Benz E250CDI and S400 Hybrid qualify and they are applicable for the program.

As far as I’m concerned, Japanese government IS trying to help local auto-manufactures.
The volume of car sales is considerably declining these days in Japan.
And the fact is American cars are not as economical nor eco-friendly as Japanese cars.
Having said that, American cars are always LOVED by enthusiasts.

RICER>>>> Lets talk about ignorant. You’re the just person I was referring to. GM makes more cars that get 30+ miles per gallon than any auto maker. But you just keep your head in the sand. GM also happens to make great trucks and SUV’s that many people actually need. I don’t understand why people like you think GM makes cars & trucks people don’t want to buy. Last time I checked, GM always sells EVERY truck & SUV they build. Unlike Toyota’s rust bucket Tundras that have made their way back to Japan UNSOLD.
As for waiting for changes here…Our auto industry is changing for the better. It can’t & won’t happen over night. I am not in favor of the government running our business, but it was nessessary. In time, the loans will be paid back & GM will continue to lead the industry, esp. in electric propulsion.

Enjoy your Toyota, Ricer. I’ll make sure I give you a wave as you fly by me on the freeway @ 100 mph with your accelerator stuck on full throttle. Who are you going to blame for that?

Just because it does 30mpg, it doesn’t necessarily mean it emits less CO2, DOES IT????

The argument here is on Japanese version of cash for clunkers.
NOT ABOUT AMERICAN CARS.
Read before you get abusive.