GARAGES DOUBLE UP IN JAPAN 

You simply can't go out and buy a car in Tokyo even if you have the money. You need to prove you have an overnight parking space. Until recently that was a bigger problem than those of us outside of New York can imagine. But no longer.

Remember what happened when trains got too long? They came out with double-deckers, as in Toronto's "GO" trains. Greyhound came along with multi-decked busses. The latest is a $10,000 carport designed for two. The Japanese delayed this for some time by shrinking the automobiles they drive. Now they have doubled parking spaces.

The Nissan Parking Corporation has introduced to the market a potential big seller -- a real space-saving parking unit. They are offering three models, with the bottom of the line selling for 990,000 yen or about $7,500, plus the installation cost of $2000. The garages can be purchased outright or leased for $115 a month. The unit holds one car under the carport roof in the shade while the second car sits up top in the sun. However, not to worry about the exposed car getting too hot anymore. Upcoming Japanese cars will be painted with the latest thermal paint that will change color when the temperature rises above 80 degrees F. Dark blue, for example will change into light blue, thus reflecting sunlight instead of absorbing it. A single, small solar panel built into the roof operates a tiny interior fan that exhausts the air when it too reaches 800F. As the solar fan removes hot air from the car's interior, cooler air from the shaded area underneath the vehicle, will be drawn inside to keep the temperature reasonable.

More information:

Nissan Parking Corporation, c/o Nissan Motors, 5-28, Mita 3-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108, JAPAN.

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