JAPANESE CARS - PHASE TWO 

Not long ago, American and Canadian auto manufacturers held 85 per cent of the world automobile market. Today they are down to 35 per cent and falling. Already Japanese cars total 40 percent of all the cars sold on the west coast of North America. Fifty percent in some areas. By the end of 1993, the Japanese will control half of all North American car sales. They are now preparing to shift into "Phase Two".

When that occurs, when you see a car a block away, you won't wonder whether that car is American or Japanese? The difference will be obvious. And, the former "Big Three" North American manufacturers will see one of their members, Chrysler, fade from the scene. What's left will be the "Big Four", General Motors, Ford, Honda and Toyota. North America won't be able to buy what they then can collectively produce. Another has to go. It will not be Honda or Toyota. Here's why. The Japanese car manufacturing industry is now thinking "Best Packaging". Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd. even adapted the phrase as their new sales slogan. It incorporates the attractive, the sensitive and the concern for environment. It stresses the view of an earlier decade "Small is Beautiful". To show how big their small thinking is, Nippondenso Co. Ltd., a major Japanese maker of car electronics, produced a display containing cars 4.8 mm long, with glass wheels that race along a display track. They contain motors smaller than a grain of rice. The inference is that they are not just watching the highways of the world traffic systems but also personal highways for blood circulation. A future, yet even smaller model travelling along the aorta of life, could clean up plugged blood vessels, according to a spokesman for Nippondenso.

In a larger format Mitsubishi Motors Corp. have developed "concept" cars that appear to be the big brother version to that Italian hit of the 1950s, the Lambretta scooter. With environmental pressure mounting, the Japanese realize that with time the market will insist on emission reduction in a big way. They want to be ready. Are you aware that today's small motorbikes emit 50 times more exhaust per horsepower than standard automobiles? Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. has a six-seater "Cocoon" built for senior citizens. Honda Motor Co. Ltd. has shaped their EP-X model like an egg, with tandem seating, like the old bicycle-built-for-two. Both have "sales appeal."

Don't be fooled with what today, appear like toys. Mitsubishi's mS.1000 has solar-induced air-conditioning. It reacts to the sun, initiates the cooling unit and powers it with sun rays. A car remains cool even when parked in the sun. A welcome innovation. And fabrics last longer. Consider your car's paint job. Theirs, which is energy-efficient, can change from magenta pink to beige when the temperature rises above 40 degrees Celsius, that disposes of heat, unless required in the winter! Ever lose your car keys and been inconvenienced? Nissan's Cocoon can read your fingerprint that was coded into the car upon delivery. The car will open on command - but just for you. Knowing some seniors' propensity for a quick snooze, cars will contain a buzzer that keeps drivers awake. The buzzer also activates a steering wheel that emits an aroma that enhances alertness.

As the highways of the planet become even more crowded and governments increasingly strapped to upgrade infrastructures, Japan car manufacturers know small will pay off. Lifestyle adapts. Smaller cars means more parking space, more space on highways, less fuel consumption. The day may come, in some countries, when governments may be forced to mandate car size, both for space and gas consumption. To be ready for such a time Japanese small-car strategy will soon start to be built on a "utilitarian chassis". Frills can then be added at minimal cost.

Just as smaller micro chips have speeded up computer construction and operation, the same applies to automobiles. Smaller "speeds up the entire evolution of the company" according to Tokyo-based Douglas Kennedy, industry expert on Nissan's small-car thinking. It will allow them to turn out new cars in half a year rather than the traditional North American cycle of three or four years.

All this seems far out? Not so. The above is not blue sky dreaming. Most of these innovations appeared at the recent Tokyo Auto Show that included more than 800 new car models displayed by 352 Japanese and foreign exhibitors held.

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