Japanese Domestic Market

The cars popular in Japan, after the surge in oil prices, suggest that they have plenty of cars they can send across the Pacific if they choose to, should the price of gas here in the U.S. rise even higher. Many of the cars experiencing big jumps in sales are tiny and have engine displacements between 1.0 and 1.5L.

The list of top selling cars in Japan are

1. Toyota Corolla (1 in '04)
Same name, but a lot more variations on the theme for the Japanese market. And some of the names are a bit unfortunate in English. Runx (in blue, above)?

2. Toyota Vitz (16 in '04)
Another great name, Vitz? Maybe they'll go yiddish with the name and rebrand it the Shvitz in the U.S.. A big jump in sales from '04, the small size and great gas mileage probably helps.

3. Honda Fit (2 in '04)
This car slipped a spot in '05. Maybe cause they seem to only sell it to white people.

4. Nissan Tiida (new)
This car has already been reviewed by WaPo. According to the review it will be called the Versa stateside. It will be available in a few months.

5. Nissan Note (new)
They do like their tall wagons over there.

6. Toyota Wish (4 in '04)
I Wish it would go a little faster (sorry, couldn't resist). I think this is the Scion xA [correction: this car shares engines with the Camry, so it's more of a Camry wagon rather than a Scion xA, the ist is the Japanese Scion xA] over here, but not sure.

7. Honda Stepwgn (20 in '04)
This car had a big jump in sales in '05. This is a six passenger, really tall wagon. I can promise you that no matter how high gas prices go in the U.S. that this won't darken our shores. I can't imagine any current American SUV or Minivan driver ever seeing this as a viable substitute, and Honda is smart enough to understand that.

8. Toyota Passo (12 in '04)
Ooohh, it's as cute as a tomato. Clearly being marketed as a 'lady's' car. Please note - Weiner dog is a dealer add on, not a factory accessory. I included the Welcab picture, too. I find it interesting that they have tiny handi-accessible vehicles in Japan, I'd love to see some of those over here, they are needed. Just cause you have limited mobility (or have a family member that does) doesn't mean you should have to drive a Chevy Passenger van.


9. Toyota Alphard (9 in '04)
That's a seriously unfortunate name. Another 6 passenger, really tall wagon, but sexier.


10. Toyota Crown (5 in '04)
Speaking of unfortunate names. The Crown Royal? Might as well call it the Toyota DUI. The Crown name ranges from Lexus style (no separate brands for Scion or Lexus, everything is a Toyota over there) luxo-mobiles like the Royal, to the Taxi like utility and old school styling of the Comfort. A bit of a drop in domestic sales for this (though the Camry, which some of the Crowns resemble [correction: most of the Crown's are upscale and are more likely akin to the Lexus GS], is still doing fine in the U.S.). Many of the models have V6s, V8s and $40000 dollar price tags, guess the economy is doing better, but not that much better.


So why did I bother making this list? Because having a blog means never having to ask why, but why not. I saw the article, was curious about the cars listed, and since I was going to look them up anyway, why not do a link rich, photo aided, fat old post that maybe dozens of other people would find interesting.