[Amc-list] Remember when? (Japanese inspection)

["Swygert, Francis G MSgt 436 CES/CECM" <Francis.Swygert3@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>>
WHY can't American car manufacturers make a car
(engine, body, transmission ) last 200,000 or more
miles like a Toyota, Honda, etc.? Because Detroit
wants Americans to REPLACE their cars with new ones.
<<

Until relatively recent changes in law, Japan Inc. wanted the Japanese
to
REPLACE their cars with new ones as well --- thus, as a result of their
stringent safety/pollution/etc. inspection requirements, few Japanese
owners kept their cars past six or seven years.  Too expensive to
inspect/meet strict standards.
----------------------------------

Recently? You mean the laws have changed?? I lived in Japan for a little
over two years, 1987-1989. Car inspections were stringent and relatively
expensive, and had to be accomplished every two years until the car
reached 10 years old. Then it had to be done every year. Depending on
when a car was registered and inspected (say it was bought late in the
model year) the last inspection could be stretched out to 11 or all but
12 years -- if it was inspected in December just before it turned 10
years old it still got a two year inspection. After that is when it went
to the salvage yard, or is still in great condition it as shipped out of
the country to be sold as a used car elsewhere. That's also where a lot
of used Japanese engines come from -- or at least used to. 

The good thing about the $600 inspection (I bought an 84 Honda Civic
four door for my stay there) is that it wasn't just an inspection. The
entire brake system had to be totally rebuilt and the car received a
major tune-up. The result was there was literally no maintenance save an
oil change or two between inspections. IIRC they changed the oil at the
inspection also. Unless something failed between inspections it waited
until the inspection station caught it. If they found a leaky water pump
they changed it then, of course adding the cost, but it was changed
immediately. There was no scheduling the shop to fix it and having to
find alternate transportation. Most people took the day off to get the
car inspected. It really wasn't a bad system, and considering all the
routine maintenance was done the cost wasn't that high. 

The end result, as John noted, was there were no cars over 10-12 years
old on the roads. There were lots of bargain cars with one or two years
of inspection left on them. More than one single GI bought a car with
6-12 months inspection on it cheap every 6-12 months. Or people did that
for a second car. Most Japanese sold or traded their cars right before
it hit that last two year inspection, because once it was into that last
two year period resale value plummeted drastically. 

I only saw 3-4 antiques while I was there. I recall that they had a very
restricted license process, practically had to be a trailer queen -- had
to apply to drive it on the road in advance and state why/where to on
the application. 
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