Japan may lower emission standards

[Richard Bartrop]

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/02/13/business/economy-business/automobile-emission-controls/

Apparently the Japanese is considering relaxing emission standards on gasoline cars as more people switch to electric vehicles.

Maybe they're a good thing for petrolheads after all.

[Mark]

Once electrics are more prevalent, there won't be many gasoline cars there in a few years.  Japan is very technology conscious, people there tend to want the newest and latest thing.  Cars themselves aren't kept very long, as I understand inspections are stringent and registration fees rise as a car gets older.  The concept of used cars, or buying a second-hand car, is pretty much nonexistent there. 

A lot of the JDM high performance engines and other parts sold to enthusiasts here are from cars scrapped and parted out there when only a few years old, with not a lot of miles or running time racked up during the car's ownership there.

[Aaronw]

1 hour ago, Mark said:

Once electrics are more prevalent, there won't be many gasoline cars there in a few years.  Japan is very technology conscious, people there tend to want the newest and latest thing.  Cars themselves aren't kept very long, as I understand inspections are stringent and registration fees rise as a car gets older.  The concept of used cars, or buying a second-hand car, is pretty much nonexistent there. 

A lot of the JDM high performance engines and other parts sold to enthusiasts here are from cars scrapped and parted out there when only a few years old, with not a lot of miles or running time racked up during the car's ownership there.

 

It used to be easy to buy used low mileage engines from Japan with something like 50,000 miles on them.

[OldTrucker]

13 minutes ago, Aaronw said:

 

It used to be easy to buy used low mileage engines from Japan with something like 50,000 miles on them.

My kid got a 1990 Skyline from there. Came through Canada, to a dealer in Oregon shipped to Illinois.

[Oldcarfan27]

1 hour ago, Aaronw said:

 

It used to be easy to buy used low mileage engines from Japan with something like 50,000 miles on them.

Still is, you just got to know where they go. Lots of vendors specialize in procuring used, low mileage Japanese engines, transmissions and various sundry parts. 

2 hours ago, Mark said:

The concept of used cars, or buying a second-hand car, is pretty much nonexistent there. 

A lot of the JDM high performance engines and other parts sold to enthusiasts here are from cars scrapped and parted out there when only a few years old, with not a lot of miles or running time racked up during the car's ownership there.

Not just high perf parts, I've gotten good buys on regular, bread and butter parts with only 60k miles on them. Worked like brand new!

There are a lot of used cars in Japan, it's just that they're American cars. Just like us, they like old American muscle cars and lowriders too!

[stavanzer]

Try owning a car in Japan. While stationed there in the 1980's, I had a '73 Datsun (NIssan) "Sunny Excellent GL". 

Like this one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Sunny#/media/File:Datsun_Sunny_Excellent_Sedan_PB210_1.4GL.jpg

Of course, you had to keep them tagged and inspected per Japanese law.  The process is somewhat different than is used here in the U.S.,(although the Arizona system was similar).

#1. Take the car to a Licensed & Approved Japanese Inspection / Registration business. (They had stand-alone companies that did nothing but this. Combination Garage-Business office.) Check it in.

#2.  Wait for them to call you and tell you how much it would cost to repair and tag your car.

#3.  Pay for the repairs and get receive freshly tagged car.(or do not pay, and surrender the car to them for a very modest payout.)

The Key difference is that you do not choose what repairs are made to the car. There is no negotiation involved. Brakes, Tires, Lights, Tune-up, what ever is deemed "Unsafe", they simply Fix it It, for you. For Americans anyways, you did not "Take the car to a mechanic" and get it inspected or repaired. Nobody would do that. Instead, the car went to these "Officially Approved" places and they first inspected and then fixed your car, and then issued fresh tags.

It was a neat and convenient One-Stop Shop process, but if you had an older car, the fees could mount quickly. You did not "comparison shop prices for tires, brake pads, ect" You just took what was installed and paid for it. No Muss, No Fuss, and very expensive..... It was Two Parts "Dealing with a number of Foreigners owning cars in you country and keeping their cars safe by your laws", and One Part, "Ripping off the same Foreigners". It was a racket, and we all knew it was a racket, but if you wanted to drive, On-Base or Off-Base, you bought a car, and played the Game. 

A couple other things: There were JDM Hotrods even then. The local Okinawans had some, and they were neat. How, they dealt with the same issues, we never knew. They had very strict guidelines on wheel size, rim width, how far they could stick out past the fenders, how many lights (Fog, Driving, Ect.) you could have and where they were placed, and a zillion other rules. You would see drawings in the inspection offices, with diagrams showing much of this stuff. The Japanese DMV preferred Stock cars, and discouraged any altering of cars. Also, if you knew that the car you had would never make it past the next inspection, you could choose to sell it to a junkyard, and just get rid of it. Thus avoiding a repair bill that was too high to pay.

The Lifecycle for most G.I. owned cars in the USAF on Okinawa, Typically went this way: (as shown by the Names-Ranks listed on the registration papers) A Colonel, or Major buys a new JDM Sedan, and keeps it for his tour. (2-8 years). He then sells it to a Junior member of his Squadron. (a Major or Captain), who then keeps it for his tour. (2-4 years). It is then sold to a Newbie Officer (1st or 2nd Lieutenant) who keeps it for only a year or two. Now it's getting old and worn out. It is then sold to a senior NCO who then keeps it a couple more years, and then at 8-10 years of age, it finally goes to it's last owner, an E-4 to E-2 living in the barracks, and looking for a Cheap, Barely Legal, Beater to last only until they rotate out.  This was my car. A 1972-3 Model, it was aging badly when I got it. It made it through one inspection cycle while I owned it, and I was told when I picked it up, that it would not pass another. It was too old, and had too many Kilometers to be certified legal again. So, we (my room mates & I) drove it and ragged on it, until I shipped out. Week before I PCS'ed out I sold it for scrap and got almost what I had paid for it 22 months earlier.

Thanks for listening. I know I said too much.

[Oldcarfan27]

Wow Alan, I never knew how much trouble it is over there. That process sounds rife with corruption. 

Not sure how they could find a car with so much wrong with it in 60k miles, but apparently it is enough to get it scrapped.

Seems to me the recycling process would create more emissions than the car did!

[stavanzer]

The first couple of years, there is not much at all to find wrong with a car. So, it's In-n-Out and you are done cheap.

It's only when you get up in years that the process gets spendy.

And my car had 55 K on it when it went, even after 12 years. Island of Okinawa is only 65 miles long, and about 12 miles wide.

The Apocryphal story is that if every car registered on the island was on the road at the same time, they would need to have another 200 miles of paved road to put them on.  Longest trip I ever took was less than 25 miles, took us 4.5 hours.