European and Japanese markets agreed to drop or ease safety tests on American vehicle imports.
Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.straitstimes.com/world/not-what-our-roads-are-built-for-trumps-hope-to-see-more-us-cars-in-tokyo-london-is-a-hard-sell
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
You can’t spend 30 seconds in Tokyo and not understand that large North American-style vehicles will not work there. There is no space. Most Tokyoites who have a car can only afford a house with a parking spot barely big enough to squeeze a Kei car in. The very wealthy ones might get a mid-sized sedan.
Forget American-style SUVs and trucks, unless you are wealthy enough to afford a parking spot big enough for it and even there driving it around that city will be miserable.
I met a modern US pickup in a little English town the other day. It was pretty much the same size as the 7.5t truck I was driving, and the owner couldn’t judge his road positioning well enough not to be holding up traffic. All for what is essentially a 5 seat car, it was ludicrous
What’s really telling is this; in the UK the Ford Focus is absolutely everywhere. Because it’s a small, efficient car that’s well designed for British streets. Europeans will happily buy American cars, when those cars are worth buying. But no one in Europe has any interest in buying a Charger or an F-150 because those vehicles simply don’t make sense on European roads.
But no one in Europe has any interest in buying a Charger or an F-150 because those vehicles simply don’t make sense on European roads.
They are here. But most of us point and laugh and ridicule them.
I saw a pic of an f-150 in a European parking spot… spots… partly in the road, outside the lines, and, well, not fitting at all
They don’t fit on U.S. streets either. The crew cab, extra long bed vehicles are over 22’ long and over 8’ wide with mirrors.
They can’t park in a regular parking spot of 9’ x 18’. They don’t fit in an minimum parking space size of 8’x16’
Their turning radius with a wheelbase of over 14’ puts them on par with small box trucks. They are difficult to drive, heavy and rarely used for the purposes they are designed for.
I drive one for work but it’s the smallest vehicle I could find that would fit my needs. I am one of the very small minority that actually use it for what it’s designed for, towing, off-road, hauling stuff in the back etc… Then I get home, park it and drive my wife’s small SUV around. It’s so much easier and nicer to drive.
The Japanese government could allow American cars and pickup trucks I suppose, but they won’t sell well at all. Large, heavy, un-maneuverable, not much carrying capacity for its size. Compared to domestic brands, North American cars will be viewed as unreliable clunkers, and correctly (US customary unit) sized parts to fix them are not widely available there.
