Word: daihatsu
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...Make no mistake, kei are dinky even compared with conventional subcompacts. The popular Daihatsu Move, for example, is 28% smaller on the outside than BMW's iconic Mini. Social and demographic trends in Japan-a country known for its affinity for bonsai and miniature electronics-appear to favor tiny, frugal cars. Young people are postponing or forgoing marriage and children, lessening demand for family-sized autos. For retirement-age baby boomers, minis make practical second vehicles; they are especially favored by obasans, older housewives like Yamamoto who have been the kei's most faithful customers. In Japan's less prosperous...
...world's major automakers expect to produce low-cost subcompact cars for growing middle classes in China, India and other developing countries. Yet the market for kei is likely to remain largely restricted to Japan. That's partly because profit margins are too low to justify international sales. Daihatsu sells some of its minis in Southeast Asia and is working on a deal in China. But Suzuki-Japan's top minimaker until Daihatsu passed it last year-is reducing mini production in favor of subcompacts and compacts. "Minicar engines made for the Japanese market are too small," says Yoichi Kojima...
...approaching midnight in central Java and 10 men are piling into the back of a beat-up Daihatsu pickup. Dressed in military fatigues and white caftans with red checked scarves wrapped around their heads in imitation of Palestinian fighters, these young militants from the radical Islamic Mujahidin Council are gearing up for tonight's antivice patrol on the streets of Yogyakarta. The first target: Pasar Kembang, a rundown complex of dingy rooms and narrow corridors in the city's red-light district. Clutching clubs topped with sickles, the Council storm through the rooms as customers flee out the back...
Detroit is hardly alone in its struggle. The coming shake-out could well include such Japanese weak sisters as Suzuki, Subaru, Isuzu and Daihatsu, which lack deep pockets and far-flung distribution networks. "The smaller Japanese makers are doing absolutely atrociously," says Ron de Vogel, sales manager for the San Francisco Auto Center, a hypermarket that offers 11 American, Japanese and European makes under one roof. Concurs analyst Keller: "We're going to have to stop talking about Japan Inc. and start talking about individual Japanese companies. Some are going to shrink and maybe give...
...addition to incorporating the latest in high-tech gadgetry, the products shown by eleven Japanese auto companies placed great emphasis on fuel economy and efficient design. Engines remain small, and reinforced plastic is replacing metal. Minicar Maker Daihatsu displayed a runabout with a 60-cu.-in. diesel that boasts 87 m.p.g. at 37 m.p.h. An Isuzu engine had ceramic parts, a first step toward the full ceramic engine, which promises up to 50% more fuel economy, 30% more power, and requires no radiator...