Feel the Breeze

A test drive was once the only way to experience a car - until Tokujin Yoshioka came up with a one-night-only presentation for Peugeot in Aoyama, Tokyo.

To judge by the number of fashion houses and patisseries in Tokyo, Japanese consumers have a soft spot for things French. But what's true for cosmetics and croissants is not true for cars. Despite the best efforts of foreign automakers to gain a foothold in Japan, over 90 percent of drivers stay faithful to domestic models.

That impressive figure, say analysts, is due not to any reluctance on the part of customers to buy foreign, but rather to the nature of imported cars. A huge slice of the Japanese market is made up of ultra-compact vehicles, a category in which the country's automotive giants - Nissan, Toyota, Suzuki and the like - reign supreme. French and other foreign firms are simply not up to scratch in the mini-vehicle league.

Where imports do have an edge, however, is in the area of design. To distinguish themselves from the crowd, a growing number of Japan's style-conscious urbanites increasingly look West, often to France. Not surprisingly, automakers are tailoring their marketing campaigns accordingly.

more: framemag.com/articles/article_4417.htm (90)

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