Holiday time!

Hi there. How was your Christmas holiday?

As usual, we spent the day with my family having a party. According to the news on TV, most families spent time together at home. Because of the depression, a lot of children missed their Christmas presents; which I think is a bit harsh for little ones.

My 13 year old daughter honestly believed in Santa until last year and every Christmas Eve, she wrote a note to tell him what she wanted for Christmas and put it under her pillow before going to bed. This is for Santa to make sure he gives the right present to the right child when he visits her in the middle of night. Until the year before, it was toys and/or books; so it was not hard for us to get them but last year it was a “mobile phone”. You can guess how we, as parents felt. In the end, we bought some books instead with a note from Santa saying “you talk to your mum & dad about a mobile phone when you go to secondary school”. How disappointed she looked when she got up in the morning! She was very upset there was no mobile phone she could see and she was crying for a while. However, she interpreted that message in her way and said that Santa told her to ask her mum & dad for a mobile phone when she reached 13. Yes, we had to buy one on the day when she started secondary school…

Someone must have told her the truth about Santa this year but she pretended not to know it and still wrote a note saying “Should I ask for an iPod this year?” We are older and wiser, you know. We told her that Santa is very busy giving presents to younger children and is not coming to our place this year. Instead we bought a present each to swap within the family.

Now Christmas is over and we only have a few more days to the end of the year. This is the last newsletter for the Year 2008. What was the year like for you?

At JPC, we met new customers and have sold a great number of cars worldwide. We are very happy that our client base is expanding every year. Unfortunately, in the last half of the year after the financial crisis started in the USA, the Japanese yen got too high too quickly for customers overseas to buy cars from us. Here is my wish for next year: this appreciation of the yen eases or the yen weakens a bit even and the whole world economy, not only in Japan, turns for the better.
However, the exterior environment is not something we can personally control. Whatever happens around us, we have to provide attractive products and good services to our customer. We have a few new projects we want to start from next year. We have been preparing for them since the last half of the year. Keep watching!

We close our office on Saturday, 27th December and opens again from Tuesday, 6th January. Our office will remain closed between 28th December and 5th January. None of us is going to be in the office so we cannot be contacted. Thank you very much for your understanding. If your cars are in our yard, they will be safe: please do not worry about them. They are in safe hands. For the customers whose cars are still waiting for the shipment, we will contact you as soon as we know.

Well, thank you very much to all the readers of the newsletter and my blog. I promise to write more interesting and informative articles next year, too; so please continue with your support.

Happy new year to all!


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Future of the “Big Three” and the world car market

The US’s “Big Three”, General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Corporation, are hovering between life and death. They are asking for a maximum of US$34 billion (\3200 billion) of US government funds but some members of Congress are critical of the automakers’ lenient restructuring and are opposed to saving them; members of public have a chilly view toward this crisis too. However, if even one of them goes into liquidation, the impact to the world economy will be incredible; so everyone in the world is holding their breath to see the final decision.

All of the Big Three are in danger financially but especially General Motors and Chrysler Corporation are in a critical state. Without the government’s help, there is a good chance of GM going bankrupt before the year ends. Richard Wagoner, the chairman is asking for an immediate cash injection of US$40 billion before the year ends. The government under President Bush was once critical but after thinking about the impact of the company’s bankruptcy, they are considering some financial assistance under the federal bankruptcy law. They are worried that the US economy will suffer major damage if both GM and Chrysler Co have to file for their bankruptcy and cannot achieve any drastic rehabilitation. Although they will not just disappear even if they go into liquidation, their cars are the products carrying their companies’ brand names and image. No one buys products of bankrupted companies. Their sales will drop even further and it will get harder to turn their business around.

Also, with the current credit shrinkage, some car parts manufacturers could also go bankrupt one after another. So even if the car assembly companies remain in business after their bankruptcy, without parts they cannot keep making cars. This is going to affect Japanese car manufacturers who have their assembly factories in the US. The other day, Honda’s CEO told the media that his company was increasing the shipping load of parts for stock from Japan. They used to get the parts from local manufacturers who were also heavily supplying the Big Three.

The biggest problem is that it is going to cause a lot of unemployment which will speed up the downward slide of individual consumption and this will eventually make this economic recession worse. In fact, if they go into liquidation, it might put us into a panic state like the Lehman shock and cause another financial crisis.

On the other hand, even with government’s help, unless they do some radical restructuring, there is a good chance they are going to face the same problem again. In the USA, car manufacturers are capable to produce 20 million cars but demand has dropped dramatically from its peak of 17 million and next year it is estimated to drop even further to 11 million. It is obvious that they have to reduce their supply so it is reported that the Big Three now have to slash their staff and have some large scale factory closures. They have not been making competitive products able to beat Japanese car manufacturers for a long time.

Anyway, for a while, demand of cars will get smaller in the USA and it is going to affect the world. In Europe, the demand is also expected to drop. Financial institutions there are also suffering from damage after the financial crisis at a similar or worse level as the USA. The factor which is making this global recession worse is the speed of the changes. One of the CEOs in Japan was saying, “The situation is changing everyday. We cannot wait & see for a week”. According to him, his workers complain that he changes what he had decided the day before.

In November, car sales in the USA were 37% and in Japan 27% less than compared with the same month the year before, which was the worst ever. Unfortunately there is no prospect of a recovery in the near future considering the unemployment situation. We are definitely facing the worldwide “era of unemployment”. The unemployment rate in the USA was 6.5% in October, which was the highest in the last 15 years and it is going to keep rising. In Japan, companies are rapidly controlling their employment starting with their part-timers.

In the world like this, to get the economy back, we need to create demand. To do so, we have to create more jobs like a new “New Deal programme”. The Americans are concentrating their hopes on their new President Barack Obama. In Japan, we have some good news. It is decided that automobile tonnage tax and automobile acquisition tax are cut temporally for low-emission vehicles. I hope this is going to stimulate consumers urge to buy new cars…


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Pirates of the Somalian Coast

At the moment, almost all the cars JPC export to Europe are shipped through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean Sea. On the way there, around Somalia near the Red Sea is the area where the world highest number of robberies by pirates occur. In 2007, there were 44 cases, which was 2.2 times more than the previous year. In 2008, by the end of September, it had reached 66 cases already.

Until a few years ago, it usually happened in Asia, mainly around Indonesia and the Straits of Malacca; but now it is getting less and less every year thanks to the big effort of the countries around there to prevent the crime.

On the other hand, in Somalia, there has been civil conflict since 1990 and now it is more or less in a state of anarchy. They cannot control pirates. There, pirates can live a wealthy life so more fishermen have turned into pirates and they are committing new crimes everyday.

The Gulf of Aden, sitting at the north of the country, is an important choke point for marine traffic between Europe and Asia through the Red Sea. All marine vessels using the Suez Canal go through there. Especially lately, because of the economic development in emerging nations such as Russia, China and India, trade between Europe and Asia has increased suddenly; and more tankers and container ships go through the Gulf of Aden. The traffic volume of container ships has increased by 2.5 times within the 10 years up to 2007 and most of the ships went through the Gulf. I am worried if the number of thefts by pirates increases, it might affect cars we export from JPC; which might eventually cause trouble between us and our customers.

According to the media, the governments of the other countries and shipping companies are having headaches about this repetition of the incident of piracy around Somalia. Recently some vessels owned by Japanese shipping firms were attacked. Some shipping companies have now changed the route not going through the Suez Canal but going around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. However, because it takes a lot longer, so the fuel cost will be reflected on the freight cost.

If the domestic administration inside Somalia becomes stable and they start policing themselves, it would be the fundamental solution but at this stage we cannot expect that. All the other countries have to work together to protect the route. UN’s Security Council adopted a resolution doing other countries policing around the Somalian maritime border and navies from USA and member states of the European Union are already there. Unfortunately they are having difficulties stopping new pirates springing up one after another. Japan might have to send our Maritime Self-Defense Force one day to co-operate with the ships already there but under the Japanese Constitution, protecting foreign vessels is prohibited, so it is not very clear if it is going to happen in the near future.

We are in the 21st century. It is the time of convenience when not only marine transport, but air transport goes anywhere in the world. This is not the 17 century when “Pirates of the Caribbean” existed but the damage from the piracy we cannot prevent easily will be a serious issue for a while. When our customers buy cars from overseas, we advise them to buy marine insurance. Please protect your car from nasty pirates with insurance.


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Honda’s withdrawal from Formula One

Last week, Honda, a Japanese car manufacturer, announced that they are going to withdraw from F1 car race. Last year their team was ranked 8th in the F1 World Championship but they spent ₤147,000,000 (US$230,000,000) for the year which was the highest in the history. Honda’s F1 team, based in the UK, made ₤149,300,000, a 23% rise from the previous year. Within that, around ₤7,000,000 was from the sponsors but last year they boldly removed all the sponsors’ logos from their machine replaced by designs of the Earth to advertise their environmental charitable work. Their biggest cost was for the development and production of about 80 V8 Engines and the second biggest expense was the staff costs of ₤35,300,000. They kept employing specialists in design, production, engineering, etc. and the team has been spending over $300,000,000 so far, which was far too much for any one company to support.

I would like tell you about this famous story about Honda’s participation in F1. The company founder, the late Soichiro Honda was very impressed when he went to watch acrobatic flights when he was a child and wanted to work in the aviation industry in the future. Then he was sent out to an apprenticeship at a car repair company where he started learning about engines. After the WWⅡ, he started his own company, Honda Motor Co, Ltd to develop 2 wheeled vehicles. He then succeeded to make the original model of the “Cub” putting an engine on a bicycle. Hoping to be “World Number 1” one day, he thought about participating in bike races. It only took him 2 years before he entered “The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Race”, the famous and the world’s oldest motor race in the UK; and became the top winner.

Next, Mr Honda thought about the change of his product lines from motorbikes to cars catching up in the tide of the times. However, Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry at that time was dead against his company moving into the car industry saying 2 to 3 car manufacturers should be enough for the country. So Mr Honda was prepared to fight with the government officials and declared in front of his employees: “At Honda, we have our great skills we have developed in motorbike races. A small motorbike company can make safe cars just as good as others. We have to show it to them. We became big through the races. We will use the same strategy when it comes to cars. We are going to win at the world top car race, which is ‘Formula One’!” He told about his dream. After many twists and turns (they were not making any stock cars), they marked their first victory at the Mexico Grand Prix in 1965. It was the best period of Honda’s F1.

Since then, although they missed some F1 races because of financial reasons, their underlying principle was always that “Honda became big through races” and participated at F1 as an engine supplier. This is still the “Honda spirit” implemented by late Mr Honda’s motto.

In Europe, F1 definitely is a brand name and to promote their business, it is worthwhile for car manufacturers to keep entering every race. It must be getting harder financially even when they consider the benefits the races bring them.

About this withdrawal, Honda’s chief director Mr Fukui said to the media that he and his company tried to prevent further damage by acting quickly to this downturn in the marketplace but now we need more efficient reallocation of our management resources”. The car industry is facing the harshest financial background ever because of the slower growth in new car sales and high Yen after the world-wide financial crisis. Honda already decided to reduce the numbers of the new cars produced by 140,000. In their UK factory, they are closing the factory for 2 months from February next year and downsizing in the UK and other countries.

I wonder what Toyota is going to do about F1.


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Consumption pattern of people with metabolic syndrome

Lately, it is getting too cold to go outside & do something. I know lack of exercise is not good for my health but I cannot stand the cold. I found this article in the newspaper the other day about the consumption pattern of people who have metabolic syndrome from lack of exercise and overeating.

Metabolic syndrome is a collective term for conditions like “Adipositas”, “Hyperpiesia”, “Diabetes”, “Hyperlipemia”, etc.; which are induced by obesity, especially the one caused by fat accumulated around internal organs. It is not just being fat but carrying fat around vital organs that is a problem. This is hard to tell from outside. Generally, if your waist measures more than 85cm for male, 90cm for female then you have Visceral adiposity and Metabolic syndrome.

So when people have Metabolic syndrome, what is their consumption pattern like? According to the newspaper, they do not worry about their appearance too much (isn’t it a bit rude to say something like this?). To be compared with non-metabolic syndrome people, they are not after good-quality products with tasteful design and they care about the brands less. However they are more eco-conscious and after things “kind to earth even if they are a bit inconvenient”.

In this survey, 16% of the people think they have Metabolic syndrome (Group A), 30% of them think they do not have Metabolic syndrome but are worried they might have it one day (Group B), 45% think they have no worry and 9% were not sure (Group C).

Checking their answers to the questions about their attitude towards consumption, people with Metabolic syndrome did not show much interest in quality and design of products. For example, to the question: “Do you like sophisticated shops?” 61% of Group C said “Yes” whereas 50% of Group A said so. To the question: “Are you interested in colours & designs?” 58% of Group B, 69% of Group C and 48% of Group A said “Yes”. To the question: “Do you buy well-known brand even if they are more expensive?” 27% of Group C and 22% of Group A said “Yes”.

On the other hand, they have higher environmental consciousness. “Are you worried about the way we waste energy and resources?” 87% of Group A, 83% of Group B and 81% of Group C said “Yes”. “Do you mind if your life get a bit inconvenient to protect our environment?” 79% of Group A said “No” which was a little bit higher than 75% of Group B and 76% of Group C.

So if we make something, not so fashionable & well-designed but simple & eco-friendly, they might attract people with the syndrome. It means, if it is for cars, people with the syndrome should like hybrid ones and imported cars which consume too much gas should not be popular among them. When I think about it, yes, it might be true.

I would like to think I do not have the syndrome yet but because I like hybrid cars, I might be secretly joining the group…


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Onset of a full-fledged winter

In Tokyo, where JPC’s office is, it is getting colder in the morning & evening. On TV, there was a report of the first snowfalls here & there across the country and I am feeling that a full-blown winter is not so far away.

I cannot believe we actually had those hot, humid days in summer when I feel this chill to my skin through thick layer of clothes. In Japan, the four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter are dramatically different and the feeling of winter is to tolerate the cold weather. Especially when it snows, whether it falls heavily or not, we have to change our approach to driving and other daily chores.

On the 27th of August when it was still hot in the lowland, Japan Meteorological Agency reported that there was “Hatsukansetsu” on Mount Fuji (3776m) on the 9th of the month. It was the new record in 94 years. Until then, the earliest was on the 12th of August, 1914. Since the recording started in 1894, this was the earliest ever.

“Hatsukansetsu” is the time when a part of the mountain looks white with snow and they start checking after the hottest day each year. This year, the hottest day was on the 21st of July which was about 1 month earlier than usual. In average, “Hatsukansetsu” happens on the 14th of September and the last snowfall is on the 10th of July. It means every year Mount Fuji has about 2 months without snow. “Hatsukansetsu” is the time when the mountain looks white: why does snow look white? According to Japan Meteorological Agency, the centre of snow is small dust and dirt surrounded by ice crystal formed from water vapour in the air. The ice crystals get bigger with chilled water vapour and become snowflakes. Snowflakes are clear but when they get together they look white with the diffused reflection of light.

When snow falls, if the ground temperature is high, it turns into “rain”. If it is not completely melted, it is called “mizore”, snowy rain. “Mizore” is grouped as snow in the weather classification.

There are different shapes of snow depending on the conditions in the atmosphere and depending on their shape the quality differs. “Kona-yuki”, powdery snow falls when it is cold & dry and “Botan-yuki”, large flakes of snow fall when it is warm & humid. When the crystals get pushed back & forth into the air by ascending air currents, they gather a lot of water vapour and turn into “arare”, hailstones. “Arare” are 2 – 5mm across ice balls and if they are 5mm or more across, they are called “hyo”.

In Japan, we have a lot of vocabulary for seasonal & natural phenomenon which means they are very important for Japanese people. However lately when it snowed on Mount Fuji in mid-summer and when we have warm enough days in winter without coats, we cannot always “feel” the seasons. Even Japanese people do not always understand the difference in these words. According to my children, they do not teach these at school in detail. I think it is a shame. This is a part of our culture and we really should make more effort to pass it along to the new generations.


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Our new office!!

The other day, we said good-bye to our old office of 5 years and moved to a new one just 80m down the road. The old one was our first office which was big enough when I started this business with my wife but now I have a few employees. If I want to expand more in the near future, there will not be enough room so I decided to look for a new office.

When I chose our old office, I wanted somewhere handy to a train station for employees to commute, somewhere big enough as an office visitors can trust and has a meeting room. At first I visited real estate companies but the properties they had did not appeal to me, so eventually I found this one myself and negotiated with the owner directly. Although I was worried at first if I could keep up with the rent payment, my business has grown enough to feel it is too small and we decided to leave.

While looking for the office, I wanted somewhere with reasonable car parking space and easy access. I checked everywhere but the area our previous office was seemed good and safe, with the car parks we have been using for a long time, 3 lines and 3 train stations are nearby, easy access from the city centre; I ended up looking for one in the same area.

I visited different real estate companies, the same as last time and because I could not find a good one, I decided to spend more time. Then I happened to find a “To Let” notice in the neighbourhood, so I rang the real estate company. Real estate companies usually look for tenants using their own network when one of the properties they manage becomes available to get fees (normally 1 month rent) from both the owner and the tenant. However, their own network is limited in finding new tenants and about 1 month after the initial listing, they disclose it to other real estate companies. It was good timing for them when I contacted them, just when they started advertising the property as a sole agency. They were keen to reach an agreement. I gave them some conditions (I thought I was asking too much) but the owner accepted, so we got an agreement that was satisfactory for both of us.

The new office is twice as big with separate toilets for male & female, permanent presence of a security guard, quiet but with more windows: I like it! It has 2 meeting rooms so we can now have two visitors at the same time. No more panicking. We can have at least 5～6 more employees. We have to expand our business somehow.

If you come to Japan, please visit our new office. I always look forward to seeing our valuable customers.


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Falling scrap metal prices

The role of auction houses is to make car trades easier by connecting sellers and buyers. For people in the used car business, they have another role of disused motor vehicles trade. When we (JPC) buy cars from Japanese people, we buy them in two types: cars which still have a market value and are still drivable, and cars which are going to cost too much to repair because of some fatal problems in main parts such as engines and are only good for scraps/parts.

In the former case, we sometimes sell them directly inside the country or overseas or otherwise we take them to an auction place. In the latter case, we sometimes take them directly to wreckers otherwise put them up for auction if there is a possibility of getting buyers there. However, if we cannot get our reserve price and cannot make a sale, we ask the auction place to find buyers for us. (Then the auction place hands them to the wreckers.)

About 3 months ago, cars with large engine displacement used to attract good money. This was because our neighbour China had run out of scrap metal to be used for construction for the Beijing Olympics and since last year the price of scrap metal leapt up, disassembled cars all of a sudden had value; all wreckers started to compete with others in buying them.

But this crazy situation was short-lived and ended abruptly. Since last month, the cost price at wreckers started dropping. This month, they are not even buying them. Auction places changed their policies from this week not to buy them. The Olympics finished and now with the bad economic outlook worldwide, there is no demand in China any more. Wreckers cannot sell them for a profit, so they stopped it totally.

This time last year, TV was showing pictures of a factory with a mountain of plastic bottles waiting for shipment to China but last week they were showing the same factory with the mountain 1/5 in size. The same as metals, this is because of the declining demand in China from economic stagnation.

One day we might have to pay to get rid of cars and plastic bottles…

The world’s economic situation did not used to affect Japan so much, so we could relax but now what is happening in the world is affecting us directly or indirectly and even small business owners like myself get damage from a global downturn in many aspects. Having a business like this, I have to keep up with the current world affairs. When I am home, I watch ABC and BBC news as well as reading business papers. My children do not like this because they cannot watch their favourite programme but never mind. I do not think it is too bad for them not to watch TV anyway. I am the boss of the house!


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Japan Car of the Year

This year, the award-winning car was “Toyota IQ”.

The concept of the “IQ” is that, although the total length of the body is less than 3m, 40cm shorter than normal light cars, 3 adults and 1 child can be seated and it was developed as a private vehicle with a smaller CO2 emission (99g/km). It has some new innovative technology such as a specially designed platform, the new layout of the differential gear, asymmetrical position of the driver and passenger seats (the passenger seat is positioned more forward than the driver seat), 9 airbags including the rear window curtain shield airbag and compact air-conditioning unit. It created a new class of premium ultra-compact vehicle.

When asked what the reason for it being less than 3m is, the developers said frankly “there is no meaning in the number like it is going to reduce the tax rate in some countries, it is simply a good number for the design of small cars…” Sometimes if you ask this kind of question, some smart ones might say “when you put the powertrain system and the space for two adults in line 3 is the minimum number…” but from their stance of just putting the impossible number first, then going straight into the development, we feel their passion and responsibility: I liked it.

Also they applied a unique method of “making as many samples as possible” while developing the car. In this modern age, when new cars are developed, they normally use CAD (computer aided-design) to reduce the cost without making samples but Toyota has spent a lot of money and time for the IQ, setting out an innovation of car body structure.

With the slow economy and young people’s reluctance to buy cars, Toyota is suffering a downturn along with other car manufacturers but they cannot find the end of the tunnel just by minimising everything. Toyota has been trying desperately to make a car which can “create a new demand” and one of the answers was the IQ.

Unfortunately I have not yet driven one but according to the commentators who already have, the inside space is well-designed especially in the position of the passenger seat which gives enough leg room even when a 170cm adult sits behind another of the same size in the passenger seat and it is amazing it actually has a capacity big enough to put 3 adults & baggage or 3 adults & 1 child. However, if we pick one fault, it would be that, because this IQ was developed for Europe as the main market, the windows on both sides seem too high for Japanese people. On the other hand, in Europe the feeling of “enclosed” is important so I think they might adjust it depending on where they want to sell the car.

At the selection, 40 out of 60 members of the panel gave maximum points of 10 to the IQ beating the runner up “Citroen C5” 303 points, it was a convincing victory.

After their effort of making a car with high efficiency and environmental performance and their passion toward safety were recognised, it might be a good opportunity for Toyota who has been struggling to produce something different to change their attitude towards car manufacturing as a whole.

★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Fuel prices keep dropping!!!

A few months ago, fuel prices kept going up and now it does not look like anything can stop it going down. Within the last few weeks, it dropped \10/L. It has been dropping for the last 13 weeks.

The reason is that after the price of crude oil dropped, all the oil distributors dropped their wholesale price; with declines in forward prices and prices on the spot market, it looks like this trend is going to continue for a while.

For us in the car business and the consuming public it is good news but unfortunately the rising petrol prices 6 months ago caused consumers to avoid cars and a slight decrease in fuel price is unlikely to bring them back behind the wheel.

So at the moment, it does not matter how low the fuel price goes down; unless the demand recovers, petrol stations cannot remain in their business. They are struggling to get customers by lowering their prices even more. Our office is in the middle of Tokyo and the petrol price around here is higher than other places because of the location but once you are out of the city centre, the price on the display gets cheaper.

Yesterday, I drove on a main road to get to an auction place and noticed that the further it is away from the metropolitan Tokyo, the price of petrol on the display gets lower by 1-2 Yen. In the end, I found a station near the auction place with the price about \10/L cheaper than the ones by our office and filled our company car there. I felt a bit lucky. However I only filled with 20L this time, hoping it gets cheaper next week or a week after; then I will fill it up again.

I heard that 70% of the 43000 petrol stations in Japan are now operating at a deficit. It comes from excessive competition. The only way to keep their business in this slow time is to decide the display prices by carefully thinking about the prospective move of crude oil prices and surviving through the fierce price war. Badly located or small scale petrol stations disappear every year but it looks like petrol stations without management flair might have a hard time for a while.

They are hoping the same thing as us used car dealers: recovery of domestic demand in the country. How can we make people use cars again? The time seems to be tough now.


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Car of the year

This is an award given to the best car for the year. It started in the US in 1950 and we copied it and the “Japan Car of the Year” started in 1980. This year’s winner should be announced in about a week time.

The cars they assess are Japanese passenger vehicles. By selecting the best car for the year and praising its developer and manufacturer, it will promote more effort in making better quality, better performance and safe cars as well as to contribute in the development of the global automotive industry, protection of global environment and transport safety.

They have 2 different stages of selection. In the first stage, 10 cars will be chosen and in the second stage, a 60 member-panel has to test-drive each car to decide the winner.

In the final voting, each member is given 25 points and they have to give 10 points to one of the 10 cars, then spread the rest of 15 points between 4 more cars freely. In theory, the top points should be 10×60=600 and the car with the highest points gets the car of the year award.

Last year, it went to Honda Fit with 374 points. The reason was as follows: “Keeping the last generation’s high performance in basic functions, it enhanced its capabilities in everything from its utility features, ride quality, steering to environmental capability which is required for modern cars. This car has a quality and attractiveness recognised anywhere in the world”.

Here is a list of the cars which have won the award:

27th (2006-2007) Toyota Lexus LS460
26th (2005-2006) Mazda Roadstar
25th (2004-2005) Honda Legend
24th (2003-2004) Subaru Legacy
23rd (2002-2003) Honda Accord / Accord Wagon
22nd (2001-2002) Honda Fit
21st (2000-2001) Honda Civic Ferio / Stream
20th (1999-2000) Toyota Vitz / Platz / Funcargo
19th (1998-1999) Toyota Altezza
18th (1997-1998) Toyota Prius

They are all good cars but some might not be so well-known. There is a jinx that once the car is chosen for the “Car of the Year” they will not sell but there are exceptions like Prius, Fit, Legacy, etc.

This year 41 Japanese & imported cars are nominated and I personally think that Toyota Crown/Crown Hybrid, Nissan GT-R, Honda Odyssey, Honda Freed, Daihatsu Tanto and BMW 1 Series should win. They are the ones I like and have had inquiries for by many customers.

The winner is…?


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Colours of cars

What colour car would you choose?

Most of you might choose your favourite colour, but if you spend a bit of time thinking about what happens after you buy a car, you might have a different view about it.

Let’s think about the resale value of a car. In Japan, depending on the colour of a car, some get a high price and some do not. The reasons are as follows. When you buy a new car, you can choose the colour you want. However, when you want to buy a used car, they are already painted and the colours are already decided, you will have to find a particular one in the colour you want. Among all the population of driving age, about half buy used cars and the most popular colour is black or several other colours in their mind. On the other hand, it will be 10 – 20% at most who choose black when they buy them new. (
I am only guessing. ) So within all the used cars on the market, only 1 in 5 are black and half of the people who want used cars want the cars of that colour, it means with the balance of supply and demand, black cars will get a higher price than the same model cars in different colours. Not as much as black, white is also a sought-after colour in the used car market and white cars tend to sell at higher price.

What about other colours? Lately silver is firmly in the top place. When people buy new cars, most of them chose silver; because so many are around, there is no scarcity value. You will not have trouble finding one in this colour which is why there is not much increase in price because of the colour. How about blue, red, yellow, green and purple? Unless the manufacturers set one of these colours as the standard colour for their cars, such as red for Alfa Romeo and blue for Subaru Impreza, these colours are less popular. These colours are not something many people are after and bring the car prices down in most cases. Green is the colour which can bring the car price dramatically down. (I personally like the colour…)

It also depends on the combination of the colour & car model. Cars like Mercedes Benz, BMW and Lexus, when you compare the one in black and other colours, the difference in the price is more significant than normal Japanese cars. I think black adds charm to these expensive cars and other colours just do not have the same effect.

However, I can only say this about Japan. People with different cultural background have a different image towards colours. In our neighbouring country Korea, according to a dealer who trades with us, the most popular colour is black then silver. A Kazakhstan dealer said the most popular colour is also black but white (the second most popular colour in Japan) is the taboo colour general public are not allowed to use because of their religion (Islam), unless they are for special occasions such as weddings. What is it like in your country?

Lastly, not from a used car resale perspective but let me talk about the colours from a standpoint of maintenance after purchase. Black has the disadvantage of showing dirt & scratches easily. It costs time & money to keep a black car clean all the time. White cars can show dirt but cover scratches and because the white paint dries harder it will not get scratches easily. The colour which least shows dirt & scratches is silver and is popular for people who do not have a chance to wash their cars very often.

How was it? Was this useful information? So next time, think what colour is the most popular in your country before you buy a new car.


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Which cars should be used as police vehicles

Last weekend, I took my family to the new outlet shopping mall, about an hour drive from Tokyo. Because it was the weekend, lots of families were there like us. Lately, people tend to spend their weekend at large shopping centres and outlet malls out of town. It must be something motorized society has brought in.

Most shops there sell clothes and fashionable sport gears. My wife and daughter went back and forth to several brand shops they had wanted to go to. They were trying desperately to get what they liked. At first I was helping them decide which ones to get but to be honest I do not like shopping, so when I got sick of standing around, I decided to go to a café and to read books.

They spent about 5 hours doing shopping and were quite contented. Although I did not really care what they had bought, seeing them happy I felt relieved that I had done something nice for them as a husband and father; I sometimes feel bad when I am too busy to do anything with them.

Because it was getting dark outside and to avoid a traffic jam, we decided to stop at a public bath nearby and had some local “Soba” for dinner. After having a bit of alcohol myself, my wife was driving home. She just followed back the same motorway we took in the morning at a steady speed for eco-driving. Then out of nowhere, a red “Ferrari Modena” came right behind us with booming roar and flickering his light up & down he was asking us to get out of his way. Panic-stricken, my wife changed the lane without indicating. (This is extremely dangerous, you know… I felt my blood freeze!) On a weekend night, motorways in Tokyo get very busy with large numbers of cars heading back home. I was wondering what was going to happen next. Then within a few seconds, I heard a police car “Skyline GT-R BNR34” with a blast of a siren, was following the Ferrari. The police car overtook us too and the two cars disappeared from our view instantly. They must have been doing around 200Km/hour.

Japanese police cars are usually black & white but motorway patrol vehicles are called “undercover”. There is nothing to tell if they are the police. They look like any private vehicles to detect noncompliance on motorway. When they see an offensive car, the police man in the passenger side rolls the window down to put the siren on the roof, chase the car while asking the driver to stop with a microphone. Seeing a GT-R police car for the first time, I was very excited. I personally like GT-R the best among sport cars. When you drive one, the engine has strong enough power to push you back into the seat. It has a very attractive sound from its exhaust pipe: listening to it you can guess it has a high performance engine, which you can truly enjoy. However, you can feel it better when you drive at high speed, what I saw was only at the “speed limit” allowed on motorway. I envied the policemen who could legally drive at 200Km/hour, feeling the GT-R’s high performance to chase the non-complying offender. If you like cars and are a policeman, you are lucky to have a job which combines fun and profit.

After a while, we saw the Ferrari got caught at a toll gate a few kilometres away. Thinking it overtook us at incredible speed, I thought he will not be released tonight with just a speeding ticket and fines but stay in a jail overnight. (The Ferrari driver looked like a nice middle-aged gentleman. Maybe his car changed his personality and made him think he could outrun a GT-R easily. I have not driven a Ferrari yet but I can tell you that I might find it hard to keep the speed limit…)

I, the other day, heard news that some “Lamborghini Gallardos” were delivered to the police in Italy. A new one of them costs approx. JPY24,000,000!

I guess if you see a Gallardo, you will not venture into a race against it. But aren’t they lucky to be in one of them? Motorway policemen might be a bunch of speed maniacs…


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

How to ease fatigue from a long drive

It is now autumn in Japan. It still gets to 25 degree Centigrade in daytime and you can get sweaty but in the morning and evening it is getting chiller. Some of our employees have caught cold because of the big difference in the temperature.

Autumn is considered the best season of the year in Japan. You can do anything from reading books, enjoying sport and food. You can spend some time outdoors, and see the colour of tree leaves turning from summery green to crimson, “autumn colour”. To enjoy that, because I live in the middle of Tokyo, I have to drive out to the mountain areas. So do most people in the area, anywhere famous for autumn leaves get busy. Cars, cars and more cars… All the roads get jammed on the weekend.

The most popular spot from Tokyo is “Nikko”. You can normally get there with a 3 hour drive each way. But this place is also famous for incredible traffic jams. I say, give it at least twice as much time. That means at least 6 hours to get there, so 12 hours return. I bet, now some of you are wondering if it is possible to enjoy the “autumn colour”.

Whatever the situation is, you have to be more careful with your driving than usual. A long time driving and big traffic jams are a dangerous combination to induce fatigue and sleepiness. So I would like to tell you what I normally do to reduce them.

Firstly, how to drive: Always check the speed limit and keep the engine revolutions steady to stop your eyes getting tired. You can also relax while driving and can guess other drivers’ speed, which reduces sore shoulders. This is also effective to get good gas mileage.

Secondly, when your eyes get “too tired” and you start feeling “drowsy”: Even if you try relaxing while driving as above, when you drive at night or to a new destination, you feel nervous. This causes your cardiac rate and blood pressure to get higher and makes you more tired as a result. It is because a substance called tryptophan causes some mental fatigue such as stress and nervous imbalance, which eventually causes your body to produce active oxygen. When this happens, the point is to reduce the tension of sympathetic nerves and easing the amount of active oxygen. This is what you can do:

(When your eyes are tired) … you will feel your eyes getting sore and your vision gets blurry as if your eye sight got worse. In this case, using your fingers, lightly press some acupressure points around your eyes. Do not press your eyeballs though.

(When your shoulders or other body parts are getting stiff) … stop at the next parking area if you are driving on a motorway. Park your car, get out and do some stretches. Stretch your Achilles' tendons, stretch higher with your arms up and bend & stretch your knees. Especially doing some exercises on the lower half of your body is good to get blood to circulate better which is also good to reduce your back pain.

(When you start feeling sleepy) … I am not really good with this one to be honest. About 20 years ago, I was working till 10 o’clock at night and went on a motorway. I had to drive in the middle of night and had two other senior employees from the same company as passengers. It was just when the sun light came up and I felt the brightness, I also felt drowsy; I hit the rail and scratched the side of the car badly. I was lucky it was just that but there was a possibility that it could have been worse. Since then, I have made it a rule that if I feel sleepy I will stop and have a rest; then go back on the road. To fight with sleepiness, I take some caffeine drinks to wake up my brain and vitamin B to ease fatigue. I normally take nutritious “Energy” drinks and canned coffee. Canned coffee contains both caffeine to keep you awake and sugar to boost your energy level and I think it works quite well. (It cannot be non-sugar black coffee. It has to have sugar to be effective.) When I go back behind the steering wheel, I chew gum to stimulate saliva production and the brain. I sometimes eat some snacks for a change. But you have to be careful with this one because a full stomach can also make you sleepy. I occasionally have a bath if I find a public one.

However the most effective solution is to ask my wife to drive. A few hours nap is usually all I need to get back into driving.

Please listen to your body and drive safely without getting overtired.


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

How long is a car’s life?

Lately, I read in the newspaper that in Japan the average age since first registration of private vehicles (exclude small cars of 660cc displacement), at the end of March this year, is 7.23 years, which is 0.14 year longer than last year and the longest since the survey has started in 1975.

It has been getting longer year by year for 16 years since 1993 when the bubble economy burst. It means consumers are not buying new cars and sales have been in a slump for a while. Our cars are “aging” like the country’s population.

The average usage of cars from the year they are first registered to the year they are de-registered (which is a car’s “life expectancy”) is now 11.67 years, 0.01 year longer than last year and the longest in the last 3 years.

Some people have been saying for a long time that “new cars are not selling” and all data reported about cars are unfortunately backing it. Thinking positively, it means that people started using things more carefully and that cars are made to last longer; which is not too bad. However, it is a bad headache for us, car dealers and car manufacturers. Cars are now one of the things which you use till it breaks like TVs and fridges.

When you look at the average “life expectancy” of a car in the world, our neighbour Korea has the shortest with 6.6 years among the 13 countries surveyed and the longest was South Africa with 13.5 years, then 13 years in Netherland, 12.5 years in Greece and 12.3 years in New Zealand.

We have been exporting cars to Korea for a long time. One of our Korean customers said he would not be surprised that the average mileage per year is more than 20,000Km whereas it is 10,000Km in Japan. So the more you use cars, the shorter their life gets. It might be because Korean car manufacturers introduce new models every year and Koreans are urged to buy new ones at public auctions.

On the other hand, UAE in the Middle East has decided that cars more than 20 years old are not allowed to be registered after the year 2009 to reduce air pollution and traffic accidents. Also in 2010, it will be reduced to 15 years old and cars of 10 years and older cannot have ownership changed; and these things are already planned. For used car dealers, although it limits the cars we can export but at the same time it increases the demand for new cars. We do not know if it is a good or bad thing for us. At least it is good news for car manufacturers now that they can expect someone to buy new cars.

Do you think that your country might introduce the similar system like this one day?



★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Car Polish

When I check cars at auction, I notice some cars have shiny bodies without faded colour and some totally covered with dust. At auction, the bidders are all professional so we do not bid less just because they are dusty; and the inspectors there have the same attitude. However, when I see a well polished car, it is true that I sometimes feel like raising our budget for it a bit more. Today, I would like to talk about car polish.

Some people love their cars so much that they wash them every weekend and polish them. When you see a well polished car, it looks good and water stays in balls on its body for a long time. On the other hand, a car without polish dries quickly because it does not repel water and water does not form balls. So if you want to “get rid of moisture on your car”, not polishing our cars seems better. Is car polish good for our cars?

Car polish is used to protect the paint from sun damage (especially from ultraviolet [UV] ray), dust, harmful substances in the air, salt, etc as well as from damages of water stains and car washes, pitches from asphalt and to slow the body’s degradation. So if you regularly polish your car, it will keep its shine.

There are two types of polish: ones made from natural materials such as plants and the other from chemical synthesis; but both are to coat cars for protection from “foreign enemies”. Polish is not permanent and because it is like a thin film, it peels off from frictions and sometimes melts away with high temperature. Polish totally melts away at a temperature of 60-70 degree Celsius. If it starts raining like cats & dogs, even if you spend all day applying it on your car, the polish easily peels off. Depending on the materials, some polish leaves water drops on cars and causes spotty stains called “water spots” while the water evaporates. Please note that car polish is very sensitive. To avoid these unwanted results, people tend to use polish of plant origin.

I do apply polish on cars very often because of my job, but it is actually not to protect them but to increase my exercise load. How about you?


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Which car to buy when the Japanese Yen gets stronger?

As you know, starting with the US subprime mortgage crisis, there was news of one of the largest investment banks in the US, Lehman Brothers’ collapsing and another of rescuing American International Group, Inc., an insurance company with taxpayers money; currently all share prices are rapidly dropping. It seems the same in Europe where financial institutions are in trouble and amid mounting concerns about the future of subprime investment, the stock markets are down probably for a long time and world investment funds are quickly being pulled out of the US and Europe.

In Japan too, our stock market keeps falling and it has started casting dark clouds over the performance of individual business. We, car traders, are hoping it will not bring an adverse knock-on effect going from one to another like from “bad business performance” to “reduction in wages and bonus” , to “decline in personal consumption” then to “not buying a car”.

However, although Japan’s economy is not looking good, the impact in the US & Europe is even bigger. Looking at the issue worldwide, Japan has relatively no effect from subprime lending and people started buying Japanese Yen as their investment outlet. As a result, Yen is getting stronger & stronger not reflecting the current financial situation of the country. Because we are in export, a high Yen means a “rise in price” for our customers and especially for people who usually buy the expensive range of cars from overseas, they will be making no profit at the current exchange rates and will want to wait until the Yen starts dropping.

Fortunately for us, this rapid increase in the value of our currency does not seem to have much effect on the numbers of cars ordered from overseas. From here, it is some juicy information only for our mail magazine readers.

There are cars which are not much effected by the exchange rates and they are popular at the moment. You might wonder “Are there any cars which price doesn’t get affected by a strong Yen?”. Well, there are cars you can get “cheap” at auction.

For example, say you bought a car at auction for JPY100,000 and the FOB price for it is JPY190,000. The freight will be US$1,000. The exchange rate went up by 10%, from JPY110 to JPY100 per US$1. From your side, it is a 10% rise in the FOB price. However, when you calculate the freight in Yen, US$1,000 was JPY110,000 before and now it is JPY100,000 with a 10% rise in the exchange rate; which is a 10% drop in the price you will have to pay for freight. So in such a case, it is a 10% rise in the FOB price but a 10% drop in the freight; although the rise in FOB is slightly bigger, as long as you can get a car at auction cheap, you can still bring it without too much difference in total price. This only applies when the FOB price is similar to the freight cost or lower, and when the FOB price is more than the freight, you need to buy a car cheaper at auction to make it worthwhile. (May not apply to all foreign currencies.)

So is it really possible to buy a car cheaper at the moment? From our experience, when the Yen gets stronger, importers get worried and stop buying cars for a while. This affects auctions and cars in the lower price range (around JPY200,000), which normally attract foreign bidders but due to the change in exchange rate there are less overseas buyers in the market. These cars have no market in Japan, so without importers bids, they have nowhere to go. This can be a chance for you! I am sure that if you keep bidding a few times, the chance of getting these cars cheap should increase. As I told you above, when the exchange rate does not affect the total price much, maybe you should try it now while no rivals are around.


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Looking for a bargain? Now is the time!

30 September is halfway through the financial year. Because this day & 31 March are the days every business have to file a tax return, there are special things that happen. In business accounting, they close their account on the day by asking for payment for overdue invoices and calculate their expenditure. For relatively large companies which require an auditor, their bookkeepers and accountants struggle to decide what should be included in their reports. The major issues are sales & profit on the income statement and stock & debt payable on the balance sheet. All the records are then filed and have to be shown with explanation to the banks and shareholders, so finance control at this time is an important job.

Large car dealers have lots of cars in stock for their business activity. They have to have different types of cars in numbers, so they line as many used cars in a hot-selling line as possible. To collect good quality models, their purchasers go to auctions all the time. However, this time of year, to make their financial statements look good, they try hard to reduce their stock and lower their borrowings. It means that they try to get rid of old stock at auction to make cash to pay off part of their loan. So around this time, large dealers not only sell their stock but they are not purchasing a lot. If they win auctions on the last day of the financial period, the cars then will be shown as stock; they do not participate in auctions unless they have orders from customers. On the other hand, for dealers who want to get rid of their stock, this is the last day to do so and if they want to get rid of them badly, they do not worry about the price. This means for people who want to buy a car, their chances of getting a bargain come twice a year. Of course if you are in the business everyone knows this. As dealers are aware of what happens at this time of year, they do not sell cars that they expect to get a high margin on. So if you see a car you have been looking for, now is the time to buy it.

So I went to USS Yokohama today to get cars under their market prices. We had orders for a Cube, Hi-Ace, Skyline, Crown, Benz, BMW, etc. and we tried auctions in this order. However, bidders must have had a similar idea as us. Losing one to a slightly higher bidder, our bidding did not reach the reserve price, it was not looking promising. Then on the last car we had to bid, “Audi A6 3.2FSI Quatro 2006 Black”. Most of them in the market are models between 2003 and 2004 and price ranges from JPY2,400,000 to JPY2,600,000. Not many of the 2006 model have gone to auction and in the last 3 months there was one sold for JPY3,500,000. The client who had been looking for the car was originally targeting one in 2003/2004 because of his budget but wanted one with beige leather seats inside. We had been trying for a month but there was none with beige leather seats. They were all in black. Unfortunately this one also had black seats but it was a newer model and thinking it was a good chance of getting it cheaper, he decided to give up with the colour and set the maximum price as JPY3,000,000.

It was getting dark and we started bidding on our last car of the day. It started from JPY1,500,000 but went up to around JPY2,200,000 within a short time. Just when we thought it was the beginning of the real auction, we won it for JPY2,300,000! Because we were thinking it might go for around JPY3,000,000 considering its market price, getting it for JPY2,300,000 was totally out of the blue. Maybe the seller desperately wanted to get rid of it on the day and not many other bidders were around. I rang the customer to tell him about our success, he was very happy. He thought he might have used up all his luck for the year.

Although we knew it was a good opportunity, the auction is a fair system in which we cannot always get cars for the prices we set. But if you can get all the conditions right from the sellers’ intentions to lower numbers of bidders, you can take huge advantage. Actually, not only the last days of the financial half year but from about a week before the dates there are better chances of finding a bargain. So if you missed this time, please do not miss the next around: 31 March and the last week of that month.


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Introducing a new pricing system!

In Japan, everything is getting more expensive every month because of high oil prices and food costs. In our business field, Toyota raised the price of hybrid cars like Prius & Harrier by 1 – 4.1% and commercial vehicles like Hi-Ace vans & Dyna trucks by 20% to cover the high cost of raw materials such as steel. Not only the car industry but large electric stores have decided to raise whiteware appliances like fridges & washing machines by around 7% from the same reason. Normal people like us do not buy durable goods like cars and fridges very often, so if we do, we do not rush to buy them, so it may not be much of an issue. (If you want to buy a car and buy a used car from JPC, the price rise of new vehicles will not affect you anyway.) However, we cannot say the same thing for food. High flour prices worldwide caused a rise in almost all kinds of food. The food items I love such as bread, ham & sausages, pasta, mayonnaise, cup noodles, snacks, etc. seem to keep getting dearer. They announced the rise only 2 months ago and you hear on TV that they are doing it again next month. I have 2 hungry children at home, so it hits our domestic finances heavily. When I went to our usual supermarket and found that sausages were on special, I bought 6 packets instead of the 2 I normally buy. When I got home, I counted 7 in each packet, not 8 as usual: I felt betrayed! I should have checked that before buying them on impulse… But I am sure I am not the only one having trouble with the recent rise in food costs. This is one of the issues at the latest Summit, so I guess it must be a worldwide problem at the moment.

Not following this trend, we at JPC introduce a new pricing system. At the moment, our handling charge (FOB charge) changes with the numbers of cars you purchase from us; now for some of you who buy 40 or more cars within a year, we will give you a bigger discount. If you buy 40 or more cars yearly from us, you can use our service from the minimum charge of JPY 55,000 including auction fees and export service fees. You might not think it is not going to be any benefit to you at the moment but some of our customers started from 1 car as a side business and are now importing far more than 40 cars a year. Buy more cars and enjoy the benefit of our discount.
For our fees, please check here: http://jpctrade.com/howtobuy/extracharge.html


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

The sound of a sports car engine turns women on?

Looking for topics to write about for this mail magazine, I spend time everyday skimming articles on cars in newspaper, magazines, news, etc; and I found an interesting and funny story the other day.

An insurance company asked a research institute to carry out a survey to see what kind of reaction you get to expensive cars which target the rich population. The result showed that the sound of Italian supercars turns women on and it was clearly proved that no one feels stimulated with the quiet sound of small, cheaper & economical cars.

Concretely speaking, 40 males & females listened to the sound of the following cars Maserati (Italy), Lamborghini (Italy), Ferrari (Italy) and Polo of Volkswagen (Germany) and the level of testosterone in their saliva was measured.

Testosterone is the hormone which affects our mental state. If you have a lot of it, both males & females get aggressive, short-tempered, sexually arosed and lose ability in judgement. So if the human brain is like an engine, testosterone is nitroglycerine. Males have more of this hormone, so they want to beat someone else and tend to like fighting. Males fight to get females. Testosterone brings out sexual desire in men. For males, having high level of testosterone means ultimate pleasure and it was actually proven that testosterone has a mental effect of making us feel good.

Going back to the survey result, when they heard the sound of Italian cars, although everyone’s testosterone level went up, females showed an unnaturally higher increase of it. All females got excited with the sound of a Maserati car and males liked a Lamborghini. Some women who did not have any interest in cars were in the survey but even their level of testosterone went up. However, when they heard the sound of the small engine of a Volkswagen Polo, their feeling went as frosty as an Alaskan winter.

Some time ago, a survey by General Motors (USA) showed that 9 in 10 women want to talk to men in a Hybrid car more than men in a Porsche; in reality if you are driving a Prius, women will come & talk to you but they will not feel anything…

Now do you want a sport car?


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Buying cars to save tax?

Today when I was checking cars at auction on the internet, a director of a Tokyo company suddenly turned up. The main reason for the visit was to talk about selling his Mercedes Benz S500L. It has standard features and specifications with an Obsidian Black body. He applied a new coating every 6 months, so it has a perfect shine. Unfortunately it is a right-hand drive. If it were a left-hand drive, you could expect a higher price because it attracts overseas buyers; but I guess I cannot do much about it now. While deciding the price, he told me that he buys & sells a few cars every year. He was doing it through a dealer but the person in charge had left and he did not get on with the new person. Then a friend of his who once had bought a car from us suggested to him to visit us. His main business is in the management of real estate and consultancy. The management business provides a stable income with a small number of employees and he has 5 cars under the company’s name for tax purposes.

In Japan, for business accounting, the years of depreciation are as follows: 6 years for new cars and 2 years for used cars (4 years or more after the first registration). So for tax purpose, the best option is a used car just on 4 years old. If you buy a brand new car for JPY 3,000,000, the annual depreciation amount over 6 years will only be JPY 500,000. But if you buy a used car for the same price, the annual depreciation over 2 years will be JPY 1,500,000 as expenditure. So if your company is making money, you can save by JPY 1,000,000 in tax. Then when you sell it after 2 years, the asset value of the car is “0” for your company but if you sell it at auction, you can definitely sell it for more than JPY 1,000,000. Although it then becomes your taxable income, it provides a big advantage for your company when you can control money this way.

So this customer, fully understanding the tax system, buys some 4 year old used cars and sells them 2 years later and now has 5 company cars. If he sells one, he gains profit; then buys a new one; just repeating the procedure. According to him, when he goes & checks the cars at the dealer, he cannot always find the right cars in the condition he is after but if he buys cars at auction, not only can he find good cars without limiting makers and types but he can buy them cheaper; so he was looking for an agent who he can trust & rely on.

This man also has another company for tax planning purposes where he works as a consultant and is looking after their finance (tax saving part); he wants me to look after their cars too. It was a generous offer but buying & selling cars for tax purpose is a standard practice in the country. As I told you in another issue of the mail magazine, most people who own expensive cars are company executives and their cars are under the company’s names. (Of course you can personally own a car to reduce tax, too.) I thought Japan’s economy hit the bottom with a number of businesses going bankrupt, but some people still have money, don’t they?

Unfortunately, this man with 5 cars to save tax does not really have time to drive them around. All the cars are sleeping in the garage… What a waste! (Being a normal father like myself who has to work hard to feed the family, I cannot think straight when I deal with rich customers sometimes. It is beyond my understanding …)



★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Bankruptcy of car dealers

Hi. I am sorry I have not written much lately. September is the end of our financial year and we are dealing more than usual numbers of Japanese people who want to sell their cars. As I have mentioned a few times here, because of the sudden rise in oil prices and depressed economy, definitely more people are saying “Good-bye” to their cars. It is mainly people who used to own a few cars and decided to reduce their collection. Last week only, we had expensive cars such as Skyline GT-R, Hilux Surf, Peugeot 307, Alphard, Harrier Hybrid and Porsche 911 Carrera. The owners are mostly company executives and the top reason for selling is that a car is not a status symbol any more. I guess the real reasons behind this are the high cost of maintenance and ill financial state of their companies. However, on the other hand, there are less people who want to have a car for a recreational pastime and simply enjoy driving; which is a sad fact to admit for car dealers and a severe reality. We cannot sell cars any more.

Last week in Japan, 2 Nissan car dealers in the Hokuriku area went bankrupt. So did a large BMW dealer in Osaka. They were all well-known dealers in the areas and we did business together directly and indirectly. It was disappointing and shocking for us too. In all the cases, because of a sharp downturn in consumption, their sales of new cars dramatically dropped and they had no choice but declaring bankruptcy.

Around the same time, a big sport car muffler manufacturer in Chiba Prefecture went bankrupt. Lack of numbers of the young generation buying cars caused their low sales and made it impossible for the manufacture to keep going. The company was one of the top in the sport car muffler dealers which sold almost \10,000,000,000 worth of stock 10 years ago. This sort of thing is not something happening on the other side of the world. It shows that selling cars with a top brand name and that surviving in the business is getting harder while the market is downsizing and some new strategies are needed.

More and more people are getting rid of their cars in Japan. The population is decreasing and more fun things than cars, such as mobile phones and computers are invented and capturing young people’s minds. Fortunately because our company, JPC started business by throwing out the existing old business model for car dealers and we are slowly but steadily expanding it not only in Japan but all over the world. But while the whole car market in Japan is shrinking, we cannot feel secure. We do have to keep making an effort in providing new services and developing something extra. We will make our service more convenient and safe for you, so please support us!



★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament starts

Hello. The other day, some of the readers of this mail magazine asked me to write about Sumo, so I have decided to write on this topic from now on. There are 6 Grand Tournaments a year: 3 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in January, May and September, 1 in Osaka in March, 1 in Nagoya in July and 1 in Fukuoka in November. Each tournament lasts 15 days and the ranking of the wrestlers (except Yokozuna & Ozeki) for the next tournament is decided by the record of the previous one. It is only 5 minutes drive from our office to Ryogoku where the Kokugikan is and 2 train stops away. There are a few Sumo stables around here and I sometimes see young wrestlers doing grocery shopping at a nearby supermarket.
A new tournament has just started this Sunday here in Tokyo. They had a few troubles just before the tournament: they were arguing if some of the wrestlers from foreign countries were smoking cannabis or not, which ended when Kitanoumi, the chairman of Japan Sumo Association took responsibility and quit his position. We were all anxious if the tournament itself might be cancelled. However, it started anyway, a big relief for Sumo fans.

The one to watch this season is Toyonoshima, a small (1.65m) 25-year-old new Sekiwake rank wrestler, one of my favourites too. On the 4.55m diameter ring, the bigger wrestlers have great advantage. The distance between the partition lines where two wrestlers get ready to fight is only 70cm. When the referee declares the game, the wrestlers get closer to each other. Sometimes, “Being small does not always mean a disadvantage” and a small wrestler can surprise and excite the audience. That is what Toyonoshima is. He was too short to qualify at the first selection process (minimum height 1.73m & minimum weight 75Kg) but passed at the second process set up for smaller wrestlers (1.67m & 67Kg) who have high athletic performance. He only just made it. Out of the successful candidates from the second process, he became the first ranking wrestler.

For instance, he bravely faced against Ozeki Kotooshu, who is taller than 2m and won by throwing. Although against Yokozunas, he only won once each from Asashoryu and Hakuho, he has won 15 matches against the 4 Ozekis. “If I can get my arms under opponent’s’, I think I can win. If I get scared, that is it. I have to be mentally strong. Nothing feels better than when I beat a big wrestler,” he said at an interview.

He has a distinctive style: crossing both arms in front of himself, he puts his arm under an opponent’s arms; using his fatty stomach, he moves closer, wraps his arm under the opponent’s arms and quickly throws him. With strong back muscle and good balance, he does not give up easily. His favourite vocabulary is “training aiming 3 years ahead”. He is a person of an inquiring turn of mind and studies hard reviewing his matches with old videos when he has time.

So please keep your attention on him!

Also if you are an avid Sumo fan, check the Japan Sumo Association’s website.
http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/index.html


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

When you have to hand your driver’s licences back…

Life expectancy of Japanese people is　78.64 for males and 85.59 for females and this has been renewed every year for the last five years, as you know, Japanese life expectancy is the longest in the world. It also means there are more and more aged drivers on the road every year and according to police reports, the numbers of accidents caused by drivers 65 years old and over is 2.66 times more than it was 10 years ago. The white book on the elderly population said that in 2010 around 14,000,000 are expected to be “senior drivers”.

First reason for accidents by elderly is that they lose ability because of old age, which means that they cannot control their driving to avoid accidents because of their age. We can understand that but I think the bigger problem is in the “old people’s mind”. According to the police survey 5 years ago, drivers aged between 20 and 73 showed that people who said they were “confident in their driving skills” was mostly “people 65 years and older” and most of them said “most accidents are from the drivers’ terrible driving skills”. My own father, 70 years old still drives and when I asked him to reduce his driving, he confidently says “I have been driving for 40 years, son. No worries! I have plenty of experience. No youth can beat me yet!”. I am sure that he has no accident history so far but he is one of the “stubborn” senior drivers who will not listen to other people. Unfortunately, 70% of old people’s accidents actually happen “within 10 minutes from their homes”, I can say, as they age, they lose the ability of taking advice and the ability to control their driving.

With the increased numbers of senior drivers’ accidents in the background, the Road Traffic Law was reviewed in June, 2002 and a “voluntary handing over of driver’s licence system” was introduced for people 65 years and over. When those people hand over their licences, they are issued with a “certificate of driving history” which they can use as an alternative identification to their drivers’ licences. This is to encourage the elderly to “say good-bye to their licences”. Here in Tokyo where I live, some private enterprises have agreed to promote the system and support it by giving them a 10% discount at family restaurants or free delivery services from department stores, etc. if they show the certificate. Thanks to this kind of movement, for the five years since they started the system, the numbers of people handing over their driver’s licences kept increasing but in January, 2003, when the Identity Verification Law was changed and they could not use their certificates as identification any longer because they will never get renewed, the numbers have dropped for the first time this year.

Also, in rural areas, the system is not that popular. After motorization, the infrastructure of public transport ebbed away, costly railway & bus services were abolished and we became an “automobile-dependent society”. With less babies and more youth moving to big cities, rural areas tend to have more old people but no young family to drive for them. When they cannot live without a car and in Japan it is becoming a society of just elderly, the local governments “cannot force them to hand over” their driver’s licences.

In Japan, we are definitely heading towards an aged society which no one can stop. Although we all want to be an active old grandparent, it is not always possible. Your lovable grandparents can accidently kill someone on the road. We have to make a society in which old people do not become victimized and protect them. I chose a rather serious issue this time but it is becoming a bigger issue every year. What kind of measures are being taken in your countries?


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Have a break: Check these websites!

Today, I would like to tell you about a few funny websites I found on internet. They have humourous stories involving cars.

Episode A: happened while at a driving school. During a test with two instructors, Mr A (instructor #1) was sitting behind instructor #2 and all of a sudden, the driver vanished out of sight! The next moment, he found the driver’s head next to Mr A’s right knee. He found out a bit later that the driver had mistakenly pulled the seat reclining lever instead of the side break. Mr A tried really hard not to burst into laughter all the way back to the school. How nervous was he? (Of course the driver failed the test.)

Episode B: A friend of Miss B said that he would come around to pick her up in a two-people car. She thought he might be driving a flash sport car but no, it was a small truck. (Yes, the truck bed was like an open car.)

Episode C: When Mr C was working at a motorbike shop, he had to deliver a brand new scooter on the back of a utility vehicle. The people waiting for him were a father and a daughter (about 17 years old). While the daughter was listening to Mr C’s instruction intently, the father impatiently said “Riding a scooter like this is a piece a cake!” and turned the throttle. Then boom! He rode it straight into the wall. So Mr C put the scooter back onto the back of his Ute for repair. He did not dare to say “Thank you very much. Please come again”!

Episode D: A mother saw a roadwork’s sign and said “Isn’t that a Japanese style toilet over there?”, pointing at a porcelain thing left lying on the ground. Then what is that stuff that looks like brown dirt next to it? Oh, what about the colour of the sign itself? They went very quiet after that. (Our toilet is western style.)

Episode E: Mr E went for a long drive with his friend. When they stopped at a service area, the friend said “Would you like a cup of a canned coffee?” Mr E was wondering if he is getting coffee in a cup or a can.

Episode F: When Mr F just got a driver’s licence, his girlfriend said to him, “You know, lately different types of cars are used as undercover police cars. The other day, I even saw an undercover police truck on a motorway!” Believing that, he was telling the story to every single person who just got their drivers’ licences. Then his father said “How can a big truck chase offending cars?” Well, none of us new drivers thought it was impossible for a dump truck to overtake speeding cars.

If you have any funny episode, please tell us!


★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955

Latest Car Navigation System

The other day on TV, they were saying that Honda had developed an incredible navigation system. Unlike commonly used systems which require the users themselves to search the route which is the most fuel friendly and the route which you can get the biggest discount using ETC(Electronic Toll Collection System) on the motorways, the new system server automatically gives you the information with all the roads to your destination. Usually, car navigation systems are mainly used to check the shortest route to get somewhere but this one can tell you the most economical way to get there. Hasn’t it got all that one could ask? Japan has a small land area but has constructed hundreds and thousands of roads for political reasons after WWⅡ. Although having so many different ways to reach a destination, we tend to use main roads; so it will be very useful. If it can reduce fuel consumption at the same time, it is Eco friendly, isn’t it?

I saw the actual images on TV. On the programme in which people wanted to reduce their fuel cost. They avoided a traffic jam, it was telling its driver to get off the motorway a bit earlier and drive along the small, complicated roads in residential areas with less numbers of traffic lights or roads only locals know, avoid steep hills to reduce engine revolutions. When stuck in a traffic jam, I tend to choose side-roads to get out of it and when it turns out to be a quick way to get there, I feel contented; so for a person like myself, it is very interesting.

You can add some information on fuel consumption rates, acceleration and deceleration data and different ETC discount rates which change by the travel distances and time. It can also suggest to you the best scenic route using information such as the weather forecast from the Japan Weather Association, cherry blossom blooming rates, autumn foliage rates, etc.

There is a service for an individual driver to be able to get information on the route he wants among all other possible useful information in the world. Lately, Google started a service called “Street View” in Google map. In some countries there might be similar systems but when you can actually see images of the roads at ground level which you could have only seen on a map or satellite image, it is truly amazing. It is the “imaginary walkway” function. Because the images on the Street View are taken while the staff were actually driving the roads, the areas you can use it are limited to Tokyo, Osaka and some other big cities. However, if you use the Google map’s function and Honda’s navigation system together, there might be time coming soon in future when you can show actual images on the screen to use it as a real time guide or you can see visual images of the roads on the computer before leaving home. It looks convenient but ft you can check these things on the computer you may not want to go anywhere by car in the end. Then it will be the ultimate in Eco friendly driving, won’t it?




Our office :
Enlarge Google Map

★ Japanese used car stock : http://jpctrade.com/stock/index.html
★ JPCTRADE Home page : http://jpctrade.com/
★ JPCTRADE Blog : http://jpctrade.blogspot.com/

(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
Kato building 4F, 1-1-2 Furuishiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
FAX : +81-3-3643-4955