Lately the days are getting longer in Japan. It is 7pm but the sun is still there. According to an internet site, the longest day for this year is 21st of June; so no wonder I felt like this today. But for people in the Southern Hemisphere such as Australia and New Zealand, this must be the shortest day. And of course in the countries further up North than Japan such as Ireland, the UK and Moscow, the day must be much longer than ours. We do not feel this when we are contacting each other via email and telephone, but thinking about the sun and the time differences, I can feel the vastness of the world.
The other day, there was a news that we might have “Summer Time” or “Daylight Saving” here in Japan too by forwarding the clock 1 hour only in summer when we have long daylight. They say that you can save night time usage of electricity when you start moving earlier which eventually leads to an Eco-friendly environment and more time spent with your family. This brought on active debate on its pros and cons from politicians to industry leaders, now it does not look likely to happen. I, personally, am not so sure.
A long time ago after World War Ⅱ, we had “Summer Time” only for three years but could not establish it as an annual event. The reason was that because it ended up with people having to work an extra hour, starting at the same time as the day before, instead of cutting their working hours by one hour. I guess it is not easy for companies as well as for their employees to change our attitude towards overtime. I can easily imagine that it would only increase my time in the office if they bring “Summer Time” to Japan. I am a hard working man, ain’t I? It is sad, really.
However, we do have to seriously do something about CO2 as a strategy towards reducing global warming. Especially for people like myself who make living by dealing in cars, we cannot ignore the level of CO2 emission. We have to think how we can keep our business at the same time as thinking about the environment globally. Every year Japanese car manufacturers have been developing new types of cars which cut the level of CO2 emission dramatically. For example, Toyota now has hybrid models, not only the Prius, but Estima, Alphard, Harrier and Crown. Honda announced that they are planning to install hybrid engines to Fit and they will be on the market by 2009. (As I mentioned the other day, the present model of Fit with gasoline engines are very economical, so if they make a hybrid model, you may not realise that you need fuel to run the car. I am looking forward to its arrival.)
This month, as a related topic to the high oil price, there are some news items in the newspaper on each car manufacturer’s effort for electric cars. Car manufacturers cannot avoid the issue of the global environment if they want to survive.
So, JPC, as a used car dealer, would like to promote hybrid cars as we receive lots of inquiries from customers but they are still quite expensive, aren’t they? When you compare the difference in the price of a gasoline car and a hybrid one with the cost you can actually save in the fuel, the price of hybrid cars is not low enough to cover this. Considering the high price of new hybrid cars, it is inevitable but I would like the manufacturers to do their best to produce them with lower prices.
If you have driven a hybrid car, you cannot forget the experience. They are quiet; you cannot hear an engine, you cannot even feel the vibration. They are also extremely economical to the extent that you would think there is something wrong with your fuel indicator. Many clients who had bought the first model Prius bought new ones or are asking for another hybrid car. They must have become captivated by their comfortableness & economy even if they are still expensive.
Writing on hybrid cars, now I feel like one. Would you like one, too?
For their auction prices, check here:
http://jpctrade.com/auction/japaneseusedcarauctiondealdatabase.html
Also, the list of hybrid cars we have been selling to our clients from
overseas is as follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
★ 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
2 comments:
I think hybrid cars is a must for every household, but as I heard, hybrids were more affordable than standard cars, so how come they come off so expensive?
Thank you very much for your posting.
Hybrids are manufactured to have both enzine and motor, and so it costs more to manufacture them than standard cars. I think if demand for hybrids will increase and technology advances, low-cost hybrids will be expected to be sold.
Post a Comment