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

Electric Bicycles

Have you seen an electric bicycle? It has an electric motor to assist the pedalling depending on the degree of the force. You do not have to struggle with it. Of course, because it is a bicycle, you do not need a licence. (Not like a motor bike which uses 100% motor power, it is to support human power with electric power; thus they are categorised as bicycles.)

In 1993, Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd made the first model and other makers followed but the weight of them made them less popular from around 1998 and by 2000, the volume of shipments has dropped to 150,000 and some makers decided to discontinue production. However, electric bicycles are getting smaller and lighter lately. Not only housewives and the older generation, but lots of people swapped their cars to electric bicycles because of the high oil price. Their popularity is increasing. In fact, according to a major newspaper publisher’s survey of 1000 consumers aged between 20 and 60 about their interest on electric bicycles, 20% of them said they wanted to buy them or were thinking about buying them, which was 1 in 3 people being in favour of them. The reasons were “can easily go up a slope” (65%), “more economical than a car” (38%), “can go for a longer ride”, “their legs are getting weak”, “carry heavy stuff” and “can carry a child easily”. The top 2 reasons are definitely from the high oil price, aren’t they?

Although 70% say they would buy one if they are less than \50,000, 60% of the people who actually bought them paid between \50,000 and \100,000. Customers tend to pay more than what they are prepared for when they are actually getting one, after checking their performances and prices. Most people think they should get a good one if they are buying one.

The latest popular models need 2-3 hours of charging time, power assisted running distance of 40-50Km and weigh around 20Kg. Some excellent models even charge the lithium-ion batteries by automatically switching the motor to the generator when the brakes are used.

To be honest, I have not ridden one yet but have seen quite a few not only at bike shops but large appliance stores. I would like a test ride but I had to be in the long queue of families who actually came there to buy one, I gave up the thought of trying popular ones. Are electric bicycles sold in your country? From my image, our neighbour China, is thinking about the numbers of the bicycle users, China might have a higher demand than Japan; but what is it like in your country? If you are interested in importing one, please contact me. Although we have not done this service yet, it should not be much problem when it is a bicycle not a car. (But they may not be categorised as a bicycle in your country, so please check this first carefully under your own responsibility.)


★ 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

Safe Cars

I know that high oil prices are causing a drop in numbers of newly registered cars but traffic jams on Tokyo’s highways and other roads do not seem to be getting any better. It is because this is the political and economic centre of the country, I know that; but it makes any planning extremely hard if I want to use my car.

Today, I had to go to the Land Transport Office to de-register some cars for export. Although I usually avoid congested main roads and use other not-so-crowded ones, because they are undergoing repairs the moment, I did not have any choice but to use the main roads. I was prepared for some traffic jams but once I was there, it did not seem like it would end. Taking more than twice as long, when I was just about out of there, I saw a truck, a BMWX5, a Land Cruiser and two police cars. Guess what? They were the cause of the congestion, a chain collision. Driving slowly by the scene, it looked like the truck first hit the rear of the BMW, then the BMW hit the Land Cruiser as the result. Policemen were asking questions to all the drivers. Regardless of the truck, both the BMX and the Land Cruiser are very expensive and looking at the damage it will cost around \\500,000 altogether to fix them. If it is 100% the truck driver’s fault and if he had not got insurance, it will be expensive for him. Oh, it wasn’t any of my business, was it?

Of course it is ideal if you can avoid any accident but in this case, the front two cars could not avoid the accident from the back if it was the truck driver who misused the brake. Fortunately all three drivers were not injured but to save our lives, as well as using seatbelts, we should understand our cars safety instructions.

In April this year, an extra-government organisation, NASVA (National Agency for Automotive Safety & Victims’ Ade) checked 15 different models of cars out of the top selling cars in 2007 and Japanese cars which were fully model changed; and decided that Subaru Impreza was the safest. Although 3 other cars (Honda Fit, Toyota Premio/Allion, Honda Crossroad got 100% in the safety of the driver’s and passenger’s seats, Impreza excelled with the safety for head protection when a person hit by the car then hits the bonnet.

On the Subaru’s official website, they say their safety philosophy is to reach the maximum safety from both high “Active” safety and high “Passive” safety. “Active” safety can be achieved by high quality engineering and the way the driver controls his/her car, the safer it gets. Subaru’s design is focusing on collision avoidance which includes minimising blind spot and making the driver to be able to see a 1m child in the rear view mirror.

“Passive” safety is to limit the victims’ injuries in case an accident happens. For protection of the occupants, it includes making shock absorbing and dispersing car bodies, seatbelts which minimise whiplash injury and SRS airbags. For the people outside the car such as pedestrians, they design the front bumper so that it reduces damage to the victims’ heads.

Sorry it was a bit technical. In today’s collision, the “Passive” safety Subaru calls was important. I am sure both BMW and Land Cruiser had some sort of safety measures loaded although they were not on the list of NASVA’s.

When I went to a course the other day, one speaker mentioned the head rests. Most people do not pay attention to adjusting them but according to him, if they are at proper height, you can reduce the chance of getting bad whiplash. Please re-check your head rest. Make sure it is not on your neck but on your head. (I know a lot of people overlook this!)


★ 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

Auctions for the government offices

Today in Japan politicians are saying that they are thinking of a total solution to turn the economy around after the downturn, the main reasons of for this are rising prices of oil & food. Some say the total solution is to boost the support rating of Prime Minister Fukuda, but with the tax revenue shrinking, unless they control spending it is doubtful if it will be effective in Japan’s current financial condition. I want them to stop if it is going to cause an extra burden for our future generation by temporarily handing out money.

Now, it is not only the national government who is suffering from the result of tax cuts but prefectural and local communities are in the same situation. Since a few years ago, there have been public online auctions by the local government to sell their own assets and assets seized as a procedure for the collection of tax delinquency. To participate in one of the auctions, it used to be done by visiting one of the offices and place our bids in the box provided. However, this is not a good way to get the highest possible price, so now they use the biggest online auction website, Yahoo Auction so that general public can easily participate.

The three merits of the government office auctions are:
1. Because they are public auctions, the estimated values are usually lower than market price (there is always a possibility of getting a bargain)
2. It is safer because the seller is the government
3. You might find something quite rare

This time, the range was from a super-expensive car “Bentley”, a fire engine to a three-wheeler “Giant Coney” which we only have a few in the country. “Giant Coney” is a classic car made in 1959 but the production was discontinued in 1960 to give way to light-weight 4 wheel vehicles. They only made 7350 and only a few are still in the country. Oh, there was a US classic car “Chrysler Plymouth” as well.

This type of auction has a special procedure, different from ordinary auctions. You have to register yourself (sometimes you might be asked a bond) before placing a bid. Please be careful because you will only have 1 chance of bidding. (When a bond is asked and if you do not win the auction, it will be fully returned to you.) Some lucky person got a “Charade” for \2,200 and the highest price was a “Bentley” (Continental GT6.04WD) of \19,989,000 (estimated value of \13,253,000). If you are interested in rare cars, please check these auctions! It is an interesting auction just to have a look, too. Check the websites below: (if you want a translation, please ask us from “My Page”.)

(General Car Auctions)
http://koubai.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/auction/search?image=on&pageNo=&sortType=1&word=&category=2&pmin=&pmax=&type=0&area=0_0&status=&procedureNo=0
(Bentley)
http://koubai.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/auction/auction?pid=tokyo&oid=1216718450&aid=i11153059
(Three-wheel “Giant Coney”)
http://koubai.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/auction/auction?pid=sapporo&oid=1216349645&aid=i11153903
(Chrysler Plymouth)
http://koubai.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/auction/auction?pid=sapporo&oid=1216349645&aid=i11153903



★ 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