Quality Plastic
James E. Yaeger
cbr...@pophost.eunet.be says...
>
>On BBC2 last night there was an interesting programme on Japanese car
>culture. The point was made that Japanese cars a brilliantly
>engineered, but when you come to sit in them they feel as if you are
>surrounded with 'quality plastic'.
You have a point there, although I have raised the same issue with others and
gotten a lot of blank looks. People in general have gotten accustomed to the
Quality Plastic feeling. The ones I DON'T understand are the people who don't
seem to notice the Shoddy Plastic look and feel of a lot of cars. I am
thinking in particular of a Chev Corsica I rented in Hawaii... ugh!
I think I could get used to a well made plastic myself, though. I am currently
driving a 71 Mercedes 280S with a lot of wood inside, but the wood seems kind
of silly to me. It really has no practical reason to be there... I kind of
miss my old Volkswagen's steel dash.
P-O Litby, Sun Sweden, SSD Sales
In article <NEWTNews.2653.8...@cbrooke.eunet.be> cbr...@pophost.eunet.be writes:
[snip]
>
> On BBC2 last night there was an interesting programme on Japanese car
> culture. The point was made that Japanese cars a brilliantly
> engineered, but when you come to sit in them they feel as if you are
> surrounded with 'quality plastic'.
>
[snip]
I think what you are referring to could be described as "charisma" or
"character", or rather, the lack of it, in Japanese cars. The way I
see it, Japanese cars are just appliances, like a video, a TV or any other
consumer item. They are designed to be purchased, used for a while and then
discarded in favour of another model.
Japan is not what you would call a "car enthusiast" society. This is a phe-
nomenon more commonly found in highly individualistic societies, which Japan
is not. Of course there are car buffs in Japan, but they don't drive Japanese
cars - they will try to show their individuality by getting a European or
American car.
Cars with flair/charisma/character are typically products of countries where
people may value individuality over such other priorities as quality,
spotlessly clean streets and so on. Why do you think the most charismatic
cars traditionally have come out of such places as Italy, Britain and
France? (may be stepping on some toes here)
My country, with its two automakers (Volvo and Saab) isn't exactly known for
producing the world's most charismatic cars (Saab may be an "individualistic"
car but for other reasons than charisma) - and guess what: the traditional
image of Sweden is that of a clean, quality-oriented, slightly boring place
(this is rapidly changing, mind you).
Building a charismatic car is not easy to do in the highly standardised,
automated modern car industry. A car with character always seems to need
those small little details and touches which no robot can provide. The
world's most charismatic cars are built in factories where the level of
automation is low, or maybe even zero, as with the likes of Aston Martin,
Morgan etc.
I'm afraid we're going to see fewer and fewer really charismatic cars in the
future. They're just too expensive to build and maintain - the world will
indeed become a poorer place.
--
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Per-Olof Litby
SunService Sales, Sun Microsystems AB, Box 51, 16494 Kista, Sweden
Voice +46 8 623-9115, Fax +46 8 623-9005, Email: perolo...@sun.se
Mobile +46 70 723-9115
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''If you owe the bank a million, you have a problem. If you owe the bank a
BILLION, the BANK has a problem.''
- Refaat el-Sayed
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