On Thu, 03 Mar 2005 09:15:03 -0800, Gene Poon wrote: >Interestingly the Japanese are experts at building the "three year car" >because for a long time, and even today, the vehicle tax structure in >Japan has made it disadvantageous to keep a car for over three years,
Has that changed since 1975? I was stationed in Japan then, and the time interval was five years. And the reason was not the tax structure, but inspection laws that required cars older than five years to have very extensive, very expensive vehicle inspections. Heaven help you if a car had an uncorrected ding or any hidden rust. In my era, a used car was a great bargain for us gaijin (foreign devils, barbarians) over there. The Japanese permitted the Navy Exchange to do the inspections with very relaxed standards. If you saw a beat-up looking car, you could bet that a US military man/dependent was behind the wheel! You could buy an older used car for the remaining value of the JCI (Japanese Comprehensive Insurance) -- which meant that the car was essentially free. Of course, I feared to drive my 1970 Nissan Bluebird station wagon at speeds greater than 45 mph; however there were few opportunities to drive that fast anyway. The experience has made me loathe to buy Japanese back here, even though the cars made for export are probably okay. (Oh, and Hong Kong taxis then were all low-end Mercedes diesel sedans.) Just reminiscing... <G> Jerry -- Porcupines are peaceful creatures but God still saw fit to give them quills. -Unknown ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Help save the life of a child. Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's 'Thanks & Giving.' http://us.click.yahoo.com/6iY7fA/5WnJAA/Y3ZIAA/46t0lB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Web: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid> Subscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Unsubscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Moderator: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
