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Honestly, no one should be surprised by this. If we look t the history of automotive development and manufacturing over the last 40-50 years, every major change
by avs733 6y ago
Honestly, no one should be surprised by this. If we look t the history of automotive development and manufacturing over the last 40-50 years, every major change has been 'made real' by Japanese automanufacturers. That doesn't mean they are first to market, but it typically means they are first to market with something that works for the main stream. This includes manufacturing techniques, platform engineering, hybrids, navigation and in car computing, etc.
They are just quiet about it. In part, this seems to be cultural, in part it seems to be where our major news comes from and the fact that it rarely reports on stories in other languages (and even more rarely reports on them well). There have been many discusisons on HN of the goods and bads of Japanese work culture, but one possible outcome of that hierarchy and control being a longer term strategic focus, and internal commitments to quiet & purposeful innovation.
- throwaway0a5e 6y agoThe Japanese made some good advancements in manufacturing technology and all the ancillary systems you need to make a low displacement 4-banger palatable to the mass market (ohc and distributorless ignition come to mind) but your comment is just fanboy-ism masquerading as history. The Japaneses didn't really bring electronic systems and fuel injection into the world faster than anyone else. They clung to their vacuum line spaghetti control systems embarrassingly far into the 80s. They also got blind-sided hard by the minivan and the midsize SUV.
- mschuster91 6y agoSUVs are an uniquely American-originated thing. Let's be real, 3/4 of SUV owners don't need the benefits of an SUV.
- throwaway0a5e 6y ago3/4 of car owners could get by with a moped. Can and "should do so despite being able to afford otherwise" are very different things.
- avs733 6y agoI didn't say faster. I said they were better at maturity. They have been typically slower to switch...to publically experiment, but when they do it seems to stick. See Honda and... * variable cam timing * hydrogen vehicles * aging in place technology as someone shopping for a family rather than couple vehicle...we are pretty much solely looking at Japanese minivans and small SUV's as for reasons that mostly have to do with repair costs and mature features.
- paganel 6y ago> every major change has been 'made real' by Japanese automanufacturers. The TDI engine (for all its faults) was first made commercially available on a Fiat, and then was made (in)famous by VW (among others). Audi's four-wheel-drive system (Quattro) is imo still unmatched, and when it debuted in the World Rally Championship it blew away all competition.
- avs733 6y agothose aren't mainstream by any stretch...they haven't fundamentally changed the basics of the automotive industry you could make the claim (maybe) about diesel's and Europe, but separating technical innovation from industry level innovation here is important. Edit: and I say that as a RABID WRC fan who is currently wearing my Peter Solberg hat.
- decafninja 6y agoIs this still true? It seems like other countries' manufacturers are sprinting ahead nowadays. The big Japanese manufacturers have been describe as stagnating when it comes to tech.
- mdoms 6y agoDescribed by whom?
- decafninja 6y agoAuto magazines/blogs, enthusiasts, etc.
- mdoms 6y agoCan you provide a source?
- decafninja 6y agoMany recent Lexus reviews for example. Halo models aside, there's a lot of mention that Lexus is technologically behind the Germans products. Now the plus side of the argument is that the Japanese are using more tried and tested stuff and thus slower to adopt the latest whizzbang gizmos and gadgets.
- avs733 6y agoI'll provide some sources about why this is wrong: Innovation in automotive is as much in things consumers don't see as it is in the features we perceive and use: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-minute_exchange_of_die https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-minute_exchange_of_die https://dailykanban.com/2015/03/27/toyotas-tnga-tps-2-0/ https://dailykanban.com/2015/03/27/toyotas-tnga-tps-2-0/