Korean car companies are making lots of headway by trying everything. Honda makes a big deal about the Clarity of LPG converted civic. Almost everybody I know i

Korean car companies are making lots of headway by trying everything. Honda makes a big deal about the Clarity of LPG converted civic. Almost everybody I know in Korea has some combination of different fuel types and transmissions. It's sort of a wild "east" and the Korean companies are throwing everything at the wall. Among people I know off the top of my head: - VW diesel SUV (manual) - domestic diesel Kia SUV (automatic) - Tesla (auto?) - domestic petrol ancient Daewoo (manual) - domestic Hyundai LPG (auto) - domestic Hyundai Hydrogen (auto) - Honda petrol CRV (auto/CVT) - petrol domestic Bongotype (pickup analog) (manual) - diesel domestic Bongotype (pickup analog) (manual) - domestic petrol Hyundai small car (auto) - domestic petrol Kia SUV (auto) - petrol Jaguar (auto) it's wild. My friends and family are spread across everything from hair dressers to architects, so this kind of diversity is unusual to me. My friends in Japan are much more focused, and the it seems to me that the brands are overcommitted to very few sets of fuels, transmissions, and technologies -- even if the form factor and packaging appear different. With the possibility of Honda and Nissan merging among other consolidation in Japanese autos, I feel like this will only continue (saying this as a (slightly dismayed life long Honda owner). The elephant in the room is of course the massive diversity and cost effectiveness of Chinese cars...which are completely unknown and mocked in the U.S., but turn out to be surprisingly decent these days, and are increasingly electrified and are in the process of refinement. A recent trip to Spain and Portugal reminded me that "hey these exist" and a few rides around in Ubers let me see them up close. They'd sell like hot cakes in the U.S. if they were allowed to.