>In my opinion the Japanese can engineer and build good reliable vehicles.
>However, with a very few exceptions such as the first and last Mazda RX7s,
>Japanese cars lack the character of European and even American motor cars.
>My belief is that this is due to a fundamental characteristic of the
>Japanese culture that does not place a high value on being unique.
But therein lies the difference. The quality of the engineering is often
times vastly superior to Western workmanship. I have noticed this with
electric guitars, as the Japanese manufacturers have gone to great lengths
to develop instruments that look similar to the traditional Stratocaster or
Les Paul, but have highly superior or uniquely interesting resonance
charateristics.
Also in the field of firearms do the Japanese excel. Modern Browning
shotguns are almost always made in Japan, and the quality has improved
tremendously over the past 30 years. (Though not from the pheasant's point
of view.) Unfortunately for them, the collectors value of an older gun lies
primarily in its country of origin.
To quote Joseph Stalin: "quantity has its own quality," and in that manner
do the Japanese excel.
Regards,
Charles
'74 Midget
'40 Winchester 12 ga.
'72 Telecaster
cdsorkin@ix.netcom.com
Bloomfield, NJ
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