Japan’s 10th Automaker

Japan’s 10th Automaker

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In the days before Henry Ford made it possible for the masses to own cars, the automobile was pretty much a luxury item, an exclusive means of transport for the wealthy. Automobiles were built one at a time, and each was customised for the buyer in various ways.

When Henry Ford began to mass-produce cars, the exclusive nature of these 4-wheels horseless carriages began to diminish. Customisation was still available but it became even more expensive compared to the more affordable Model Ts – all of which looked alike.

However, the custom-designed car has not gone the way of the dinosaurs and over the decades, some companies have actually managed to do good business building exclusive cars. By concentrating on traditional coachbuilding rather than mass production, they have been able to offer unique designs with styles that stand out on the road. Typically, many such designs have been based on the classic models with flowing lines from an era when production engineering did not dominate car design.

There are many small European companies which make such cars but it would seem unlikely that such companies would exist in Japan, where mass production has been developed to such an advanced state. But there is one such company and it is so small that you would probably not be aware of its existence.

Turning a dream to reality
The company is called Mitsuoka Motor Company Ltd and it was founded by Susumu Mitsuoka, who was determined enough to realise his dream of making his own cars. From his childhood years, Mitsuoka was interested in making miniature models and when he was older, he established a garage that did repair and painting in February 1968.

For relaxation, he used to go down to the riverside near his house with his dog, which he had named ‘John’. On one of those walks, he came up with the idea of making a buggy to run with the dog and he actually built one with a motor to power it which he adapted from a minicar.

Started with minicars
By 1981, Japan was having a minicar (the cars had engines smaller than 50 cc) boom and Mitsuoka sold some which he imported from Italy. Unfortunately, after two months, customers came back with complaints of overheating and he was in a fix because he had no spare parts so he was forced to put used engines from scooters as replacements.

“When I began working on the small car, I discovered that it had a very simple chassis and engine and I got the idea that I too could make such a small car,” he recalled. “The price of the import from Italy was one million yen (about RM9,300 in those days) but my customers wanted something that was half that price.”

Sensing an opportunity to sell many minicars if he could price them nearly as cheap as what customers expected, Mitsuoka began making minicars. His forecast for demand was modest – 20 units a month – but he was pleasantly surprised to get 200 orders a month in one year.

“The demand encouraged me to buy land and set up a new factory to build the cars, which were called ‘Bubu’” he said.

Regulations change and disaster strikes
Then disaster struck. In 1985, the authorities decided to change the regulations and made it necessary for those who drove such minicars to also have a driving licence. This development had a great effect on sales and demand nosedived by 90%. Although Mitsuoka tried to come up with something appealing enough to bring in the orders, it was an uphill battle and in the end, he admitted defeat.

“I was forced to close the factory or resign. During a meeting of our board of directors, I regretfully chose the option to close it,” he recalled with sadness.

In his depressed state, he spent a month being what he called “unproductive” and on the urging of his wife, he took a trip to America. “My wife said to me that I should go anywhere as she could not stand by and watch me [in such a state],” Mitsuoka said.

New enthusiasm
It was not his first trip there but he gained some enthusiasm again and started a parallel import business, bringing new and used GM Chevrolets and Trans-Ams to Japan.

On one of his trips, he visited a dealer and noticed an original MG sportscar in the showroom. Alongside it was a replica of the British sportscar and what amazed Mitsuoka was that while the original was priced at US$15,000, the replica cost $16,500!

“I asked the salesman why this was so and he explained that the original MG had many troubles and so it spent most of its time parked. However, the replica had no troubles and could be driven everyday. Therefore, it was felt that the higher price was justified,” he explained.

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