Amlux - Toyota Mega Web in Tokyo, Japan

Amlux is a Toyota Mega Web car showroom in the Sunshine City complex, Ikebukuro Tokyo. Here you can view and touch Toyota's newest car models and car accessories. You can also find information about Toyota's formula one activities, environmental and safety technologies and future plans.

Toyota Mega Web is a sprawling complex that has every Toyota passenger vehicle on the market inclding the Lexus. The cars are all unlocked, giving visitors the opportunity to get in, adjust the seats and try the switchgear just as if they are at a car show.

And the "Ride One" attraction is very popular, where you can test-drive the cars from Toyota's lineup on the facility's private track. 300 yen (around $2.70) puts you in the driver's seat for two laps around the 1.3km test course. You just need a valid driver's license, and must not exceed 40 km/h while on the track.

That's not all. As you make your way through the Mega Web's three buildings, you can see Toyota' race cars in motorsports , get in touch with your green side in the "Hybrid Wonderland," and admire classics from Toyota and other manufactures in the "History Garage," a themed area set up to look like Tokyo from 1950 to 1970. In addition to seeing classic Toyotas like the spectacular 2000GT, don't be surprised to see classic cars from other non Japanese car makers. E-Type Jag, Fiat 500 and Cadillac Eldorado convertible are among the foreign cars keeping the old Toyotas company.

If you like, you can jump on the "eCom Ride," which places you in a self-propelled electric commuter car that runs on an elevated track providing great views of the complex as you travel between the buildings. Other attractions you can visit along the way are a hall showcasing Toyota concept cars, an area dedicated to design, and a special hybrid ride for kids, where tykes can pedal a motor-assisted cart through a 150m course. Older kids and grownups can show off their Gran Turismo 4 skills on the massive Mega Theater screen.

And of course, there are restaurants and souvenier shops to keep you engrossed too.

Prices of Cars in Japanese Auctions

Generally it is thought that car prices constantly go down. Many think that once a car is bought cheaply, it can always be bought at that price. On the contrary, as in other markets, prices go both up and down. The price fluctuation trends can be summarized as follows

End of March Period

Prices fall in this period. There are mainly two reasons for this price fall.
1) For a lot of companies this is the end of the accounting year and they need to sell some of the cars to pay taxes and other accounting purposes.

2) The cars bought for display aimed at university students that weren't sold are put back on the market. The university year starts in April and sales for students go down then.

Mid May
Prices start increasing. Excess stock has now been sold off through the auctions, prices come back up to previous levels

Late October to December
Prices fall in this period. The most expensive time of the year in Japan for a company is the end of the year. Bonuses, year end parties require companies to sell off stock to get good cash position. This is specially observed at the end of December.

Other Factors
Other factors can cause a price of a certain type of vehicle to drop without apparent reason and unrelated to the periodic price fluctuations. The drop in the Irish and English currency in 1998 caused Pajero prices to nose-dive for the first time in 2 years for example.

Popular colors in Japanese Cars

When we export Japanese cars, some of our customers complain about the lack of color in the Japanese market. Too many blacks and whites.

There is a reason for this. Every car has it's own favourite color in Japan. However, generally these conclusions can be made about the car colors.

White - Perhaps the most common color in Japan. The Japanese like it as it makes the car feel big or spacious. The number one color for sports cars at the moment. Prices for a white sports car will be higher than other colors.

Black - The number one Honda color. Black automatic.

Pearl - The number one expensive saloon color. A new car costs up to 100,000 yen more due to the price of this paint. Resale value is higher.

Silver - Popular color in sports cars, popular also in Hondas.

Gun - Similar to white, a popular color.

Wine - Next most popular color although not popular in sporty cars like the skyline.

Red - Not popular, especially in sports cars.

Others - Greens, purples, blues, etc. are down the bottom in terms of popularity.

Why Japanese Used Cars?

Today cars and automobiles are produced in many countries all over the world. The quality standard of Japanese cars is one of the highest in the world. Japanese cars have gained a lot of popularity worldwide because of their excellent performance as well as stylish looks.

Japanese cars excel in both performance and price at the same time, so Japanese used cars are very popular in many foreign countries. And one of the reasons for the popularity is they have superb performance and overall excellent quality.

We believe that Japan is the best place to buy used cars and trucks, because cars in Japan are very carefully maintained and have less wear and tear as the Japanese roads are one of the best in the world.

Also the Japanese government policy discourages people to own cars more than 5-6 years. Car owners have to comply with "shaken" (technical car examination) system - the older the car is the more "shaken" tax you have to pay. Basically this system encourages people to buy new cars since shaken taxes increase with the age of the car. And lastly repair costs in Japan are very high, making customers buy a new car rather than repairing a damaged car even if it is easily repairable, has low mileage or in a good technical condition. Thus Japan a very attractive used car market where you can buy good quality used automobiles in used auto auctions all over Japan.

Honda Civic Hybrid Model

With the latest release of Civic Hybrid, it doesn't matter which 49 miles you travel, only that you look good doing it. And that it only takes a gallon of gas.

Hybrid owners are known for their smart thinking; now the all-new 2006 Civic Hybrid comes with even smarter styling to match. All that sizzle still earns an Advanced Technology Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle (AT-PZEV) rating, so you can save on gas while enjoying amenities like the new multi-tiered instrument panel, a sophisticated audio system, and available navigation system. Front, side and side curtain airbags help the future look even brighter. With all that going on, it's time to start thinking about the Civic Hybrid in a whole new way. Ir's the environment friendly car you'd love to own !!

Global Car Japan Blog Started

We at Global Car, Japan take pleasure in starting our blog today. Global Car, Japan is a leading exporter of Used Japanese Cars and Trucks. We export new as well as used Japanese automobiles all over the world.

Check our website at http://www.global-car-japan.com