How America’s Engines Became Inferior to Japan’s

Comments · 395

• ME

  @MettleUK · 2 months ago · pinned

  The stories we tell here, written down properly. Read the first chapter free — no cost, no card: <a href="https://mettlehistory.co.uk/">https://mettlehistory.co.uk</a>

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• HA

  @Halceyx · 2 months ago

  &quot;When Congress passes a new car law, Ford hires 200 lawyers. Honda hires 200 engineers&quot;

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• RE

  @Ren-pb2xh · 3 months ago

  In Japan, when a customer reports a defect, it does not become a personal argument, it triggers a process.<br>The salesperson informs a manager, the issue is checked, and if necessary, even the manufacturer comes to inspect it.<br>That is called professionalism.<br>In many other places, however, simply saying “this product has a defect” is enough for the salesperson to treat you like a troublesome customer:<br>“I only sell what the company tells me to sell. If you don’t like it, buy somewhere else.”<br>Interesting, they sell as a company, but when a problem appears, they react as if the customer insulted their family.<br>The problem is not only the salesperson. If staff cannot handle a legitimate complaint, it shows that management never built a culture of responsibility, after-sales service, or respect for customers. And then they wonder why customers do not trust them.

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• RE

  @recoveringnewyorker2243 · 3 months ago

  My Dad (a WW2 veteran) always bought Evinrude. 6 hp engines he could attach to a rented boat. Eventually his doctor told not to lift heavy objects. He sold the Evinrude. The first time he rented a boat with a Honda outboard he couldn&apos;t believe how easily it started and how quiet it was. All he could say was &quot;Very clever those Japanese&quot;

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• AI

  @airplane1831 · 3 months ago (edited)

  I used to use a Briggs and Stratton engines mower. &nbsp;When it became time to buy a new mower, the sales man recommended a mower with the Honda engine. &nbsp;For although it was more expensive, they were much more reliable than the Briggs and Stratton and the Honda engine owners seldom if ever came back complaining of problems. &nbsp;20 years later the Honda engine on my mower has never given any problems!

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• JA

  @javier7285 · 3 months ago (edited)

  When buying my new car at a Chevrolet dealership, they brought me coffee, soda and popcorn for my kids, when I returned with a quality issue, they gave me a cold shoulder and ignored me totally, I felt like a nuisance.👎

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• OR

  @orboakin8074 · 2 months ago

  When my dad was a kid in Nigeria in the 60s, he remembered seeing European and American cars all the time. They were built so well and efficiently but as time went on, he saw less of them and more Japanese cars. As an adult, I definitely understand why now.

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• KE

  @kendemers8821 · 3 months ago

  When I was a kid in the 1970&apos;s, I cut our family lawn with a Briggs and Stratton powered lawn mower. &nbsp;The Brigs engine was reliable and virtually indestructible. &nbsp;In the early 2000s, I bought a self-starting Honda lawn mower. &nbsp;I needed an electric start since I was working seven days a week and I needed a mower my wife could operate. &nbsp;I must admit, that for the first 7 years, that Honda was run without an oil change and with virtually no maintenance. &nbsp;Despite this lack of care, the Honda kept running and I still own and run that mower today. &nbsp;In 2023, I heard that Honda was going to stop selling their gas powered lawn mowers. &nbsp;I was determined to never be without a Honda lawn mower, so I ordered their top of the line mower with cruise control and a plastic deck. &nbsp;Today, I run both my 25 year old Honda and 2024 Honda mowers. &nbsp;Both mowers are great and I&apos;ll maintain them properly and use these mowers for the rest of my life!

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• PE

  @peternewman7940 · 3 months ago

  The odd thing was that the reputation - fueled by WW2 propaganda - was the other way round: anything made in Japan was deemed to be inferior. How wrong we were!

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• MD

  @mdforseth · 2 months ago

  An irony: <br>In WWII, the Japanese attacked the Aleutian Islands. From that, the US salvaged a Zero that was shot down. The Zero was arguably the most nimble and feared enemy aircraft in the Pacific theater. A US war-plane manufacturer, Grumman, analyzed that Zero and from that understanding, they built the Hellcat, which was specifically built to outperform Japan’s A6M Zero. And it did.

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• J.

  @j.m.5995 · 3 months ago

  I think it comes down to the Japanese Work ethic and by extension Japanese Moral education

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• MA

  @maxrobi · 2 months ago (edited)

  As a Japanese person, I am happy and proud that the products we create are appreciated and accepted overseas, but for an ordinary Japanese person like myself, there is no joy in winning against foreign companies in competition. If products were imported under fair and equal conditions, we would use the superior foreign products. That is the same attitude you have towards Japanese products. This is not boasting, but we have an inherent nature to approach things seriously, steadily, and continuously, and to make them better, not just with machinery, but with almost everything, although we can never say that it is perfect, and to be honest, we ourselves do not fully understand this nature. We are the kind of people who will do it no matter what, even if told to stop.

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