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Brew
Thanks for the reply!
Regarding currency manipulation, I pretty much agree. It's clear that fiscal policy in Japan is to keep their currency around 100 yen per dollar. (I think the yen has been weak against the dollar over the last few years, running about 110 to 120). The overall weakness of the dollar is probably forcing intervention by Japan's central bank to maintain their preferred ratio.
On your point about domestic production my info is pretty dated. Ten years ago the bulk of Accords and Civics sold in the US came from Marysville. My memory is that 2 door Accords were still imported...something like that? At that time the mini-van was manufactured in Canada. The CRVs all came from Japan, as did all Accura products. Since then they've built a plant in the southeast, and I've pretty much lost track of what is made domestically. It's clear that the Big 3 have more US plants, but I'm pretty confident that the bulk of Honda's sold in the US are likely produced here.
On the PR front these guys are always worried about a backlash. Everyone understands that a successful market share strategy vs a significant domestic industry has the potential for generating a terrible PR situation....hence the "aw shucks" attitude. In many ways this was probably the genesis of the original Honda PR approach...remember the "you meet the nicest people in a Honda" campaign? They still use a kind of doofy style...if you see a quirky car commercial it's likely to be theirs.
Looking at your post it seems that the core issue is your (in my opinion accurate) charge that the Japanese intentionally keep their currency weak to spur exports, and sponsor auto industry related technology development. If I'm interpreting correctly the current situation should be about perfect for the Big 3, our currency is incredibly weak right now. All we need is some politician to sponsor a project for the next big leap forward in auto technology...hydrogen, improved batteries? What would you suggest?
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