For those of you who drove a Japanese import in the 60’s/70’s/early 80’s, did you get any heat from family/friends/coworkers/general public about your choice of car? How bad was it? What were some of the consequences and what was the most extreme example you’ve seen or heard of?
This question applies to americans as well as some western europeans, whose auto industries were also in decline with the exception of germany.
This discussion might also be a good predictor of what will await the first owners of chinese cars when they do arrive in north america.
I recalled Chinese also did the smashing Japanese car thing once when relations went sour over disputed territory.
Like it’s a completely dumb move, you are just damaging your fellow citizens’s personal property.
It’s a dumb move but it was incredibly effective for the people who wants the boycott agenda pushed towards to normal audiences. I’ve seen a lot of Korean locals here sell their Camry and Lexus just because of the fear of having their precious car trashed(Camry here are not your normal car with four wheels and an engine, they are sold as premium brand and has a lot of luxury features in it, usually 30k and up) and it worked. Plus with a rumor that Toyota having a hard time bringing in parts to Korea for repairs, it only got worse.
The only reason why Toyota survived while Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru left is because the latter three used direct dealerships(I think) while Toyota made contracts with local dealerships in Korea. Without that, I’m pretty sure Toyota wouldn’t be shy from leaving the Korean market.