Complete independent innovation is a very inefficient and slow thing. Standing on the shoulders of giants, based on the foundation that has been cultivated by our predecessors, the economy and technology have developed rapidly and violently, which seems much wiser. In traditional Chinese culture, the realism represented by Cao Cao's saying "Don't live up to false reputations but deal with real disasters" has also deeply influenced Japan, which is a country with only a narrow strip of water.
In the development of the automobile industry, the Japanese people have gone from poverty to the top of the world in just a few decades. What kind of magic they have performed and what stages they have gone through are the focus of this article. of.
Plagiarizing even though you know it is shameful
Whether you are willing to admit it or not, there are various forces that compete against each other on this planet. For example, if a hegemon wants to use its powerful power to bully the weak, attack dissidents, and amass wealth, it is best not to be bound by rules. Therefore, the enemies of hegemony are various international organizations.
Developed countries have their own starting points. Almost all developed countries have completed industrial upgrading. Patents and authorizations have begun to become important sources of profits. For this reason, developed countries hope to strengthen the patent system and then through patent authorization or Monopoly, use dumping to attack the industrialization of developing countries and stay ahead. For this reason, developed countries pay special attention to the legal system and international rules of intellectual property.
For those small and weak countries, it is very difficult to achieve from nothing to something. Even if they hope to develop their own industries, they will face the blocking of various patented technologies or high fees, resulting in Products produced in developing countries lack competitiveness in price or performance. For this reason, weak and small countries try their best to ignore and avoid international intellectual property laws, and use plagiarism, copying, and imitation as much as possible to complete the primitive accumulation of national industrialization in a "dark" way.
It can be said that as long as you are weak, your start will be extremely difficult, and you may even have to be "dirty". Japanese automobiles also faced this problem in the 1960s when they were in desperate need of innovation.
In the history of Toyota, the Toyota AA car is obviously a very important model. It witnessed the start of Toyota's car manufacturing, but various Toyota information intentionally or unintentionally avoids the accusation of plagiarism. In 1935, American cars had entered Japan. American cars represented the height of cars at that time, so young Japanese people at that time were proud to own an American car. On the streets of Japan, at that time and later, we could often see American young men driving Japanese girls, laughing and joking.
Kiichiro Toyoda, who showed a strong interest in automobiles, purchased Chrysler's DeSoto Airflow, dismembered it, and copied them one by one in order to achieve mass production of automobiles as soon as possible and establish a preliminary understanding of automobile technology. , the final Toyota A1 is very similar to the Chrysler Airflow in appearance. The Toyota A1 uses a 3389cc six-cylinder engine with a maximum horsepower of 62 horsepower, which is copied from Chevrolet products. The chassis and electronic system of the A1 are copied from Ford.
Chrysler Airflow? 1931
1936 Toyota AA
After completing the design of AA, Kiichiro Toyoda also planned to further copy the F7 model of Audi's predecessor DKW. In 1938, Toyota had completed the draft of a copy of this model and named it EA. However, due to the outbreak of war, all production capacity was diverted to military equipment and it was not actually put into production. However, it can be seen from this incident that Toyota was also accompanied by plagiarism in the beginning.
Only when it is strong can plagiarism be said to be a tribute
After eight years of war, Japan’s post-war automobile production was once restricted. However, with the outbreak of the Korean War, Japanese automobile production Seizing the opportunity, we resumed production. The Americans are like undoing the curse for the Japanese and opening Pandora's box. Japanese cars are adhering to the principle of "originating through plagiarism and learning through reference" in their rapid development. Copying European and American car brands have also launched products with the same characteristics. Products with Japanese characteristics.
Mitsubishi Jeep
There were two major trends in American automobiles after the war. One is a passionate and sporty coupe, and the other is the off-road trend driven by Willys. These two trends were copied domestically by the Japanese.
The entire World War II was the stage for the Willys MA off-road vehicle. Its excellent off-road performance and strength gave birth to the famous car brand Jeep.
After the war, military elements entered the field of civilian vehicles one after another, from fighter jet tails to off-road trends, and American automobiles began to vigorously develop similar products. Although Japan itself has a flat terrain and does not need off-road vehicles, this did not affect the imitation production of Japanese cars at all, and eventually famous car series such as Mitsubishi Pajero, Nissan Patrol, and Toyota Land Cruiser were born.
Willys MA?1941
Toyota Land?Cruiser?BJ Series (1951-1955)
Tip: Japan’s three major car companies, only Honda There are no off-road models. In fact, the reason why Honda officially produced cars has missed the period when Japan vigorously imitated and developed off-road models, while Mitsubishi, Toyota, and Nissan were established relatively earlier.
In 1941, Japan began to occupy the Philippines, where they saw American jeeps and transported them to Japan. The Japanese government ordered Toyota to produce a similar model but with increased passenger and cargo capacity, resulting in a four-wheeled minivan. Later, the Japanese military government ordered Toyota to produce a light truck. In 1942, Toyota reversed the Ford GPW and produced the AK10 prototype. This is the beginning of Toyota Jeep.
In 1950, when the Korean War broke out, the U.S. government ordered 100 of the latest Willys off-road vehicles in the United States and commissioned Toyota to produce them. As a result, Toyota took possession of the Toyota Jeep BJ series in January 1951. . In this car, Toyota not only drew on Willys' off-road technology, but also drew on the design of the British Land Rover 1. However, after Willis trademarked the Jeep brand, Toyota had to change its name. The reason for choosing Land Cruiser was that Toyota did not want to be at a disadvantage in the competition with British Land Rover. Toyota Jeep BJ must have a similar and louder name.
Nissan and Mitsubishi have also produced similar models for the military. Among them, the first Nissan Patrol model, the 4W60, is very similar to the Wesley, and based on this, the Patrol car series was gradually developed. The reason why Mitsubishi was able to launch Pajero later was because Mitsubishi obtained the authorization from Jeep, launched Mitsubishi Jeep in a legitimate manner, and had certain technical experience in off-road vehicles.
The predecessor of Nissan Patrol, 4W60
In the 1960s and 1970s, Japanese cars began to be exported to the United States in large quantities, and the needs of the American people began to become particularly important. In order to fully compete with local American manufacturers, Japanese cars have to follow American car brands and launch similar products tit for tat. Off-road vehicles are just one of them.
After Ford successfully ignited consumer enthusiasm with the launch of Mustang, the Japanese, who are full of business, also joined the competition. Although they had never produced a performance sports car and had no such capabilities, they decided to start with the simplest and fastest method.
Nissan has made drastic changes to its Sunny model and launched a sports car that is similar to the Ford Mustang. Japan may not be able to produce a model comparable in size to the Mustang, but it has forcibly shortened the GT sports car. At the same time, the practicality of the cockpit and rear seats is expanded, and Sunny also has the appearance of a Pony Car. For this reason, traces of Mustang can be seen everywhere on the 1974 Sunny. This same situation also happened on the Toyota Celica.
1974?Datsun?Sunny
1965?Mustang
Toyota?Celica
Not only did they copy Americans, the Japanese were even better at designing Recognize Europe. Although the United States was the country with the most developed and vast automobile industry in the world at the time, due to its lack of knowledge and extensiveness, even Americans deep down preferred the sound and styling of European engines. It is precisely this point that Europe is actually the most picky region in the world about cars, and Japan and the United States also recognize it deep down.
As Japanese cars are about to enter an era of explosive performance sports cars, the power of design is beginning to show. The Japanese cannot reach the heights of European design, so they try to use European cars as prototypes when designing sports cars. When Toyota launched the famous sports car 2000GT, it was obviously borrowed from the Jaguar E-Type.
When the MR2 model was launched, the first generation was based on the Fiat X1/9, the second generation was based on the Ferrari 348, and the third generation was based on the Porsche Boxster. There was no so-called family inheritance and design elements.
Toyota 2000GT
Jaguar E-Type
There are many such examples. Honda has had similar experiences. Honda’s famous N360 (1967) is similar to The Austin MINI (1959) is very similar, and the Crossroad (1993) is close to the original Land Rover Discovery (1989). Honda's supreme NSX (1990) is very similar to the Ferrari 328 (1985). There are countless similar examples.
Ferrari 328 (1985)
NSX (1990)
Making tools, but not art
Japanese cars have developed to this day, Also met the ceiling. This ceiling was most evident when Toyota decided to launch the Lexus brand. For the first time, the Japanese have deeply reflected on whether Japanese cars have the ability to produce a brand that is successful on a global scale.
In fact, Lexus, Infiniti and Acura are not really rising. Not to mention Infiniti and Acura, their brand recognition continues to decline. Even Lexus cannot compete with Germany in high-end models. Cars compete. Although Lexus's sales and reputation in China are very good, this is a consumption tendency under specific circumstances, thanks to its product strategy and the success of brand operators, but this advantage does not last long.
The overall success of Japanese cars is still based on their traditional main family models. Although they created the legend of performance cars in the 1990s, their overall influence is much smaller than that of European and American performance cars.
Japanese cars are now mainly concentrated in the United States and China, and Europe has not been able to successfully open up. Without recognition from Europeans, Japanese automobile luxury brands or even brands cannot be considered successful, and Japanese automobiles know this very well. As Toyota Managing Director Yasuhiko Yokoi said when talking about Lexus - "Although Lexus can be recognized in the U.S. market, this does not mean that it can be naturally recognized by Germany, the birthplace of the car, and other European countries. Europeans will never accept a brand that has no clear nationality and lacks its own transitional cultural elements."
It pointedly pointed out that Lexus is a brand with no clear origin. Although this brand is owned by the Japanese, it is a luxury brand created for Americans and even operated by Americans. It does have some flaws in its establishment. Unable to stand.
Europe is very interested in Japanese culture. Generally speaking, Europe does not reject Japanese cars, but it is easier to respect people or things that have clear values ??and their own positioning. The reason for the formation of this kind of values ??is very simple. The United States and Japan do not have a long history of industrialization in comparison. The United States was founded three hundred years ago and only became a powerful country in the past hundred years. It lacks accumulation of cultural heritage, while Japan has a long history of industrialization. Affected by China, the process of industrialization did not take long to connect with the West.
Europe is the birthplace of the first industrial revolution. Since the invention of the steam engine by Watt in the first industrial revolution, Europe has been engaged in global colonization for hundreds of years. Even Australia and the United States were once British As a colony, Britain and France are the developed countries with the longest history in the process of industrialization, and gave birth to the earliest aristocracy, including education, culture, and etiquette.
It was areas like this that were the first to invent cars, so they have a completely different understanding of cars. Cars are also a means of travel for the aristocratic class. When Japan and the United States developed cars, they mainly sold them to the largest number of people. Ordinary consumers.
Differences in history have led to completely different attitudes towards cars between Japanese Americans and Europeans. The luxury required by Japan and the United States probably focuses on factors such as displacement, power, and luxury interiors. Europeans attach great importance to heritage when choosing cars, whether they have the legitimacy of an excellent history and a glorious history.
Tip: China is one of the most outstanding countries in the world, and this is especially true in the inheritance of Chinese culture. For example, the evaluation of cultural relics, calligraphy and paintings is often based on dynasties, social status, and the grades of dignitaries, and furniture , clothing is also willing to be associated with the power class, and folk clothing is generally not worth it and is not popular.
Chinese consumers often lack sufficient interest in products from weak countries or whose cultural heritage is inferior to China's, such as tea and porcelain.
Europeans are very confident in their cars and have very strict standards for good products. Japanese Lexus, Infiniti, and Acura lack historical heritage in the eyes of Europeans, so most Japanese car sales in Europe are concentrated on cheaper Corolla, Qashqai and other models.
The Japanese can deeply understand this characteristic of Europeans, because just as Japan invented electronic products, the Japanese have extremely demanding requirements for electronic products, requiring exquisiteness and design. It is difficult for them to accept products that lack quality. Even in some aspects, although the Japanese have extremely strong technology, they still maintain awe of Europeans, especially in the field of design. Although Japan produces Canon, Nikon and Sony and occupies the majority of the market, this does not affect their worship of Leica and Hasselblad.
Japan hopes to learn from Europe and, like European brands Mercedes-Benz and BMW, have sufficient dominance in any corner of the world. Japanese cars hope that they not only make tools, but also produce art. Because of this pursuit, brands like Mazda and famous designers like Yohji Yamamoto were born in Japan.
Plagiarism itself is wrong, but as you continue to grow through plagiarism, and eventually become stronger and stronger, the stains of the past will become less of a concern. This world is a world of the weak and the strong. Only by standing at the highest peak and dominating, all the disadvantages will be selectively forgotten, and finally it will be interpreted into an inspirational story of working hard and going against the current.
Picture?|?From the Internet
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.