Home Part 2: The Last 100 years 8: Car Manufacturers by Country 8.11 Japan History of Japanses Motor Cars / Automobiles 8.11 Japan  8.11.1.  The First Cars In 1898 a French Panhard-Levassor car is believed to be the first car introduced into Japan.  A sketch drawn by Georges Ferdinand Bigot, who witnessed the car being driven by a French trader on 2 February, exists.   The ten-seater, 25 hp steam-powered, Yamaba is possibly the first car made in Japan.  It was built in 1904 by Torao Yamaba to transport his large family.  One report indicates that a total of four Yamaba cars were made.   In 1907 the Automobile Trading Company produced a 1.85 litre, petrol powered, car called the Takuri. Twelve were made.  Between about 1910 and 1911 the Kunisue Automobile Works produced a 2 cylinder, 5hp Tourer car. How many? A 4 cylinder 16 hp luxury sedan was produced jointly by Kunisue and the Tokyo Motor Vehicle Works between 1911 and 1912. Not more than 50 were made. Was the car called the “Tokyo”? What cc?  A prototype car was produced by the Otha Company in 1922. Production models were produced between 1934 and1957. Models include the 736 cc Phaeton and the 23 hp, 903 cc, Otha P.A.  How many of each were produced? Info on any others models required. Between 1924 and 1927 the Otomo car was produced by Junya Tokowawa. The car was powered by an air cooled 944 cc engine. How many, what hp?  8.11.2.  Daihatsu The Daihatsu Motor Company came into being in 1951.  The company was originally called the Hatsudoki Seizo Company which was founded in 1907 and initially produced internal combustion engines.  In 1930 the company produced a three-wheeled trike.  The first car, a three-wheeled car called the “Bee”, was built by Daihatsu in 1958.    Cooperation with Toyota started in 1967, with Toyota taking a controlling interest in 1999. Between 1963 and 1970 the company produced about 120,000 Compagno models, including a 41 hp 797 cc  sedan (1963-67), the Spider 800 cabriolet/convertible (1965-67) and a 55 hp 958 cc sedan & convertible (1965-70).  The company started production of the Charade model in 1977.   Four generations of this model were produced; the 50 hp 993 cc G10 (1977-83), the three-cylinder 1 litre G11 (1983-87), the G100 (1987-1994) and the G200 (1994-2000), including a 1.5 litre sedan version. How many Charade cars were produced? 8.11.3.  Datsun   In 1911 Masujiro Hasimoto, with the help of three investors (the first initials of their family names were D.A.T.), formed the Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works.   Note: In Japanese DAT (Datto) means “running hare” or “hare in flight”.  By 1912 he had built an experimental car which was followed in March 1914 by a prototype for the 4-cylinder 2,000 cc DAT 31; a model that was produced in 1915. Did production of the 31 cease in 1916? The five-seater, 15 hp (11kW) 4-cylinder 2,300 cc, DAT 41 model was launched in 1916 and remained in production until 1925. Was a 20 hp version also available? How many made?  The 31 and 41 models were hand made; only the magneto, wheels and tyres were not made in Japan. The name was changed to Kwaishinsha Motorcar Company in 1918, and then, in 1925, to DAT Motorcar Co. Note: One report states that Kwaishinsha Motors changed their name in 1917 to DAT Motor Vehicle Co.  In 1923, the year the big earthquake struck Japan, the company produced the Type 51 Torpedo model. Were they made until 1926? How many? What engine size, etc? Car production ceased in 1926 when the DAT Motorcar Company merged with Jitsuyo Jidosha Seizo to form the DAT Automobile Manufacturing Company. See Section 8.11.6 (Jitsuyo Jidosha Seizo).  Note: Jitsuyo Jidosha Co., Ltd. was established in 1919 to manufacture cars designed by the American engineer William Gorham.   In 1931 the DAT Company built a two-seater car, the Type 10, which was smaller than their previous Type 51 Torpedo model, calling it “Datson” (son of DAT).   It had a 495cc 10hp 4 cylinder engine.  A four-seater version, the Type 11, was also produced in 1931.  How many Type 10 and 11 models were made and between which dates? These two models, which came in three body styles; roadster, tourer and sedan, had a top speed of 35mph (56km/h). Production of the Phaeton model began in 1932.  It had a 495cc 10hp 4 cylinder engine. By 1934 Nissan had taken over the company and, because “son” can also mean “loss” in Japanese, changed the name to Datsun.   See Section 8.11.9 (Nissan).  8.11.4.  Honda The Honda Motor Company was formed in 1948 by Soichiro Honda to produce motorcycles. In June 1963 Honda produced their first four-wheeled vehicle, the T360, a small 356 cc pick-up truck. The 531 cc S500 sports car was Honda’s first production car and 1,363 were made from October 1963 to September 1964. The car weighed only 1,500 lb (680 kg) and had a top speed of 80 mph (129 kph). The S360 roadster model was developed in 1962 but it did not enter production. The small front wheel drive, 354 cc, 2-door sedan Honda N360 was produced from March 1967 to 1970.  In 1969 the company introduced the more powerful 599 cc N600, the first Honda car to be officially imported into the United States. The N600 had a top speed of 81 mph (130 kph) and was produced until 1972. A N1300 model was also available from 1968 until 1972. In July 1972 Honda introduced the Civic as a two-door coupe, followed by a three-door hatchback two months later. Both versions had a 1,169 cc transverse engine and front-wheel drive. By 1979 a 4-door sedan and 5-door hatchback version were available. By 2005 over 16.5 million Honda Civics had been produced. The world’s sixth best selling car. The eighth generation Honda Civic was introduced in 2006, with engines of up to 2 litres available. The Accord model was first produced by Honda in 1976 as a 68 hp two-door hatchback, with a four-door sedan added in 1979. The third generation sedan models produced between 1985 and 1989 included the striking “flip-up" headlights. In 2002 Honda introduced the seventh generation Accord offering a 4-door sedan and a 2-door coupe, with 2.4 and 3.0 litre engines. In addition to Japan, the Accord has been manufactured in China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand and the United States (where it was the top selling Japanese car from 1982 to 1997). In 1986, Honda started production of the 151 hp Acura Legend. This was followed in 1987 by the Prelude, the first passenger car in the world equipped with four-wheel steering technology. Models produced in 2007 include the Jazz, CR-V, FR-V, Civic, Accord, Fit, Odyssey and the S2000. 8.11.5.   Isuzu In 1918 the Ishikawajima Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. started building British Wolseley cars under licence, producing the first car, the A9 model, in 1922.  By 1933 the company’s name had changed to Automobile Industries Co., later producing the Sumida and Chiyoda cars. When were these two cars made?  Info on them required, hp, max speed, etc.  The company’s name was changed to Isuzu in 1949. From 1953 to (When? 1963?) Isuzu assembled the British Hillman Minx car.  Between 1963 and 1973 the company produced a car of their own design; the Bellet sedan, plus the 2-door GT coup version which was launched in 1964. 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8 & 2.0 litre engines were available.   170,737 Bellet models were produced. Check this total. The Bellet was replaced by the 4-door Florian model in 1967. By 1983, when production ended, 145,836 had been manufactured.  From 1974 to 2000 five generations of the Gemini range of cars were produced and sold under a variety of names, including Domani, Impulse, I-Mark, Piazza, Sunburst, Spectrum, Stylus, in several different countries.  Production of the Aska model started in 1983 and ended in 2002 when Isuzu ceased producing cars. In 2003 the company produced 16 million diesel engines.  8.11.6.  Jitsuyo Jidosha Seizo In 1918 William Gorham, an American, designed an 880 cc 7.2 hp (5.4 kW), two-cylinder three-wheeler. The prototype was produced in 1918. The Jitsuyo Jidosha Seizo Company was established in 1919 to manufacture Gorham’s three-wheeled cars, production of which started in 1920. How many were built and for how long? Till 1922? Using the same 880 cc engine, a four-wheeler version was produced between 1922 and 1923. The “Gorham 4-Wheeler” used a tiller steering system. The car’s name was changed to “Lila” in about 1923. How many were built?   Gorham’s wife was called Lila. In 1923 the company produced the Lila JC model. It was fitted with a four-cylinder, air cooled, 850 cc 10 hp (7.5 kW) engine. How many were built and for how long? Until 1926? A four door (1924) and a roadster version (when?) that used the JC model’s chassis and 850 cc engine were also produced. How many of each type were built and for how long? Until 1926?  The Jitsuyo Jidosha Seizo Company merged with the DAT Motorcar Company in 1926 to form the DAT Automobile Manufacturing Company.   See Section 8.11.3 (Datsun).   8.11.7.  Mazda   In 1960 the Toyo Koygo Company produced its first car, an 836 lb, 380 kg lightweight “keicar” called the Mazda R360. The 16 hp (12 kW) 356 cc two-seater car had a top speed of about 52 mph (84 kph). The car was produced over a 6 year period.  A four seater version was introduced in 1962 followed by a convertible in 1964.  During the 1960s the company launched five further cars, including the Cosmo Sports, 110S model. A total of 1,519 of these hand made 110S cars were produced from 1967 to 1972.   It was the first car to be fitted with a 2-rotor Wankel rotary engine.  Three further generations of cars bearing the Cosmo name were also produced by the company between 1975-80, 1981-90 and 1990-95.    By 1963 the company had produced its one millionth vehicle (cars & trucks) and its five millionth by 1972. During the 1970s twelve different car models were launched, followed by a further 12 during the 1980s and 15 in the 1990s.   In 1984 the company changed its name to the Mazda Motor Corporation.  Between 1978 and 2002 Mazda produced a sports car called the RX-7. A total of 811,634 of these cars, which were fitted with the Wankel rotary engine, were produced.   A 3-rotor Wankel engine, capable of producing 550 hp (410 kW), could be fitted to the third Generation RX-7 1992-2002 models in place of the standard 2-rotor engine.   The third generation RX-7 model had a top speed of over 200 mph (320 kph).  Cars produced in 2008 include the Mazda 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, Verisa, MX-5, MX-7, rotary engined RX-8 and the RX-9. 8.11.8.  Mitsubishi  In 1917 the Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Company produced the seven-seater, 35 hp (26 kW) 2.8 litre, Model A. The car had a top speed of 20 mph (32 kph).   By 1922, when production ceased, 22 of these hand built cars, which were based on Fiat’s Tipo 3 model, had been built.   The first motor vehicle diesel engine developed in Japan, the 6.7 litre 69 hp (51 kW) 450AD model, was produced by the company in 1931. 450AD or 445AD?   In 1934 the company, now renamed Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, started development of the PX33, a prototype 4-wheel drive sedan for military use.    Four models were built, plus a version under development that was being fitted with the 450AD diesel engine when the project was cancelled in 1937.  From 1951 to 1954 Mitsubishi’s regional East Japan Heavy-Industries Company imported Kaiser Motor’s Henry J model.   The American car, which was supplied in kit form, had a 68 hp (51 kW) engine. Or was it 80 hp?  Between 1960 and 1965 Mitsubishi produced the 500 model (1960), the two-stroke 359 cc, front engine Minica kei car (1962) and four Colt models, the 600 (1962), the 1000 (1963), plus the 800 and 1500 (1965).  The 20 hp (15 kW) 500 model was manufactured by Shin Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.   The 493 cc, rear-engined, vehicle was the first car produced in Japan after WW2. Production ceased in 1962.  The Mitsubishi Motors Corporation was formed on 22 April 1970.   More recent Colt models include the Plus (2004), C2C (2005), Ralliant Version-R (2005) and in 2006, the MIEV, which used electric motors at each wheel.  The first in a range of Galant cars was produced from 1969 to 1973. In 1971 they became the first Mitsubishi cars to be sold in the United States where they were called the ‘Dodge Colt’.  A ninth generation Galant, which was also called the Grunder, was launched in 2004.  In 1998 the company introduced the seventh generation, 657 cc, Minica kei car. A 5-door hatchback model, the 659 cc Mitsubishi “i,” was launched in 2006.  In addition to Japan, Mitsubishi vehicles have been manufactured in Australia, Netherlands, Philippines, Thailand and the United States.    8.11.9.  Nissan  In 1928, Yoshisuke Aikawa formed Nippon Industries, which during the early 1930s became abbreviated to “Nissan”.   In 1931, Aikawa gained control of DAT Motors and in 1933 Nissan’s Tobata Casting's automobile parts department was merged with DAT Motors.   On 1 June 1934 a new subsidiary of Tobata Castings was established which was called the Nissan Motor Company. Datsun models produced between 1935 and 1937 include the 722 cc 14 hp Type 14 (1935), the 722 cc 16 hp Type 15 Phaeton and Type 16 (1936) and the 17 hp Type 17 (1937).  The Type 14, 15 and 16 models had a top speed of 80 mph (128 kph).  The 3,600 cc 85 hp Nissan 70, an American Graham-Paige car built under licence, was produced in 1937.  In 1942 the company produced the 1,468 cc 35 hp Nissan 50.   In 1937 Nissan produced 15,000 cars.   By 1938 the company were producing the Model 70 Phaeton.     In 1947 the Datsun DA model was the first car produced by Nissan after WW2. It used the same engine as the pre-war Datsun Type 17.   Datsun models produced in the early 1950s include the 860cc 20hp DB Deluxe (1951), the DB-2 Thrift Sedan (1952) which was a 4 door version of the DB Deluxe and the Deluxe (1954).  In 1955 they started production of the 2-door A 110 model. A 4-door version was sold as the Convar.  The 1,498 cc Datsun/Austin Cambridge A50 was produced in 1956.  In 1966 Nissan merged with the Prince Motor Company (see Section 8.11.10). Production of Prince’s existing Skyline and Gloria range of cars continued.      Peak production of the Skyline model was between 1972 and 1977, when over 670,500 were made. Production of the twelvth generation Skyline started in 2006; the 4-door V36 sedan. The first Nissan Cedric, the "30" series, was produced between 1960 and 1961. It had a 1488 cc engine, with an optional 1,883 cc version.  The Cedric name was dropped from most of the 230 series export versions that were produced from 1971 to 1975, the exported car being called the 200C, 220C, 240C, 260C, and Gloria.   The Cedric series came to an end in 2004, replaced by the Nissan Fuga.  In 1966 Nissan launched the Sunny series, which was exported as the Datsun 1000. Two body styles were available, a two-door sedan (B10) and a van/station wagon (VB10).   A second generation Sunny, also known as the Datsun 1200, was launched in 1970. A station wagon and a coupe version were added to the range.  Later versions were called the Tsuru in Mexico and the Sentra in the United States. The Sunny name has also been used on other models, such as the export version of the Nissan Pulsar.  Production of the 2,393 cc 240Z model began in 1969; a car that had a top speed of 125 mph (200 kph). Nearly 173,000 had been made when production ceased in 1973.  Nissan ceased using the Datsun name in 1983.  By 2006 Nissan had produced nearly 16.5 million vehicles carrying the Sunny name. The Sunny model was still being produced for the African and American markets in 2006. Production for the Japanese market ended in 2004, the Sunny being replaced by the Nissan Tiida.  Other cars produced by Nissan include the Micra/March, Bluebird, Primera, Altima and Almera. See Section 8.11.3 (Datsun)  8.11.10.  Prince Motor Company Shortly after the end of WW2 the Nakaima and Tachikawa Aircraft Companies were merged to become part of the large Fuji Sangyo organisation. In about 1947 Fuji Sangyo decided to develop an electric car which became known as the “Tama”. Note: In Japanese ‘Tama’ means ghost, spirit, soul.   Production started sometime between 1949 and 1952. Exactly when? Three versions of the Tama were produced; the E4S-47 and the “Junior” (both 4-seaters) and the 5-seater “Senior”.  The car, which weighed 2,425 lbs (1,102 kilos) used lead acid batteries, had a range of about 60 miles (96 klm) and a top speed of 22 mph (35 kph). Double check these figures.     In 1950 Fuji Sangyo was re-organised into 12 smaller parts; one being the Fuji Precision Machine Company (FPMC).  Two years later, in 1952, the Tama Motors Company was formed as part of FPMC. In 1955 it was renamed the Prince Motor Company and production of the Tama ceased. Did production of the Tama end in 1955?   The company started to develop a petrol powered car in about 1955.  The 1,482 cc, 60 hp (45 kW), Skyline ALS1-1 model was introduced in April 1957. Both coupe and sedan versions were available. Between 1957 and 1963 nearly 34,000 were made.    A second generation Skyline model, the 70 hp S50 was produced from 1963 to 1967, when it was replaced by the 88 hp, 1500 cc S57.   In 1961 the company introduced the BLSIP-2 series Prince Gloria model. The 1.9 litre, 80 hp (60 kW) car was a luxury version of the Skyline. Production ended in 1962.  The S40-E Series Gloria was produced between 1961 and 1966. It was the first Prince car to be fitted with a 6-cylinder engine. A 2.5 litre version, the S41 was also produced. In 1966 the Prince Motor Company merged with the Nissan Motor Company.   See Section 8.11.9 (Nissan)   8.11.11.  Suzuki   In 1909 Michio Suzuki founded the Suzuki Loom Company.  Between 1937 and 1939 the company produced several 13 hp (9.7 kW) prototype cars. These compact, less than 800 cc, cars were fitted with a then advanced liquid cooled 4-stroke, 4-cylinder engine.  The name Suzuki Motor Company was adopted in 1954.  The company produced its first production car, the front-wheel 360 cc, 2-stroke Suzulight model in 1955. When did production cease? How many made?  A model called the Cervo, also called the SC100 and Whizzkid, was produced from 1977 to 1982.   The company manufactured their first Alto kei car in 1979. The 1,061 cc 62 hp (46 kW) model, which had a top speed of 94 mph (150 kph), was produced until 1984.  Other versions include the 796 cc  Mk II, which was marketed in Europe as the SB308 Alto, and the turbocharged 660 cc  Alto Works, RS-X and RS-R.  The Alto has been produced in India by Maruti Udyog (Maruti 800, Alto and Zen), in Pakistan by Pak Suzuki (800 cc Mehran and 1,000 cc Alto) and in China by the Jiangnan Automobile Corporation (Mk II Suzuki Alto SB308). By 2001 four million Alto cars had been made.  In 1983 the company introduced the Cultus model. The car was originally supplied with either a 993 cc or 1,324 cc engine.