Amazing New Japanese Technology for Auto Designs

American & European Auto Makers
Could be Left Further Behind

Boyé Lafayette De Mente

In boxing terms, American automobile manufacturers are now on the ropes and unless they can get their act together they could soon be on the canvas. New technology developed by Japan’s Ichikoh Industries Ltd., now makes it possible to eliminate side mirrors—allowing for a fundamental breakthrough in the exterior design of automobiles.

This new technology will make automobiles more aerodynamic and much safer than president-day cars, and given the philosophy and management practices of Toyota and other Japanese auto manufacturers they will be the first to have this new technology on the road.

Japan’s automobile designers have long wanted to have an alternative to side mirrors that would give them more freedom in the exterior design of cars, prompting Ichikoh Industries, a primary supplier of side mirrors, to come up with a substitute based on charge-couple-device (CCD) cameras and radar devices.

The company’s prototype vehicle using the new technology has a monitor inside the car built into the dashboard that gives the driver a 360-degree view around the vehicle—back, front and sides, day or night, and in all kinds of weather.

One of the most impressive features of the new system is that unlike mirrors which show only line-of-sight views, its cameras and infrared sensors lets the driver see areas around the car that are blind spots on present designs.

Ichikoh predicts that as soon as the first cars featuring the new interior view monitors appear on the market they will take off like a flash—leaving any car maker who still uses side mirrors far behind.

Another piece of high-tech pioneered by Toyota that is changing the basic design of cars is the use of LEDs in their headlights rather than the conventional system that requires the light source to be located at least 30 centimeters behind the headlight lens.

LEDs can be closer than 10 centimeters from the headlight lens, meaning there are many new options as to their shape and where they can be placed. One prototype created by Toyota’s headlight supplier (Koito Manufacturing), runs along the side of the hood of the car and is shaped like a samurai sword.

Another break-through in the basic design of cars that is planned by Toyota: small fuel cells and motors built into the wheels of cars.
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Copyright © 2007 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente
See the author’s website, www.phoenixbookspublishers.com, for a list and descriptions of his 30-plus pioneer books on Japanese business practices, culture and language. All of his books are available from Amazon.com, other online booksellers and retail bookstore chains.

The “Secrets” of Why Toyota is Now the World’s Leading Auto Maker!

The Five Keys
That Make the Difference!

Boyé Lafayette De Mente

There is a fundamental and dramatic difference between the way Japanese and American automobile companies are managed—and the difference is a cultural thing that Americans may recognize but cannot duplicate because the American mind is wired differently than that of the Japanese.

The Japanese are culturally programmed to do the best they can do in everything they set out to do. This motivation is a personal, individual, private thing that is part of their national character.

Americans, on the other hand, are not driven by their culture to strive for excellence in everything they do. They are driven by a number of often conflicting factors, including doing just enough that whatever they are working on will get out of the factory and into the marketplace, just enough to please their superiors, just enough to keep their jobs—and in some cases enough to win promotions, and so on.

In other words, the motivation of most American employees of automobile companies—including top-level management—is more of an emotional response that varies with their own personal circumstances. More often than not, their primary commitment is to themselves.

In contrast to this “American way,” the managers and employees of Japanese automobile companies are dedicated to doing the very best they can for themselves as individuals in order to avoid loss of their own face, to avoid bringing down the competence level of their group and embarrassing everyone, to ensure the survival and success of their company, and to uphold the honor of Japan. This results in team-work from top to bottom.

Putting this in what might be called trade jargon, managers and employees in Japanese automobile companies are committed to making product design information available across the board, to optimizing design information in product development, to maximizing the transfer of product information to the manufacturing process, and maintaining the integrity of the information throughout the process.

Finally, there are five keys to the implementation of kaizen (kigh-zen), the now famous Japanese concept of “continuous improvement.”

These five keys are: enforced detection of problems, the delegation of authority to the workplace; the standardizing of all tools; taking instant action to totally remedy any problem encountered; and immediately integrating all of the resulting incremental improvements into the overall manufacturing process.

Incredibly, all of the character traits that distinguish Japanese managers and employees of Toyota and other companies is often little more than the intelligent application of common sense—something that often seems to be beyond the understanding and grasp of Americans.

Copyright © 2007 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente
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The kaizen concept was originally introduced to the West by the author in his book, Japanese Etiquette & Ethics in Business, published in 1959 (and still in print in its 7th edition). To see a list and description of the author's 60-plus books go to his personal website: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/.