What does the situation in Japan mean for Japanese cars?

I see this Q has basically been asked by @john65pennington

Most Japanese cars for the export market are actually not made in Japan. Even the parts aren’t made in Japan. They’re all made in the US and in Europe. One of the biggest car manufacturers in the UK is Nissan. My guess is that there will be no effect at all beyond scared shareholders selling shares for no reason but irrational fear.

If the power gets turned back on at the plants soon, it will have little impact on the market in this country.

It means short term the Japanese may actually import Toyotas from the USA, until their manufacturing base is restored.

According to Automotive News, about 2,300 Nissan and Infiniti vehicles awaiting export to the US were wiped out. So, it could make those vehicles a lot harder to come by in the near future. If I remember correctly, the models were the 370z, M, EX, and FX

I bet American dealers of Japanese cars will provide some sort of documentation regarding their radioactivety.
Certified non radioactive, or something like that.

Japanese cars????

It totally depends on how quickly the Japanese auto industry can get up & running again, in relation to existing inventories of cars and parts already in the U.S. & other world markets.

@Adagio ur right too soon to worry about cars before people!

Holy moley. The worst disaster in Japanese history since WW2 and you’re worried about some irrational fear of radioactivity? You’re not really, though, are you…

I read today that people on the West Coast of the US are buying Potassium Iodine pills because they think the radiation is going to reach them. What a pack of idiots…. sorry, but that is just some of the dumbest scaremongering, profiteering BS I’ve heard in a long time.

@cazzie…except for the fact that some of the radioactive particles have made it to California. So far no significant ammounts or anything to worry about, but the possibility is there for more.

Shortage of made-in-Japan cars, that’s all.

@incendiary_dan where did you hear THAT morsel of news?

@cazzie I can’t remember the first source I read, and since the work computer here blocks Facebook it might take me some time to look up the specific article. Luckily, I was able to find others.

@incendiary_dan There was/is more radiation from the Hanford Washington over decades and it’s STILL a mess. People are looking in the wrong direction if they want to be truly afraid of something worth a bit of hysteria. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. People are stupid.

@cazzie Oh yea, and not to mention the fact that governments have been covering up nuclear meltdowns for fifty years to protect the nuclear industry, including a huge one in California. Add to that the fact that there’s been a number of near misses and one plant ran with safety devices disabled for months. Japan might send some little bits of radiation, but we definitely have to look closer to home.

I have some friends over there. I received an email to tell me they were safe and were only affected by the earthquake and not the tsunami or the radiation. I offered help but have not received a reply, I hope that they are just too busy to reply; not that things have gotten worse.

Just heard something about numerous auto plants in Germany and elsewhere shutting down because they wouldn’t be able to get enough parts produced only in Japan.