College Students Drive Japanese Cars - Research Paper Example

College Drive Japanese Cars Japan’s automobile industry is one of the well developed and stable industries in the country as it enjoys the vast percentage of the exports. The products are used both locally and internationally. This has made Japanese car brands one of the most common of all brands around the globe. This paper narrows down on the particular observation that many college students tend to drive Japanese cars. However, this does not mean that these cars are only driven by students. Other groups of people still drive the Japanese cars but in our case we will focus on students who drive such cars. There are several determinants that contribute to this trend and preference for this type of cars. The paper discusses this observation and some of the contributing factors. Introduction and Method Japan is one the technologically advanced countries in the world especially in areas of automobile. Due to this advancement, Japanese have been able to develop one of the most dominant automotive industries in the world. Recent surveys suggest that, it is one of the leading exporters of automobiles globally (Cusumano, 2013). Their products are quality ones and vary in their costs to meet the needs of people of different social status in the society. The cars range from luxurious ones to the pocket friendly and this has made them to reach a wider market unlike other countries that specialize on either luxurious cars or otherwise. Fuel efficient, affordability and ability to adapt different climatic conditions have made Japanese brands to become popular. In almost all areas of the globe you will trace a Japanese car. In this paper, two models are used to explain the observation that most student drive Japanese cars. (Japanesevehicles.com, 2015). The two factors to be discussed is the fuel effectiveness and the maintenance costs in a year. Observations are to be done on these cars in comparison with others at certain conditions that are explained in each scenario. The collected data is then interpreted and used to test the hypothesis and make conclusions. Model 1 Japanese cars are more fuel efficient compared to others from Europe and the United States of America A) According to observations, the option of affordable and fuel efficient cars has made the Japanese brand become a preference for students since they can afford to fuel (Forkson, 2014). However, this does not mean that they are of low quality or they made for low income earners. It simply indicates that the Japanese people have been able to diversify their target market and meet the particular needs. B) In this case, observations have indicated that a good percentage of college students drive Japanese cars compared to any other brand (Nelson, 2012). Most Japanese cars will use less amount of fuel over a certain mileage and under the same conditions compared to the Germans cars and the United States of America ones (Hsu, 2013). The variable that is independent in this case will be the country of origin of the car and the dependent variable will be the fuel consumption over a certain distance. The standard conditions could be the nature of the road either a highway or a certain city. C) In order to make comparisons, we need to collect some data. The model of the car is an aspect that should not be ignored. The cars should be of the same class otherwise we will get biased results. The following is a hypothetical data of this experiment. Country Average Mileage on a highway Average Fuel consumption Japan 49 1litre USA 33.2 1 litre Germany 30 1 litre Findings and Results The above data was collected from a group of people in the same environment and observation made on the performance of the different cars in terms of fuel consumption (Garcia-Alfaro & Setop, 2012). The Japanese cars were found on average to cover more distance with one litre of fuel compared to the other cars from Europe and the United States of America. There is sufficient evidence to support the claim and we accept that this makes it appealing for students who need to save the extra money and maximize on utility. If the data supported either the German or United States of America cars, we would reject our statement and conclude that Japanese cars are not fuel efficient compared to the other two. In other words, the German or USA cars are fuel efficient compared to the Japanese make. Implications 1. Similarly, people tend to buy energy saving bulbs to save on energy consumption in their homes or work places. This reduces the expenditure and the costs hence increased profits for business. 2. People will prefer to buy printers that can save more ink. Applying the same principle, college students prefer the Japanese cars because they are user friendly when it comes to fuel consumption hence affordable to them. Model 2 People tend to buy durable products. The Japanese cars are cheaper to maintain compared to their European and American counterparts. A) The other factor contributing college students to drive Japanese cars is the maintenance costs (Hsu, 2013). Most people prefer to buy durable cars to those that require constant servicing. The Japanese cars are easy to maintain and even in the case of breakdown, the spares parts are more available compared to the ones from Europe and the United States of America (Schrott, 2012). B) In order to test such a hypothesis, an experiment should be conducted. Data is collected about the Cars from the three regions, having the same climatic region, using the same road and covering the same distance. C) The table below represents a hypothetical data to test the claim. Country of origin Annual Maintenance cost Japan $2000 USA $3500 Germany $3600 Findings and Results The data indicate that it is cheaper to maintain a Japanese car compared to the others. Although the Japanese may require frequent servicing than the other two, the annual cost is less than the two (Garcia-Alfaro & Setop, 2012). The information is sufficient to support the claim. We conclude that this makes it appealing for college students as they can manage the Japanese cars. If the data was in favor of the other two, we could have rejected our statement and conclude that the other two makes are cheaper to maintain than the Japanese cars. Implications This case of durability also applies to other products. People will buy products of a country that have a reputation of being durable compared to those that will not last (Hsu & Wang, 2014). 1. For instance, people tend to buy products from the United States of America compared to Chinese ones. Though they might be expensive in the short run compared to Chinese products, in the long run they tend to be cheaper. 2. The movement made in Switzerland is more-durable than others, thus people would like to buy watch with Swiss movement. The same concept is applied in the car maintenance scenario. Even though a Japanese car owner may visit the mechanic several times in a year compared to the other two, the annual cost is actually lower. In conclusion, the two factors complement each other and make college prefer Japanese cars compared to the rest. Availability, fuel efficiency and low annual maintenance cost explain why most college students drive Japanese cars. If our data could have suggested otherwise, then we could have rejected the hypotheses that Japanese cars are fuel efficient and cheaper to maintain. Since this is not the case and there is sufficient evidence from our data to support our null hypothesis then the conclusion that most students drive Japanese cars because of the two reasons follows. Reference Cusumano, M. A. (2013). Manufacturing innovation: lessons from the Japanese auto industry. Sloan Management Review, 29. Folkson, R. (2014). Alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies for improved environmental performance: Towards zero carbon transportation Garcia-Alfaro, J., & Setop (Workshop). (2012). Data privacy management and autonomous spontaneus [sic] security: 6th International Workshop. Hsu, B. (2013). Classic Japanese performance cars: History & legacy. North Branch, MN: CarTech. Hsu, C.-H., & In Wang, S. (2014). Internet of vehicles -- technologies and services: First International Conference, IOV 2014, Beijing, China, September 1-3, 2014. Proceedings. Japanesevehicles.com, (2015). Japanese Used Cars, Quality Vehicles | TRUST Japan. Retrieved 5 June 2015, from http://www.japanesevehicles.com/ Nelson, S. (2011). Pro data backup and recovery. Berkeley, CA: Apress. Schrott, P. (2012). Analysis of the Internationalisation Strategies of German Car Companies in China: Analyse der Internationalisierungsstrategien deutscher Automobilhersteller in der Volksrepublik China. Munich: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Read More