Japanese Cars

CHICAGO -- Though the 1993 Mazda 626 sedan and MX-6 coupe were conceived in Japan, they'll be American citizens because 75 percent of their parts and components will bear made-in-the-U.S. labels.The cars will be built at Mazda's Michigan plant and sold in the United States, but it's the percentage of domestically supplied parts that allows them to join the same clan as Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge.The Mazdas are the first Japanese car line to be considered domestic, although Japanese companies have built cars here for years.

PRINCETON, N.J. -- A 1991 Gallup Poll of American car owners provides some insight into why sales figures released this week show that U.S. car makers continue to lose market share to other manufacturers, primarily the Japanese.While American cars score well compared with foreign cars when it comes to comfort, luxury, styling and safety, the U.S. public gives American cars much lower marks on attributes which may be particularly important during recessionary times -- economy of operation, ease of maintenance and resale value.

BERLIN -- Back when the VW Beetle ruled the roads, Germany dominated imports into the United States and Japanese cars were little more than a curiosity.Today, however, Volkswagen and other major German automakers are insignificant exporters to the United States. In recent years, in fact, they have had so much trouble unloading their wares that they sell many models at a loss -- and even have to ship some flops back across the Atlantic.Although their problems differ, Porsche, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are all at a turning point.

They Did ItEditor: Yes! Let's always remember Pearl Harbor. People like columnist Richard Reeves will someday have us believe that the Japanese never did it, as some would have us believe there never was a Holocaust. I, for one, wish Mr. Reeves could have been at Ground Zero.Gene Kuhn.Brooklyn Park.Pentagon WasteEditor: I am writing in response to the letter from Dave Reich (Oct. 22), who suggests that military spending ''works'' better than social spending.He ignores the part that economic disorder and courageous citizens played in the collapse of communism.

TOKYO -- It's tough here, too.The home market of the country that has dominated the global auto industry is mired in one of its worst slumps, with sales down 2.1 percent this year.Although Japanese carmakers almost never resort to significant price cuts or rebates, there is practically no limit to what Japanese salesmen will do to win and keep a customer.This year, they're trying to increase sales by pushing a four-poster contraption that allows one car to be parked on top of another.Prices range from $1,200 to nearly $6,000, depending on the sizes of the two cars and the sophistication of the rack's access system, which can be as simple as two removable tire ramps or as fancy as a hydraulic lift.

Kensington--The science fiction visionaries of the '40s and '50s and '60s didn't think about the planetary-scale devastation that a major space effort would cause. If they had, they would have considered the moon, instead of the earth, as the realistic base for space operations. The moon has no atmosphere to pollute, no ozone layer to perforate, no species to be driven to extinction. It is a natural space station waiting to be inhabited.Also, as space stations go -- or as they are planned in the endless studies -- the moon has the benefit of a slight gravity to keep things in place, plus enormous amounts of raw materials and unlimited cheap real estate on which to lay out acres and acres and even whole square miles of lunar-built solar panels.

THE THREAT of a Japanese-dominated automobile market is not just an American phenomenon. Allegations of unfair trade practices -- for example, when the Japanese sell minivans at below production cost to grab market share -- are not restricted to the United States. Neither is the specter of domestic auto workers being laid off because of Japanese imports.Last month, European nations debated the future of the car industry. The starting point was a report drafted by Carole Tongue, a member of the European Parliament whose district includes a British Ford automobile factory.

Washington. -- School is out. Children large and small are bringing report cards home, touting good grades as examples of their brilliance and bad ones as someone else's fault. It's either the teacher, the principal, the other children or the whole rotten school system.They have learned well. They have had their eyes and ears tuned to the voices of America and absorbed the country's utter disdain for responsibility. ''It's not my fault'' is the theme song of countless millions of people and organizations.

IN THE FIRST MONTHS of 1981, the American automobile industry, as Motor Trend magazine put it, was in the "throes of a grand pirouette." Still reeling from the 1974 oil embargo and subsequent "energy crisis," Detroit was rapidly phasing out its gas-guzzlers and replacing them with more fuel-efficient automobiles.January marked the 10th anniversary of the debut of the car that became synonymous with America's firm commitment to economy: the Chrysler K-car. Although the first Ks rolled off the assembly lines in late 1980, it was in January of 1981 that the car had its formal coming-out, making the January front covers of both Consumer Reports and Motor Trend.