I was born in 1984. I always remember Japanese products especially electronics as being of the highest quality. My parents did so also, but they remember that, once it was not so, My grandparents OTH, still had that mentality.
So, when did the perception change and what caused it.
In the mid-1970s, after Pentax cameras had taken over the mass market for photography, thanks to lower prices *and *dependability, there were a couple of photographic products I came across that were made in Germany but had Japanese-sounding names, to imply quality I presumed. It was so long ago I don’t recall what they were, but I remember finding it funny.
for low-end sedans, i say it was the 1989 toyota corolla. sub-compacts by datsun and other makers surpassed the VW beetle in terms of economy and lower basic price in the early 70s.
When I was a kid (1970s), “made in Japan” = “cheap” still seemed to be a commonly-held perception (I remember cheap toys still coming from there), but, by the late 1970s, I think it was clearly (and rapidly) on the decline.
By the 1980s, Japanese cars and electronics were clearly superior in quality, and there was a lot of angst in the business press about how “Japan, Inc.” was going to take over the world, economically – by then, I was in business school, and it was a very common topic.
it also depended on what type of product and the company. electronics became good products before other types of items.
Some products are still considered inferior. They have yet to manufacture a full size pickup that rivals domestic models.
I would say it was before 1989. I remember my brother trying to buy a new 4th generation (79-83) Corolla in the early 80s. It was already viewed as the best sub-compact for sale in America. Sales were so strong, you had to pre-order one six months in advance.
DX aficionados believe that 1970s-era Japanese radios, especially those from Panasonic, Toshiba and Sony, were among the best ever made. It was around that time that the manufacturing of off-brand radios shifted from Japan to Hong Kong and Taiwan.
An exact date? I’d go with 1976. Sure, patriotism in the US was running high thanks to the Bicentennial, but the nation had just gotten over the energy crisis, and there was an economic funk that had started tears earlier. Bicentennial Minutes and omnipresent patriotic displays couldn’t overcome a growing mood of pessimism. Thanks to the lousy cars that continued to roll off of Detroit assembly lines, the poor quality of American-made cars tainted the reputation of other products made in the States, even if they were otherwise durable and reliable.
1976 was also the time you started to see demonstrations that involved sledgehammering Japanese cars. This probably wouldn’t have taken place if they weren’t seen as a serious threat. Driving a Volkswagen, Renault or Volvo in the Rust Belt was no big deal, but those who owned Japanese vehicles often faced a bit of open hostility.
The improvement of the quality of Japanese products didn’t just happen. It was part of a national movement. It wasn’t just one company and then another improving quality. The Japanese knew that their products were viewed as inferior and did something about it.
Here’s a couple of sites from my limited Googlefoo:
http://www.wtec.org/loyola/ep/c6s1.htm
The movement towards improved quality started in the '50 but in 1970 the Japanese Society for Quality Control (JSQC) was founded.
By the late 50s early 60s, Nikon and Canon had forged a fairly respectable reputation in 35mm photography. Nikon first with their lenses to fit other (German) cameras, then Nikon and Canon both with their camera systems. Innovations in the SLR field in the 60s and 70s came rapid fire from several Japanese companies. Many features were either first introduced by Japanese camera companies, or first implemented in a major way in consumer and pro level products. Even NASA and the US Navy were using Japanese photo equipment by this time (70s) along with other European photo products.
Lower end Japanese photographic products, tho, were apparently still somewhat hit or miss even into the 70s. Sometimes not due to being an inferior product, but due to poor quality control issues. And, just like Iron Curtain photo stuff, sometimes fit and finish in these lesser brands was mediocre.
All of this post is IMHO, so YMMV.
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Gung Ho, a movie about the culture clash that occurs when a Japanese company buys a US auto plant, came out in 1986. This would indicate that anxiety about encroaching Japanese economic power had established itself in the zeitgeist by then.
In the early to mid 1960’s, “made in Japan” was synonymous with “shite”. It is remarkable that by the end of the decade, let’s say 1970, I remember quite clearly that Japanese stereo equipment (think Pioneer, Sony, Hitachi, and Panasonic a bit later) was clearly superior to comparable US (and Canadian) made stuff of a similar price. By 1974, it was also becoming clear that Japanese cars, unlike their American counterparts, were highly reliable, not to mention good on fuel economy and fun to drive. Honda, Datsun (sic), and Toyota became household names seemingly overnight. The rest is history.
I think that the patriotism has a lot to do with the perception of quality of the Japanese products in the beginning. We have to take into account the the '50’s and '60s were really not that long after World War II. The fighting was bitter and the Japanese were especially brutal towards our troops. I think that even if Japanese companies made the best products in the world it wouldn’t have mattered much in that time to the majority of American consumers. It took a few decades before the hatred subsided (still hasn’t in some of the WWII generation). I think that the products from Japan started getting good in the early '70s. Maybe not the best, but much better. However we as Americans didn’t start embracing Japanese products until the mid to late '80s.
It is interesting because you can see almost a mirror thing happening with Korean car manufacturers now. Looks at Hyundai and Kia. When the Hyandai’s came out in the mid '80s they were pretty much considered junk. The cheapest and worst quality car you could purchase. It was almost an embarrassment to own one. I remember the other day looking at a new Hyundai sedan in traffic next to us and commenting to my wife how nice that car looked and I couldn’t believe how far Hyundai had come.
For cars, I would peg the perception in the late 80s. Part of this was because perception lags reality, and also partly because in the 80s, despite Japanese cars being, generally, pretty high quality, they were pretty bare-bones. They were more likely to be compacts without luxury items. Because of this, it took people longer to realize that the bare-bones Honda was lasting 200K miles with few problems while the luxurious Cadillac was breaking regularly after 40K.
When I was in high school in 1984 I remember my friend referring to the new car his mother had purchased as “Jap-crap”, and being a little offended by the term, but not at all by the concept behind it (that the car was a piece of junk). I am sure that there were plenty of people who knew more about cars that a punk high school student in 1984 and who knew that Japanese cars were well-made, but I think the majority felt more like me.
Almost. Nothing surpassed the Yugo in terms of pure crap, which came onto the American market almost coincidental with the Hyundai.
I’d say the invention of the transistor had a lot to do with it. Tube equipment was heavy and bulky, so expensive to ship, and you also needed a ready supply of spare tubes for when they wore out. Thus, the Japanese couldn’t make much dent in the electronics market unless it was at the very bottom end. Once the transistor came on the scene, you could make much lighter compact electronics, and you didn’t need to worry where to get spare tubes.
“Uh… what are you doing?”
“I’m FREAKING OUT”
Nevertheless, the movie was based on real events that happened at a factory called NUMMI in California, when Toyota, in partnership with GM moved in to the worst-performing factory in the country, fired everyone, hired back everyone who wanted to work under a new agreement, and operated the factory according to Japanese manufacturing principles. Toyota took what they learned there about the American workforce, and made themselves into a sucessful assembler in the US. GM took what they learned about quality control practices and line worker empowerment, folded it up real small, and stabbed themselves in the face with it until they died.
In the This American Life episode about it, former employees are literally overcome with emotion and weep openly when they talk about how the Japanese takeover changed their lives.
Thanks Kevbo, just when I though I erased the image of that rattle trap from my mind. I forgot about the Yugo, and that is an example of no matter how much you wish it was a good product, it never will be.
For me it was the early 70’s. Specifically: cars, cameras, and pianos (which I was servicing for a dealer who sold domestic and imported pianos.) .
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I know in 1980 I heard friends of the family speak glowingly not only of the quality of their Japanese cars but of the service they got for them.
I think it was 1984 when I heard the (probably apocryphal) story of an American company ordering computer chips from a Japanese manufacturer. The American company, ordering from a Japanese company for the first time, placed their standard order which noted no more than 1% of the chips could be defective. The Japanese company shipped the chips with a note saying, “We don’t understand why you want defective chips included in this order. However, since you want them we packaged them separately for your convenience.”