No wonder no-one's buying any cars...

We have survived here without a car for almost a year and a half now thanks to three factors:

1. Public transport is great here. Buses are almost always on time, trains to Tokyo frequent and cheap (about ¥690 to get to Tokyo, 40km away, - about four pounds).
2. We work from home, so a car really is not vital.
3. We've got no money anyway.

Even if I weren't worried about the cost of running a car, or the fact our garage roof is so low we would have trouble squeezing a priest's mini in there, you could add a fourth factor: car names in Japan are just too darned silly. You can imagine the debate at Toyota central:

Hmmm. Our gas-guzzler is a bit boxy, wish it were foxy. I know, let's combine the words...

  

But it's not a patch on Daihatsu's attempt to reclaim some sex appeal for its otherwise unappealing box on wheels: