Tokyo Auto Salon: Small Car, BIG Sound

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Sound Quality is a small specialty store in Chiba, across Tokyo Bay. They equipped a small Smart with sound so big that you can hear it on Ginza when they turn it on in Chiba.

This is a non-exhaustive sampling of the rear sub-woofers There are more elsewhere. They take up so much room that the carlet turned into a Smart for1.

And smart it is. We count six flat screens. The one in the steering wheel hopefully switches automatically from portrait to landscape.

Did we mention that there are more sub-woofers elsewhere?

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Bumpy ii Bumpy ii on Jan 12, 2013

    Interesting they started with a 450 instead of a 451. The 450 was imported as a kei car, so I suppose they're easier to find there.

  • Panzerfaust Panzerfaust on Jan 12, 2013

    They might want to turn this over to a local medical university for research purposes. I think you might be able to use this to ultrasonically destroy gallstones, kidneystones and clean the plaque off your teath-simultaneously, whilst listing to your favorite tunes.

  • Ede65792611 Got one. It was my Dad's and now has 132K on it. I pay my Mercedes guy zillions of dollars to keep it going. But, I do, and he does and it's an excellent vehicle. I've put in the full Android panel for BT handsfree and streaming with a backup cam.
  • Lou_BC Wow. People say they want sedans and there should be more of them. Goes to show that internet warriors do not accurately represent the desires of the general population. What do people buy? Pickups and CUV'S. Top 10:1. F Series2. Silverado3. Ram4. Toyota Rav45. Model Y Tesla6. Honda CRV7. Sierra8. Toyota Camry9. Nissan Rogue10. Jeep Grand Cherokee Only 2 sedans.#5 Is a sedan and an EV#8 The ubiquitous Camry The only way to resurrect the sedan is by banning crewcab pickups.
  • 1995 SC PA is concerning, but if it spent most of its life elsewhere and was someone's baby up there and isn't rusty it seems fairly priced.
  • CanadaCraig I don't see ANY large 'cheap' cars on the market. And I'm saying there should be.
  • 1995 SC I never cared for the fins and over the top bodies on these, but man give me that interior all day. I love it
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