A Chevy TV commercial? There’s something you don’t see everyday!!

I saw a TV commercial yesterday for a 「シボレー」 (“Chrevolet“) car.
It was a car called the 「シボレー・ソニック」 (“Chrevolet Sonic“).

This may seem like nothing unusual to you…especially if you live in America, where TV commercials for American cars are quite common.

But I realized, after seeing that commercial, that I don’t recall having seen an ad for any foreign (ie: not Japanese) cars, until now, since I came to Japan in 1990.

I realized that every advertisement I’ve seen in Japan for automobiles or electronics (Japan’s two biggest industries) have all been for Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba and other Japanese companies.

Almost every car and motorcycle on the road in Japan is Japanese. Sometimes wealthy people buy a foreign car as a kind of “status symbol”…normally it’ll be an Italian or German car that they choose.
Also, close to every single electronic product sold in Japan is made by a Japanese company. Products made by American companies such as Kodak, Polaroid or Zenith aren’t normally found in Japan. Do those companies even exist anymore?

Here’s the commercial for the 「シボレー・ソニック」 (“Chevrolet Sonic“) that I saw on TV:

Do you see many TV commercials for foreign companies in your country? Are American products popular in your country? Have you ever seen a Chevy “Sonic”?

Walkman is more popular than I-pod in Japan

In Japan, the Sony Walkman® MP3 player has begun selling more units than the I-pod®.

Consumers in Japan feel that the sound quality of the Walkman is superior to that of the I-pod.
Also, the Walkman‘s headphones are more comfortable and offer better sound.

Many people feel that the software to upload files to the Walkman is easier to use than the I-pod‘s software.

And finally, the battery in the Walkman charges faster and the charge lasts much longer than the battery in the I-pod.

I have a Sony Walkman® MP3 player and so does my oldest daughter. My younger two daughters have the I-pod® players.
And I agree with all of the points above. The Walkman is better!
(Also, I know many people think that the I-pod looks cool…but I like the design of the Walkman MP-3 player better. The I-pod looks weak, but the Walkman looks tough, in my opinion.)

Sony Walkman MP3 players

Apple I-pod MP3 players

Which do you have? Walkman or I-pod? Why did you choose that one?
Have you tried both? Which is better, in your opinion?

(By the way, on this subject, I wrote a post last July about an English boy who traded his I-pod to try out an “old-school” 1979 style Walkman. Click here to see it).

Walkman

Okonomibloggy has a blog-post with a link to a BBC story about a thirteen-year-old boy who traded his I-pod for a old-school 1980’s style cassette-player Walkman for a week.

The original "Walkman" (1979)

It was an amusing read.

The article mentioned that the Sony Walkman was turning thirty years old soon.

The original "Walkman" logo (1979)

The current "Walkman" logo.

I looked online and it turns out that today (2009 July 1) is the 30th anniversary of the release of the first Sony Walkman.
The first Walkman went on sale on 1979 July 1.

I didn’t have a Walkman in 1979. I got my first one in the mid-1980’s when I was in high school.
It was the most current version…but an antique by today’s standards.
And compared to the modern Walkman, it was as big and heavy as a brick. But back in the ’80s, it was the coolest thing. And it was considered small and light.

Compared to my current Walkman (I use a Sony Walkman MP3 player now…not an I-pod) which can hold my entire CD collection in it’s memory, the one I had in the ’80s played cassette tapes…which are crap, but back in the ’80s they were the most modern medium for music storage.

Did you have one of the “brick” Walkman cassette players back in the ’80s?
Do you have a Walkman now?

I have this type of "Walkman" MP3 player now. It's small and light, but...

Sony's newest "Walkman" is smaller and lighter!