Unfortunately, Toyota will never offer "Japan delivery" as an equivalent of what the German carmakers offer as European or Tourist Delivery. (In fact, I remember an article in the Chicago Tribune from 1994, with the following quote: "No one in their right mind would want to drive in Japan," said Lisa Weissman, assistant manager of public relations for Toyota) If you want to see how the programs work - and I'm personally a fan of factory delivery - this is a great article to read. The Complete Guide to European Delivery Programs How to Pick Up Your New Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, or Volvo in Europe, Drive on the Autobahn, and Save Money Article continues here
Mmm, it's mentioned in the brochures here in Canada too - Volvo, MB and BMW. I haven't picked up a recent Audi brochure so I'm not sure if Audi Canada offers it. I think the Volvo Canada charges $1,000 but that includes the flight and one night's stay at a nice hotel near the factory.
Yeah, a former coworker who was (is probably still is) a BMW fan talked to me about European delivery. IIRC, he said it was cheaper than buying one off the lot so I concluded that it seemed like a no-brainer and that everyone who wants such a car ought to do it, to which he concurred. I think for him, even w/the trip expenses, it was still less than buying off the lot and it sure seemed like he really enjoyed his trip to Germany. He got his BMW long before BMW Welt existed. http://priuschat.com/forums/other-cars/96351-bmw-driving-obsession-cnbc.html has a bit of footage of the Welt and their European delivery process. Thanks for the quote from the Chicago Tribune. Thanks to Google, I found the article at http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...delivery-center-customs-duties-bmw-dealership. (From having visited Japan 4x) Yeah, I don't think I'd want to drive in Japan. I don't know the road rules, can't read the Japanese road signs (some have English underneath) and they drive on the other side of the road. Driving a US-spec car (w/the steering wheel on the wrong side for Japanese roads) makes things even tougher.
I've taken the factory tour at Mercedes Sindelfingen Kundencenter (at the time, I'm not sure about now, tours were available to non-purchasers also). This tour to see how the car is made is one more reason a pickup at the factory is interesting. I believe the cars get delivered to European spec (or at least partly to European spec for things like lights, to be legal to drive there), then get converted to US spec when they're shipped home. This would be very difficult for Toyota, since in Japan they drive on the left. I don't think you'd really want to take delivery of a new car and drive it with the wheel on the "wrong" side in Japan.
Here I can speak from experience. All cars delivered via European Delivery programs (by all of the automakers mentioned in the article in Frequent Business Traveler) are completely U.S. spec. The only difference is that, at least in Germany, buyers also receive the first aid kit and warning triangle, both required items.
It is a no-brainer and when I did it (also before the BMW Welt opened, although I have been to the BMW Welt since then), it was a great experience and I too saved far more than the trip cost. Also glad you liked the Trib quote. It was rather direct and to the point.
Why do European makers do this? Do American distributors and dealers take such a huge profit that factory delivery increases the maker's profit? And why don't Japanese makers do this?
Maybe the time is right for GM to offer a similar package for Europeans who want to buy a Corvette with U.S. delivery at the factory and free shipping....Naaah that would require thinking outside the box.
It's part of buying a premium vehicle. There are plenty of things that the rest of world has that we don't get because we're not paying the extra dime for it. For example, Lexus and Mercedes will send a flatbed to your house and pick up your vehicle for routine maintenance and drop it off at your house afterwards with no extra charge. I don't know about the US but we don't get that kind of service in Canada (except MB which charges a large fee for it)
Would they actually want to buy a Corvette? Sort of on a related note, there is G.M.'s Do-It-Yourself Corvette Engine - NYTimes.com.
