[SEL] More about Japanese engines

[William Young]

ロブ毛皮商人     Rob-san, Your kanji is improving, hourly.You mentioned the improvements made by Japanese engine manufacturers.  Here are my guesses, starting with an old proverb:1) You invent it; the Japanese will copy it and improve it.2)  The Japanese M.O. is, and may always have been, planned obsolescence.  Therefore, most of the earlier productions were produced with a built-in death sentence.  A better engine came along, sayonara to the old.  Today's manufactures are required to supply parts for a limited time only, 7 years, I'm told.3)  A third factor was the Pacific War ( which we call WW II. )The Japanese war machine had an appetite equal to today's sushiset.   Now, we collectors here consider any pre-WW II engine a genuine, desirable artifact.  P.S.  This planned obsolescence bit has me worried: I was born in the 15 year of Emperor Taisho's reign.