Global Vehicles

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December 2002
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Tiny Daihatsu Copen has convertible hardtop

The Copen sports car is produced by Daihatsu, the compact and mini car specialist in the Toyota Group

Japanese light-motor-vehicle regulations implemented in July 1949 were indeed honorable and necessary. The Japanese people were awakened to the advent of an automotive age by the hordes of glittering Detroit products brought in by members of the U.S. Armed Forces. However, the country could not afford to direct precious resources to big-car design, which would have been out of reach for the masses anyway. The new Japanese automobile industry could not be expected to engineer and produce sophisticated cars. Light, simple cars had to be the focus of the incumbent government.

The original regulations stipulated a vehicle whose overall length must be under 3.0 m (9.8 ft), width under 1.3 m (4.3 ft), and height under 2.0 m (6.6 ft), and the engine displacement had to be less than 240 cm³. The displacement rule was revised to under 540-cm³ in 1954, thus marking the birth of the light ("kei" in Japanese; the class now is generally referred to as "K-class") vehicle segment. The first Honda to put its tiny 10-in wheels on U.S. soil was the N600, a version of the N360 light car with heftier bumpers and a bigger engine.

Light-vehicle regulations have changed over the years, mainly to ensure the segment meets ever-tightening emissions standards and crashworthiness requirements. The current rules require that the light vehicle, passenger car and commercial variety, must be no longer than 3.4 m (11.2 ft), no wider than 1.48 m (4.9 ft), and no taller than 2.0 m (6.6 ft), and engine displacement is held under 660 cm³.

The Copen's Webasto-engineered top retracts in 20 s.

Five Japanese manufacturers—Suzuki, Daihatsu, Honda, Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru), and Mitsubishi—produce light cars and commercial vehicles. Suzuki also supplies cars to be sold as Mazdas and Nissans. There are a large variety of vehicle types; the most popular in the passenger-car segment are spacious, front-wheel-drive tall boxes. Commercial vehicles, vans, and minitrucks are invariably on rear-wheel-drive platforms with engines placed under the front seats, truck bed (Honda), and in the rear overhang (Subaru).

Nissan's Carlos Ghosn recognized that the light-vehicle segment accounted for a quarter of new vehicle sales in Japan, and joined the market with a Suzuki-supplied tall-box car model. The light segment has been growing, except in one vehicle segment—two-seat sports cars, which appeared from Honda, Suzuki, and Mazda at the height of Japan's Bubble economy in the early '90s.

The light-car scene is witnessing an extraordinary renaissance. Daihatsu, the Osaka-based compact-vehicle specialist in the Toyota Group, introduced a pure two-seat roadster called Copen in June 2002, and within two months, the order book is carrying a backlog of some 5000 for a monthly maximum production of 1000 units.

The Copen (short for "Compact open") is a two-seat roadster that looks and drives like a proper sports car. The "one price" car has a power-operated retractable hardtop—a feature usually found in far more expensive cars such as the Mercedes-Benz SL and SLK and Lexus SC430. Customers can choose a less-complicated detachable hardtop, but the price is the same. Likewise the choice of a manual five-speed or automatic four-speed transmission makes no difference in the sticker—another unusual ploy.

The Copen has a front-wheel drive chassis with a transversely mounted inline three-cylinder engine.

The Copen is based on Daihatsu's front-wheel-drive light-car platform, with the wheelbase shortened to 2230 mm (87.8 in), while its overall length remains the segment's maximum 3395 mm (133.7 in). Overall width is 5.0 mm (0.2 in) within the limit at 1475 mm (58.1 in), while the height is a low 1245 mm (49.0 in). Curb mass is 800 kg (1760 lb) with the detachable hardtop and 830 kg (1830 lb) with the power top. With the top up, the trunk has a 210-L (7.4-ft³) volume, taking a full set of golf clubs.

As small as the Copen may be, Daihatsu did not compromise in its crash tests, subjecting the car to a series including a 64-km/h (40-mph) frontal, 40% offset, with deformable barrier; 55-km/h (34-mph) full-wrap against a solid barrier; Euro/Japanese 55-km/h (34-mph) right-angle side deformable barrier; 50-km/h (31-mph) rear-end collisions; as well as a 48-km/h (30-mph) dynamic rollover test.

The body/chassis is of an integral welded steel construction, with front longitudinal frames running almost straight on either side of the engine bay. The front extensions of these frame members are heftier box-sections from Daihatsu's YRV small car. Each front frame forks: one connecting to the floor side-frame and the other to the side sill via a hefty torque box. The side sill is larger in section and heavier in gauge than the one in the sister hatchback model. The front floor is made up of a combination of sheet metal of three different gauges. Four hefty crossmembers provide lateral rigidity and impact-absorbing ability. Two pairs of X-braces reinforce the underbody. The door incorporates twin impact bars. For lighter mass, the hood, retractable top, and trunk lid are aluminum.

The four-valve-per-cylinder turbo engine of the Copen displaces 659 cm3 and produces 47 kW (63 hp) at 6000 rpm.

The retractable hardtop is engineered by Webasto and produced in its Hiroshima factory. Daihatsu calls it an "electrically operated top," but it is more precisely an electronically controlled electric/hydraulic-operated one. The electric pump generates hydraulic pressure to operate the top, which requires 20 s for opening or closing.

The engine is a turbocharged version of Daihatsu's type-JB twin-cam 16-valve inline four-cylinder engine, displacing all of 658 cm³ from a 61.0-mm (2.40-in) bore and 56.4-mm (2.22-in) stroke. Several major components are unique to this engine version, including lightweight, forged-steel connecting rods with vanadium content; a fully balanced, forged-steel crankshaft; 4-2-1 exhaust manifold; and a turbocharger with an eight-blade (vs. six in the hatchback's engine) in an abradable plastic housing. The engine produces 47 kW (63 hp), the limit for the K-class by unwritten decree/agreement, at 6000 rpm and 110 N•m (81 lb•ft) at 3200 rpm on a 8.2:1 compression ratio.

Suspension is by MacPherson struts up front, located by transverse I-arms and a stabilizer bar. The wheel-side bushing is a compliance-compensating type, with a steel collar embedded within the rubber body to add stiffness to the suspension for spirited cornering. At the rear, a ubiquitous twist-beam on trailing arms is employed, with a stabilizer bar within the beam. The arms' mount bushings have toe-correcting capacity. The shock absorber incorporates a rubber lip seal not unlike the one in the Infiniti G35 and Peugeot shocks that helps absorb minute high-frequency surface irregularities. Two suspension settings are available, the "Special-tune" featuring firmer settings including a rear shock pair with outrigger low-pressure gas chambers.

The Copen's optional Sports-pack shock absorber has a separate fluid chamber.

Steering is by rack-and-pinion, with engine-speed-sensing hydraulic power assist. A front ventilated-disc and rear drum brake combination is employed, with four-channel ABS and electronic brake distribution as standard equipment. Tires and wheels are large for a car in this segment; Bridgestone Potenza high-performance radials in 165/50R15 size were specifically developed for the Copen on 4.5J x 15 aluminum wheels.

The car's 1.5-million-yen sticker includes dual SRS airbags, power windows and mirrors, tilt-and-telescopic steering column, and HVAC. Audio is optional.

Daihatsu had operated a small-scale hand-assembly facility called the "Craft Studio" a few years ago in which single-seat delivery trucks called Midget II (I was a popular three-wheel truck of the early '60s) were produced. The vehicle did not catch on, and the facility was mothballed. The small shop in Daihatsu's Osaka main factory complex has been renovated and renamed Expert Center, where the Copen is hand-built by a dedicated workforce of 100, a departure from the usual Japanese high-volume and -flexibility manufacturing processes, and again only seen in specialized operations for producing such exclusive and expensive small-volume cars such as Honda's Acura NSX, Insight hybrid, and Toyota's Century luxury executive sedan.

Three assembly lines for different steps are employed versus the Midget II's single line of about 100 m (330 ft). The shorter lines eliminated a lengthy delay in delivering components. The Copen's metallic paint process is elaborate and involves five layers including two clear coats; it requires two full days.

- Jack Yamaguchi

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Mitsubishi's seventh-generation Canter truck

Mitsubishi Fuso has updated its Canter 1.5-2.0 ton (actually up to a 4.0-ton capacity) category small-truck series.

Japan has a truck population of about eighteen million vehicles, of which 2.58 million are large and medium size, 5.9 million small, and 9.96 million light trucks. The small category ranges from a load capacity of under 1 ton to over 4 ton, by far the most versatile and varied in usage. The segment's annual sales in Japan are about one million vehicles.

The Canter's gear-selection lever grows from the lower instrument panel, allowing the driver/passenger to slide to the other side in tight parking situations.

Mitsubishi Fuso, a truck and bus specialist company within the Mitsubishi Motor Corp., is proud that its Canter leads the 2.0-ton (actually up to 4.0-ton load capacity) class in the Japanese small-truck segment with a share of 32.3%. One half of the Canter production in Japan and Portugal is exported to countries including the U.S.

The junior 1.5-ton class version of the truck is Canter Guts. This category is more often purchased by private owners, but also by fleet users for small-item-delivery duties. Mitsubishi has recently updated the Canter and Canter Guts with the seventh generation.

Pneumatic rear spring units are optional on the Canter.

The Canter is built on a ladder-type frame. Its width varies from the base 1695 mm (66.7 in) to the wide-cab's 1995 mm (78.5 in). Truck bed lengths vary between the base 3.1 to 5.2 m (10 to 17 ft).

The chassis features front independent suspension by double wishbones (short and long arms) sprung by a transverse leaf spring and checked by a stabilizer bar. The single rear axle is sprung and located by multileaf semi-elliptic springs. A pneumatic spring option is available on the long versions, with twin spring units on trailing leaf springs. Upper models are fitted with all-around disc brakes. A power/ABS system is also available with higher-power models. An ABS motor/pump adds to hydraulic pressure in case of emergency braking on heavily laden operations and/or downhills.

To ensure occupant protection in a frontal crash for the Canter's forward-control cab, forward parts of the longitudinal frame are box-sectioned, and cab floor sills are of high rigidity.

Engine choices range from 69-132 kW (93-177 hp) units, with five direct-injection and one swirl-chamber diesel. Compressed natural gas and liquid petroleum gas versions will soon be available. All are inline four-cylinders.

The forward-control, cab-over-the-engine configuration maximizes cargo-carrying volume, with a short cab in which space is at premium. To allow the driver/passenger to move sideways to enter/exit from the opposite side on Japan's narrow streets, the new Canter has its shift/selector on the central console, liberating foot space.

The Canter's driver gets a magnetic suspension seat, which employs magnetic repulsion for the springing medium.

For the driver's comfort, a novel option is offered in the form of a "magnetic suspension seat." It employs magnetic repulsion for the springing medium, checked by a tubular shock absorber. Driver mass variance is compensated for by twin torsion bars. The magnetic field is negligible and does not affect medical equipment, credit cards, or magnetic tapes, according to Mitsubishi.

- Jack Yamaguchi

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