Wednesday, March 10, 2010

"Nissan Figaro Shines for Ginza Crowd on March 9th, 1991"

On March 9th, 1991, I started my day of video-recording wanderings in Shinbashi, then went over to Shiodome and from there I went to Ginza and spent a few hours wandering around that area, after which I went to Shibuya and met up with some friends (see my posted videos for bits and pieces of that day).  While in Ginza, I walked up (with camera rolling) to the Nissan showroom at the famous 4-Chome intersection and noticed they were showcasing an interesting-looking car called "Figaro".  Many people outside were looking at it with interest and even more in the crowded interior, where I went with my video camera recording the moment.

Watching this video now, I'm reminded how much more interested people were in cars in 1991.  A much weaker economy and car culture saturation has younger people in Tokyo being less interested in cars and in the concept of being a car owner.

Time slip time - fast forward exactly 19 years to March 9th,1991, and I notice the very same car sitting in the same Ginza showroom.  See this video for a March 9th, 2010 view:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmslm_-Fp9U

Notice how empty the showroom is in 2010.  Or course March 9th 2010 was on a Tuesday and March 9th, 1991 was on a Saturday.  Maybe it was just as crowded last Saturday?  In any case, car sales are down and the last Tokyo Motor Show generated much less interest than the shows in the late eighties and early nineties.

1991年3月9日、銀座の日産ショールームのフィガローと1991年の人々  東京  (Recorded on Saturday, March 9th, 1991.)

Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/

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