It doesn’t matter how you feel politically about the current President, when he stands in front of a crowd and speaks about a bowling ball test for vehicles, you’re going to turn and pay attention to what he’s got to say. After a recent visit to Japan, the President spoke about the testing he feels is being done in Japan regarding American-made vehicles. The statements made left the crowd with a great deal of confusion and certainly caused automaker in Japan to feel they needed to defend the claims that were being made.There have been horror stories in the past regarding shipments that come into ports with regard to vegetables and produce that is left on the dock for inspection until its deemed unfit for consumption. The recent claims made regarding the so-called “Bowling Ball Test” is something that seems to be unfair and unable to be passed if the claims made are true. Thankfully, at least one Japanese automaker has already spoken up to understand this is a ridiculous idea and not something that’s actually happening, at least, it’snot being publicized as something that’s part of testing being done.
What is this test?
The claim is that the test being performed has a bowling ball being dropped from twenty-feet in the air to land on either the hood or the roof of the car. If the car dents, the car and all others of that brand that have been shipped are deemed unfit for sale in Japan. It’s hard to imagine that any vehicle made on the global automotive market is going to be able to withstand any type of drop from this height of a bowling ball, including those that are made from the Japanese automakers. As different automakers have worked to uncover some proof of this test being performed, the only thing that could be uncovered was a safety test that showed a simulation of what it would be like for a human head to hit a vehicle that’s traveling at twenty mph. This is simply a safety test and not a test of whether or not a vehicle can be sold in Japan, which leaves us with the question of what the President witnessed during his most recent visit to Japan and how he could make the claim that bowling balls are being dropped on cars in Japan.A spokesperson from Honda stated they have never heard of such a test and jokingly stated the cars from Honda would likely dent as well if they were tested in this manner. Hopefully, the statement made by the President was simply a ruse and a joke meant to make us laugh, but it brought about a bit of scrutiny and questions regarding testing processes in Japan. Maybe in his next statement, the President will find a way to clarify what he saw and what he claims the testing process is for American automakers who want to sell in Japan.
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