Japan's automakers struggle with a 'youth' problem

Today, even those young Japanese who do get the car bug are unimpressed by the domestic choices on offer

By day, the Daikoku Parking Area hums with transport trucks en route to and from the Port of Yokohama. On weekend evenings, it transforms into a revved-up runway of tuned-up Japanese cars. 

The unassuming rest stop is famous to car enthusiasts as a temple of the country’s motor culture, but it also illustrates a “youth” problem that auto companies such as Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co are scrambling to address. The crowd last Friday —around 50 supercar fans who huddled around the back of a loading truck to get a first glimpse of the latest Lamborghini Huracan delivered days