Core77

While Japanese automakers have been moving into one of Detroit's last redoubts in America, full-size trucks, things are moving in the opposite direction back home. Domestic auto sales in Japan are at their lowest point since 1977, leading trendsetter Honda to announce they're shifting their domestic focus to minivehicles, cars with 660cc engines.

The microcar category has weathered the sales slump well, partially because the Japanese government gives minivehicles tax incentives, and partially because Japanese consumers don't mind driving cars slightly larger than American lawnmowers.