We, the members of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, continue to pursue automotive technology and environmental innovation. We have not wavered in our ongoing commitment to increase investment, employment and manufacturing in the U.S.

Our member companies have been spending millions for decades in a commitment to use technology in service to the environment. Some of our effort is obvious. Americans are rapidly becoming familiar with the new hybrid technology, which combines gasoline and electric propulsion. The hybrid Honda Insight and the hybrid Toyota Prius are now seen on roads throughout the nation. But you may not know that we also make hybrid trucks and buses and four-wheel drive vehicles. We manufacture vans that run on compressed natural gas, and we will have fuel cell powered cars, namely the Toyota FCHV-4 and the Honda FCX, on the road in America and Japan around the end of 2002. These are industry firsts.

In addition, much of our innovation is dedicated to safety, consumer convenience and cost reduction. We have pioneered electronic communication in our vehicles, bringing drivers the latest in information access. In terms of initial quality, Japanese models rank highest in 10 out of 16 passenger car and truck categories in the J.D. Power and Associates 2002 Initial Quality Study^SM. Pushed by the global competition that characterizes our industry, we are striving to expand consumer choices while protecting the resources we share.

We remain committed to good citizenship. Despite the lingering recession in Japan and the economic uncertainties in the U.S., our companies in the last year have begun or completed work on three large new vehicle and engine manufacturing plants in the U.S. We now have invested nearly $20 billion in our plants in the U.S., which employ 48,000 Americans. We even produce 12.4% of the vehicles exported from the U.S. overseas. On a more personal level, we sponsor Little League teams, lead charity drives and work to improve the quality of life for our employees and the communities in which they live.

This brochure is both a guide and an invitation to explore. We hope the information in these pages will encourage you to want to know more and that you will begin to realize the tantalizing possibilities of tomorrow. Above all else, we want to share the excitement that drives us.