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Japan may aid carmakers facing U.S. tariff threat

TOKYO — Japan is considering giving carmakers fiscal support including tax breaks to offset the impact from trade frictions with the United States and a sales-tax hike planned for next year, government sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Going into a second round of trade talks with the United States on Sept. 21, Japan is hoping to avert steep tariffs on its car exports and fend off U.S. demands for a bilateral free trade agreement that could put it under pressure to open politically sensitive markets, like agriculture. "If the trade talks pile pressure on Japan's car exports, we would need to consider measures to support the auto industry," a ruling party official said on condition of anonymity because of sensitivity of the matter. The auto industry accounts for about 20 percent of Japan's overall output and around 60-70 percent of the country's trade surplus with the United States, making it vulnerable to U.S. action against Japanese exports. Japan's biggest automakers and components suppliers fear they could take a significant hit if Washington follows through on proposals to hike tariffs on autos and auto parts to 25 percent. Policymakers also worry that an increase in the sales tax from 8 percent to 10 percent planned for October 2019, could cause a slump in sales of big-ticket items such as cars and home. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has twice postponed the tax hike after the last increase from 5 percent in 2014 dealt a blow to private consumption, which accounts for about 60 percent of the economy. To prevent a pullback in demand after the tax hike, the government may consider large fiscal spending later when it draws up its budget for next year, government sources said. "One option may be to greatly reduce or abolish the automobile purchase tax," one of the government sources said. The government is also considering cuts in the automobile tax and automobile weight tax to help car buyers, the source added. Reporting by Izumi Nakagawa and Tetsushi KajimotoRelated Video: Image Credit: Getty Government/Legal Isuzu Mazda Mitsubishi Nissan Subaru Suzuki Toyota Trump Trump tariffs trade

2019 Subaru Forester vs. 2020 Honda CR-V Car Seat Test

We've had our long-term 2019 Subaru Forester Touring for some time now, and I've had my large son's car seat in it — and out of it, and back in it — a fair number of times. Installing a car seat over and over is a pain, but the Forester is actually a pretty good car for it. The rear seat is roomy, the door opening is large and the car seat is generally easy to install. For a few short days, though, I also had a 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid in the driveway alongside the Subaru. Mostly stuck at home in quarantine, I wasn't getting a lot of chances to drive the two cars back to back, but comparing something like a child's car seat in each car is easy enough without unnecessary trips and potential exposure to coronavirus. So, with my son along for moral support, I lugged his car seat out of the garage and got to strappin'.  In terms of backseat roominess, the Forester and CR-V are competitive. On paper, they're very close, with the Forester offering 39.4 inches of rear legroom and 39.6 inches of headroom, and the CR-V providing 40.4 inches of legroom and 39.2 inches of headroom (the fact that I tested a Hybrid makes no difference). For each, I moved the front passenger seat forward to a reasonably comfortable seating position, keeping a sizeable gap between my knees and the dashboards, and eyed them up. They look damn near the same, each offering lots more space in the second row than my wife's 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK that I'm usually putting the car seat into. Even the openings are close in size and shape, perhaps with the Forester getting a slight advantage in ingress/egress for one's feet, which matters little when installing the boy's Chair Force One (officially a Britax Frontier ClickTight). First, I tried the car seat in the Subaru. It's really easy. There's no angling the seat to wedge it in the door. Just walk up and plop it down. I thought for sure the Forester would take the win here, but when I went to put it in the CR-V, it was equally simple. Once installed, both still offer plenty of room behind the front seat for a child to swing their legs around without kicking the seat back. With just one child, we often find ourselves putting one of the rear seats down to accommodate more items, like when we're hauling gear up to our cottage for a vacation — or just going to Costco. If we're picking a side of the car, we usually put our boy on the passenger side.

Chile is beautiful, and we drove there in a Subaru

For me, the most beautiful part of our recent Patagonia road trip was the two days spent inside the Torres del Paine national park in Chile. In terms of breathtaking vistas, this place has a ton. Everywhere you look, there's something beautiful to behold. And our merry band of Subarus had no trouble traversing the gravel, mountain roads that wind endlessly through the park. Because our trip to Patagonia was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, we played hookey for a day and went finishing in one of Torres del Paine's many rivers. Sure, the Subarus got us there without issue, but the main focus of this day was trying to catch one of the huge salmon swimming upstream. We failed, but still, if you're into fishing, Torres del Paine offers bucket-list quality stuff. Above, you'll see more of our sights from Chile's most beautiful park. We'll have the rest of our Patagonia impressions coming in the not-too-distant future. Subaru Videos chile patagonia autoblog in patagonia