＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
In the past, “two-tone” cars were not so common, except for Toyota’s Crown, which had many two-tone colors.
Recently, however, “two-tone” mini cars (or “kei cars” for short) seem to be very popular among young women.
Kei cars have been very popular recently, with Honda N-BOX in first place (about 131 thousand units), Suzuki Spacia in second place (about 89 thousand units), Daihatsu Tanto in third place (about 81 thousand units), and Nissan Days in fourth place (about 79 thousand units) in the sales ranking of all registered vehicles (January-June 2019), including Kei cars, with Prius (approx. 70 thousand units) in fifth place.
１．Popular “two-tone” mini cars
(1) Honda N-BOX+
This boxy style combines exterior appearance with ease of use in real life, and is available in nine different colors in two-tone alone.
Compared to the Lavin and Miracoa, the N-BOX+ has a more subdued appearance, making it popular among people of all ages, and it is the top-selling new car in terms of sales volume.
The two-tiered cargo area is highly convenient, and the cargo floor can be used as a ramp to accommodate wheelchairs as well as bicycles, making it a popular “welfare vehicle” that is also used in nursing care settings.
(2) Suzuki Hustler
The commercial featuring Momoiro Clover Z is impressive and favorable.
It is a mini car with excellent design and functionality that can be used in all situations. It is also economical with fuel economy of 32.0km/L in JC08 mode.
(3) Daihatsu Miracoa
With a cute and stylish exterior and interior, and excellent safety features, this car is popular among women.
(4) Suzuki Spacia
This mini car combines cuteness and quality, and the seats can be arranged to create a flat seat. It is also equipped with S-ENECHARGE, which achieves low fuel consumption, and is economical at 32.0km/L in JC08 mode.
(5) Suzuki Lapin
It has a boxy, yet cute rounded design, and the curly round headlights are also charming and cute. Also, the hip point is higher than other models, giving the driver a good view of the road ahead and making it easy to drive. The car also has a playful touch, with “rabbit” (“lapin” in French) accents in various parts of the car.
２．The Secret of Its Popularity
Baby boomers like myself, for example, tend to think that a mini-car is not cool enough to go golfing, but young people, especially young women, seem to think rationally and pragmatically.
I think the secret of their popularity is as follows.
(1) You can express your own personality.
(2) It is fashionable
(3) Economical, since they are mini-cars, they are inexpensive to purchase and maintain, and have good fuel efficiency.
(4) Cute because it is a mini-car
(5) Easy to drive because it is a mini-car