One hour to complete 100 multiple choice questions. And in Japanese only! Ouch! Those are the conditions of a new test that is becoming popular in Japan. It tests your knowledge of cars, and if you pass, awards you with what the Japanese call the “Car Meister (Expert) Certification.”
The Subaru Impreza WRX was a strong force in the World Rally Championships during the late 90s. Perhaps this image may give you a hint to one of the answers. Photo courtesy of Subaru.
Wanting to find out what this test was all about, I went to Nissan’s Global HQs in Yokohama, the venue for the latest test to put my car trivia on the line and push my Japanese language skills to the limit. Having not sat an exam in over 30 years, I was sweating beads after 30 minutes.
The exam has been going for two years and has tested over 5,800 people in three different degrees of difficulty. I started with Level 3, the entry-level, and finished the 100th question in the 56th minute, just scraping inside the one-hour time limit. Just think about it, 100 questions in one hour means that you must read and answer each question in 36-seconds. Level 1 is so challenging that only 14 people have passed it nationwide. The test does not only test Japanese car knowledge but includes questions on the global automotive industry.
These 100 questions are not for those hardcore car nuts out there who just want to test their knowledge to see how much they know. The test is actually being used by car dealers as a way of testing the knowledge of their salesmen. It makes sense because some salesmen I’ve met don’t really have a clue about their competitor’s background, or even the history of how the automobile came about, let alone details about their own brand.
