TOKYO (AP) — General Motors says it’s in Japan for thelong haul despite sales of Cadillac and
Chevrolet models barelysurpassing 1,000 vehicles a year.There has never been muchappetite in Japan for
left-hand drive gas guzzling U.S. autos, and thereare many informal barriers to foreign automakers making it
here.But GM executives see a glimmer of hope in the fact sales of its luxury nameplates have doubled in the
past three years.Theautomaker is trying to lure Japanese buyers with the new Cadillac CTSand Chevrolet
Corvette, which it says boast better quality and mileage.GMJapan Managing Director Sumito Ishii declined to
give a sales targetWednesday, but said part of the Detroit automaker’s sales strategy is toapproach buyers
who may not have preconceptions about GM.General Motors Co. has also begun to offer models with the steering
wheel on the right, which is standard in Japan."Wehave just begun our fight," Ishii told reporters
at the ForeignCorrespondents Club in Tokyo. "We offer attractive qualities that youcan’t find in
Japanese and European cars."Ishii and GreggSedewitz, director of sales and marketing, said the cars
representAmerican luxury and are synonymous with risk taking, coolness andHollywood celebrities.The Cadillac
CT comes packed with thelatest technology, such as a lightweight structure and a directinjection turbo
engine, and sells for 5.99 million yen ($59,900) and6.99 million yen ($69,900).The Corvette, which ranges
from 9.29million yen ($92,900) to 11.59 million yen ($115,900) including theconvertible models, is the
greenest Corvette ever, delivering 12.3kilometers per liter.They on sale in Japan from April and May next
year.Japanese consumers have historically favored European imports and home-made cars over American models,
including luxury brands.Annualsales of the Lexus, the luxury offering from Toyota Motor Corp., theworld’s
top automaker, total about 40,000 vehicles in Japan. Annualsales for the BMW are about that same
number.Sedewitz acknowledged there was "no magic bullet" to boost sales volume in Japan."The
numbers speak for themselves," he said. "We are in it for the long term."__Follow Yuri
Kageyama on Twitter at twitter.com/yurikageyamaCopyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rightsreserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.