Do you have what it takes to be a Japanese Car Meister?

Two years ago, the a new automotive exam was introduced in Japan and is growing in popularity. Asking 100 multiple choice questions, passing it awards the taker with the coveted Car Meister Certification. You have only one hour to take it, which works out 36 seconds per question. The exam is offered in Japanese only, unfortunately, but journalist Peter Lyon has translated 15 of the questions from Level 3 (the easiest one). According to Lyon, 5,800 people have taken the test but only 14 have passed Level 1. 

I took the test and scored a 14 out of 15 using less than half my allotted time. The question I missed was an easy one but it was not about Japanese cars, so I can rest knowing that my JNC street cred remains in tact. I suspect, too, that JNC readers will fare much better than average, and are likely to whiz through the questions that stump most car enthusiasts. Think you have what it takes? As As Lyon suggests, you should give yourself 9 minutes. Take the test on Forbes, then let us know how you scored.

Thanks to Mike F. for the tip!

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8 Responses to Do you have what it takes to be a Japanese Car Meister?

  1. Dankan says:

    14 out of 15, I blew question three, by not looking at the dates enough and thinking of the Makinen years at Mitsubishi.

    I have shamed myself.

  2. banpei says:

    Wow, that was a nice test!
    A bit of a shame the answer for question #14 was wrong. I’m not going to spoil it here what the real answer is, just that his answer is very wrong…
    My score ended up being 13 out of 15:. I’m quite happy with that result! 🙂

    • Ben Hsu says:

      Yes, the wording on that one is a little weird. But there is only one thing among the choices that the NSX did not have, even if the others weren’t the first to appear on the NSX. Maybe something got lost in translation.

  3. Yuri says:

    14/15. I should have paid more attention to which Japanese luxury brands were launching when I was eight years old.

  4. Lupus says:

    13/15
    IMO not bad for a casual gearhead. 😉
    Missed on #2 & #12

  5. MikeRL411 says:

    Just finished watching Peter Lyon take that test on this morning’s “Samurai Wheels” broadcast on NHK International. One of the sponsor’s represemtatives actually asked Peter if he would help translating the test into English.

  6. Ant says:

    13/15 here. Pleased with that. Got the tyre question wrong, and the question about acceleration – second-guessed my first choice and ended up with the wrong car!

    Only took a couple of minutes though. I’m sure the later stages of the exam would eat up more time!

  7. speedie says:

    Got a 12 out of 15. Fun test.

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