What in your opinion was the reason people called cars from Japan "rice burners"?

Question

no links, just your opinions.

Answer 1

It's a pejorative term, like spaghetti for an Italian, since spaghetti  is a renowned dish of Italians, rice of Japanese. Similar goes for the cars made by them. The term burner instead of cooker makes it even more pejorative, because you are not supposed to burn rice.

Answer 2

they are made in japan and rice,,,hello everyone eats rice in japan....my gf had a rice rocket...its was great......lol

Answer 3

Back in the day when Japan first came over here with the corolla, union car makers disparaged the car with that term. I think it's supposed to make it sound cheap, as rice isn't very filling?

Now of course more than 75% of Honda cars sold here are made here, as are most cars owned by foreign companies.

the union workers will always put down other cars because they want you to pay the high price for the cars they make so they can continue to make 38 bucks an hour with bennies.

The word "rice" in rice burner refers to the fact that the vehicles the term was originally applied to were of Japanese origin, and the fact that rice is a staple food in East Asian cuisine. Its earliest usage is still in question, but examples include the term referring to Japanese motorcycles in the early to mid 1980s, and muscle car enthusiasts' jokes that cars from Japan used engines powered by rice alcohol

Answer 4

RedKarma beat me to it, darn it.  But Red's answer is probably what most everyone will say.

Answer 5

Because rice is a main staple in Japan's meals and or the person that drives it is Asian.   Rice Rockets are the motorcyles