Business: Threat from the East

By matching the lines and curves of Western auto designs—often at lower prices—Japanese carmakers provided an eye-catching, purse-opening display at this year's round of European auto shows. Visitors to the Paris Auto Salon were entranced by the Toyota GT, which was James Bond's set of wheels in You Only Live Twice. And at the London show last week, crowds around Honda's mini-size line of cars were so dense that most of the curious visitors could not even get close enough to kick the tires.

European auto manufacturers view the Japanese products as a market...