Moon,
A simple fact, the first impression or experience with anything (forklift or girl) is a very lasting one. If it is good then the future can be good. If it is not good then teh future don't look to bright. The end user of material handling equipment is a cautious type person and he will not let you burn him twice with poor after sale service and excessive down time or a lot of weak excuses.

The Japanese enter teh US market around 1968/1969 primarily marketing their products on the West Coast of the US where there was a higher level of exceptance to Asian built products. Datsun (at that time) & Toyota where the two pioneers. Datsun was the leading seller for many years. Yes price was helpful in gaining sales up through 1985/6, when all the Japance were hit with an anti dumping suit in the US and something similar in Europe a few years earlier. But exceptional reliability was the key for growth. Modern design was certainly not a strong attribute of the products. In fact, they were "butt ugly" by comparison but that changed soon. The Japance manufactures would redesing the product every 3/4 years to keep up with market demands.