Bridgetown - THE VALUE of the Japanese yen has dropped and at least one local garage says it will be passing on the benefits to Barbadians purchasing new vehicles. General manager of Courtesy Garage, Nicholas Mackie, told the Daily Nation the depreciation of the yen in recent weeks had impacted positively on landed costs for vehicles from Japan and his company intended to allow consumers to benefit. For Courtesy, we saw this cost benefit in January and we are passing it on to consumers right away, Mackie said. The garage executive made the comments at the recent launch of the Nissan X-Trail, a new four-wheel drive luxury vehicle that has marked Courtesy's entry as a competitor in the sports utility vehicle (SUV) market in Barbados. Mackie said consumers were presently able to benefit on cost savings on the Almera and the X-Trail, as well as on spare parts. We are not certain how long the yen will remain weak, but we recommend that Barbadians take advantage of this window of opportunity, he said. In terms of cost-saving, Mackie said that before depreciation of the Yen the X-Trail would have cost $140 000 while the price was now $135 000. Last week, the sleek-looking X-Trail was officially launched in Barbados with a multi-media presentation at Courtesy's Wildey headquarters. The SUVs, which boast 180 horse-power, feature the latest in technology with advanced braking systems, locking systems and body materials. A stand-out feature of the X-Trail's central-locking system is the owner's ability to open only the driver's door with remote control. They also carry attractive interiors and new user-friendly designs for dashboard readings as well as multiple electrical outlets