JDM / Japanese Cars

[kappa_md]

I realized there’s no thread dedicated to Japanese Cars in Calibre11. With all the action in both Formula 1 & WRC this weekend, TOYOTA & HONDA came out victorious and on TOP! Congratulations!
Double podiums + Win for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Rally Sardinia
Double podiums + Win for Honda Racing F1
(Red Bull & Alpha Tauri) Azerbaijan GP


Any JDM Cars you’d like to share?

 

[Tag_ZA]

This thread was made for me

 

[Tag_ZA]

The 2 Hondas are mine, the GTR will be mine one day

 

[Michael156]

Great pics and nice collection!

M

 

[Mspeedster]

Here are some pics from my travels to Japan.

 

[Mspeedster]

Back in 2007, I attended the Tokyo Motor Show, where they had just unveiled the then new Nissan GT-R. I was thinking about buying the GT-R and had a chance to sit in one, before almost anyone else in the US I think.


As a former owner and fan of the Mazda RX-7, I was also really intrigued by this Mazda concept car.


But my favorite cars of the show were this Porsche Japan Carrera Cup car and 911 GT2. (Sorry, non JDM.)



Footnote: I later ended up buying my Porsche C2S 997 instead of the GT-R. Not sure if it was the right decision, as the GT-R would go on to out perform the 911 Turbo in all the magazine comparison tests. But it was the right decision for me.

Edited: Jun 7, 2021

 

[kappa_md]

WW! FN2 & FK2! NA and FI Type Rs

Great cars sir @Tag_ZA

Interesting to know your thoughts and experience comparing both

 

[kappa_md]

Awesome sir @Mspeedster !! Can you imagine the current GTR-35 will be 15 years already in 2022!

Here are the concept cars

 

[Mspeedster]

kappa_md

Awesome sir @Mspeedster !! Can you imagine the current GTR-35 will be 15 years already in 2022!

I remember it like it was yesterday. The R35 was the first GT-R to be offered in the US and I was very excited about it. But I didn't buy one because it lacked a manual transmission option and it just didn't look as nice to me as the previous gen R34.

Even the R34's release doesn't feel like it was that long ago. Back in its day, there was a beautiful Blue Mica R34 on display at Narita Airport; I was simply smitten when I saw it as I strolled towards my departure gate (long before it ever appeared in any Fast & Furious movie)!

 

[kappa_md]

If I’m able to save up, I’m actually torn between a Nissan GT-R Nismo vs a Porsche Carrera S. The TAG Heuer in me tilts me to the Carrera

I’m just worried about maintenance costs. Most JDM cars are notoriously easy to maintain with such high reliability-durability. Cars really last such a long time and they eventually become part of the family

 

[kappa_md]

The Fast & the Furious franchise together with the Car Culture Revolution of the early 2000s all made the hype for JDM cars. Basically it introduce the “Tuner Car” scene and enabled each owner to mold his/her car to whatever liking or expression he/she wants it to be Other than cars, it also made the theme “Family” as its core value. I vividly remember playing Need For Speed Underground all day & night during this time, singing (Brrr dum dum dum - Get Low )


Apart from this, you have Jap car animes like Initial D & Wangan Midnight that popularize cars like the Corolla AE86, Fairlady (Devil) Z, Skyline GT-Rs etc


And in World Rally, cars like the Toyota Celica GT-4s, Mitsubishi EVOs and Subaru WRX STIs dominated the rally scene which is mostly based in Europe. BTW, the WRC Corolla World Champion is my favorite driven by the Legendary Daddy Carlos Sainz & Rally Master Didier Auriol who started his driving carrera as an ambulance driver)


Honda Civcs & Integras ruled the superstreet scene with the Type R And the Red NSX (Ayrton Senna) was also called the “Japanese Ferrari”


And Mazda has just made the MX5/Miata/Roadster which eventually became the highest selling sports car (2-seater) in the world

 

[Mspeedster]

kappa_md

If I’m able to save up, I’m actually torn between a Nissan GT-R Nismo vs a Porsche Carrera S. The TAG Heuer in me tilts me to the Carrera

I’m just worried about maintenance costs. Most JDM cars are notoriously easy to maintain with such high reliability-durability. Cars really last such a long time and they eventually become part of the family

I thought you were loyal to just buying Toyota? Oh, but then you bought a Honda. Now a Nissan or Porsche?

Seems like your loyalty is wavering more & more (j/k). Careful, before you know it you'll be tempted by Rolex or Omega or some other brand. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Quite the contrary, life is too short not to sample a wide variety things.

I've enjoyed many different car makes, whether it be American, European or Asian. I grew up on American Muscle. I later bought Japanese sports cars (before JDM/Tuner craze) because they were affordable alternatives to the pricey European sports cars I lusted after. But I nevertheless love them. I've owned a Miata and all 3 generations of the Mazda RX-7. The 1st gen RX-7 was ground breaking, much like the Datsun 240Z (Nissan Fairlady Z). The 2nd gen was like a poor mans Porsche 924/944 in its styling. The 3rd gen RX-7 was my favorite and has become a legend in its own right.

However, since I was a very young kid I always aspired to own a Porsche 911. So when I could finally afford to buy one new, the decision over the GT-R wasn't that hard for me. Maintenance isn't cheap, but my car has been very reliable over the last 13+ years.

 

[kappa_md]

Mspeedster

I thought you were loyal to just buying Toyota? Oh, but then you bought a Honda. Now a Nissan or Porsche?

Seems like your loyalty is wavering more & more (j/k). Careful, before you know it you'll be tempted by Rolex or Omega or some other brand. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Quite the contrary, life is too short not to sample a wide variety things.

Good to hear about your RX-7 passion sir @Mspeedster Wow! 3 generations? I think it’s a little more than true love I actually have an 1:18 RX-7 Red Suns because of Initial D

I’m a true TOYOTA die-hard nut! (Same level as TAG Heuer ) They just basically last forever. I’m really excited since Toyota’s CEO Morizo is pushing the brand towards excitement and motorsports (other than being known to be ultra reliable and durable). I’m glad Toyota has found their winning ways in both WEC and WRC. For F1, that would be HONDA. For Honda, there was a time back then when I was young, we had 4 Hondas (2 EG hatch Civics, a Sedan AT & an Accord) So basically I grew up with Toyotas and Hondas. My first car is a Corolla. Bought it 100% using my own savings after blood sweat and tears I never had major issues and it just keeps running (forever) even after several mods. It’s probably difficult for me to part ways with it. The Honda Civic Type R is my family hauler , I told my wife, if I’ll be driving all the time, I might as well buy a car I would love to drive

For the Nissan vs Porsche, It’s probably the same dilemma as yours sir, for the pricetag of GTR vs 911 Carrera S. I haven’t gotten to that point yet since I haven’t saved that much to buy any of those two But there’s always an exception to the rule, and if ever I am able to get just one German car, it would be a 911 Carrera S (+ a big TAG Heuer / Heuer to go with it)

For watches, I’m committed and decided firmly to be Swiss only, and I can’t see myself owning a different brand other than TAG Heuer All because of cars motorsports. Both my passion for watches and cars ultimately boils down to TAG Heuer only. But for an exception to the rule, that would probably be Rolex Submariner ala 007

Thanks for sharing sir @Mspeedster ! I’m enjoying this TBH

 

[Mspeedster]

The ironic thing is when the R35 GT-R was first released, it was cheaper than a base 911 997 Carrera. So it was a bargain considering how much performance you got for the money, especially since Godzilla could hands down beat the top dog 911 Turbo, which was double its price. Since then, the 911 has evolved through 3 generations (997, 991, 992). The GT-R, while constantly improved, is basically still the same gen car. Now, the GT-R's starting base price is more than the all new 992 Carrera, that's the irony, as it's basically the same car it was 14 years ago.

Hence it's a very different proposition when comparing the two today. I think it's just really more about whether you want a GT-R or a 911, simple as that. But given your passion for Toyota, you really need to get yourself a Supra.

 

[Mspeedster]

Regarding my love of the RX-7, it's really due to the rotary engine. There's nothing else like it and it has to be experienced to be appreciated. It's compact, lightweight and makes a huge amount of power per displacement. The engine was mounted low to the ground and very close to the center of the car. Thus the cars were lightweight, extremely nimble and handled like the best mid-engine sports cars of their time. It makes a sound like no other and it revs like crazy. The downside is that the twin turbo 3rd gen's engine wasn't that reliable and got poor fuel economy.

But how can you not love an engine that enabled Mazda to be first (and for almost 3 decades the only) Japanese manufacturer to have won Le Mans!

 

[Mspeedster]

BTW, I've owned a few Toyotas too. Nothing exciting, except for my wife's Corolla GT-S, the original AE86.

 

[kappa_md]

Mspeedster

The ironic thing is when the R35 GT-R was first released, it was cheaper than a base 911 997 Carrera. So it was a bargain considering how much performance you got for the money, especially since Godzilla could hands down beat the top dog 911 Turbo, which was double its price. Since then, the 911 has evolved through 3 generations (997, 991, 992). The GT-R, while constantly improved, is basically still the same gen car. Now, the GT-R's starting base price is more than the all new 992 Carrera, that's the irony, as it's basically the same car it was 14 years ago.

Hence it's a very different proposition when comparing the two today. I think it's just really more about whether you want a GT-R or a 911, simple as that. But given your passion for Toyota, you really need to get yourself a Supra.

Yes! I don’t mind the GR Supra with all the net troll farms calling it a Zupra or non-Toyota. It wouldn’t be possible for the BMW Z4 & Toyota GR Supra to come into fruition without Toyota’s push in the first place (same story with the 86/BRZ) but I’d love to get one in the future but not yet for now I need something more practical at this time

There are lot of differences in terms of pricing here in our neck of woods (taxes, plus more taxes, plus country of origin) For the price of the Carrera S here, it’s already at the price range of the GTR Nismo, so it’s a hard proposition. Just to give you an idea on pricing, the GR Supra (top of the line, all options included) is priced at 5M PHP SRP! Convert it to USD, and that’s more than 100K USD vs US SRP at roughly half the price! Far cry indeed! I’ll get and decided there when the time comes Luckily I have no such money to spend on a car yet It’s just that the GT-R has no other Japanese equivalent that’s why the aura and allure.

Here are my cars SRP
Civic Type R FK8 is 3.2M PHP ~ 67K USD
Toyota 86 ZN6 is 2M PHP ~ 42K USD

 

[kappa_md]

Mspeedster

Regarding my love of the RX-7, it's really due to the rotary engine. There's nothing else like it and it has to be experienced to be appreciated. It's compact, lightweight and makes a huge amount of power per displacement. The engine was mounted low to the ground and very close to the center of the car. Thus the cars were lightweight, extremely nimble and handled like the best mid-engine sports cars of their time. It makes a sound like no other and it revs like crazy. The downside is that the twin turbo 3rd gen's engine wasn't that reliable and got poor fuel economy.

But how can you not love an engine that enabled Mazda to be first (and for almost 3 decades the only) Japanese manufacturer to have won Le Mans!

World Champion Mazda 787B Love the story! The rotary engine truly punches above its level but somehow, it wasn’t meant to be at this age given the strict emissions.. I really feel sorry for those who will just enjoy an electric car in the future

Edited: Jun 9, 2021

 

[kappa_md]

Mspeedster

BTW, I've owned a few Toyotas too. Nothing exciting, except for my wife's Corolla GT-S, the original AE86.

The last RWD Corolla! Thanks to DK (Drift King) the humble, spartan, lightweight, low-powered Corolla is respected and revered all over the world That’s one of the few cars that hasn’t depreciated in the market, nearing 4 decades old

 

[Mspeedster]

kappa_md

Yes! I don’t mind the GR Supra with all the net troll farms calling it a Zupra or non-Toyota. It wouldn’t be possible for the BMW Z4 & Toyota GR Supra to come into fruition without Toyota’s push in the first place (same story with the 86/BRZ) but I’d love to get one in the future but not yet for now I need something more practical at this time

There are lot of differences in terms of pricing here in our neck of woods (taxes, plus more taxes, plus country of origin) For the price of the Carrera S here, it’s already at the price range of the GTR Nismo, so it’s a hard proposition. Just to give you an idea on pricing, the GR Supra (top of the line, all options included) is priced at 5M PHP SRP! Convert it to USD, and that’s more than 100K USD vs US SRP at roughly half the price! Far cry indeed! I’ll get and decided there when the time comes Luckily I have no such money to spend on a car yet It’s just that the GT-R has no other Japanese equivalent that’s why the aura and allure.

Here are my cars SRP
Civic Type R FK8 is 3.2M PHP ~ 67K USD
Toyota 86 ZN6 is 2M PHP ~ 42K USD

Enlightening, I didn't realize cars were so expensive in your country. No wonder you buy so many watches rather than save up for that Supra. I assume watch retail prices in the Philippines are aligned with the rest of the world, whereas cars carry a hefty tax, similar to Singapore.