Back in the day, Japanese automakers thought nothing of offering multiple body types of the same model. Buyers had their pick — 2-door sedans, 4-door sedans, coupes, hardtops, wagons, hatchbacks, utes, and even upscale long-nose alternative versions. Do you gravitate to a certain type of body? Always have a lust for wagons, or prefer a coupe? Or are you always on the hunt for a long bed JNC truck? We want to know:
What’s your favorite JNC body type?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What will futurte JNCs look like?“
We asked last week about the next great future JNCs. We’ve seen peeks of what OEMs are capable of, such has the IDx concepts pictured.
Tim boiled it down best by talking about the next breed of beasts that will be introduced with all the right stuff and stand the test of time:
I’ll assume that we’re not talking about current-generation vehicles which have a timeless quality to them that will make them future classics, but rather prospective vehicles which have not yet graced the circuit even in prototype guise. Unfortunately for us automotive enthusiasts, the future is bleak. As autonomy becomes more sophisticated and powertrains shift towards the electric, efficiency becomes the benchmark by which a vehicle is judged. Let’s face it, a car with a super low drag coefficient generally isn’t what we’d call “a looker”. It’s my opinion that a future JNC needs only one thing to become the “classic” we want: Form following function. The car has to first and foremost be good. Either a lightweight chassis with a big engine bay, or a comfortable cruiser, or a handling superstar. Appearance is almost irrelevant.
Imagine the ND if Mazda tried to put the NA taillights on it. Imagine the STI if the Forrester grill was the defining characteristic of the lineup. Where would the 370Z be if Nissan put Altima headlights on it? They’d all still be fun vehicles. Chevy broke years of tradition with the C7 Corvette tail lights, and almost every ‘Vette fan I know of has no problem with it. I doubt anyone here would mind if Nissan released the IDX and called it a “510”.
Would a Supra still be a Supra if it had a 500HP turbo 4-banger from the factory?You betcha. Would the masses be pissed if the “400Z” had a 4L V8 producing 600TQ/600HP, and it lost 200lbs in the process? Heck, they’d get some Mustang converts. If the Crown came to the US, would journalists call it a bad car? Heck no! They’d rave over the quality and comfort.
The future JNCs are just cars that happen to be outstanding in their field. I, for one, look forward to it. Maybe I’ll place my bets right and end up with a future classic myself.
Omedetou! Your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop.
I think four door sedan is my #1, and 2nd any cool goon (Kujira wagon maybe).
Three-door liftback for sure! So many cool JNC sports cars are liftbacks (or available as liftbacks) – Celica, Supra, Corolla Levin/Sprinter Trueno, CR-X, Starion, Cordia, Silvia, RX-7… The list goes on and on. I think liftbacks are often much cooler-looking than two-door coupés. They’re more pracical as well.
Four-door hardtops are cool as well but three-door liftback is definitely the ultimate JNC body style!
my Cordia thanks you for actually acknowledging the existence of him and his brothers
Easy the hardtop sedan. Nothing looks cooler cruising down the road with all windows down no B pillar and grin on your face. It’s a convertible without the sunburn.
Station Wagons. I like the long lines, the utility and just off the beaten path. Tastefully lowering them gives them even more of an elegant line. I even used to despise the faux woodgrain side panels but seeing them on lowered Cressidas, it was an awesome tweak.
I have to agree 100% with the station wagon. They are becoming ever more rare in this day and age of the SUV.
It’ll always be a coupe for me, whether liftback or a more traditional two-door coupe. There’s a lot of bandwidth in that body style, from the utility that dbdr mentions above to real elegance in a pillarless design like a first-gen Celica, 1960s Corona or a first-gen Mazda Luce. Some of Japan’s most beautiful cars have been coupes too – 2000GT, S30, Isuzu 117.
I’m a big fan of convertibles too, but I think Japan might just have made more ultra-cool coupes than it has convertibles. And as a Mazda fanboy, the ratio of coupes I covet (RX-2, RX-3, Luce, 110S, RX-7, JC Cosmo, MX-3, MX-6 etc etc) comfortably outweighs the soft-tops (all four generations of MX-5, FC RX-7… err…).
I love the sporty coupe style but its just so impracticable. Im a wagon guy, long and low, with enough space to bang the misses in the back 😉
1966 toyopet stout, 1975 celica got liftback, and a Datsun sunny b100!!!