MUSEUMS: Motoring Mysteries of the Far East

If you’re on the East Coast and looking for a place to get your JNC fix this weekend, may we recommend the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The museum has gathered a fantastic and diverse cross section of Japanese vehicles in an exhibit titled Motoring Mysteries of the Far East. If you can’t make it, our friend Brad DeSantis managed to snap some shots during his visit there. 

In addition to staple Japanese classics like the Datsun 240Z, the Antique Auto Club of America has also included some of the more obscure USDM offerings, like an MS75 kujira Crown and a Subaru Sambar pickup. It also sought out JDM machines that were never officially sold in the US, like the Toyota Sports 800.

There’s even stuff you’d be hard pressed to find at a southern California car show, like an Isuzu 117 Coupe, a 1972 Suzuki LJ20 Brute, and a pair of pre-war Datsuns, one phaeton and one an actual 1930s fire truck.

To us, the most amazing car in the display is a LHD Nissan Cedric 1900. Back in Nissan’s early US days, there were actually two distinct distribution companies, one for each coast. The Cedric was imported to the US, but only to the east coast. We didn’t think any of these survived, and it’s still not clear whether this is one of those early Datsun imports, but in any case it is a rare specimen indeed.

If the cars aren’t reason enough, then perhaps the exhibit’s incredible official poster may tempt you. Motoring Mysteries of the Far East ends on September 14.