Japanese Nostalgic Car

In the US government vehicles tend to be American. It probably makes politicians look bad if they buy foreign cars, but some slip through. We’ve heard some states have Subaru police cars though we’ve never seen one. The Pentagon used to have unmarked Camrys but we’re not sure if they’re still in service. California uses Priuses, usually for parking enforcement, but we’ve seen Nissan Frontiers and Jukes in the colors of CalTrans, the state highway agency, and Toyota Tacomas and Tundras serving as lifeguard and beach patrol vehicles. The holy grail would probably be a vehicle painted in the mint green of the US Forest Service. The coolest one we’ve actually seen is a Mitsubishi-built US Navy Dodge D-50.

Have you ever seen Japanese government vehicles outside of Japan?

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The announcement of the first Tokyo Xtreme Racer title in two decades dropped last week, just a few days before the anniversary of the Rainbow Bridge’s opening on August 26, 1993. Coincidence? Probably, but it does raise the question of what kind of car you’d take midnight blast around a Tokyo expressway teeming with hashiriya. You’d need something with excellent high-speed stability, quick steering response, and strong brakes in case a random Hino wanders into your lane. Which Wangan-tuned racer capable of taking down the Devil Z will you choose?

What’s your ultimate hashiriya build?

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On August 12, 1981 Suzuki, Isuzu, and General Motors signed a deal to co-develop compact cars. In hindsight we know that this deal didn’t result in any game-changing products. Instead, it produced a lot of rebadged models under the defunct Geo brand. History is littered with captive imports, cars produced by a foreign manufacturer but sold under a domestic brand. From the Mitsubishi-made Dodge Challenger to the GM-made Toyota Cavalier, these badge-engineered cars sometimes let customers buy a car that would have been otherwise unavailable in their market. Other times, it was just a lazy emblem swap. But they were once everywhere, and now a dying breed.

What’s your favorite captive import?

The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi dream build?” Continue reading →