Japanese Nostalgic Car

Japanese classics have always been a bit of an underdog in the car scene—in fact some would argue an oxymoron—but without a doubt, that cannot be claimed any longer. Finally we are seeing these automotive masterpieces gain the attention they deserve. On the one hand it’s great to see more and more people fall in love with these fantastic machines and give them the care and attention they deserve, but on the other you can’t help but feel a bit selfish: surely with all these new fans, it will have an effect on one of the great things about Classic JDM—their relatively modest value!

Anyway, it’s unstoppable now, so time to stock up on rotaries and Celicas while you can!! LA Times recently published this article, which further boosts the classic Japanese car image that has really exploded recently in the States.

Last week, both the east and west coasts chimed in with their takes on vintage Japanese cars and their increasing value as classics. Some of our readers expressed dismay at the inevitable price hike that would come with more exposure to our community. To help us out, the Chicago Tribune published their take on the scene today.

Seemingly devoid of any in-depth research (no mention of last week’s JCCS at all), the article says Japanese cars are overlooked by the collector car market, but then in the very next paragraph says, “Most 1950s and 1960s Japanese autos will never be collectibles because they were resolutely ordinary, “disposable” economy models.” Hmm, where have we heard that before? Chevys? Fords? Every muscle car that ever existed?

It then goes on to proclaim “The following Japanese autos are collectible,” a 13-car list that includes the Subaru SVX, Isuzu Impulse and 1992 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4. Now, we’re not saying that a those cars aren’t worthy – surely they are – but if you’re putting together a list of the 13 top J-classics of all time and opening up the field to a 1999 end-date, surely you can think of better examples than that. We might even have to come up with our own list sometime. Oh well, at least while Midwesterners snap up the 1999 Mazda Miata we’ll have a little more time to amass our collections of true classics.

Another day, another mention of nostalgics in the press. A Los Angeles Times article published today takes a look at the increasing collector values of vintage Japanese cars. To our regulars, this is nothing new, but again, we intend to carefully monitor the hobby that’s so dear to our hearts. Perhaps somewhat ominously, the article is published in the Times‘ business section. The author interviews Phil Skinner of Kelley Blue Book, a used car pricing guide, who was apparently prowling the grounds of the recent Japanese Classic Car Show. Pros: more awareness means more cars available in the open market. Cons: they will cost more. Also of note, our very own forum member Robert Perez, aka PERTANO, is quoted extensively throughout the piece. In honor of that, we use his two Crowns as our photo for this post.