Each year on the calendar brings us another round of cars that turn 25. Why is this significant? In short, 25 is the age at which most governments will grant a car historic status, which makes them eligible for things like collector car license plates and classic car insurance. Being 25 years of age also makes a car legal to import, according to the US federal government (though whether that imported car can be driven on the street is a state-by-state issue so your mileage may vary).
As we round the corner to 2016, a slew of Japan-tastic machines have now reached this threshold proving that 1991 will be another seminal year for the 25 Year Club. There’s the stunning Lexus SC/Toyota Soarer, the pocket supercar SW20 Toyota MR2, and 510-channeling Nissan Sentra SE-R. If you like very small sports cars, there was the Mazda MX-3 and Nissan NX. If you want to go by JDM model years there’s the breathtaking Mazda FD RX-7, which won’t be a classic in the US until 2018, and home-grown candidates like the Honda Beat, Suzuki Cappuccino, Nissan Figaro and many more.
What’s your most anticipated 25 Year Club addition?
What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your JNC New Year’s resolution?”
Many JNCers resolved to go on a diet for 2016. Not for food, mind you, but in cars. if there’s anything better than having all the cars you wish for, it’s the garage space to work on them, apparently. Something to keep in mind as you start your new projects, Ant, Killer Bee and ScottyG, are the words from our winner daddsun:
2016 needs to be the year of getting skinny by selling a few cars. Not enough time or space to enjoy all the flavors I currently own: 4 S30’s, 3 S130 hardtops and one parts car S130, 2 Z31 hardtops, 1 Z32 hardtop, 1 Z33, 1 MA70 N/A hardtop and 1 S13 coupe hardtop. In addition I need to sell a bunch of parts that have been accumulated over the past 25 yrs.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
Hi Everyone,
Lets start off by saying Happy 2016 and I hope this year is filled with many JNC cars and parts.
My most anticipated Japanese car to join the 25 year club is the Honda Civic EG (hatch and sedan). Just for personal reasons.
I think it has one of the most timeless shapes ever to come out of the bubble era… and almost 25 years later it still looks good as ever … not sure if the same can be said for Jodie Foster ( hope some get the link between the Ferio and Jodie)
I also welcome the ae92 Corolla, in SA it was a car that just kept going and till today its very popular being it for tuning or a cheap reliable daily with great fuel consumption.
Cheers,
Robin
I’d like to see a couple of Nissan Figaros here in the US. That’d be nice. Not really practical, but nice.
For last year’s Great Race, Team Japan shipped a few Figaros over to use as support vehicles. It was kind of hilarious to see them roll onto Santa Monica Pier at the finish.
We’ve got a Figaro at work. It’s in the “Made in Japan” display, across from our Honda City Turbo (with ‘Compo) and N-ONE. Fun cars, all of them. Sure, the Figaro doesn’t have a proper trunk, you’ll be smiling too much while zipping around town to care.
The Mazda AZ-1. Though I’m not anticipating it with open arms; I’m anticipating it with dread. They’re already expensive thanks to rarity. As soon as the 25-year floodgates open in the States, my chance at being able to afford one will be long gone…
Finally the Nissan Figaro will be available for import in the US, that is if any of them are left as most of them have been exported to the UK, Ireland and the European mainland by now (and one to Australia…) which means not many of the good ones are available anymore.
What is not to like about a little retro car with a 1.0 liter turbo engine?
There’s still a few! I am working on exporting one now for a customer in the US. The prices have yet to increase as a result of the 25-year rule. Unlike all those R32s. Neko.
Add me to the Mazda MX-3 list. Or, the AZ-1, as Ant mentions, also.
Sadly, and predictably, I just found out that, at 6′-5″ tall, I can’t fit into a Subaru 360 which was the first car on my list (I know, I know).. I looked at a nice Young S edition on Friday and, nope, I can’t even fit in to it. Why am I always drawn to the smallest possible cars like the Mazda MX-3? I just am. The Honda Beat would be my second choice since I can’t think of any Subarus from 1991 that I would want, at least models that we didn’t get here in the US.
Personally I’d love to see the Nissan Sentra SE-R. Sure it’s wet noodle chassis got a little unsettled as it understeered but what a fun car! It always seems like the Integra or Civic got more attention despite the marvelous bang-for-buck package it came in. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a thorough writeup praising the 510’s son and so I’d surely tune in for that!
You could arguably include the Nissan NX with the SE-R since they shared the same chassis minus the ride height and brakes. Both had that beautiful mid-range torque of the SR20 🙂
I have a ’91 Eunos Presso V6, bunch of Mazdaspeeds bits and bobs. My first car. Looking forward to it joining my Eunos Cosmo 20b and FB RX-7 as genuine nostalgics 🙂
That is a slew of genuinely good and great cars. And while I could wax lyrical about the joys of some of the more humble or affordable ones, my inner 12-year old demands tribute be paid. So, even if it’s not yet legal for you guys in the US, the greatest new nostalgic is easily the FD3S RX-7.
It may be extraordinarily flawed in many respects, it may occasionally spontaneously combust, it may only be able to be found in conditions of such abuse/poor modification it requires a full restoration. But it remains the absolute pinnacle of Japanese sports cars. Not just by virtue of being a really quick car that’s a joy to drive, but also because of a body so brilliantly styled that nothing’s come along subsequently in the same league. It’s not only the best-looking JDM car of the era, it’s the best looking car of the 1990s, and a good candidate for the top-10 of all-time.
It remains a definitive statement on proper use of proportion, with all elements of the body and mechanical parts in exact harmony with each other. Even subsequent re-styles did not affect this, although the changes give a good moment to debate the merits of “curves vs. creases.”
And nothing since then has remotely come close.
I admit the RX-7 gets the nod in most markets, as it is easily one of the prettiest cars ever made, one of a few moving sculptures that truly embody the phrase “timeless design”, but since I am in the US and it’s not “officially” nostalgic here (yet), it has to be the SW20 MR2. The “Poor man’s Ferrari” checks all the boxes. It offers great balance and performance and can still be had at a relatively decent price, although many examples were driven into the ground by during the tuning craze of the early 2000’s. Perhaps most importantly, it perfectly embodies Toyota’s “Fun to Drive” motto of the era.
That said, if money’s no object, I would happily give a kidney for an Autozam AZ-1, and am almost but not quite, inclined to give it the nod instead. If the MR2 is the “Poor man’s Ferrari”, the AZ-1 is a “baby supercar.”
The Honda Beat and Suzuki Cappuccino hit it later this year, those are my twin picks.
In terms of historical significance and ignoring importability or even collectibility, the XV10 6th gen Camry hits 25 soon, and that’s one of the most important Japanese cars ever made. I don’t think I’d ever own one – I have its arch-rival, a CD5 Accord, which suits me better. But the Camry was much more influential.
3 letters. SVX.
The best use for hamme down outback automatic transmissions ever.
For me it is the Mitsubishi Sigma
http://youtu.be/RCPSnmL0ko4
The 5th gen Celica man. From the ST184 to the WRC ST185 the 5th gen looks amazing. Currently daily one with 230k and is broken in very well. It’s a tank!
The hot hatches are slowly working their way into the 25 year mark. This year we get to see TWO of them jump into the pool; the Nissan Pulsar (specifically the GTi-R with SR20DET and AWD) and the Toyota Starlet (Toyota fanboi here) GT TURBO. Both used as WRC cars and both pretty hot.
Yes, I know we can currently get versions of both cars under the 25 year mark, but the previous gen Pulsars just lacked a certain styling and the Toyota Starlets, while SUPER awesome, we can already get a domestic market version (although, they are becoming rare and expensive when not chopped up by backyard racers). So, the 1990-onwards hot hatch stylings are preferred since they’re finally hitting that window for import.
I personally have wanted a Figaro ever since they first came out! ^_^
The Mazda FD RX-7 is the 1991 car that’s been most eagerly awaiting its nostalgic seal. Arguably it makes more sense as a nostalgic than it ever did as a new car; it never boasted the biggest numbers on the spec sheet, it’s not the most spacious or comfortable of coupes, and the fuel and maintenance costs make it an unattractive option for anything as mundane as quotidian transportation.
Rather, the FD has always appealed on an emotional, irrational level; from its styling, like a ‘greatest hits’ compilation of all the most beautiful sixties sports cars, through the free-revving, almost joyful way the engine soars to 8,000 rpm, and perhaps most intoxicatingly the way it responds to the drivers’ every whim at the wheel, blending modern grip and responsiveness with a classic, balletic balance that makes gentle four-wheel-drifts feel entirely natural and safe.
For the FD, the ‘nostalgic’ title is licence for its many flaws to be set aside – nostalgic cars aren’t expected to be totally practical – and its emotional pull to take centre stage – the essence of being a nostalgic car is the pull it has on the owner’s heart. As such, 2016 is the year that this particular young Mazda has been waiting for all its life.
Can you really consider the jzz30 Lexus SC as a true JNC? It was designed in America, and sold in the American market? I’m curious since I own one.