Tag Archives: daihatsu

Yukihiro Takahashi’s ads for Mazda, Daihatsu, Toyota Cresta and MR2

The seminal electronica band Yellow Magic Orchestra lost one of its founders, drummer and vocalist Yukihiro Takahashi earlier this year. Last week we remembered the band’s keyboardist Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Nissan commercials; now it’s Takahashi’s turn, and he was even more … Continue reading

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Japanese automakers jointly built five EV concepts for the Tokyo Motor Show 50 years ago

The conventional wisdom is that Japanese automakers are dragging their feet when it comes to EVs. It’s kind of a reductive statement that doesn’t take into account the fact that most are simultaneously exploring many zero-carbon propulsion systems, or that … Continue reading

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Toyota, Daihatsu, and Suzuki to build 1.0-liter sports car?

Toyota, Daihatsu, and Suzuki are reportedly teaming up to build a 1.0-liter sports car.  There hasn’t been a real compact sports car from Japan since the Honda S660, and that was discontinued last year. A one-liter car would exceed kei … Continue reading

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The history of Japanese Rally Cars at the Toyota Automobile Museum

The Toyota Automobile Museum recently ended a special exhibit about the history of Japanese cars in rallying. As those who’ve visited the TAM will know, despite the name, the institution welcomes all marques. As such, the exhibit assembled cars from … Continue reading

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Daihatsu Charade: the “Little Giant Killer” of the Safari Rally

Quick, think of a Japanese car that has won the Safari Rally. A Daihatsu Charade is probably not the the first thing that pops into mind. The 3-cylinder compact is most remembered in the States as the car that spearheaded … Continue reading

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Daihatsu had the best Tokyo Auto Salon display with ten generations of HiJet

The Tokyo Auto Salon is traditionally filled with over-the-top booths filled with over-the-top builds. But this year, it was humble Daihatsu that took the cake with a lineup of HiJet kei trucks that dated back to 1960. There were 10 … Continue reading

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Subaru 360 “Beach Van” charms its way to the kei car Grand Prix at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon

In a show where copious horsepower and dazzling bling overshadows less shouty cars, a humble Subaru 360 Custom has taken the Grand Prix for kei cars at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon. Called the Subaru 360 Beach Van, it might … Continue reading

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Suzuki-Toyota-Daihatsu mid-engine sports car rumored to be under development

There’s a rumor coming out of Japan that a new mid-engine sports car is being jointly developed by Suzuki, Toyota, and Daihatsu. If true — and that’s skyscraper-sized if — it could kill two birds with one stone for Toyota. … Continue reading

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The Daihatsu HiJet has won Good Design’s lifetime achievement award

The Daihatsu HiJet, perhaps the most ubiquitous of all the many kei trucks in Japan, has won Good Design’s “Long Life” award. It’s one of Japan’s highest honors in the field of industrial design, recognizing graphics, products, and architecture that … Continue reading

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For the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Daihatsu followed the torch from Greece to Japan

The last time Tokyo hosted the Olympics, Japan had yet to prove itself as a global force in the automotive realm. The country’s budding carmakers was eager to seize the opportunity that the 1964 Summer Games presented, to introduce the … Continue reading

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Daihatsu might bring back the Rocky as a Jimny rival

There’s a rumor swirling around Japanese automotive media right now that Daihatsu might be bringing back the mighty Rocky. Well, technically it’s not the Rocky, but the vehicle that the original Rocky was based on, the Daihatsu Rugger. It’s said … Continue reading

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EVENTS: The inaugural Kyushu Kei Car Meeting

On Sunday April 25th the inaugural Kyushu Kei Car Meeting was held in Asakura City, Fukuoka Prefecture. I see a raised hand in the back there. “Inaugural” means, like, the first one? Well, yeah. Due to a glaringly obvious oversight, … Continue reading

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TAS2021: Here come Daihatsu’s Tokyo Auto Salon cars

Daihatsu has officially taken the wraps off their 2021 Tokyo Auto Salon builds. We saw mock-ups of them last month, but now videos of the finished cars can be seen in motion, complete with jaunty music. This is probably the … Continue reading

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Daihatsu’s 2021 Tokyo Auto Salon lineup includes 60th anniversary Hijet camper, Copen speedster

The 2021 Tokyo Auto Salon has been canceled due to the recent COVID-19 spike, but carmakers will be showing their builds in an upcoming virtual event. Ahead of that, Daihatsu has revealed its lineup of five kei jidosha, including a … Continue reading

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VIDEO: More of the Daihatsu museum in a virtual tour

Daihatsu has uploaded more videos continuing the virtual tour of curiously named Humobility World, the company’s museum in Osaka. In part one, we saw the earliest Daihatsu products, a 5,842-pound diesel engine that’s likely the heaviest thing in Humobility World, … Continue reading

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SHOWA SNAP: Tokyo Tower under construction, circa 1958

This Tokyo street scene shows a variety of vehicles, from sedans like the Toyopet Crown to large trucks like the Toyota Toyoace to three-wheelers like the Daihatsu CO10T. What really makes the shot, though, is the ghostly bones of Tokyo … Continue reading

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Daihatsu, Japan’s maker of small cars, also made this giant diesel engine

Like Nissan and Isuzu, Daihatsu is now also offering virtual tours of its museum. Though known mainly for kei cars nowadays, Daihatsu is 113 years  old and started life making gigantic engines for steamships and industrial diesels. Though shorter than … Continue reading

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VIDEO: And the best Japanese car of 1995 was…

By 2020 the 25-year threshold of what constitutes a classic car will cut off at 1995. What was the best Japanese car of that year? Back then, Japan’s Best Motoring sought the answer in a series of videos pitting several … Continue reading

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See some rare Showa Era trucks at Mega Web right now

If you’ve been to Tokyo you’ve likely visited MegaWeb, Toyota’s showroom in the Odaiba shopping district. The History Garage section has a rotating collection of classics, and typically you’ll be able to see a Toyota Sports 800, Mazda Cosmo Sport, … Continue reading

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Japanese Classic Car Show 2019, Part 09: Trucks, Vans, and Wagons

We have arrived at what could be our favorite part of JCCS, the vans, trucks, SUVs, and wagons. And now, in addition to seeing amazing US-market builds of such cars, their Japan-market counterparts are flooding in. No longer are the … Continue reading

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