In its first few years, it was only a Toyota, but the 4th-gen HiAce van has been in production in various countries since the spring of 1989 and is still being churned out in fair…
Browsing Category Japanese Cars
Rotary Madness: Mazda RX-3 Wagon
Mazda’s first U.S. dealers, in Oregon and Washington, opened in April of 1970, and a regional office in Seattle soon followed, with a small HQ in Compton, California not too far behind. Toyo Kogyo sold…
Solid Gold: SA22C Mazda RX-7 LS
“An enthusiast’s dream come true,” said one review, and in many ways, Mazda’s original SA22C (later “FB”) RX-7 was exactly that. It was affordable, fast, good looking, well made, and earned praise from all quarters…
4WEverything: Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
Mitsubishi was still a new brand in the United States when the 6th-Gen Galant was introduced for 1988. For a little while, a version of the previous Galant continued on sale alongside the new Galant…
E70: A Tale of Many Corollas
Until 2018, in North America at least, it had been decades since the Toyota Corolla was available as anything except a workaday 4-door sedan. In 2018, Toyota brought a 5-door E210 Corolla hatch, the first…
Oh What a Feeling!
1981 Toyota Corona
Before Camry, there was Corona. Of course, after Camry, there was still Corona – indeed, the name continued into 2001, but you couldn’t get those later Coronas in the USA. In the early 1970s multiple…
Sporting Modern: Honda Civic CR-X Mk1
It wasn’t quite a sports car, it wasn’t quite an economy car, and it wasn’t quite a hot hatch – but cleverly, Honda’s original CR-X could be all three.
The Iron Mask: Tekkamen R30 Skyline
Most of the time, when people talk about classic Nissan Skylines, it’s the R32/33 GT-Rs that dominate the conversation; or possibly the 1968-72 C10 “Hakosuka” or 1972/73 “Kenmeri” GT-Rs. But Nissan built millions of Skylines…
Proto-Si: Honda Civic S
Sporty Civics would eventually become familiar in the form of the Civic Si – but before there was an Si, there was the Civic S. The very first “sporty” Civic.
California Connection: 1981 Toyota Celica
The original A20 Toyota Celica was a break-out car for Toyota; introducing hundreds of thousands of new customers to a brand they might not otherwise have given a second thought. The Celica, a scaled down…
Japan’s Jimny JA11
Suzuki’s first U.S. model (aside from some early imports to Puerto Rico) was the Samurai, aka the Jimny SJ413 – and it was an instant hit when it debuted in 1985. Just as it had…
From the Forest to the Ranch: Subaru BRAT Mk1
Datsun and Toyota’s small trucks were selling like air conditioners in a heat wave. Ford and GM were getting in on the action with rebadged Isuzus and Mazdas (also sold under their own labels). Though…