Hey there, CCompadres, it’s been a while! T87 went on a looong (and long overdue) holiday back to ye olde Europe – a real holiday, sans laptop – hence the radio silence over the past few weeks. I came back with a bunch of goodies to share with you good people, so it wasn’t a total loss. First item on the agenda though: the traditional Tokyo traffic finds prior to my vacation. And we’ll start by putting the bar sky-high with a Toyota 2000GT. Bam!
And we’ll cool it right down with a Sprinter Trueno AE92 – albeit a very well-preserved one.
The even more humble 1990-94 Corolla II L40 (a.k.a Tercel, to many of you) is not that common a sight in its home country. Its 4-door Corsa variant seems to have had more of a following.
That’s it for the Toyotas, strangely enough. Mazda sightings were a bit more interesting, starting with this Fast’n’Furious-style RX-7, if you catch my Tokyo Drift.
I just find these old Porters irresistible. The wide-eyed face. The baby blue hue. The sheer teeny-tininess of the whole thing.
And this one has been restored to near perfection, so it looks like I’m not the only one to have a thing for them.
This T87 Singles edition’s first Subaru, a 1999 Impreza Casa Blanca, is brought to you by “Yechhhh”.
This T87 Singles edition’s second Subaru, a late model Sambar kei van, is brought to you by “Whaaa?”
A couple of interesting Suzukis crossed my path. This is the first of these early FWD Cervos (1982-88) I’ve seen here. The Mighty Boy pickup variant is somewhat more popular it seems, and judging by that tiny rear hatch, that makes sense.
When is a 3rd gen (1998-2018) Jimny not a Suzuki? When it’s festooned on all sides with John Deere logos, that’s when. No idea what the deal is exactly, nor why this particular make and model was elected to be Deerified so.
I’ve been wondering what the last non-truck Isuzu was in Japan. It’s not 100% clear what the answer is, but these second-generation Bighorns (1991-2002) are a good candidate.
Fancy Irmscher variants were issued, too. Strange to see that name attached to an old Japanese SUV.
Onwards to the Hondas. Driving an NSX is no way to stand out of the crowd in Tokyo. But a bright yellow NSX? Yeah, that’ll work.
I have a serious thing for these S800s. I found one sitting still just a few weeks ago, so I’ll get a chance to wax lyrical on these at some point, but it wasn’t quite as nice as this one. The best is the enemy of the good…
I’m starting to see a few of these new Mitsuoka SUVs about, mostly in garish colours or two-toned. This was the first all-black one I caught, and Buddy, it really suits you.
This is only the second Orochi (2006-14) I’ve seen in the Wild East here. Always a bit of a shock. And this one had a bunch of weird decals, to boot.
All in all, the condition of the car was pretty scruffy. It doesn’t necessarily show all that well in the photos, except on that rear grille, which is clearly starting to rust out. Some Mitsuokas have a hard life.
This Mazda-based 1st gen Himiko (2008-18), on the other hand, looks to have led a more pampered existence.
Not sure what the deal is with that pseudo-British plate, but hey, to each their own.
Just one Mitsubishi to report in this edition, but it’s kind of a weird one: in Japan, the 1991-96 Diamante was sold as the Sigma. And you could order them with goofy ‘70s-style fender mirrors, too.
Let’s see what treasures Nissan has in store for us this time. If you think the standard-issue Rasheen is a bit too plain and common, then you can spice it up with an aftermarket grille and round headlights while you get it painted a daring shade of blue. Who needs a new car when you can just reinvent old ones for a fraction of the cost?
Is this another Fairlady ZG? It’s not the same one as the one I wrote up last year, that’s for sure. Thing is, I can’t tell a real one from a fake. It’s like ‘70s Skyline GT-Rs – too many sightings to all be kosher.
This, on the other hand, definitely is the same C210 Skyline I wrote up back in January. Still ugly as sin, but the frilly curtains get me every time.
In terms of Skyline saloons, I much prefer the R30 that followed. Speaking of which, here’s a fine early model example of one.
As some of you may have picked up by now, I’m not keen on mods and customs. But this slightly lowered and rimmed gen 2 (1991-96) Cima actually had a pretty bad-ass look to it. Yakuza Chic.
What tops a Cima? A mid-to-late-‘80s President 250 Sovereign, that’s what.
And finally, something we might not have had on CC before: an amphibious bus. Because why not? It weighs 13 tons, sits 38 passengers and wades in the water at 6 knots.
See you tomorrow for the (somewhat larger) foreign car portion of this post.
Welcome back, and these posts are like digging into a big sharing size mixed bag of Haribo, you never know what you’re going to get, some sweet, some sour, many brightly colored, and all so satisfying somehow.
Mitsuoka is in danger of becoming a fuller-line manufacturer than Ford…. The “Buddy” always makes me smile, the best thing about its Chevy C/K-ness is that it’s based on a RAV4, they missed out a bit by choosing Buddy over Bubba as the name though.
The Diamante is a strangely good-looking shape that is holding up well over the decades, with the R30 Skyline satisfying my rectilinear urge.
The RCLB Porter is a delight of course, but Deere me, that Jimny! Maybe there’ll be a red Case one and an orange Allis-Chalmers too for a spec farm-rally-cross event.
Lots of goodness as usual, thank you!
Holy cow T87, from a Toyota 2000 to a amphibious Hippo bus – and you do seem to capture just about everything else in-between.
It would be fantastic if Mazda Porter Cabs were legal in the USA. Actually, any Kei car would be a nice option for people who need a vehicle in big or small USA cities. But that’s not gonna happen.
That Hippo bus underway has an uncomfortable top heavy appearance, but it probably has a very heavy bottom to compensate for the big, sail-like top.
Nevertheless, it must be a handful maneuvering in tight quarters in heavy winds until you find the ramp and plant the wheels on solid ground.
Thanks for all the photos.
In Canada with the 15 year import limitation the Kei cars are more popular. In my town there are at least 2 pick-ups and one van (Daihatsu Hijet) that is used for Amazon deliveries. In the nearest city, 40 km away there is an Autozam AZ-1.
Why could you not import an old Mazda Porter in the US nowadays? They’re well over 25 years old. New keis are better in that they have things like AC, airbags or CVTs, but if you don’t mind winding down your own windows, any classic 550cc kei truck would (should) work.
I find those Porters brilliant as well. Sort of like a real life cartoon vehicle.
I am not usually a fan of their type but the Himiko really is not that bad.
I agree about the Himiko. When I first saw the profile shot here, I actually thought it was a Morgan, and then on second glance, it actually looks better than a Morgan in some ways.
The 2000 GT was such a great looking car, even today!
Nice, some of the older used Jap imports are disappearing from the roads here as roadworthy parts become an issue, collectors are probably grabbing them and storing them somewhere with any luck or they become drift cars, Those Mitsu Galants are definitely an endangered species here a mate ran one for a long time then reverted to Falcons, his had auto locking that kicked in as soon as it moved but didnt unlock when it stopped, my C5 has the same system but doesnt lock you in the car when it parks.
Just when I thought I’ve seen every John Deere tribute imaginable, along comes a… Suzuki Jimny. I never would have guessed.
I know it’s almost blasphemous to say this, but I like the design of that Mitsuoka Buddy better than many factory-made cars these days.
That Suzuki Cervos is a completely new one to me… I’ve never seen or heard of these before.
And I love the Nissan President. Still one of my favorite Japanese cars.
The amphibious bus is a new one to me. I guess it’s not too different from the Duck Tour amphibious craft that are (or were) popular in the US. Doing some Internet searches brings up several videos of these buses in action… looks like they splash into the water at a pretty fast clip.
John Deere colors only look good on John Deere tractors. On anything else they look like something from a little kids cartoon. Years ago, a guy that I worked with painted his pick up truck in John Deere colors. He thought it was so cool. I thought that he should have had a bubble machine mounted in the bed.
I love the Subaru kei van made to look like a bukhanka!
I snapped this Orochi in Osaka in 2012 – didn’t know what it was though until I saw your photo.
Fun selection.
Are the Irmscher add-ons explained by the existence of the Opel Monterey from 1992-98? Per Wiki, there was an Isuzu Bighorn Irmscher edition
Irmscher Isuzus started well before that with the Gemini, Aska, and Piazza models in the mid-1980’s and lasted until their in-house passenger car line’s demise in 1993. They were the most aggressively sporty in Isuzu’s trim level hierarchy; in the Piazza’s (Impulse) case, for example, the Irmscher was positioned even higher than the ‘handling by Lotus’ models most people associated with. Almost all Irmschers were turbocharged, and were typically known for monotone paint schemes (not always as time wore on, however):
Nice selection. Had a C210 Skyline just like the one here passed down from my father-in-law.
We have a similar amphibious tour bus, here in Ottawa.
Thanks Tatra87-san, good to see you back. And looking forward to whatever will come from your trip.
This is very timely as we are planning on our return to Japan for early next spring (before the cherry blossoms). Unlike past trips we plan on spending some time in Tokyo both at the beginning and end, then Hiroshima (home of my wife’s relatives) and a couple of weeks in Kyushu. I recall in a past post you mentioned the name of a street in Tokyo that you had good success in finding unique or memorable vehicles. I would appreciate it if you could remind me what that is.
As for this selection of vehicles, wow! A 2000GT. The closest I will get to one of those is the Corgi James Bond re-issue version and a Ebbro 1/43 model, also of the open top. That John Deere Suzuki is, um, interesting. Pretty aggressive tires too, seems well suited for the farm.
Looking forward to the Part 2!
The gingko-lined street in question (which, like most in this baffling city, has no name) is situated within Meiji Jingu Gaien park. Hurry up, though – the bulldozers may be closing in on the area soon…
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/12/22/national/public-parks-tokyo-meiji-jingu-gaien/
Thanks. I had read about that, seems very controversial.
That Himiko looks so great until I saw that leather strap-on. Looks about as good as it sounds.
That Tercel/Corolla has the tail lights of a 911. Suits it well.
Excellent post as always.