March 2020 will probably not be remembered fondly by most of us, yet it’s been a very good month here, CC-wise. So numerous were the sightings that I’ve had to divide this post in two – home and away. I’ll probably have to stop photographing these AE86 Corollas, as they are really getting to be quite common. But this one was irresistible. [Edit: it’s a FWD AE92 (1987-91), so I’ll keep taking photos of both AE86s and AE92s until I can tell them apart.]
Keeping it Toyota and in the ‘80s, here’s an S130 Crown Hardtop. Looks like a pretty high-end one, unlike the saloon I caught a while back.
And this is the S130 wagon. This one is a post-1991 facelift base-spec model according to the chrome bumpers, with a few mods. Not sure whether these quad headlamps are strictly stock, but a bit of an online image search shows other S130 Crowns wearing these.
Toyota’s other long-lasting wagon was the X70 Mark II Van, made between 1984 and 1997. This one looks a little worse for wear, but much more to my liking than the one I caught last year. The “three ellipses” Toyota logo on the tailgate makes this one a post-1992 model.
I’m still not used to seeing Centuries wafting by. Or rather idling at a curb, which is what they seem to do most of all. This V12-powered G50 has aftermarket alloy wheels, which don’t really suit it all that well.
That’s better. Still quite a few of these about. Well, not so many that they would become boring: according to my investigations, Toyota made about 9000 of these in 20 years. But I’ve been seeing more of the new G60 models about.
For instance, this silver car. These are really massive automobiles. Black suits it better, though I have yet to see the other two colours (a dark red and a blue)… And speaking of black G60s, I found something of a unicorn the other day.
I couldn’t believe it when I saw it: could this be a Century GRMN, a car still shrouded in mystery? Nobody seems to know how much it costs, how many are likely to be made or how they differ with the “standard” Century exactly. But, as a CC exclusive, here is evidence these mythical machines do exist.
As far as I know, only two have been documented so far – a white one for Akio Toyoda and a black one with a red pinstripe seen at the Tokyo Motor Show. This seems to be a third example, let loose in the streets of Ikebukuro. You saw it here first! [Edit: this might also be a special-order Century with GRMN-like characteristics, as there are some differences between this one and the genuine article…]
You don’t see the Nissan President PGF50 all that much, by comparison to the Toyota flagship. It figures, as these V8-powered luxobarges were produced in minute quantities from 2001 to 2010. The earlier generations look much better than this bug-eyed disaster.
While we’re looking at the more challenging side of the Japanese automotive spectrum, let’s not forget Mitsuoka. The Series I Galue is always a sight for sore eyes.
The K12 Viewt is not a rare sight around these parts, either. Always amusing.
This is some kind of Mitsuoka light: a 1996 Daihatsu Opti Classic. The interior is full of wood and leather, as befits a car with a fluted chrome grille. At least it looks happy.
In a similar vein, we peer in wonderment at the continentally-kitted rump of a 1999-2004 Mitsubishi Minica Town Bee (H42A). The front end of this thing, which I could not capture (but hope to someday), is even stranger, with a big gaping mouth of a grille an oversized vertical quad headlamps. The stuff of nightmares…
Keeping it in kei car mode just for a second, I will echo my fellow CContributor and eminent Nipponophile Jim “Lincolnman” Brophy in hailing the Honda S660 as one of the only good-looking keis being made nowadays. Especially in this electric blue, it’s really a car you notice.
I also caught the S660’s earlier incarnation: a scrumptious Honda Beat. Same mid-engine layout, same drop-top two-seater body, same kei class, but two decades earlier. Perfect colour, too.
Passing a garage at lunchtime, I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye. I processed it a bit slowly, for some reason. Did I just see a Volga? I retraced my steps and snapped a quick photo. No, it wasn’t a Volga, it was much worse than that: a late model Isuzu Florian. Few facelifts this side of Hollywood have gone as awry as this.
I could not remember the last time I saw a late ‘90s Subaru Legacy that wasn’t a wagon. Not a bad-looking car either, for the time. Love the quintessentially Japanese rear wiper.
Nor could I recall the last Subaru SVX I’d ever seen. But I have an excuse: few made it to Europe, where I was based when these were being made (1991-1996). Most of these were sold in the US.
And it seems in Japan, where these were known as Alcyone, buyers didn’t warm much to them either. They were a bit too big for Subaru’s boots – and were heavily taxed due to their 3.3 litre flat-6. Very distinctive car nonetheless.
One last Subaru for old times’ sake. An uncharacteristically tatty 2nd generation Leone “Skiers Special” wagon. Seems this is a 1983 model, given the placement of the mirrors. Ice-cool, even in this condition.
Some Japanese car parks can present an insurmountable paradox to the CC writer. In the present case, the distinctive shape of a Jeep Station Wagon was visible from some distance, but was harder to make out the closer I got to it.
Such a tease, that J30. I understand that these were made by Mitsubishi from 1961 to 1983, nearly all of them with a Diesel engine. And they had a column gear change and other local oddities that, alas, will remain mysterious for the time being. I’ll just have to find another one that’s more grounded.
Here’s another one that was made for eons – the Datsun B110 Sunny pickup. This looks like an early ‘70s example, under all those extra bits.
And here’s the same thing about twenty years later, not unlike the one I bagged back in Burma.
Roundabout the same time as they made these B122 pickups, Nissan were also making the 1989-93 C33 Laurel. Straight-6 engine, “hardtop” sedan, same RWD platform as the Siliva and the Skyline, plenty of gadgets and luxury inside – looks like a decent proposition.
Speaking of Skylines, here’s a R34 coupé made sometime between 1998 and 2002. I hope to catch the four-door version of this someday. But I did catch another two-door Skyline that was quite a looker.
This is a 1977-81 Skyline C210 – unfortunately somewhat modified, but still quite a sight.
Given the sounds that came out of this vehicle, I’d say it didn’t have a puny 4-cyl. engine, unlike most of the half-million C210s made.
Saving the best for last as always: a Datsun Bluebird 510. Nothing much to add – just a superb little car. Seemed quite peppy, too!
Which one of these would be your pick? I’m voting Bluebird.
See you tomorrow for part two – the imports.
The vestigial continental hump on the minica is quite amusing. The next stage of development must surely be a graphic depicting a continental hump, before it finally evolves forever out of the gene pool.
Some wonderful cars but out of all of these, I think I would take the Toyota Mark II, with its lovely wing mirrors, steel wheels and dual rear wipers. A peach.
That old Skyline in a heartbeat, the Laurel being 2nd choice. As 25 plus year old cars make their way to America, I wish modern Kei cars were allowed.
It may be the angle of the photo, but I hadn’t ever thought about the resemblance between the AE86 Corolla and the MR2.
Funny, I thought it was a second gen Camry coupe…which I don’t think actually existed, but it would have been rather good looking, IMO.
Great selection – very similar to what I see in our Tokyo “hood” too…
Wow, that Florian is rare – I still see a few 117 Coupes but have never seen a Florian outside of a museum.
Those GX71 MK II wagons have to be one of the toughest Toyota’s built. They just keep going.
Wow, everything rushed to the background as soon as I saw that Mitsubishi Jeep. Just wow.
That Nissan/Datsun 510/Bluebird is a sweetie, alright. Did the US cars ever come with those overlapping opposed windshield wipers? I don’t ever recall those being on the cars I saw here.
And Jim Brophy – shouldn’t you add a used Toyota Century to your short list? 🙂
Excellent suggestion! Thank you…:-)
Yes, that Jeep wagon is a trip, given that it has four doors, unlike the original. The ur-Wagoneer.
Good noticing on the wipers, Jim. No, the US version of the 510 had typical tandem wipers.
Some early 1968 Datsun 510’s imported into BC Canada, had the opposed windshield wipers as well as slightly different taillights to the 1969-73 models. The earlier lights were not quite as wide and had amber turn signals. The example I knew of was built in 1967 and sold as a 1968.
That’s an amazing collection of pictures, thank you. I’ve never heard of Mitsuoka before, I had to look them up, and I find their products to be fascinating. Unique distinctive cars that look like nothing else.
If I had a pile of spare cash I’d love to import a couple to drive around. Nobody would know what they were
We’ve reviewed several of them right here at CC – Use the search function at the upper right and type in Mitsuoka. T87 kees finding them on his walks but we’ve found at least a couple in Toronto as well.
Being smitten with the Century I think I’d take one of those. Or the Mark II wagon of course!
That first car is an AE92 Levin, the front drive coupe that replaced the AE86 that was based on the AE91 Corolla; the Trueno version had the pop up lights. This looks like the standard version as the supercharged one had a hood scoop.
Thank you, I’ve amended the text — hard to tell these apart when you’re not overly familiar with them!
On the SVX snaps, that rear spoiler is different from the USA market version. Great car, still have my 2nd one.
Bruce
The first image you labelled as an AE86 Corolla is an AE92, the generation after.
It’s also not a Century GRMN you photographed, just a regular Century with dark details and black wheels someone has tried to make look more like it, since it’s missing the skirts/splitter of the GRMN (the one you photographed has the same ones as the silver Century above it). The only Century GRMNs built remain the 2 you mention.
However, I would love one of those new Centuries. Or the Alcyone SVX, which was one of my favourite 90s JDM coupes along with the Eunos Cosmo. Or the S660. Or the Beat.
Well, even if the GRMN here isn’t a real GRMN, it was fun to learn about it. Never heard about this vehicle before, so I went ahead and did some digging on it… funny how little available material exists about that car.
Why would anyone want to fake a Century GRMN of all things? First you would have to be ‘of sufficient status’ to qualify to buy a Century…..
From what I see in the photo, I don’t think it aims to look like the GRMN, since it would’ve been so easy to replace the chromed skirts/edges on the bumpers with something more sporty. It looks like they’ve had it detailed or modified to look slightly more menacing than standard, hence the darkened trim on the grille and the black wheels. The resemblance is, to my eye, coincidental.
But yeah, whoever bought it was already rich.. so it wouldn’t be much of a cost leap to pay for the lightest of personalisation since the vast majority of them are black anyway.
Agreed on the Corolla (see my answer above).
But on the Century, I’m less categorical than you — it’s true that this one is a bit of a half-way house between the standard model and the GRMN. I wish now that I’d taken a photo of the rear, to see if it had a spoiler on the trunk.
Nonetheless, I did modify the text. Could be a special-order / blacked-out G60 and not a third “genuine” GRMN.
Your photo collections always entertain me, Tatra. One question, though… it’s always been reported, here in the states, that the Japanese government makes it very difficult to keep cars more than a few years – yet you never seem to run out of oldies to photograph. What’s the real story?
I read somewhere that the proportion of old cars (i.e. 25-year-plus) in Japan is around 0.6%, whereas it’s at least twice that in the US and Europe. That means that it is more difficult to find CCs here, but it’s still a huge city (greater Tokyo = 35 million people), full of cars and relatively rich people who can afford the punitive taxes on older cars that the government throws their way. Folks here get attached to their cars like they do everywhere else.
I find it’s easier to encounter classic cars here compared to Bangkok or Rangoon, especially since here they are usually being driven, as opposed to rusting quietly in a back alley.
I love your street scene photo’s, I enjoy the cars and then I check out whats behind, I have to make it to Japan one day, fascinating society! Skyline for me, don’t mind the modifications. I’m very fond of big Japanese station wagons. None were sold in South Africa in the 60’s and every so often we would see a Rhodesian registered Crown wagon in Cape Town on holiday, invariably beige with mud flaps, and I would salivate… That S660 Honda is great, hopefully their future design direction! Reminds me of the new Peugeot’s which I think are really good looking, I Cant wait to see a 2008 in the flesh.
I love the Skiers Special Leone. There’s something very special about finding old and faded “special-edition” cars like this. In the early 1980s, Subaru marketed a much less subtle graphics package in the US to correspond to its wagons being the official car of the US Ski Team (I’m pretty sure the graphics were available to the public, and I recall seeing them at dealers)… looks like the Skiers Special was a somewhat toned-down version of the same idea.
Love your compilations.
I’d take the new Century or that lovely Alcyone, still one of my favourite cars from my favourite era for Japanese cars.
The top of the range Centuries and Ptesidents are ubnusual the mitsuokas strange, 4 door Subaru sedans are just traffic here as are 4 door Skylines those Datsun Sunny utes came in two wheelbases longer ones seem to have survived in greater numbers here, though there are not many around anymore, the samw engine mods Dennis Marwood endowed the kiwi only 1200 SSS sedan with fitted the ute too and finance terms were more attractive on the utes so many of them met their fate a long time ago.
Havent seen a live Mitsubishi Jeep for a while most seemed to rust away like the real thing did.
There are some of those SVX Subies here with the DAF/Foden windows but they arent overly common NZ was a Subaru country at one point could have been the Possum Bourne influence who knows but they were very popular cars not so much now, too many mechanical problems for most people coupled with high fuel prices and terrible fuel economy have seen them decline.
“Few facelifts this side of Hollywood have gone as awry as this.”
Back of the net!
A superb selection. Maybe my vision is fading but I don’t mind the Mitsuoka Series I Galue. The S660 is a beauty and I can’t wait for them to be legal to import here.