It’s difficult to make sweeping generalizations about Japanese cars, especially those that you actually find on the streets and parking lots of Japan. Take these two, for instance. At first glance, one could deduct from this unlikely duo that JDM cars are small – and pretty bulky, too. They’re ultra-conservative, as well as completely modern. They’re square and yet round, sporty and slow, dull and exciting, somewhat silly and deadly serious. Welcome to the Land of Paradoxes.
Take the 2002-12 Daihatsu Copen – a two-seater drop-top with a turbocharged 659cc 4-cyl driving the front wheels. It’s not the quickest car on the market, but then it’s a kei car, so it has no business being very fast. It’s cute and cool and cheap to keep on the road, and that’s what matters.
Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean it has to be ugly or shoddy. After all, it takes just as much effort to design and build an ugly car as a pretty one (and more effort to sell the ugly ones), so they really went for the retro rounded design with this one, though it manages to look distinctive, as opposed to derivative. Sure, there are lots of VW New Beetle hints, but the smaller overall package, slab-sided design and a few judiciously placed details, e.g. the grille, give this Daihatsu its own character.
The owner of this one obviously thought it needed a few sporting touches, including a great big rear spoiler. It’s a hilarious addition to such a small car, just like the multiple air ducts in the front. The cuteness of the Copen clashes with these “performance-enhancing” items in a most comical way. Unlikely juxtapositions – or paradoxes – are often a source of merriment.
The only thing I was able to suss out about dating these is that the rear-mounted antenna disappeared for MY 2009, so this Copen is at least 10 years old. In kei car years, that’ like 20. After 10 years, the mandatory biennial vehicle inspection (the dreaded shaken, designed by the Government – in collusion with the automakers – to incite the public into buying new cars on a regular basis) tends to be prohibitively expensive, so keeping a car like this one on the road is a sign that the owner, to his great credit, is not stirred by the shaken. This little Daihatsu is still on the road. And that, in and of itself, is also a paradox.
The other member of this duo of misfits is ubiquitous around Japan (not that the Copen is all that rare, but Crown Comfort taxis are just everywhere). As familiar as I am with these cars, I am still not used to seeing these small-taillight base models, which I would reckon, based on personal empirical guesstimates, to represent about 40% of the current Japanese taxi fleet. The higher-spec Comfort Super Saloon is present in roughly equal numbers, though slightly higher in Tokyo and less in the provinces.
Is there any 21st Century vehicle that could rival base-level Crown Comfort in terms of staidness and butt-clenched rectitude? That is part of its charm. So square it’s cool, so antiquated it seems to have landed here straight from the late ‘80s – which it has, in a way. The underlying RWD / live axle nature of this beast only widens the gap between it and its neighbouring Copen, yet they are contemporaries and made by sister companies. Do I detect a faint whiff of paradox?
It’s impossible for me to ascertain when this Crown came off the assembly line. These were made for over two decades (1995-2017) with precious few changes, as far as I know. The column shifter in this one might indicate an older car, but even that is pure speculation on my part.
You just can’t tell how old this car is by looking at it. Japanese taxis, even two decades old and clocking over 500,000 km (which do exist), are always spotless. I’ve used a lot of taxis in Southeast Asia and the experience is not always a pleasant one, in terms of upkeep and/or general hygiene. Japanese taxis are always clean, comfortable and meticulously maintained.
But they cost an arm and a leg, so I never use them. Paradox.
Related posts:
CC Capsule: 2002-12 Daihatsu Copen – Parp Parp!, by William Stopford
Curbside Outtake: Honda S660, Daihatsu Copen, and Daihatsu Move Canbus – My Top 3 Favorite Kei Cars, by Jim Brophy
Curbside Outtake: 1997-99 Cadillac Deville, 2001-10 Nissan President, and 2001-10 Daihatsu Copen – The Three (White) Musketeers, by Jim Brophy
CC Global: 1995- Toyota Crown Comfort – Japan’s Crown Victoria, by Robert Kim
Curbside Classic: 2002 Toyota Crown Comfort Super Deluxe G – Time For A Change, by T87
The Copen looks more Audi TT than Beetle, to my eyes. Either way, it’s certainly unusual in shape/size/spec to an American. As for the Crown, it’s been years since I’ve ridden in these taxis in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Refresh my memory … is the column shifter 4 (or 5) on the tree, or an automatic?
I think this one’s an auto. That little switch on the end there should not be present on a manual trans.
The manuals were 4-speed, IIRC. Probably the last of their kind on a car, too.
Both Toyota and Nissan have factories in the US. I wonder why they didn’t try for our taxi and police market? This Crown is clearly specialized for taxi use, with openings and wiring for taxi equipment. Everything fits inside the dash. US carmakers gave up those specializations a long time ago.
Are taxis subject to the shaken inspection?
Yes they are – and every year, too, no matter how old they are. Same for rental cars, buses and some trucks.
Private cars (keis included) go twice a year after an initial 3 years.
Yeah like NZ they are commercial vehicles so subject to a certificate of fitness biannual, Napier has a fleet of old Packards still on COFs doing tourist duty that Crown isnt so old it that role
Yep, but the companies usually have their mechanics bring the cars in to the DIY center. It’s a lot cheaper to do it yourself, (you check off everything and then an inspector just double-checks a few major items before signing off. It’s a pain, but if you do your own wrenching on an older car, it’s the way to go. A friend of mine with a Fiat X-1/9 does it himself.
Sign me up for the Crown Comfort.
Shaken can be done at a DIY inspection center, with the owner doing all the paperwork and inspection themselves, and the inspectors rechecking a few major items and a selection of minor ones (there are about 60 items). Cuts the price in half, and a lot of guys who have older cars do it this way. If you’re a gear head who does a lot of your own work it’s a no-brainer. Everyone I know of with an older collectible or customized car does it this way. But you really can’t let anything go. Even minor leaks have to be fixed, brake pads have to be good enough to last til past the next shaken, and the car has to be clean enough underneath to see everything. All at the discretion of the inspector, so be polite. In the experience of a friend of mine the inspectors are very conscientious and serious, and actually concerned about safety, even if they seem to go a bit overboard.
Shaken is obviously a way for the car companies to sell new cars…but there are two pluses (might as well find the positives). 1- you aren’t likely to get hit by a beater with no brakes, and you don’t see disabled cars on the side of the freeway much here. Your car is either in good shape or it’s not on the road. 2- most people get their shaken and any needed repairs done at the dealer, so dealers have a regular source of easy income…meaning they aren’t trying to rip your head off when you buy the car. They also have an incentive to keep customers happy, because you can go somewhere else for your shaken. Car buying is actually pleasant. Our salesman BRINGS us a loaner car at shaken time, and a new Honda calendar at New Years, and itf they have a sales event, will send us a coupon for a free car wash and give us swag.
Taxi companies have inspections done by their mechanics or have a contract with a company to do it en masse for them. Here the vast majority of taxis are company-owned.
That is a truly interesting insight. Seems it requires enthusiasts to work a bit harder (or pay more for garage labour), but quite dispels the perception outside-Japan that it’s near-impossible to pass by a certain car age.
Exactly, I often wondered about the number of classic/older cars here when I knew shaken was pricey….then I met a guy with an X-1/9.
Crown Comfort for me as well, please, I’ll be sprawled in the back on the lace.
More great finds Tatra. I find most Kei cars (and vans) convincingly cute. Including the Copen. Though I am normal sized, I suspect I’d find the cabin too claustrophobic.
Are you quite sure, T87? As I understand it, the taillights as on the car you saw were used until the late 2007 refresh, which kept the same quarter panel sheetmetal but extended the tails inward across the rear face of the boot lid, making the car look even more like an alternate-universe Plymouth Acclaim. Here’s a pic of the newer lights on the car in the foreground (note the filler/dummy uppermost portion filling unused space), while the car up ahead has the older lights. Granted, that won’t get you anywhere near a model year, it’ll just let you sort Crown Comforts into ’95 to late ’07 and late ’07 to ’17 groups.
You’re quite right about the condition of taxicabs, too. In Tokyo two summers ago I rode in some Crown Comforts that could not have been newer than 12 years old (per the taillights) and they looked, inside and out, as though they were fresh off the show floor. Also, the drivers wore suit and tie.
Obscure trivia: the older lights were built to JIS D5500, the Japanese national technical standard for vehicle lighting equipment which required brake and turn signal light intensities similar to the US requirements. By the time of the Crown Comfort refresh, Japan had begun applying UN (formerly “European”) regulations, which specify a lower intensity range and allow a smaller lit area. The difference is quite stark: the earlier Crown Comforts’ rear turn signals are much more conspicuous—they’re larger and brighter than the ones on the later cars.
As I understand it, the “big taillight” treatment means these are Super Deluxes. Small taillights are for the lower spec Comforts.
We had a 2002 Comfort Super Deluxe in Yangon and it had the big taillights. So, no, the lights are to do with spec, not year of manufacture.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/curbside-classic-2002-toyota-crown-comfort-super-deluxe-g-time-for-a-change/
Alright, fair ’nuff. The Toyota parts cattledogs, at least the ones I have access to, are uncharacteristically unhelpful; they show and list only one kind of tail light for all ’95-’17 cars, and we know that’s wrong.
Hang on a sec — on a second try the Toyota parts cattledogs are being more cooperative, and it looks like we’re both right, sortakinda: they’re showing the “big” taillights appear on the higher-spec cars, but not until late ’07 production. Prior to that, they’re showing all the cars have the “small” tail lights. The cattledogs aren’t infallible, of course, but that also matches up with what Wikipedia has to say on the subject (for whatever that’s worth). And there’s the smaller lamps being built and certified to JIS and the bigger lamps to ECE. Nothing 100% dispositive, but fairly suggestive.
Are you sure your ’02 had all original parts? Trunk lid + tail lamps = change a car from big to small or small to big lights.
Wikipedia entries (on JDM cars especially) is all “trust but verify” territory, as far as I’m concerned. The gold standard would be a dated brochure scan, but no dice on that score…
Not sure of anything, including our Crown’s DOB (or the trunk’s) but I’ll investigate. The Web is perhaps not the best place to go to get to the bottom of this.
But I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen a big taillamp Comfort that wasn’t a Super Deluxe. Question is: when did they start making those, and when did they stop making the lower-spec ones…
Crown Comfort – Space and Lace.
You know, if one was a bit squiffy – a not-uncommon reason for the calling of a taxi – one might reawaken mid-journey to think one had mystifying ended up in some sort of mobile knickers department.
Even the headrest stalks have modesty covers! How very Victorian, except we ARE most amused.
I wonder, do the wing mirrors give some clue to the age of the Comfort?
No, the mirrors don’t tell a tale. Japanese regulations used to require the sideview mirrors be visible to the driver through a portion of glass cleared by wipers. The most common solution was to mount the mirrors such that the driver’s sightline to them passed through the windshield wipers’ clearance path, but there were other ways, too—not long ago here on CC was a Japan-market car with door-mount sideview mirrors and little wipers to clear the glass between the mirror and the driver’s eyes.
Now most Japan-market cars have rest-of-world-style sideview mirrors, but taxicabs mostly have the forward-mount type. An explanation I have seen, which I can’t confirm, is that a taxi driver turning their head to check the nearside mirror could at the same time glance at a passenger in the rear, which would be rude—so to keep the cabby’s gaze facing front, the mirrors are up there instead of over here.
The Japanese did small cars well, and big cars well too and the ability to tailor car for theit intended markets didnt hurt their cause either, for NZ they even allowed local modifications within the warranty thats why we got the NZ only Datsun 1200 and 120Y SSS with dual side draft carbs and other kit and the Chris Amon Toyotas that were actually good handlers and Camrys with quick racks and stiffer suspension tune and the middle east got the gauges modufied so noemal running temp was in the middle where normal should be little things that mean something to the average Hemi Rangi or Joe. It explains why used Japanese cars are so popular here its not just price all used cars plummet in value here.
Interesting tidbit about Daihatsu Copen in Germany…
Copen was never built with left-hand-drive for the first four model years (2002-2005). Thus, Copen was officially sold in Germany from 2003 to 2005 and with smaller 660cc engine and in right-hand-drive form.
For 2006, Copen with bigger 1300cc engine was offered in Germany—at last—in proper left-hand-drive form.
Wow I wrote a long comment about shaken and taxis, but it vanished into the ether. Sorry, guys.
Sometimes the comment would appear much later on. Next time, please select all text you wrote and copy it and paste it in the word processor or note apps before posting. That saved my frustration when the server had glitches.
Thanks for letting know. For some reason, the comment was flagged as Spam… I retrieved it from the spam filter and it’s above.
The CC editors peruse the spam and trash folders regularly and retrieve real comments that shouldn’t be there (which is how comments reappear like Oliver Twist mentions). However, if this happens to you again, you may post another comment letting us know that a comment disappeared, and we’ll get it back as soon as we can.
It did appear a day or so late, whew!
Great finds! Gull wing Suzuki anyone?