Cars and Coffee in Japan: JDM Everything!! Or not....

"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy) 09/06/2015 at 08:00 • Filed to: None

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Cars and Coffee has become an instution over the years, spreading from a shopping center in Crystal Cove, CA all the way to Japan today! Now that I finally have a fun daily driver (more on that later), I decided to join in and see how a “Cars and Coffee” could be in the country where JDM cars are simply called “cars”.

So I woke up at 6am, picked up a friend and brought our sleepy asses to Nagoya, on the parking lot of Auto Planet, an absolutly massive dealership located on the edge of the city. They kind of organize the whole thing and lend their parking lot to car afficionados the first sunday of each month. Sometimes the whole parking lot is filled with cars, sometimes like today, a rainy morning, it’s a bit more quiet.

Nonetheless 50+ cars came, giving me a brief preview of what the car scene in Japan really is.

But enough writing, enjoy a little photodump that will, I hope, motivate you to take your own car to local C&C event around your place!

(Sorry for the, sometimes badly, blurred license plates... But well... Japan.)

Enjoy!

KnowsAboutCars > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 08:17

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Nice photodump! Is the French tricolor Kangoo badge a custom touch or some special edition badge?

Flavien Vidal > KnowsAboutCars 09/06/2015 at 08:20

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I honestly have no idea... I’m far from being a Kangoo expert haha

I did glance at it and if custom it looked very much original and well made in person.

Dogapult > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 08:54

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It is strange to me that the Kangoo has a 3XX plate instead of a van’s 4XX plate.

KnowsAboutCars > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 08:58

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Armed with curiosity and Google translate I did a bit of research. That tricolor Kangoo badge seems to be made by some guy/company called Sakumaro. Renault of Japan also offers (or at least offered) a dress up package called tricolor selection which actually looks pretty cool.

And oh, there seems to be annual Kangoo owners meet called Renault Kangoo Jamboree in Japan.

Stef Schrader > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 08:59

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Oh, that’s wonderful.

Stef Schrader > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:00

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I need this car!

Flavien Vidal > Dogapult 09/06/2015 at 09:03

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Aren’t 4xx supposed to be commercial vehicles?

Flavien Vidal > KnowsAboutCars 09/06/2015 at 09:05

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Haha nice find... You never stop to amaze me with your will to actually keep on knowingaboutcars :)

Brickman > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:06

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Budweiser can tied to the bumper? Still better than trucknutz.

Flavien Vidal > Stef Schrader 09/06/2015 at 09:06

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And it’s a genuine g50 at that...

Flavien Vidal > Stef Schrader 09/06/2015 at 09:07

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It’s an s2.. Wouldn’t mind such a nice one in my collection :)

Ben Gould > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:08

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That 1969 mustang looks perfect no matter where it is.

Flavien Vidal > Ben Gould 09/06/2015 at 09:12

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It would need a manual conversion though...

Z06blake > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:12

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Would not expect a Bumblebee Camaro at a Japanese C&C.

Flavien Vidal > Z06blake 09/06/2015 at 09:13

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RS with the Transformers badge and all :)

pjhusa > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:13

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Dang, just searched up Auto Planet, and it's like a department store on steroids.

nmalinoski > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:13

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This is appropriate.

pjhusa > Stef Schrader 09/06/2015 at 09:14

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Stef-bait!

Declan Hackett > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:15

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Ok, you’ve got me!

As the guy on the ground says to Dirty Harry, “I gots to know…”

nmalinoski > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:15

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This makes me wonder... if there are people in the US who will switch out their Acura badges for Honda badges, are there people in markets where Acura doesn’t operate that will switch out their Honda badges for Acura badges?

Flavien Vidal > pjhusa 09/06/2015 at 09:15

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It’s enormous... Absolutely gigantic.

Flavien Vidal > Declan Hackett 09/06/2015 at 09:17

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Alfa Romeo Zagato Junior 1300. A real beauty... Somewhat affordable still but not for long...

Flavien Vidal > nmalinoski 09/06/2015 at 09:18

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Lol, no, I’ve never seen it :)

It’s called an Acura in the US only I think right?

LongbowMkII > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:19

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Lifted Panda?

LongbowMkII > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:20

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plexiglass?

Flavien Vidal > LongbowMkII 09/06/2015 at 09:24

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I don’t know shit about too modern cars... Didn’t even know it was a Panda lol

Flavien Vidal > LongbowMkII 09/06/2015 at 09:25

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Could be... It’s a stock light protection though.

Probenja > LongbowMkII 09/06/2015 at 09:31

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It’s a Panda 4x4:

Declan Hackett > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:31

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Thank you. I shall send my car wallah out immediately, with instructions not to return Zagato-less!

Admittedly, over here I shall probably be delivered a large bag of rust…

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:32

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They did sell LHD Acura NSX’s in Japan.

Flavien Vidal > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL 09/06/2015 at 09:35

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Really?? What was the reason behind it considering how popular and loved Honda is here? Did they sell any other car under that badge? Any idea of how many were sold as such?

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:38

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I’m not entirely sure how many were sold, but I can tell you that in the early-90’s until the mid-00’s, everything LHD was popular in Japan.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > LongbowMkII 09/06/2015 at 09:39

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Panda 4x4 - comes stock like that.

Jdrentarol > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:40

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dafuq is this

Jdrentarol > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:41

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dafuq is that

Jdrentarol > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:41

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never seen one in blue

I-Want-My-850-Back > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:44

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I liked a lot of what I saw here. The American muscle came as a bit of a surprise, but hey, I guess it truly does have universal appeal.

That having been said, the stanced Prius hurt something very deep inside my soul. It’s as though somebody learned the secret to disturbing gearheads worldwide and put it into car form.

Flavien Vidal > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL 09/06/2015 at 09:44

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Yeah I could imagine some weirdos reimporting Acuras just to have a LHD version of the car... But Honda actually selling LHD Acuras seems really really weird to me lol

JayHova > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 09:46

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No.

Flavien Vidal > Jdrentarol 09/06/2015 at 09:51

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Subaru R1. I drove its 4 door counterpart, the Subaru R2 for a few months. It’s actually a pretty good car available with manual transmission and 4WD.

Flavien Vidal > Jdrentarol 09/06/2015 at 09:52

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The Firebird or the 2CV?

Flavien Vidal > Jdrentarol 09/06/2015 at 09:52

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Mint condition... Looked really good. It’s an S2

Flavien Vidal > I-Want-My-850-Back 09/06/2015 at 09:53

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I don’t like stances anything, even less Prii...

Flavien Vidal > JayHova 09/06/2015 at 09:55

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Well since it’s “No” in stock form already, I’m cool with it lol... Can’t stand stanced cars but a stanced Prius is only fair game lol

Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:00

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WANT

taira87 > nmalinoski 09/06/2015 at 10:00

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If you look around a bit, you will find that there is definitely a bit of a ‘USDM scene’ around Japan like what you described and some people will even go as far as to ‘reverse import’ cars (bring over non-JDM models).

Here’s a pic I snapped in July where a guy swapped his “Toyota” and “86” badging for “Scion” and “FR-S” (not quite sure why he used euro plates for his Scion though...)

I always get a good kick out of seeing cars brought to USDM spec in Japan - it’s kind of funny to see, coming from North America, but I really appreciate the effort the owner puts in.

One guy at my work (here in Japan) previously owned a Toyota Tacoma which, as you may be aware, wasn’t designed for nor sold in the Japanese market. He then traded it in for a Lexus IS250 for which he then began to import USDM-spec pieces such as headlight housings, etc.... he even went to eBay to import one of the plastic license plate brackets from some Lexus dealer in L.A.!

Jdrentarol > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:01

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Hey, that’s a Polestar logo.....

Jdrentarol > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:02

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wtf

Flavien Vidal > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 09/06/2015 at 10:03

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A wife and two kids?

Flavien Vidal > Jdrentarol 09/06/2015 at 10:04

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Didn’t double check but I’m pretty sure I saw a clear blue logo thing in the back of it...

JayHova > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:07

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Generally I’m okay with the Prius in its stock form: it is an appliance, a device built to transport you from point A to point B as fuel efficient as possible. Zero emotions included.

Running stupidly wide tyres and fucking up the ride means removing the only thing this thing was ever good at. That’s rather moronic in my books.

nmalinoski > taira87 09/06/2015 at 10:10

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It must be even weirder for USDM vehicles that were manufactured in Japan to be exported back to Japan.

Flavien Vidal > JayHova 09/06/2015 at 10:11

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Nothing was ever good about it in my book. I like seeing it even worse than it already is :)

Boxer_4 > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:15

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I didn’t realize the R2 was available with the 5-speed. I was under the impression that it was only available with the CVT, like the R1.

Boxer_4 > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:17

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Nice VIVIO T-Top!

Flavien Vidal > Boxer_4 09/06/2015 at 10:19

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It is... I drove one with a manual and 4wd and I have to say it was lots of fun! The one I drove daily was fwd and with an autotragic transmission though :(

boxrocket > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:19

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New Discovery Sport! Is it in its natural habitat, or being delivered to the dealership?

Blondude > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:23

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That Prius is absolutely ridiculous. I love it.

SaveTheClassics > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:24

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Interesting, Nagoya has a bit of a different scene than I am used to apparently. Not surprised though, different scenes based on prefecture seems to be the norm. Yokohama scene is completely different from Okinawa. Seems to be the oddball Euro cars and the Alfas that are throwing me off. Nice turnout for a rainy day though. :)

Flavien Vidal > SaveTheClassics 09/06/2015 at 10:30

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Hey Jason!

Yeah Nagoya is not a really “fun” city and most of the owners are rather typical salary men on a weekend. This means they are also older than the usual youth car culture you see in Yokohama or around Tokyo. More classic cars, more “taste” if I may say without discriminating younger Japanese car enthusiasts?

It’s quite different than what you may see elsewhere.. From what I understood, there are a lot more classic cars from ask around the world on sunny days...

OhAlbanianKar > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:31

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No Skylines showed because they all got exported to Murica!

LongbowMkII > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:32

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I always thought this wing was patently ridiculous is every racing game I’ve seen it. nice to see that it is real.

LongbowMkII > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:33

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Retirement vehicle of choice.

IsEveryoneStupid? > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:35

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I was dying to share these pictures I took yesterday at my grocery store in NH. At first I thought it was an early BMW M class...just a beautiful Datsun!

mike89 > LongbowMkII 09/06/2015 at 10:38

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Yes.

Menandz Mags > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:39

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Pretty!

CALUSA > Jdrentarol 09/06/2015 at 10:43

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That’s a prancing moose. A parody of the Ferrari logo.

This is the polestar logo

Flavien Vidal > OhAlbanianKar 09/06/2015 at 10:48

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Believe it or not but they are not THAT popular here... Most likely because they actually drove them. Mic drop.

Flavien Vidal > LongbowMkII 09/06/2015 at 10:50

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They are getting expensive...

evoCS > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:50

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Thanks for posting this, it’s really terrific.

I have one minor quibble: it should be Crystal Cove, California, instead of FL.

BlueSoap > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:50

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Nice Firedird.

BlackVR > LongbowMkII 09/06/2015 at 10:51

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LOL, yup. For whatever reason, that was the wing that Mitsubishi ran on the WRC cars in 2004-2005. I’m sure they moved it forward on the decklid for a reason, but it definitely looks odd.

Flavien Vidal > evoCS 09/06/2015 at 10:52

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Really? Ain’t Crystal Cove, CA way too small to have a shopping center??

Edit: well they do, correcting it now :)

LongbowMkII > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:52

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I’ve noticed... hence why it’s a retirement goal rather than a midlife crisis goal :/

jjhats > nmalinoski 09/06/2015 at 10:52

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Nope. Only America has a retarded love affair with jdm poser culture other countries don't care about usdm

NoRotorNoLove > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 10:55

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Squee! A tiny “Subaru Impreza wagon”. I want two right now.

evoCS > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 11:00

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I’d say no place is too small for a shopping center here in CA!

That one is one of the better located ones for sure.

Flavien Vidal > evoCS 09/06/2015 at 11:03

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Hahaha, I really thought it had to be crystal cove in Florida... The one in CA looked really tiny with more people on the beach than in the village :)

etienne47 > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 11:09

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Whats the first set of hatchbacks? At first I thought toyota starlet but did them come 4 door?

Lander > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 09/06/2015 at 11:09

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I TOO DESIRE CHILDREN!!!

Flavien Vidal > etienne47 09/06/2015 at 11:10

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All Starlets indeed :)

MaximumWarp > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 11:16

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Stanced Prius! Bluebird! 500! Fulvia! All the mostly good things!

Flavien Vidal > MaximumWarp 09/06/2015 at 11:19

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Fulvia?? Where??? :)

The Zagato is a Junior 1300, I think it’s chassis is somewhat based on the Fulvia though and the other Alfas are a GTA and a Spider

Zed's dead baby, Zed's dead. > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 11:34

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No way man. I like my engines big with autos behind them.

Mash the right pedal and go!

Amoore100 > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 11:36

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I need to know what this is attached to...

tony decker > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 11:42

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Yo Dawg We heard you like wings, SO we put a wing on Yo wing!!!

acme64 > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 11:45

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is that a budwiser can?

TheJoser > Blondude 09/06/2015 at 11:56

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It honestly looks better then the new body rolling out next year from Toyota.

mallthus > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 11:59

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When my dad worked at GM’s Van Nuys plant, where this was built, he showed me the special QA and rework section where F-bodies heading to Japan received the white glove treatment before being shipped. Let’s just say that the odds of getting a defect on a Japan market car were significantly below what they were for US cars. And yes, it was ridiculous that GM didn’t deliver this level of detail to all the cars they sold.

Jobjoris > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 12:03

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We have a tradition over here with these in black on yellow if a Volvo has covered over 400k kms!

Awesome line-up. THAT JUNIOR ZAGATO!!!!

thethePete > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 12:30

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I swear to god this is the only colour they sold these cars in. I’ve never ever seen one in another colour, and never bothered to research if that is in fact true. However, I’ve seen almost a dozen in my life, and every one of them was black and burgandy.

thethePete > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 12:34

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This is fantastic and wonderful.

Mr. Malaise > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 12:38

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There’s just something that I adore about the 1970s-early 1980s boxy, yet small and economical, look of JDM cars. The round and square sealed beams look right at home.

DuckDraper > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 13:03

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This threesome doe.

BansheeNorn > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 13:13

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1st time i’ve seen a roadgoing evo rocking the wrc wing...and it should’ve used the oem wing instead. hahahaha. or maybe it’s the color. :D

BansheeNorn > BlackVR 09/06/2015 at 13:14

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they moved it forward to aero reasons

BansheeNorn > Flavien Vidal 09/06/2015 at 13:14

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SWEET!

nmalinoski > jjhats 09/06/2015 at 13:15

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That flies in the face of other discussion on this article regarding USDM imports to Japan.

jjhats > nmalinoski 09/06/2015 at 13:17

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Importing a usdm car is different than badge swapping a jdm car with the us badges to look “usdm as fuk”. I can’t stand people who put honda badges on acuras in America and think japan isn’t as stupid to do such a thing

Fuel_of_Satan > nmalinoski 09/06/2015 at 13:21

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Not sure about NSX’s as they are fairly rare, but I have seen Integra’s with Acura front end swaps in Europe. It was also popular-ish to convert Volvo 200-series to the US-headlights.