Classic Japanese Cars for the Enthusiasts
For some old cars are just well… old, for others they are collectibles to be cherished, shared and displayed.
This latter group tend to congregate together in secret meetings, where they worship such mechanical idols from morning until night, proclaiming just how much their lives have changed since they acquired such cars.
Forgive my self-inflicted humour; I am actually one of those who like a good classic car. Some of them are actually so well built that they can be still driven after almost 30 years.
Japanese cars especially are renowned for being long-lasting and reliable, so here are some of my favourite ones.
Toyota 2000GT
Less than 350 models of this car were produced between 1967 and 1970. Toyota actually designed this in collaboration with Yamaha, which did most of the work and it was the Japanese answer to the European sports cars. The car is stars in Bond’s movie You Only Live Twice.Toyota Celica
Car enthusiasts know that there are 7 generations for the beloved Celica. The very first one was built around 1967 and was launched in 1970’s Tokyo Motor Show. It was the successor of the 2000GT and was nicknamed ‘the baby Mustang’. The line is no longer being produced, with the last Celica (the ‘Gen 7’) built in 2006.Toyota Supra
Also inspired by the 2000GT supercar, it was built from 1978 to 2002 and boasts a twin turbo engine and cruise control. It can go from being stationary to 60 mph in less than 6 seconds – this car definitely wasn’t designed just for the day to day family ride.Nissan Figaro
Built in 1989 the Figaro became very popular in the UK and Ireland and was designed with a retro style resembling the 1960s. This small convertible has a turbocharged engine, leather seats and air conditioning. Only 20,000 models of this car were produced, making it a real rarity and also fairly hard to maintain as you need to go to specialist dealers to get the spare parts you need. Certainly not a car I’d drive in Naples…Honda Civic
Yep, there’re plenty of those around today, the Civic’s success started in 1973. The Civic was Honda’s first ‘normal’ road car and started off initially as a 2-door with a lift-down boot, which was then replaced by a 3-door with a hatchback, which became way more popular. A 4-door version was introduced in 1974, which was later reengineered to become a 5-door hatchback. The first generation Civic was discontinued in 1979.A Note on Expositions
If you are a classic car fan you might be part of a club or might like to go to car shows. It can be hard to keep up with the maintenance costs, however, it is possible to keep a lid on some aspects of the price of owning one of these beauties. Things such as temporary car insurance are useful if you need to drive your car just for one day for example. Love them or hate them some of these old cars are so well engineered that they can still run today even with over 100 miles on the clock. They are not just good for expos, a lot of them can be used in every-day life and they are cheap to buy from the second-hard market. Just do me a favour and take care of them!- License: Creative Commons image source