The well-known R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R was finally allowed to come into the United States on January 1. The famous Skyline was Japan’s last high-performance car. The Honda S2000 and Subaru Impreza WRX STI were later made popular around the world. Not only is this a turning point in the history of JDM imports because of how famous the R34 is, but it’s also the end of cheap Japanese classic cars. It took decades of planning to get to this point. Japan’s economic boom after World War II planted the seeds for the car industry to catch up to and then beat the rest of the world. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Japan’s car industry was at its strongest, it reached a balance that would last forever. Because they are cheap and easy to find, its budget cars can compete with specially made performance cars when they are customized. If its star cars, like the Toyota Supra, had a little more speed, they might beat European supercars or, in the case of the Honda NSX, completely change how people think about them. Its unique features, like the Autozam AZ-1 and Nissan S-Cargo, could not have happened anywhere else or at any other time. They were reliable, easy to work with, and easy to get in touch with right up until the end. Gran Turismo lets you keep driving it even if your friend doesn’t own it. That being said, good times don’t last forever. Japanese companies didn’t take risks in the 2000s because they learned from the bad sales of that decade. It was no longer possible for Japan’s auto industry to hit new heights because of economic and cultural factors. Also, after the financial crisis of 2008, the industry needed help to take chances on the kinds of cars that were popular in the 1990s. But once the economy got better, car lovers might enjoy affordable Japanese cars from the 1990s, which are now considered out of date. The $20,000 NSX and the $3,000 NA Mazda Miata were popular at the time. If you knew the right people, you could also get even more cheap Japanese gems. In 2014, the first officially owned R32 Skyline GT-Rs started to show up in the US. At the same time, financial speculators were getting into the market for old cars. Redwood is the name given to the rebirth of cars from the 1980s and 1990s, mostly Japanese cars, that they led along with the growth of the internet and social media. Icons like the FD Mazda RX-7 and JZA80 Supra quickly became too expensive for most people to buy. However, because the Japanese market is so big and varied, there are always new things to try. If Nissan Silvias were out of your price range, you could still get a Nissan Cedric or a Toyota Chaser. Does all the fuss make the Toyota Century too expensive? Next, talk to the President of Nissan. The vans came in a wide range of makes and models, from the Mitsubishi Delica to the Toyota Hiace. Every year, they had a new set of cars that you had to bid on and arrange a price for. For now. In the past few years, the JDM import market has turned into awful high-stakes gambling. Big companies have already chosen cars that can’t be imported yet and are stockpiling them so they can make money when the 25-year cap is lifted. They might see an R34 GT-R as nothing more than a 25-year bond and a timing belt. Japanese car prices are now heavily affected by demand from the West. In fact, the Japanese media have even put out theft alerts for the country’s most sought-after classic cars. As an example, the R34 GT-R is now one of the most pricey cars that Japan has ever made. Most people think that the R34 has a value that comes from outside of it. Sales were slow at the time, even though it was the second-to-last and probably best Skyline GT-R ever made. People became aware of the R34 GT-R through the Fast & Furious movie series. It is a famous movie car that performs better than both the Eleanor and DeLorean cars. The fact that the F&F 4 movie car was bought for $1.18 million in May, which is the most money ever paid for a Nissan, proves that beyond a doubt. It was a big part of the JDM scene in the 1990s. In fact, this is the last one we will see. This is the most amazing car that has ever only been sold in Japan. When cars like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution hit the market outside of Japan, they lost their attraction in their home country. In other words, the JDM hype train is dying down. However, there will still be cars that come after the R34 that are worth buying. The R34 is the back end. Now, the fully charged import business has to choose whether to look outside of Japan for the next big thing or keep paying more and more for a limited number of nostalgic cars. You already know what they are: cars from Europe made in the 2000s. Top Gear was a huge hit around the world, and it made a generation of people fall in love with British, French, and Italian cars. It also changed the language used in American car culture. In Europe, too, having older cars on the road can be pricey because of stricter registration rules, just like in Japan. Most of them, though, will be left-hand drive, which will make them more appealing to drivers in the US than in Japan. The Land of the Rising Sun will always have fewer cars available, even though the R34 is a famous car. Let’s look at the dawn, looking east across a continent full of illegal Alfas, BMWs, Citroëns, and, happily, Dacias. You will have to wait until 2032, though, if you want a Sandero. Also, I don’t think irony will be popular by then.
