Remembering Japanese cars from the past

Author: banpei (Page 12 of 318)

Is the owner of this Toyota GT86 a disabled driver? – Down on the Street

We all have a stereotypical view of disabled drivers and this Toyota GT86 doesn’t fit in that view! I had the same thing about 13 years ago with a Subaru Impreza GT Turbo, which turned out to be a genuine disabled person. I have met a fellow AE86 owner who also genuinely drives around with a disabled driver’s permit. So why don’t people with sportscars fit this view we have about disabled drivers?

I personally think it has to do with the prejudice we have on disabled people: they have difficulty getting in and out of cars and have difficulty walking at all. However, this view is wrong. Very wrong! Some disabled drivers actually don’t have the issue of getting in- and out of the car and walk perfectly straight, but have difficulty managing distance. Hence they do need the disabled driver’s permit. So what about this Toyota GT86? I spotted it driving towards the disabled parking area near the local city centre. Naturally, I followed it and watched the driver exit the GT86 and walk towards the city centre. I quickly took one photo from where it parked:

Toyota GT86 parked in the disabled parking area
Toyota GT86 parked in the disabled parking area

A funny detail: the Toyota Estima I featured three weeks ago was parked on the third floor in the parking garage above the store in front of the GT86. But I digress…

I crossed the street to take another photo from the other side. After crossing the street, I wasn’t able to take another photo as pedestrians were flocking the sidewalk and I had to wait about 15 to 20 seconds for them to pass. Then, even before I could take a photo, these two walked up to the car:

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Pre-production Corolla Levin SE AE85 – Friday Video

One of the highlights of this year was a WhatsApp call from Daniel ‘O Grady out of the blue about an early Corolla Levin SE AE85 he found. I was doing my usual Saturday groceries and just parked my car in a parking garage. Daniel was very agitated about this car as it had such a low frame number.

6600 kilometer Toyota Corolla Levin SE AE85
6600 kilometer Toyota Corolla Levin SE AE85

During the call, it dawned on me that such a low frame number meant it was actually a pre-production run. Last year I created an overview of the AE86 and AE85 frame numbers and a lookup function. One of the things that surprised me was that the AE85 production in May 1983 started at 180, while AE86 production started at 1. There are no records of the pre-180 frame numbers in the EPC either. This means these cars have been assembled in pre-production.

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Carina TA60 Station Wagon with an interesting front spoiler – Carina Sightings

I was thrilled to finally find a photo of a Toyota Carina station wagon TA60. It’s the exact same model and trim level as my dad’s Carina back in the 1980s! The biggest difference is the colour: this one is bright red instead of my father’s topaz-bronze Carina.

Toyota Carina DX station wagon TA60
Toyota Carina DX station wagon TA60

Compare that to this red Carina station wagon from the German brochure:

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Nissan Skyline GT-ES C210 Japan – Picture of the Week

After an extra long Christmas weekend, all we can do is just sit down and be a couch potato. So why not just stare at this beautiful cutaway drawing of a hardtop Nissan Skyline C210?

Nissan Skyline GT-ES C210 hardtop cutaway drawing
Nissan Skyline GT-ES C210 hardtop cutaway drawing

The fifth generation Skyline was also better known as the Skyline Japan. It received this nickname due to the Nissan TV ads emphasizing the Japanese origins of the Skyline by ending the ad with an American voice-over saying “Skyline…Japan”. A collection of ads can be found below:

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Merry Christmas with AI-generated AE86es

Tonight is Christmas Eve and that means spending time with family, eating dinner, opening gifts under the Christmas tree and family and I’m really looking forward to that! I’ll be offline for a few days and I wish you a Merry Christmas! But I didn’t want to leave you empty-handed and present you with a gift as well!

I thought the best way to express that was by looking at the current state of AI and generating some Christmassy pictures with an AE86. For all four images, I used the following term: “White Toyota Trueno AE86 with popup headlights, Christmas trees and snowy landscape”. I did two in comic/cartoon style and two in photo-realistic style.

Cartoon style

Comic/cartoon White Toyota Trueno AE86 with popup headlights, Christmas trees and snowy landscape
Comic/cartoon White Toyota Trueno AE86 with popup headlights, Christmas trees and snowy landscape
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Iron Tail 1991 Honda CRX – Down on the Street

A second-generation Honda CRX was a common sight for a long time. I used to see one zipping by once or twice a day. However, over a very short period of time they have all disappeared! Well, all of them except this one! I encountered this one during a grocery run during the summer of last year. I quickly took two photos and forgot about it until I scrolled through my photo timeline a few days ago.

1991 Honda CRX mk2 down on the street
1991 Honda CRX mk2 down on the street

Specs

This second-generation Honda CRX was registered in late 1991, making it one of the final CRX-es to be sold and registered in the Netherlands. In 1992, Honda replaced the second generation with the newer CRX Del Sol. It appears to be well-used and worn down in every aspect. Even though it’s showing its age, the current owner seems to be using it well!

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