Why Japanese Cars Are Great According To A Muscle Car Enthusiast

From my perspective, it seems like almost everyone my age who’s a car enthusiast aren’t really into American cars; as of recently I think I'm starting to understand why that's the case. Here is me giving my mortal nemesis some credit where it's due...

One: A Vibrant And Accepting Modding Culture

JDM car enthusiasts everywhere are painting their cars crazy colors, sticker bombing fenders, running very low ground clearances, fender gap and camber angles, massive rear spoilers and so much more. The modifying scene with muscle cars almost looks boring in comparison. While most muscle car enthusiasts are more than happy to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do to your car, that’s not really the case with JDM enthusiasts. Teenagers want to feel accepted by their peers, and the acceptance of JDM car culture is one way of getting that feeling.

However, if you happen to drop an GM small block V8 into an RX-7, prepare for the disapproving and confused looks as people take a gander into your engine bay.

Two: Cost Of Ownership

Throughout the world, Japanese cars are some of the most inexpensive cars to own and buy. Some countries tax cars with big engines or a lot of power so some car enthusiasts have no choice but to own cars with low power; they didn’t say their cars couldn’t be lightweight though. Gasoline may be cheap in the United States but not everyone wants to spend half their paycheck filling up at the pump. While muscle cars suck gas, Miatas and Civics can go for longer distances in between fill ups.

Three: Popular Media

The Fast And Furious movie franchise has had a powerful impact on car culture as we know it today. People who’ve never seen an R34 Skyline GT-R in real life can now see them on the big screen thanks to this series of movies. This phenomenon was also manifested through video games like Gran Turismo. Venues like Instagram, Facebook and Youtube have allowed JDM car enthusiasts from all over the world to express their passion for Japanese automobiles together in a common place. Initial D and Wangan Midnight are also worth mentioning, Initial D especially with Takumi Fujiwara and his white and black AE86.

Meanwhile, muscle cars haven’t had as good of exposure in popular media.

Four: Lightness, Technological Prowess, And Making The Most Of What You Have

Let’s face it, most muscle cars and American pickups aren’t exactly built to lap the Nurburgring under 8 minutes. Because Japan is a densely populated series of islands with mountains, the cars that come from there reflect their environment. Civics are small, agile cars that feel most at home turning corners. Meanwhile, a new Dodge Challenger is a beefy cruiser that’s more comfortable cruising highways than driving on a Formula One circuit. The sportiest car my family has recently owned is a Subaru Legacy. It’s not a GT model, but compared to our minivans, it feels light and nimble and right at home on a twisty road.

Many Japanese cars are ahead of their time, prime examples being the Nissan GT-R (Skyline and R35 versions) and the Acura NSX.

Five: Accessibility

While European cars do have a vast global influence, Japanese cars have the same prominence across the globe but are more affordable. This combination means that just about anyone regardless of location can be a Japanese car enthusiast without many obstacles.

Six: Reliability

In a recent article, Toyota and Lexus were named some of the most reliable car brands in recent times. Mazda and Infiniti also made the top 10 with the only American and European car brands on the list being Audi and Buick. Our family’s 2001 Honda Odyssey has over 200K miles on it and is still on the road, the only major problem being a bad transmission, which is typical for it’s year.

This thing has been quite the trooper...

Seven: Sales Figures

Japanese car brands are selling like hot cakes not only on all four corners of the Earth, but also in the USA. Toyota, Honda, Mazda and Nissan have a strong foothold in the American car market and by the looks of things, they won’t be leaving any time soon. If you want to know the nitty gritty of which car makers sell more cars, here’s a post I made about the subject.

In conclusion, Japanese cars deserve the popularity they have right now. It's quite impressive how far Japan has come with their auto industry in such a little amount of time.