A Reminder of Why I Do Not Bash on Japanese Cars

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Originally posted by sliderulz
I want a Cedric with the quad lights in black and the cream leather interior, they are a very different car.

Japanese parts in Cavan bring in alot of 1988 (Y31) Nissan Cedric/Cimas (VG30DET) over for quite a good price, a mate was thinking of getting one that was only about $5500-6000. very nice cars and very clean for there age
 
Originally posted by sliderulz
check out www.prestige-motorsport.com.au and www.king-buyer.co.jp (king buyer is all in Japanese but check out the VIP/Imported section and the 900hp ABflug supra for only 49,000!!!!!!!

yeah i know about those importers problem is though with our new SEVS laws its very hard to get a modified import registed and plus through them you cant see the car in person before you buy, a few people have been slighty burnt because of that
 
prestige motorsport provides a service for 1000 AUD + GST where you give them the price and spec of the car you want and they search Japans auctions, used car lots and classifieds then they let you know, they then take care of the importing and compliancing. I'd pay the grand to get all the hassles out of my hair.

SEVS and the 15 year rule are quite irritating, New Zealanders can import everything and they do! Starlet GT's, Famillia GTR's all these cool cars you just don't see much of over here

I've seen a Japanese 626 from the early 90's. It's badged as a a Capella and has a supercharger badge on it.
 
the 15 year rule is good in one way, but SEVS is bad news. but if you import a standard fairly common car like a silvia (turbo) etc SEVS isnt much of a problem
 
i'm not a fan of Japanese cars.the reasons:

1.the last time i headed to the local junkyard,they had just shells of Honda and Acura Cars cause they are picked clean by the ricers/locals that own them.go to the GM section and they got rows and rows of camaro's,blazers and Cavialers with plenty of parts.

2.Price of Parts.$300 bucks for a header with cruddy welds but for that much i can get Stainless Steel Headers for a 350 Motor.

3.Cramp.i'm about 5 ' 9.got in my friends honda civic and my head was right about to the headliner.

4.Price of the Cars. $3,500 for a almost 300,000 mile Civic DX. for half that i can get a blazer with half the miles on it.
 
You know, the only argument I'll accept about why people dislike Japanese cars is that you're a tall person and you can't fit in one. Or maybe you feel cramped. When someone dislikes these machines, that's the only argument I'll accept because it's okay if you cannot fit into a certain machine.

As I have said, the "surprisingly roomy" Chevy Aveo is all but a damned lie. I thought it was alright looking at first, but at the Houston Auto Show (I'm 6 feet tall, by the way), I was unimpressed by the comfort at the front seat. There is a pretty slim chance that this car will actually stand out among the tuner crowd. But for the most part, I think if you want a small car that can still be roomy, get a CRX.
 
Originally posted by JohnBM01

As I have said, the "surprisingly roomy" Chevy Aveo is all but a damned lie.

Yeah - it barely beats the small sedan class average for rear leg room.
 
I'd suggest for small cars, the Mini Cooper, Scion Xb, or something much cooler and roomier. Other than that, GM is doomed, Ford is borderlining, and Dodge is kicking all their butts. Saturn, just give up. Pontiac has to sell their upcoming Solstice and the GTO, or they're screwed as well.

Japan is doing well in a lot of categories, and they are stepping up, if not only in trucks. And when the Scion tC comes out, I will like the car almost as much as I like the Mazda 3. I mean, Japan is taking advantage of America's declining in automobiles, I think. Some American cars nowadays are go but no show (the reverse of what muscle car fans think about "rice rockets"). And while I'm sick of people stereotyping on Japanese cars (such as "this car looks like it belongs in '2 Fast 2 Furious' than on the streets"), Japanese cars are still cars. They aren't like, toys for the streets (yeah, try saying that about the Nissan Titan or the Skyline/Infiniti G35). They still serve purpose out on the road even if they aren't 11-second stock street cars. What they lack in power they make up for with handling. But anyhow, I continue to remain respectful to all nationalities of cars. I do what I can.
 
Originally posted by JohnBM01
I'd suggest for small cars, the Mini Cooper, Scion Xb, or something much cooler and roomier. Other than that, GM is doomed, Ford is borderlining, and Dodge is kicking all their butts. Saturn, just give up.


The best small sedans are the Toyota Echo, Toyota Corolla LE, Corolla S, Corolla CE, and Honda Civic EX. The best compact cars are the Suzuki Aerio SX, Toyota Matrix Standard, Chevrolet Aveo LS 5-door, Kia Rio Cinco, and Toyota Matrix XRS. The Mini and Scion xB are trash - the only draw is that they're getting decent magazine recommendations (because they're 'different') and that they add a bit of flair to the class - in the Mini's case, it's not worth the extra price, and in the Scion's case it's not worth the trade in power or cargo room.
 
Originally posted by BlazinXtreme

Come on Gil I'm not a ricer. I just have a loud ass stero system. But I on the other hand won't roll around late at night with it cranked. I know there are others that would perfer to sleep then listen to my booming.

So you admit to having some consideration for others...
That let's you completely out of the ricer attitude.
And remember, sometimes louder isn't better, it's just louder.
Have your hearing checked and see how far off of baseline your hearing is. You'll be unpleasantly suprized at how much overly loud music can damage your ears.
Granted, the only way to listen to SRV or Kenny Wayne Sheppard is with the volume cranked...
 
Found out that the local police are targeting the tuner cars.They check them for bumper hight,if they have clear lens they better have red and yellow light bulbs inside and the big exhaust,they check it for sound level. If the car fails any of the tests it is imponded on the spot.From what I have seen,they seem to leave the choppers(sound) and hot rods alone.

I think the reason they are picking on the tuners is to stop the street racing. At least that is what we are told.
 
Originally posted by kart racer
Found out that the local police are targeting the tuner cars.They check them for bumper hight,if they have clear lens they better have red and yellow light bulbs inside and the big exhaust,they check it for sound level. If the car fails any of the tests it is imponded on the spot.From what I have seen,they seem to leave the choppers(sound) and hot rods alone.

I think the reason they are picking on the tuners is to stop the street racing. At least that is what we are told.

mweheheh, enjoy the import tuning fad (: -yes, I sound evil, but it's true, even if not all the import lovers are stupid on the streets, most of the stret races now are between imports and ricers, and they have taken the attention off the other cars, namely, hot rods, sports cars, and stuff. nice (:

Cano
 
Originally posted by skip0110
But honestly, your average 305 Camaro or 302 Mustang would probably have trouble standing up to even a V6 Accord, and would be positively destroyed with a 'teg type R or AWD Eclipse/Talon. .

dude, is this the kind of intelligence you people have on this site? Give me a break! wanna try my small block chevy Blazer?
 
look dude, we were talking about a STOCK, 1982 Camaro against an all new- 300hp pushing Subaru WRX. Im a fan of V8s as you (ask) , but in NO POSSIBLE way a STOCK 1982 Camaro with, oh, 180 whp and all the clunkiness, and bad-build-quality in the world could stand a chance against one of those beasts. now, if someone gave me the money a WRX costs and let me mod the camaro maybe the car would stand a chance in the 1/4 only. but, again,YOU should revise your intelligence because from the very first post we said we were talking about a STOCK Camaro.

Cano

and, hehe.. your blazer is stock with the lt1? oh, no? then dont bug.
EDIT: damned fingers...
 
As I look in the "grave yard" of old, un-replied topics, I find F-Body's stuff. And the only reason why I'm linking these threads is to show just what happens when you bash on other cars of other nationalities. I know the title mentions Japanese cars, but I also consider this "A Reminder of Why I Don't Bash on Any Nationality of Cars." So to remind ourselves as to stuff that will get us negative remarks by the public, and for those who don't know who the heck F-body is, check these out:

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41715 ("Wow, Touchy")
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41710&highlight=muscle+car+trouble ("Muscle Car supporters looking for Trouble")

And here is a site that I talked about an American car that can bash anything Japanese, but I gave some rants about:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=40142&perpage=20&pagenumber=3 ("The Tuner Culture: Show vs. Go," page 3)

The thing about all of this is that the person behind this basically acted as if he was a high-profile rap artist or NBA player. These two examples prove why diversity isn't optional, but can save your a$$ on GTPlanet. So I'm thankful to respect cars of all types without saying that "my American piece of %&$@ can whip your piece of @%^& car." Almost 700 threads, and I'm thankful to love an entire world of cars. Like the Speed Channel show, I can be Car Crazy as well. And damned proud of it.
 
Originally posted by Cano
look dude, we were talking about a STOCK, 1982 Camaro against an all new- 300hp pushing Subaru WRX. Im a fan of V8s as you (ask) , but in NO POSSIBLE way a STOCK 1982 Camaro with, oh, 180 whp and all the clunkiness, and bad-build-quality in the world could stand a chance against one of those beasts. now, if someone gave me the money a WRX costs and let me mod the camaro maybe the car would stand a chance in the 1/4 only. but, again,YOU should revise your intelligence because from the very first post we said we were talking about a STOCK Camaro.

An '82 Camaro vs. a brand spankin' new STi? :odd:

Not that I don't disagree with the point being made, but c'mon, a state-of-the-art car compared to another that is over 20 years out of date? That's about as fair as pitting an '04 Corvette ZO6 and '92 Loyale against each other...
 
Frankly, a late-model Camaro/Firebird or 4.6 DOHC Mustang is no slouch. I've driven the '82 or '83, (back in the day) and I was quite impressed with the power and the handling.
I will admit that in the HP/Liter wars the Japanese cars are the clear winners. But remember, big volume = big torque. If you're running 300 whp and 225lb/ft of torque, vs a V8 with the same HP and 300+ lb/ft of torque. If gearing is similar the car with more torque will likely win. For example, the Honda S2000 has 240HP but only 160lb/ft of torque. So, unless you keep it in the narrow band between 6000 rpm and redline, you don't have the maximum available acceleration.
That's why 4 cyl cars typically have "shorter" gearing so that it's easier to stay in the powerband. So some fours will out accelerate a V-8 if they get the hole shot.
However, another thing to keep in mind is the variable cam timing in cars like the Civic.
I've kicked a number of Civics to the curb with my Escort. Why? Because the kid in the Civic doesn't realize the cam 'changeover' doesn't occur until about 6000rpm, and he's short shifting. Prolly cause redline is at 7200.

Am I saying the Civic is a bad car? No, I'm saying before you go racing, know where the powerband is in the car you've chosen to drive.
I have more, but it will have to wait.
 
Originally posted by Firebird
An '82 Camaro vs. a brand spankin' new STi? :odd:

Not that I don't disagree with the point being made, but c'mon, a state-of-the-art car compared to another that is over 20 years out of date? That's about as fair as pitting an '04 Corvette ZO6 and '92 Loyale against each other...

I know its magazine racing, but last time I check car-stats, even the latest Camaro still ran times alittle slower. The fastest I have heard a USDM STi is a 12.9. Of course thats with a professional driver at the wheel. Most of the time with average drivers they will hit 13.4-13.6 which is about the same as a 02 Camaro SS. I think it basically depends on the driver.

The Camaro still had alittle more power and alittle more torque than the STi. 25 more HP than the STi and 40 ft lb of torque more than the STi. This is the 2002 Camaro SS.

Most of you know im more of an Import guy, I dont dislike American car at all. I respect all cars unlike Fbody who disses Hondas.
 
Thanks, Kart Racer. And hey, it looks like I hit the "silver" rank. Gold is not too far away. Still racing hard for Gold status. Or like NASCAR folk would say, I'm still diggin' to get on the point.
 
Honestly, Honda has to be one of the most overrated car companies in America. On the other hand, Hondas aren't the only tuner favorites. Nonetheless, I always say that the Civics on the road are as popular as Porsches in road racing. Don't say that these little Civics are pains in the asses of the American auto market. And please don't talk about "rice rocket this, rice rocket that..."

Certainly, there is no excuse to belittle these cars just because of them being modded. It only means that a person chose such a car for its popularity and driving dynamics. Very few people actually learn to appreciate such machines, even if they don't go fast. If you cannot appreciate these cars no matter what tuning happens, you're the scumm of the American auto market. Can't we all get along?

Okay, if you are wondering why my sentences don't seem to make sense, I want you to take a closer look at them. The first letters of each of the last ten sentences spell out the name of a car. So if you are a good speller, you'll see that:

H-O-N-D-A C-I-V-I-C spells: "Honda Civic!" Anyhow, people will modify cars to their delight and perhaps Japanese cars do it best. Some people don't have the money or heart for a muscle car. Heck, if I wanted a car, I'd like either a Mini Cooper, or I'd probably check out the Mazda 3. And even they aren't fast. But the overall problem lies in how people would be perceived in America if they have cars with fancy bodywork. I mean, a person that has an Accord with a bodykit that looks more like a Mercedes-Benz DTM race car and stereo and NOS doesn't mean that the person should be belittled. I mean, if a person doesn't want their machine to go faster than it's supposed to be, the owner's choice. If a person doesn't want their machine to look faster than it goes, then that person's decision. If you're living in America, you can't expect everyone to be into the same cars. Heck, in my Sports Illustrated magazine as I was looking up pictures of Anna Kournikova (no wonder sports guys like her), there was a Miller Lite foldout, and later on in the selections, basically the foldout was about choices to make. One of them was "Chevy or Ford?" And I mean, again. You can't expect everyone to get into American cars and leave others behind. And if you drive an American car, do you respect other cars, or are you prideful of Americana that anything from Germany, Italy, or dare I say, Japan? When I first got into cars, I got into the Camaro. I thought the 1994 and up Camaros were sweet. Before they stopped producing them, I liked the 2000 Camaro RS. It had a racy look to it. I think the latest Camaro SS was a good car as well. The only reason I didn't like it was because it didn't come in metallic red in GT2 or GT3.

There are even Japanese people who like American cars, but going through Chats and putting up with haters, some American people just dislike anything from Japan. I'm not a Honda fanatic, but when I got into the Element, the 2-door Accord, and the Civic hatchback at the Houston Auto Show, I thought all three were cool, and the Civic Si had a cool rally-style shifter. It was like a tuner car you could buy. And again, the only complaint I'll take about why Americans dislike Japanese cars is if they cannot fit into a small Japanese car. Other than that, a car is a car is a car. Period point blank. Post #725 complete. Reply on.
 
By the way, if you want a Japanese sportscar that you can tune up to your liking, try the:

Nissan 300ZX. Maybe that will shut up Japanese car bashers...
 
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