Chapter 32 - Internet Shopping
Kei arrived home after another driving lesson, with her driving instructor beside her.
Kei: So how did I do Miss Hakano?
Miss Hakano: Well Kei, you’re pretty much ready now. Although you should slow down a bit, you’re almost flooring it on high speed roads.
Kei: Ah! Sorry Miss Hakano! It’s just… I guess I just want to be like Yuka.
Miss Hakano: You should be careful on public roads Kei, it’s not a race track.
Kei: I know, I’ll try not to do it again Miss Hakano. Thank you!
Kei got out of the car and walked into her apartment. The phone immediately started ringing. It was a foreign number. Kei picked up.
Kei: Um, hello?
Yuka: Hi Kei.
Kei: Yuka! Oh I’ve missed you so much! How are you? Did you win your last race? How’s Hitomi?
Yuka: Slow down Kei, haha. Umm, I’m fine, we won our last race and we’re headed to England soon.
Kei: Oh how wonderful! Where’s Hitomi?
Yuka: She’s out.
Kei: Oh. Well I have good news too! My driving instructor says I’m ready for my test!
Yuka: That’s great! Good luck!
Kei: Thank you! I can’t wait to get a car after I pass!
Yuka: You learn fast Kei. Actually too fast, I can’t help you buy a car right now.
Kei: It’s fine Yuka, I can afford something else I’m sure.
Yuka: No, I mean I wanted to go pick out a car with you. I still have Dex’s number. Hopefully he still remember he owes me a car.
Kei: Aww Yuka! It’s okay! I’ll find a car on Auto Trader and send you the link, then you can pass the link on to Dex and he can pay for it!
Yuka: Sure thing, that works.
Kei: Yay! Time to get my little Copen! I’ll be sure to pass on my first try just to drive it as soon as possible!
Yuka: Hehe. It’s nice to hear from you again Kei.
Kei: It’s nice to hear you too Yuka! I honestly didn’t think you’d miss me that much with all your racing.
Yuka: Truth is, Hitomi kind of ditched me for some guy. I feel pretty crappy right now.
Kei: Oh Yuka! It’s okay you have me to talk to!
Yuka: Thanks Kei, I feel better already. Anyway I’m on the hotel phone and they’re going to charge me a fortune for this call, so I’ll hang up now. See you later!
Kei: Bye Yuka! I love you!
Kei put the phone down and opened up the Auto Trader Japan website. She begun browsing the used listings.
Kei: Let’s see… D… Daihatsu… Copen… Copen Active Top? I guess this is the one. Hmmm. Wow, there’s loads. Guess this is going to be my afternoon gone! Hehe!
Kei spent hours trawling through the listings, keeping a tab open for each Copen she took a liking to. After three hours, her tab count was up to a whopping two.
Kei: Ugh… There’s almost no decent Copen’s on Auto Trader! Just high mileage junk that’s been abused with city driving. The only two I found that were half decent are stupidly expensive for their condition and they’re a few hours drive away from here. Wait, what’s this…?
Kei eyed up an advertisement to the side of the page.
GKC! Garage Kyoto Copen! Copen Specialist for You! All services available including used cars and accessories shop!
She clicked the advert and GKC’s web page came up. It looked slightly amateurish and poorly translated, but had pages upon pages of information about Copen’s, including a sales section, an accessories page and a contact us link full of phone numbers and addresses.
Kei: Seems legit.
Kei went straight to the sales section and found an entire page worth of well-maintained Copen’s at fair prices. She squealed with delight upon discovering what seemed to be the mother lode of Copen’s. She looked through a few adverts and although the cars were genuinely in good condition, she couldn’t set her heart on one.
Kei: This yellow one is nice and this silver one is a good price, I quite like this black one too… But they all seem the same, there’s nothing that stands out. I want to be like Yuka, where my car stands out as something special… Sigh.
Then out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a banner at the top corner of the page, labelled “Tuned Selection.” She clicked it. A small, but special selection of cars appeared on screen.
Kei: Now this is more like it!
GKC Tuned Selection
Used Daihatsu Copen equipped with aftermarket accessories. Drive it away today with GKC drive away insurance!
Warning: Not all accessories covered by standard GKC warranty!
Cars organised in order of price (lowest first).
Daihatsu Copen Active Top ’02
Dark Green Mica
¥400,000
220,000km
Sports chip. Sports exhaust and air filter. RKM LSD. Lowering kit. GT Auto aero package. Great example of Copen reliability. Still runs like new. LSD worn from age. 9 previous owner.
Daihatsu Copen Active Top ’02
Shining Red
¥600,000
130,000km
Tuned in-house by GKC. Semi-racing exhaust and air fliter. Lowering kit. Carbon bonnet. GT wing. Enkei wheels. Good condition, full history. 4 previous owner. Perfect for excitable young driver. All accessories covered by 1 year warranty.
Daihatsu Copen Active Top ’02
Pearl White I
¥1,000,000
70,000km
Special Japan charity promotional vehicle. Upgraded turbo. Custom painted Enkei wheels. GT Wing. Never raced or rallied. Very reliable. Daily driven in city, used mainly for promotion event. Full history and receipts. 3 previous owner.
Daihatsu Copen Active Top ’02
Dark Blue Mica Metallic
¥1,200,000
148,000km
Carbon bonnet and interior weight reduction. Semi-racing exhaust and air filter. Adjustable suspension kit. GT Auto aero package. PDI wheels with street legal racing tyres. Regularly raced on track. Full history. 2 previous owner.
Daihatsu Copen Active Top ’02
Black Mica
¥1,700,000
150,000km
Sports chip. Stage 1 engine tune. Sports exhaust and air filter. Lowering kit. Sports drivetrain and gearbox. Carbon bonnet. GT Auto aero package. GT wing. Enkei wheels. Good condition, well cared for. Full history. Lightly raced. 5 previous owner. Many more modifications equipped, too many to list. Call for more information.
Daihatsu Copen Silver Bullet Show Car ’02
Bright Silver Metallic
¥2,000,000
30,000km
Sports chip. Sports exhaust and air filter. Chrome wheels. Adjustable suspension kit. All optional extras fitted. Low mileage, drives like new. Full history. Well cared for ex-show car. Frequent winner. Excellent condition. 1 previous owner from new.
Daihatsu Copen Barbie World ’02
Custom Colour Pink
¥2,500,000
10,000km
THIS IS YOUR ONLY OPPERTUNITY TO PURCHASE THE CAR USED IN THE POPULAR TV SHOW “BARBIE’S WORLD.” Standard car with all options and stunning custom pink colour! Very low mileage. Only driven to promotional event. Almost new condition. 1 previous owner.
Daihatsu Copen RKM Edition ’02
Jaune Yellow
¥5,000,000
120,000km
Special order from RKM Motorsport. Highly track tuned. Turbocharged stage 3 engine. Racing exhaust and air filter. Making 190 BHP! Adjustable racing suspension kit. Racing gearbox. GT Auto aero package. Enkei wheels with street legal racing tyres. Well maintained, very clean. Never crash. 2 previous owner. Many more modifications equipped, too many to list. Call for more information.
Daihatsu Copen Super-K ’02
White
¥10,000,000
110,000km
Super-K competition car. Full racing spec. Not road legal. RKM Motorsport setting. Full engine and chassis upgrading with fully adjustable settings. GT Auto aero package. GT wing. Enkei wheels with racing tyres. Straight body. Minor collisions only. Constant podium finisher. 2 previous owner. Call for more information.
Kei: A few of these have RKM products like Yuka’s car! Maybe I should get one too…? But then I suppose I shouldn’t overdo it for my first car… That red one seems okay for me but I like the pink Barbie car quite a lot!
Kei giggled to herself, imagining herself driving the pink Copen around town.
Kei: Nah... Pink has it’s place and it’s not on a car I’m going to drive everywhere. Maybe that silver show car? It seems a bit fragile though… Maybe I should just get the dark green one so I don’t feel guilty if I have any noobish accidents in my first few months of driving.
Kei leant over her keyboard as she scrolled up and down the page, getting closer and closer to the screen until she accidentally hit F5 on the keyboard.
Kei: Oops!
The page refreshed, at right in the middle of the page appeared a new car.
Daihatsu Copen Active Top ’02
Custom Colour Maziora
¥950,000
175,000km
JUSTIN! Maziora ex-demonstrator. Paintjob slightly faded, otherwise perfect. Sports filter. New clutch. Matching colour Enkei wheels. Well maintained, drives like new. Full history. 4 previous owner.
Kei instantly fell in love with the little Copen.
Kei: Ahhh! This one! This one, this one!! It’s perfect! It’s stylish, slightly modified but I wont feel guilty driving it! Hehe!
She squealed with joy and copied the link down into an e-mail and sent it off to Yuka.
Kei: Hopefully no one swipes it before Yuka gets back to me!
Later on…
TJ’s phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and to his surprise, it was Dave.
TJ: Dave! What’s up my man?
Dave: I heard you got me a car TJ.
TJ: I guess you can say that.
Dave: Does it have potential?
TJ: Potential for what?
Dave: To match Yuka’s Civic.
TJ: Ahh… I’m not sure. I don’t see many Atenza’s around. RKM have a Mazda specialist, give them a call.
Dave: I can’t afford RKM tuning like Yuka can. Can you help?
TJ: I know a few guys. Are you out of hospital soon?
Dave: Tomorrow actually. They’re letting me out early. Can you pick me up with the Atenza?
TJ: Can I respray it first?
Dave: Huh?
TJ: Nevermind, you’ll see when I come pick you up tomorrow.
TJ’s phone beeped.
TJ: Hold on Dave, I have another call.
TJ switched to the incoming call.
TJ: Hello?
Man: Hey TJ, long time no see. I heard you’re after a Mustang.
TJ: Jeff, nice! I’m after the driver of one, why?
Jeff: Some guy just rolled up in here with a gorgeous green Mustang, asked me if I could help him with some parts. I told him sorry I only deal with European Ford’s, but I did give him your address.
TJ: You’re a star Jeff, I owe you big time.
Jeff: Nah man, consider it what I owe you from the old days. You whipped me good and I never said thanks. So here’s my thank you.
TJ: Alright, we’re even then. I need to tend to my friend on the other line. We’ll have to go for a drink some time!
Jeff: Yeah for sure. Later TJ.
TJ: Later man.
TJ switched back to Dave’s call.
Dave: You have a nice hold theme.
TJ: I’m about to meet the man who put you in hospital.
Dave: What?!
TJ: I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. Rest well Dave.
Dave: You better, see you.
TJ hung up the call and leant on his R33. Not even a minute passed by before a rumbling V8 engine parked up outside the garage. The engine stopped and a man stepped out and walked into the garage. He opened the door and peered in.
Shin: Anyone here? I’m after a tune-up.
TJ: Shin, we finally meet. Please, come in.
Shin: Huh? Who are you? How do you know my name?
TJ: I’m TJ and you’ve gotten quite famous among my friends.
Shin: Ah. You know those Race Wars people.
TJ: No, although they did help me find you. Remember back to a red Vitz you rammed off the road.
Shin: Now it makes sense. I suppose you want a race to avenge your friend huh?
TJ: Racing you would be too easy and pointless. I just want an explanation and some money to cover the bills.
Shin: Sure. Your friend tried to race me on route 7. I have no desire to get free wins from a young punk in a Vitz, but he insisted. He counted down from three and sped off. I decided to chase him down and he tried to block me from passing. All I did was tap him and his Vitz went flying into a wall.
TJ: And you didn’t stop to help?
Shin: It’s not my style but people like him need to be shown their place. As for fronting his bill, he’ll have to race me for that.
TJ: You’re a twisted guy, but not as twisted as some of the guys I used to beef with. At least you can apparently back up your mouth. You can have your race with him, but not a drag race. We do this in the mountains. Cat and mouse style.
Shin: I’m familiar with the rules. I’m not your typical American, I can handle corners too.
TJ: Good to hear. We’ll meet at Mt. Aso tomorrow.
Shin: If I so happen to lose, I’ll front the bill, but when I win, his car is mine.
TJ: Deal.
Shin: I see we have an understanding.
TJ extended his hand. Shin reached over and shook TJ’s hand firmly.
Shin: I hope your friend brings his best.
TJ: I hope you bring your best.