Best car to EVER come from japan?

[D_B_Coop]

I'm going to agree with Famine about the MX-5. I am a little biased though because when Mazda was developing it, they nicknamed it Hotshot which is the name of a Crosley that's sitting in my garage.

 

[AMCNUT]

911s weren't selling - Porsche had been in decline for years as their one-model line-up was failing to attract new buyers and I believe they were on the verge of a buyout by Volkswagen. The Boxster turned it all around for them, followed by the 996, followed by the Cayenne - and now they are the major shareholder in Volkswagen!

Porsche Sales: 1994-2004
1994 - 21,124
1995 - 19,262
1996 - 32,383 (Boxster released)
1997 - 36,686
1998 - 43,982 (996 911 released)
1999 - 48,797
2000 - 54,586
2001 - 54,234
2002 - 66,803 (Cayenne released)
2003 - 76,827
2004 - 88,379

Porsche had been in the red for each of the three years before the Boxster was launched - and they turned a profit for the 1996 financial year... The Boxster sold out its entire first year production run before it was even launched...

Had the MX-5 not brought open-top to the masses again, the Boxster might never have entered production - never mind the 996 that they were then able to release, or the Cayenne which is one of the most profitable cars ever made (which also means that the MX-5 is responsible for the Cayenne. Bad MX-5! Bad!) and Porsche would no longer exist as an independent entity.

Ok. Fair enough - that all looks like it makes sense. I guess I can retract my doubts for the most part. Thanks for the info!👍

 

[GTP_ClockWork]

Toyota Land Cruiser

/thread

There is no SUV that is more over-engineered and built than an LC. I have a 2004.

 

[Danny]

Toyota Land Cruiser

/thread

There is no SUV that is more over-engineered and built than an LC. I have a 2004.

👍

Love the Land Cruiser.

Well, not the Prado. The other one. Can't remember if it had a name.

 

[sumbrownkid]

Toyota Land Cruiser

/thread

There is no SUV that is more over-engineered and built than an LC. I have a 2004.

I have so many memories of bedouin tribes in Land Cruisers making their own exits by driving off the highway and into the desert.

I miss Saudi a little bit now.

 

[Milldrum]

Carolla, millions sold, all amazing reliable cars.

 

[niky]

Have you ever driven a standard Corolla at anything more than walking speed? Ugh. Sprung like a sofa, no anti-roll bars, no steering, more fishtailing than a drunken carp.

 

[xXKingJoshXx]

Lexus LFA.

 

[Milldrum]

Have you ever driven a standard Corolla at anything more than walking speed? Ugh. Sprung like a sofa, no anti-roll bars, no steering, more fishtailing than a drunken carp.

But a drunken carp with stamina. They just keep on going. They took over from the VW Beetle in the 70's and just keep going.

 

[niky]

But a drunken carp with stamina. They just keep on going. They took over from the VW Beetle in the 70's and just keep going.

The last rear-wheel drive models, and the 4AFE-equipped FWD models, certainly, were over-engineered for their purposes, but not all Corollas are built the same... the 4AGE 20V had a rather weak bottom end for a motor meant for high revs and the newer ones with the ZZ are resoundingly average in terms of reliability.... cruddy shocks, fragile interiors, motors that can't withstand a little dirty oil...

The current Corolla is a product resting on its laurels... Toyota overspent on the 4AFE cars and is cashing in now on positive customer equity built up during that time (much like Mercedes in the 90's). But with all the bad press caused by Toyota recalls and the nasty "unintended acceleration" hysteria, maybe they'll go back to making rolling bank vaults again.

Maybe.

 

[sumbrownkid]

The last rear-wheel drive models, and the 4AFE-equipped FWD models, certainly, were over-engineered for their purposes, but not all Corollas are built the same... the 4AGE 20V had a rather weak bottom end for a motor meant for high revs and the newer ones with the ZZ are resoundingly average in terms of reliability.... cruddy shocks, fragile interiors, motors that can't withstand a little dirty oil...

The current Corolla is a product resting on its laurels... Toyota overspent on the 4AFE cars and is cashing in now on positive customer equity built up during that time (much like Mercedes in the 90's). But with all the bad press caused by Toyota recalls and the nasty "unintended acceleration" hysteria, maybe they'll go back to making rolling bank vaults again.

Maybe.

Your guys Corollas suck in that market then.

It's really Toyota's silver bullet stateside more or less for the past 20 years.

 

[eight6er]

Have you ever driven a standard Corolla at anything more than walking speed? Ugh. Sprung like a sofa, no anti-roll bars, no steering, more fishtailing than a drunken carp.

I have driven standard corollas faster than most people could believe can be done. I love their tail happy handling and have super confidence in their ability when driving them fast. I'm referring to the AE90-100 models, I can't speak for the newer models.

 

[PureAwesomeness]

Really tough question. So many cars are worthy of consideration. MX5, Scooby Impreza, Mitsubishi Evo, Honda NSX, Toyota LandCruiser, Nissan Skyline. I'm gonna go with this though...

Still looks gorgeous even now. Living in Japan, this is one of the few cars that most men would still love to own. Pretty sure it had a big impact on sports car production in the States and Europe too.

 

[Lucas]

It's hard to look like an 🤬 while driving that, as opposed to GT-R R34, and to a lesser extent, R32.

Agree with the nomination. 👍

EDIT: Also, Wikipedia points out:

Nissan Z cars currently hold the record for the best selling sports car series of all time with over 2 million cars sold.

I believe a citation is needed, though.

 

[XPOWER180]

Difficult to say what the best car ever is to come out of Japan but to me it has to be between the Skyline R32 and the Honda NSX. Both cars redefined the rule books of what sports cars were about and both changed the motoring worlds attitude to what the Japanese manufacturers were capable of, kicking off a war between practicaly all Japanese manufacturers for who could make the greatest sports car. Whilst the Skyline undoubtedly enjoyed the greatest sales success, for me personaly it has to be the NSX that wears the title of greatest ever. It achieved so much and has a legacy that will live on forever and when you consider how few of them in relative comparitive terms there are, it's a mighty achievement.

 

[freedomweasel]

Torn between the NSX and the MX-5....

 

[niky]

I have driven standard corollas faster than most people could believe can be done. I love their tail happy handling and have super confidence in their ability when driving them fast. I'm referring to the AE90-100 models, I can't speak for the newer models.

Talking about the newer models. Oversteer is nice... but uncontrollable fishtailing ain't.

And it's not just our market... US Market Corollas don't get rear anti-roll bars, either.