Life After Death: Northwestern Edition: Part II: The Japanese

As you may or may not know, I tend to scour junkyards when I can (which is honestly not as often as I'd like to) in search of interesting and/or quirky cars. I love Japanese cars with a passion, though I hate 99% of what they offer for sale in the US today; I think they deliberately give US consumers the cars they know won't sell in their home-market. Case in point: Toyota's entire US lineup (ok maybe the FJ Cruiser and perhaps the new 4Runner don't quite qualify); Redesigned Nissan Pathfinder, Altima, and lest we not forget the Honda Crosstour and CR-Z. It seems Mazda is the only one who can make decent cars now. And even that is changing.
Looking back 20+ years ago, things were different. Lineups were RWD, substantially lighter, got good gas mileage (no doubt due to lightness), and were fun-to-drive (or so I've read). And as an added bonus, the designs themselves were relatively clean, stylish, and unmistakably Japanese.




Toyota Corollas were aplenty in this yard, which saddens me. Back in the day, (read prior to 1985) the Corolla used to be RWD. It served not only as a fine, reliable, gas-sipping family car, but as a light, fun-to-drive sporty vehicle provided you got the SR-5 hatcback. With hundreds upon thousands produced, I'm quite saddened by the fact that early Japense rustproofing woes ate them all up apparently. Shown here, though, a surviving few still rule the road, as these parts cars indicate. I want a 1980 wagon with a high-revving 3SGTE please, oh, and lowered a tad on Konig Rewinds.






Sports cars were there, too, in semi-droves. Peeking out through the remains of long-tattered Camrys, dead Mazda 323s, and Honda Civics and Accords of days gone by, lurked vintage Japanese sport-compact fodder. Long before the days of the ricer, and geniune import "tuner", the first generation Preludes were light, nimble, handled well, got good gas mileage, but were slow by today's standards. Sporting a 75 horse 1.8L single cam 4 cyl, and weighing in at just over 1980 lbs dry, the Prelude was Honda's flagship sports coupe when it arrived in 1978, a position it would retain until the Honda (Acura) NSX bowed in 1989. Most of the first-gen Preludes that came to American shores were two and three speed autos, with a select few being genuine five speed stickshifts. I suspect the five speeds were the Si models. Like with the Corollas above, I do want one of these too, but not as bad.
Next up, is a first generation Toyota Supra. Usually, when I go to junkyards here in Minnesota, the oldest Supra I see is a Mark II model; I don't recall even seeing a dead Mark I in a local yard. However, this yard had four or five, one of which was going through the crusher. This particular car, though, looked relatively clean, and I fail to imagine why someone would throw it away. It saddens me, really.
Next up is this Datsun Z car. Yeah, I know it's cliche by now, but I still like these. Not much to say about this one, since I still see clean versions out my way, but it still hurts to see one go to the crusher in the sky. Fortunately, this example was the only one in the yard.
Onto the Mazda RX-7. Quite possibly my favorite Japanese sports car EVER. And I do mean EVER! I love every single generation of it. The firt gens are almost cute. They're small, tiny, and the rotary engine can be revved to sound pretty nice. Shame about most people not knowing what a rotary is, or how to take care of it. Because of the engine configuration, and lack of pistons, Mazda's NSU designed rotaries retained quietness at high-speeds, allowing drivers to push their cars to the limits without any indications to the passenger. This made the vehicles extremely fun to drive fast, but not without a price; gas mileage suffered at 19 MPG city, and 29 highway. Now if Mazda would produce something of this caliber today--no, the RX-8 doesn't quite cut it. I saw a few first gens, and maybe five or six second gens. Thankfully, no FDs were in the deathbed--yet.
Lastly in this group is the quirkyfunky Subaru XT6 coupe. Subaru had a thing for quirky cars. I would almost call them the Japanese Citroen of the 1980s. The whole lineup could be had as All-Wheel-Drive, the vehicles were fun-to-drive, and Subaru didn't skimp on mechanics. In the XT's case, they didn't skimp on styling either. The whole car was quirky; from its wedge-like shape to its asymmetrical steering wheel. Lest we not forget the funky blocktile spoke wheels. It's a shame not many of these guys survived. I'd like one with an EJ20 in it, and maybe some bronze Bugeye-generation wheels on it. In Subaru blue please. :D





Now, for the econoboxes. Since everyone knows that in the 1970s and well into the 1980s, and even now, the Japanese tended to rely on econoboxes as their main lure to get people into showrooms. In the early days of Honda, the bread and butter vehicle was the CVCC, and then the Civic, as it is today. But, unlike now, you had Civic sedans, hatchbacks, and even wagons. Long before you had the CRX, the main sportiest un-Prelude Honda you could buy was the Civic hatchback, and even that's stretching it a bit. At least until the Si came out in 1984. But, back in the days of the oil crisis, Honda was MUCH more reliant on fun-to-drive cars with good gas mileage to boot. Hence the Civic. Selling multiple hundred thousands around the world, they too were prone to rust, even in the driest of states. Again, like the Toyota Corollas at the top of the post, it appears that first and second gen Civics must still live in Idaho. At least the living ones still have parts cars available if they break somehow.
Like the XT coupe above this grouping, the Subaru hatches were funky little cars, too. Available in AWD, these hatchs were essentially the first 'crossover' vehicle, combining off-roadability with small, compact looks, and good gas mileage to boot. Take that, Toyota RAV4. Available in two-door, sedan, and wagon form, the DL/GL range of Subarus offered something for everyone. Whether you were a mother with kids, a single woman going to school, or a young man working on the weekends, a Subaru was a car you could depend on to take you anywhere, no matter the road conditions.
Now, for the car nobody wanted, and even less cared about to even buy. Mating Lucas electrics with British styling, and a Honda FWD chassis was sure to be a hit. Maybe. Except for the fact that the Sterling dealer network sucked. At least they tried selling these here when Peugeot, Alfa, and Merkur (European Ford jobbies) were around. Shame the Eurosedan market never really took off here, aside from the germans and swedes. I rather like these Sterlings, but due to their limited sales in the US, I don't see many at all. Quite a shame, really, because under all the bad electronics and torque steering Hondaness, I quite like them. I imagine it's possible to pick up a running one for quite cheap if indeed one can still be found.
That brings us to the last car, a Datsun B210. Made from 1973 to 1983, this 1976 was introduced smack in the middle of the car's lifespan. The engine, while, producing 85 horses, returned a not-so-great 27 MPG. Sounds a bit like the current Versa, far as performance-to-fuel economy goes. Though, the B210 series was available in sedan, coupe, hatcback and wagon, with various special editions throughout the years, such as the HoneyBee and ultra rare 5 spd wagon combos. I don't particularly like the B210; I'd much rather have a 510. But, I wouldn't turn one down if given the chance to get one for free. I'd opt for a wagon variant if I had the choice, and I'd drop in an SR20 (I know it's cliche but I like the engine). Like my ideal Corolla, my B210 would be rolling on a set of Konig Rewinds, and it'd be either white or gunmetal.