One question.

Now Ive heard before that Nissan had no intentions on selling the Skyline in the U.S. But is it true that they literally did not want the car to be sold in the U.S?

Now Ive heard before that Nissan had no intentions on selling the Skyline in the U.S. But is it true that they literally did not want the car to be sold in the U.S?

Using the chassis and engine layout of previous Skylines, it wouldn't have been practical for Nissan to sell the car in the US. It would have required quite a few changes as far as safety, engine layout, and engine specs.

The changes probably would have required Nissan to spend quite a lot of money. For example, the positioning of the turbos on the GT-Rs would have been in the way if a lhd version were built. That means designing and using a different turbo manifold design just for lhd cars.

None of the RB-series engines used in the past were US emissions legal. It would have taken some changes to make them pass. More money spent. On a side note, Nissan didn't even want spend the money to clean up the RBs to meet Japan's tightening emissions regs, so you can imagine how they would feel about doing it for the US.

Even more money would have to go toward safety items like crash structures, reinforcing the chassis where needed, and even something as simple as making some gauges in English and in mph rather than kph.

The new Skyline is based on a chassis that is meant to be used on a global basis. The FM platform was engineered to meet just about everyone's standards. Now that the Skyline is based on this chassis, they don't have a problem selling the Skyline everywhere. It's much easier to do so. That's why we have the Infiniti G35s now.

What U.S. cars are available in Japan? Do they go cray over the Viper and Corvette the same way we go haywire over the Skyline?

What U.S. cars are available in Japan? Do they go cray over the Viper and Corvette the same way we go haywire over the Skyline?

I don't know what is sold in dealerships, but I think they can import just about anything, as long as it has a parking brake...and you can pay the taxes(based on car size and engine size, I think) A recent issue of evo had one of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR developers talking about folks from Japan ordering handbrakes on their cars, possibly for road use.

I've heard of a few American cars there, like Corvettes. I even remember seeing a meeting for Wangan drivers, and one of them had a retired C5R.

:lol: as long as it has a handbrake :lol2:...wish it was that easy here.

You CAN get a Viper AND a Corvette here.

in the US of course, since they are american cars.

jmrev. How many times are you going to change your avatar man?

You CAN get a Viper AND a Corvette here.
I am in Japan. Many US cars are avialable in Japan. Many ALSO are RHD here. Blazers and Jeep Cherokees are pretty common in RHD. There is a Chrysler dealership fairly nearby that has a Viper in the showroom. I have seen several Corvettes as well.

There are several US vehicles available in Japan, UK, Europe etc. right from a showroom:

http://www.chrysler-japan.com/
http://www.jeep-japan.com/
http://www.ford.co.jp/
http://www.chevrolet.co.jp/

Plus there are certain models companies will swap/rebadge in certain deals:
http://www.japan-partner.com/Auto/802/Toyota/Cavalier/car-for-sale.html

This is something GM did when it sold the GEO Storm in the US which was a rebadged Isuzu Gemini.

Also, like Japan does with it's Infiniti/Nissan badge changes for overseas markets. This can occur with US vehicles when they go overseas. For example, in England/Europe, they have Chrysler, but no Dodge name (it's name is only sold from a showroom in North and South America), so the Neon is sold as a Chrysler:
http://www.compucars.co.uk/vehicle-details.asp?order=&Model=&Make=13&BodyType=&FuelType=&Transmission=&intMax=&intMin=&RSPage=1&ID=28133

jmrev. How many times are you going to change your avatar man?
As many times that i want, or when i get bored...well there must be american cars in Japan right...wait how about some one that lives in japan tells us. Im pretty sure that there is a couple of guys living over there right now.

Do they have mustangs and camaros?

i heard Hondas are a joke in Japan. :lol:

i heard Hondas are a joke in Japan. :lol:

honda has a big name for themself in japan. they are the reason japan now has the One Make series. and also with big named companies backing almost the entire honda line-up, i dont think they are a joke.

Do they have mustangs and camaros?

If you check the links I posted, Mustang - yes (http://www.ford.co.jp/mustang/index.htm), Camaro no. That is from showroom sales. That doesn't mean the Camaro can't be imported. But they have difficult and very expensive import procedures.

honda has a big name for themself in japan. they are the reason japan now has the One Make series. and also with big named companies backing almost the entire honda line-up, i dont think they are a joke.

As far as Hondas, there is absolutely nothing special about them in Japan. You'll run into some that are tuned up, but for the most part that's rare. Toyota, Mazda and Nissan are the street tuner's choices.

As far as big named companies backing them, they back EVERYTHING in Japan. You go to Autobacs or some other vehicle parts/tuner store, and you can get cat-back exhausts, suspension, etc. etc. for almost every car made in Japan. It's nothing like the US where only specific models or certain years are backed.

You'll find in most of the tuner's stores, that you can get a lot of Toyota and Nissan upgrade parts right off the shelf. Many of them I went into didn't even have Honda parts out and if they did, it was a small area with tail light assemblies, VTEC controllers and on the rare occasion a header.

im talking about at least one company that i know of that is building parts specifically for honda. spoon? spoon is the leading manufacturer for honda parts. and yea, hondas in japan are no different than hondas in america, but they have a name for themselves. its like chevy or ford in the US, common names, but we know they have big potential, but still we are drawn to corvette or shelby.

Yeah, Honda has Mugen (Honda branch motorsport/aftermarket parts) and Spoon. Other then that, it starts to get hard finding Honda only companies.

On the other hand, Nissan for example has Nismo (Nissan's branch as we all know). For showroom special tuned cars (sold at the dealership by Nissan) there is Autech and Own:
http://www.autech.co.jp/index_f.html
http://www.altia-custom.com/OWN/CUSTOM/index.html
For an additional aftermarket Nissan only cars and parts (obviously the wheels can be used on anything) company there's IMPUL:
http://www.impul.co.jp/

The fact is, in Japan, Nissan and Toyota have much more backing, are used by more tuners, and have a much higher street reputation. When it comes to a Japanese tuner thinking of "big potential" like you mentioned, Honda is usually the last maker they think of, a joke as someone mentioned. The only Honda that really has high potential is the NSX, which is the only car they have in the JGTC. Also the NSX's C32B engine is being used in couple of special GT300 class cars. Nissan however, has the 350Z and Silvia (will end soon do to it being discontinued), used to run the GTR and is awaiting the next. Toyota is running the most models with the Supra, MR-S and Celica.

Simply put, go to Japan out to a street race. You will usually never see a Honda, if one does show up, it'll usually be very embarrassing for them, and in very rare occasions, you find a very well tuned one that can actually run with the others. But, like I said, very rare.

Honda does have a name for itself in Japan, and it's not a good one when it comes to performance compared to the other Japanese companies.

I would love to go to Japan but the only reason I wouldnt live there is because of their strict laws on owning vehicles there. Is it as bad as people make it sound or is the expensive car inspections easily affordable in yen and only considered expensive when converted to dollars?

I would love to go to Japan but the only reason I wouldnt live there is because of their strict laws on owning vehicles there. Is it as bad as people make it sound or is the expensive car inspections easily affordable in yen and only considered expensive when converted to dollars?
think about this.

here you have a lot of bullshit to pay. road tax, JCI, parking tax now. but.... how much do skylines cost here?

in the states you don't have to deal with the bullshit of JCI and but.... how much do skylines cost there?

Yen or dollars makes no difference JCI can be expensive if there's a lot of shit wrong with your car. I think for the target market in this forum though it's not what's wrong with your car, it's the "aftermarket shit that won't pass so now you have to take it off" problem. The most I've seen JCI cost someone is 1500 dollars. This was on a pile of shit car that needed to get a lot of things fixed on it. it was over 1000 just for garage fees. the actual inspection, on an average unmodified daily driver (my wifes car) costs under 200 dollars. It's good for 2 years. This is doing it "yourself" on base. The JCI policy (insurance) costs about 180 bucks and the inspection costs 20 bucks. I went thru and passed the first time. 200 bucks, see you in 2 years.

As far as the other things:

Road tax. This depends on the engine class. This is on the license plate. there are many different classes, for the most part you'll see 300 500 or a yellow 40 or 50.

the 300 plate cars (all R33's I think) are about 220 bucks per year for road tax.
I also think (just going off of what I see everyday) that all GTR's are either 330 or 33 (if your japanese). Not sure if this is a different class than the 300. I don't think so.

Then there's the 500 class. this is for most R32's. and most other cars. 500, 501, 502....
This road tax i think is about 170 bucks per year? It's been a while though so don't take this as gospel.

Yellow plate cars, with a 40 or 50 engine class are free road tax. This is because they are something called a "K" car or "Kei" car. (from what I have read although again, i'm not sure) The K car regulation says the engine has to be 660CC's or less and you may use a turbo charger. .66L so that's why the road tax is free. You also get a discount on the expressway (a toll highway) if you have a yellow plate.

This new parking tax thing applies if you live off base and i'm not sure how it works because it just started and I skated off without having to do it.

So to sum it all up, it's not bad. it's confusing as hell when you first get here but after a while it's not confusing at all. If you can imagine this I have forgot what I would have to do to get a car in the US :-)

How much are parking taxes? Does it count if you have a driveway?

How much are parking taxes? Does it count if you have a driveway?
I'm not sure. I think it doesn't matter if you have a driveway or not. If you are in the military and you LIVE on base then you don't have to pay. but more than 2 or 3 km or something like that off base and you are supposed to pay something.... but again, i got out of it so... and this all just started in okinawa. don't know about main land

http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,SS_082704_Proof,00.html
This is a pain in the rectum!! We are doing this now for Jr's latest acquisition. Cars that you had when this went into effect get grandfathered in. New vehicles take up to a month to get registered. If you live within 2 kms from the base you are exempt. We live 26 kms from base. It sucks a big one!

yeap, these motherfuckers. makes me wonder... I'm in the air force. I live about 15km away from kadena air base but I'm about 2km away from camp foster marine base..... hmmm?

i've got a 2 car garage and I pay almost 1500 bucks a month for it (well, that and the 2 story house on top of it) I'd better not have to fucking pay another 30 bucks per car to be able to park in MY garage! :-O

I have a carport....but I have more than one car...
Getting a new car registered for Jr really screws up the future. I don't know what we are going to do when it is time for another vehicle in the gladclan.

think about this.


in the states you don't have to deal with the bullshit of JCI and but.... how much do skylines cost there?

Yen or dollars makes no difference JCI can be expensive if there's a lot of shit wrong with your car. I think for the target market in this forum though it's not what's wrong with your car, it's the "aftermarket shit that won't pass so now you have to take it off" problem. The most I've seen JCI cost someone is 1500 dollars. This was on a pile of shit car that needed to get a lot of things fixed on it. it was over 1000 just for garage fees. the actual inspection, on an average unmodified daily driver (my wifes car) costs under 200 dollars. It's good for 2 years. This is doing it "yourself" on base. The JCI policy (insurance) costs about 180 bucks and the inspection costs 20 bucks. I went thru and passed the first time. 200 bucks, see you in 2 years.
As far as the other things:
Road tax. This depends on the engine class. This is on the license plate. there are many different classes, for the most part you'll see 300 500 or a yellow 40 or 50.
the 300 plate cars (all R33's I think) are about 220 bucks per year for road tax.
I also think (just going off of what I see everyday) that all GTR's are either 330 or 33 (if your japanese). Not sure if this is a different class than the 300. I don't think so.
Then there's the 500 class. this is for most R32's. and most other cars. 500, 501, 502....
This road tax i think is about 170 bucks per year? It's been a while though so don't take this as gospel.
So to sum it all up, it's not bad. it's confusing as hell when you first get here but after a while it's not confusing at all. If you can imagine this I have forgot what I would have to do to get a car in the US :-)

Generally how much do you pay for Shaken provided you keep your car maintained in good shape and repaired when needed?

:2cents: I just did my JCI on the 4th of Nov. I have no idea how I passed inspection. I have 89 GTR. Which I have heard that they are notoriuos for oil pan leaks. WHich mines is not bad but noticable. (In Sasebo would have been automatic failure). I dont even know where my CAT is, Under the fake christmas tree in my closet?) 18 in wheels and still scraps exhaust in some parking garages. STAMP STAMP POINT FINISHED PAY AT WINDOW THREE, AROGATO :naughty: THey didnt hit me with parking TAX or wight tax in Yokosuka, But in sasebo you have to have a perking sticker. Japanese government seems to changte from island to island. By Honshu is the best for JCI but for drivin gotta go with Kyushu.
But to answer the question I paid 15690 yen for inspection and the stamp thingy's :confused: ANd about 30 bucks in tolls and smokes.