JDM, The Home Of Icons.

 Japanese Domestic Market; Home of Icons.

Japanese Domestic Market cars, commonly known as JDM cars. We have heard these terms many times as we all are petrolheads. Yeah Japan is known as the heaven of petrolheads and drift enthusiasts. JDM cars are the top priority of many petrolheads. What makes this JDM so special? Why is JDM so emphasized in many of the petrolheads discussions? Why are JDM cars a top priority for drifters? Today lets try to find the answers about the Japanese Domestic Market.

Japanese Domestic Market cars are famous for their speed and the rear wheel drive and enormous torque and power output. Another point what makes many of the petrolheads love the JDM is the coustamisability of the cars. With wide body and slammed to the floor a JDM is thoroughly a crowd puller even there is Ferrari's and Lamborghini's. Before speaking of JDM we can check a little up on the automotive industry of japan. Japan is having one of the world’s largest and prominent automotive industry in the world. And many of the Japanese automakers are well known for their cost effective and reliable cars and performance oriented super-cars and super-bikes. The Japanese automaker Toyota produced the worlds most best selling car the Corolla which started production during the November 1996 and is continuing on the production till now and that is something jaw dropping achievement by the Japanese automaker Toyota. And Akio Toyoda the current president of Toyota motor-corp was awarded the world car person of the year 2021 and that was another precious diamond in the crown. Now coming back to the Japanese automobile industry Japan has been in the top three of the countries with most cars manufactured since the 1960s, surpassing Germany. The automotive industry in Japan rapidly increased from the 1970s to the 1990s when it was oriented both for domestic use and
worldwide export and in the 1980s and 1990s, overtook the US. as the production leader with up to 13 million cars per year manufactured and significant exports. After massive ramp-up by China in the 2000s and fluctuating US. output, Japan is currently the third largest automotive producer in the world with an annual production of 9.9 million automobiles in 2012. India and Japan is also related with each other in the case of automobile industry. Maruthi Suzuki the largest mass producing automaker in India is the sister company of the Japanese automaker Suzuki automobile corporation. The automobile industry of Japan is fully fledged with many of the famous brands that is the Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Honda and the premium companies like Lexus, Acura, Infiniti and many more. The automobiles in japan is of two types and Japan is having the best of two types. They are Premium and Luxury. And Sports and track.

Japanese cars are famous for their luxury and comfort. The point of reliability is another factor which makes the Japanese luxury so famous. Couple of  remarkable luxury icons from japan is the Toyota Century and the Crown. The Toyota Century, even though it is not a luxury car brand it became a brand with its rarity and luxury. Toyota century was the luxury car manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota specially for the Japanese market and that Japanese market exclusive made the century famous. Even though the sister company Lexus produced the Lexus LS sires the Toyota flagship was still unbeaten and it was not available in the Lexus dealerships too. The Century was a century ahead of time by many ways with its features and comfort. And the Century derived its name from the 100th birthday of Sakichi Toyoda (born 14 February 1867), the founder of Toyota Industries. It is often used by the Imperial House of Japan, the Prime Minister of Japan, senior Japanese government leaders, and high-
level executive businessmen. The Century is comparable in purpose to the Austin Princess/Daimler DS420, Cadillac Series 70, Mercedes-Benz 600 series, Chinese Red Flag, Rolls-Royce, and Russian ZIS/ZIL limousines. And the heart given to him was also ahead of time. He was powered by the V8 engine, and that was the only engine given to him, the third post-war Japanese-built sedan so-equipped at its introduction in 1967 until a full platform redesign in 1997. The second generation was only installed with a V12, designed and built by Toyota company themselves, an engine bespoke to the Century, until 2018, when the power-train reverted to a V8 with the addition of Toyota's hybrid technology. The factors which increased the rarity and fame of the century was the availability, even though it was produced in good quantities it was sold to the costumers those who was ready to pay and buy. It can only be purchased at specifically identified Toyota Store locations and the century was as said earlier mainly used by the imperial house of japan. The century was in production from the late 1967 to the early 2017. And after pulling it back from production it re-entered production in 2018. That piece of art, now a collectors item is still a treasure and the trademark of Japanese luxury and comfort.

The iconic luxury trademark Century is having a sibling, it can be called so, and it is none other than the Crown. The Toyota Crown Not the LSPD Heat level one Cop car (Ford Crown) from NFS he he. Vivek Venugopal, one of the famous automobile journalist, my teacher, founder of Quarter Mile magazine and co host in Talking cars is having a 1997 Model Karnataka registration Crown and he, along with his friend Jayadev Gopakumar has done a beautiful video upon the crown in Talking Cars YouTubechannel. Coming back to Crown, the icon is another executive second level premium sedan from the Toyota motor-corp, which entered production during 1955 and is still continuing in production. Now the crown is the line of executive sedans primarily aimed at the Japanese market and sold in other Asian markets. Introduced in 1955 as the Toyopet Crown, it has served as the mainstream sedan from Toyota in the Japanese market throughout its existence and holds the distinction of being the longest-running passenger-car nameplate affixed to any Toyota model, along with being the first Toyota vehicle to be exported to the United States in 1958. The Crown, as his big brother Century, was ahead of time with rich features and comfort integrated with luxury. The Crown too was extensively used by the imperial Japanese Government and the rich class people. . It has also been popular with Japanese companies as company cars along with use as a taxicab. While a base Crown was available for many years aimed at the taxicab market, the increasing opulence and price of the Crown line led to the creation of the Toyota Comfort in 1995 as a more affordable alternative. Outside Japan, the larger Lexus LS took over the role of Toyota's flagship sedan in 1989 in the company's global lineup. The Crown was famous by the kind of heart it was given too. The Toyota's legendary 2JZ engine which powered the epic Sport-scar the Toyota Supra. Even though it was a powerful engine Vivekji says this crown is best for a relaxing ride not an adrenaline junkie fast ride.

There are other luxury car brands like the Lexus and Infinity, the Lexus is the premium division of Toyota who produces premium high end luxury cars. Some of them include the Lexus LS sires, ES sires, the luxury SUV LX and RX and many more. Lexus also produces sports cars that are track focused cars one among them is the RC-F the sports high performance car. Now the other brand for
luxury from Japan is the Infiniti the luxury sub brand of Nissan motor-corp. Infiniti officially started selling vehicles on November 8, 1989, in North America. The marketing network for Infiniti-branded vehicles included dealers in over 50 countries in the 2010s. As of 2020, there are 25 markets served by new car dealers. The main markets are the U.S. and China. From 2018 as the announcement of the chief executive Hiroto Saikawa Infiniti is undergoing transformation to be all electric from 2021. The interesting fact about the Infiniti is that it is the JDM company which entered into world production from United States of America, Infiniti was announced in the US during 1989. Now another Japanese premium automaker is the Acura motor-corp, the luxury division of Honda cars. Just like the Infiniti, Acura is another JDM automaker’ which entered into world production outside japan. The brand was launched in the United States and Canada on 27 March 1986, marketing luxury, performance, and high-performance automobiles. Acura is the first Japanese automotive luxury brand. The creation of Acura coincided with the introduction of a JDM Honda dealership sales channel, called Honda Clio, which sold luxury vehicles, joining previously established Honda Verno, followed by Honda Primo the following year. In its first few years of existence, Acura was among the best-selling luxury marques in the US. Though sales were down in the mid-to-late 1990s, the brand experienced a revival in the early 2000s, due to drastic redesigns and the introductions of new models.

Now keeping the luxury and comfort aside lets discuss about the evergreen legendary adrenaline
junkie super sports cars from the Japanese Domestic Market. The sports car segment of Japanese Domestic Market is wast and wide with a number of different and exciting models and many of them are familiar to you all too. The main heroes of the JDM culture are the epic piece of artworks and that includes the Nissan GTR AKA GodZilla, the icon of JDM cult. Here we are talking about the familiar cars like the GTR, Supra, RX-7, WRX-Imperza STi, Lancer Evolution; the icons of the JDM car culture.

The GodZilla or the Nissan GTR is considered as the Japan’s Best Sports-car of all time. GTR is highly famous for the speed, power and design. Before speaking about the son lets talk about the Godfather, the Skyline GTR. The Nissan Skyline is a brand of automobile originally produced by the Prince Motor Company starting in 1957, and then by Nissan after the two companies merged in 1967. After the
merger, the Skyline and the Nissan Gloria, were sold in Japan at dealership sales channels called Nissan Prince Shop. The icon, Skyline was largely designed and engineered by an iconic Japanese designer Shinichiro Sakurai from inception, and he remained a chief influence of the car until his death in 2011. The Nissan Skyline entered the production during the 1957 and is still continuing in production. Now the skyline is the luxury executive sedan. You will be surprised to know. The Skyline GTR we know has separated eventually after the R34 generation, and is now the Nissan GTR itself. Skyline became a sports car from the 8th generation onwards, that is the Skyline GTR R32. Then on there was no turning back the remaining was a history. The 9 th generation R34 is the most popular model of the skyline and that was given a nickname the ‘GodZilla’. The R34 GTR got fame through the movie sires Fast and Furious. The R34 acted as the partner of the actor respected Paul Walker and the blue edition demand rocketed up. The fast impact made the price of the GTR rocket up and now it costs millions of dollars and due to the high popularity GTR is banned in America there are of record reasons too. The power and torque and the drive-ability made the GTR famous among the world of drift too. And the new generation GTR is another golden art in the JDM history.

The RX-7, the second most iconic JDM built which is well known for every fast and furious lovers. The RX-7 gained popularity by acting as a partner with Sung Kang, a famous American actor popular by the character Han, which he played on the movie fast and furious. The Mazda RX-7 is a front/mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, rotary engine-powered sports car that was manufactured and marketed by Mazda from 1978 to 2002 across three generations, all of which made use of a compact, lightweight Wankel rotary
engine. The RX-7 came into production during the 1978 and was in production until 2002. The first generation of the RX-7, SA, was a two- seater 2 door hatchback coupé. It featured a 12A carbureted rotary engine as well as the option for a 13B with electronic fuel injection in later years. The second generation of RX-7, known as the FC, was offered as a 2-seater coupé with a 2+2 option available in some markets, as well as in a convertible body style. This was powered by the 13B rotary engine, offered in naturally aspirated or turbocharged forms. The third generation of the RX-7, known as the FD, was offered a 2+2-seater coupe with a limited run of a 2 seater option. This featured a sequentially turbocharged 13B REW engine. The RX-7 made Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list five times. More than 800,000 were manufactured over its lifetime which added the fuel to its popularity. RX-7, like the Nissan GTR and other JDM cars was well known for the drift and doughnuts and was capable of doing long drift races.

Next comes another super hero the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, another epic piece of art form the home. The lancer evolution was famous for its cult JDM looks and performances, Another perfect drift
car with street life coustamisability. The lancer Evo was manufactured by the rally DNA of Mitsubishi. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, commonly referred to as 'Evo, is a sports sedan based on the Lancer that was manufactured by Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors from 1992 until 2016. There have been ten official versions to date, and the designation of each model is most commonly a Roman numeral. All use two liter turbocharged inline four- cylinder engines and all-wheel drive systems. The Evo although was market specific for Japan was later exported to USA and Europe. Demand on the "Grey import" market led the Evolution series to be offered through Ralliart dealer networks in the United Kingdom and in various European markets from around 1998. Mitsubishi decided to export the eighth generation Evolution to the United States in 2003 after witnessing the success Subaru had in that market with their long-time direct rival, the Subaru Impreza WRX STi. Evo came into production during the 1992 and the production of the legend came into a verdict on the year 2016 but it is still in the mind of every petrolheads. The tenth and final generation of the Lancer Evolution (Evo X) was launched in Japan in 200.7, and overseas markets in 2008. The Evo X was produced for almost 10 years until it retired in April 2016.

Last but not the least we have the powerful beast, yeah is that a Supraaaaahhhhh?. Yes the beast known for power, the legendary Toyota Supra. The April of 1978 began like a regular day but that day was baring a huge responsibility, the birth of a legend took place. Yeah the Japanese automaker Toyota motor-corp launched their sports car and grand tourer which turned into an Iconic JDM or the
uncrowned king yeah the Toyota Supra entered the production during the April of 1978 and the car was pulled off from production during the year 2002. but then Toyota motor-corp bought back the supra into production in 2019,  hence making the name adequate for the car. The name "supra" is derived from the Latin prefix, meaning "above", "to surpass" or "go beyond". Did the officials hear the silent prayers for the return of the icon?, I think yes, The initial four generations of the Supra were produced from 1978 to 2002. The fifth generation has been produced since March 2019 and went on sale in May 2019. The styling of the original Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider. Starting in mid-1986, the A70 Supra became a separate model from the Celica. In turn, Toyota also stopped using the prefix Celica and named the car Supra. Owing to the similarity and past of the Celica's name, it is frequently mistaken for the Supra, and vice versa. The first, second and third generations of the Supra were assembled at the Tahara plant in Tahara, Aichi, while the fourth generation was assembled at the Motomachi plant in Toyota City. The fifth generation of the Supra is assembled alongside the G29 BMW Z4 in Graz, Austria by Magna Steyr, and that show the similarities between the Z4 and Supra, basically they have same DNA. The 4 th
generation of the supra was famous for its 2JZ engine as said earlier, the one used in the crown. The supra became popular after the legend Paul walker used it in the fast and furious. After that the sales had rocketed up and was commonly used for drag and drift races. The power of the 2JZ was the thing what made it so popular, the wide body, classic and elegant design made it attractive and common. But in comparison with the successor the new boy supra is not as good as the old one in designs, maybe we will get used to it eventually, here the GTR scores again, the R35 GTR looks cool compared to the new Supra. 

There are so many other Iconic heroes too like the cute Miata, Toyota GT86, Subaru BRZ, but the lengthier the post the bored you will be, Comment down your favorite JDM icon and your opinion about the post. Share this with your friends and thank you for the Idea dear anonymous. See ya in the next post until then good bye,
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