The japanese…….they’re always trying to drift everything! This video is from 1990.
Tag Archives: japanese
foto of the day. Japan.
As you know, a large earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on Friday. I found this very strange photo on MSN of a huge supply parking lot for Infiniti. Obviously I wish the best to the Japanese readers of IEDEI and everyone else there, and for a recovery from this crazy disaster.
a310.
As some of you know, i have a deep, winding obsession with the Alpine A110. It is the ultimate holy grail of automotive wonderfulness. Through my obsession with the A110, I have also developed an appreciation for the successor, the Alpine A310. For a long time, i didn’t really care much for the A310, however now i do. I found these photos on a japanese site, from what i presume to be the owner of the car. A lot of A310s were very badly modded and turned into pseudo-rally cars, etc….however I have a distinct appreciation for close-to-stock A310s. I think they were very unique cars.
LINK: http://a310vf1600.exblog.jp/
editorial: Honda, Toyota & the US market.
How Honda and Toyota took over the U.S. market.
In the past fifty years, the US auto market has declined tremendously. With the recent bankruptcy and unsteady industry forecasts, Americans feel uneasy giving their hard earned money to a faltering establishment. As a result, foreign auto makers like Honda and Toyota are capitalizing on the prospect, raking in all of the U.S. auto business. In addition, Honda and Toyota continue to break the barrier of new technologies which astound the industry time and time again.
Honda has enjoyed much success in the U.S. auto markets. With the introduction of the Civic in 1975, Honda’s popularity rose with each passing year. The new, lighter Honda Civic rivaled its U.S. competition with its low weight and small exterior. Furthermore, the EPA, in order to reduce emissions, required the addition of expensive catalytic converters in all cars manufactured for the United States auto industry. As a result, sticker prices rose while consumer demand plummeted.
As American auto makers rebuilt their exhaust systems, Honda busied themselves with the creation of the new CVCC stratified charge engine. Cars built with these new engines passed the required emissions tests without the need for expensive catalytic converters. This charge engine technology burst onto the scene with the 1975 Honda Civic, a car met with extreme consumer demand. With the rising costs of gas and auto insurance, Americans turned their focus to the Japanese auto maker to save money.
the WORST modern tail lights….
Here at IEDEI, i try to keep things positive and upbeat, however certain things about automotive design really get me going. Lately i’ve been noticing alot about the taillights on cars…and how bizarrely they are often designed. I’m starting to get the feeling that some sap in each company sits around doing the design for the lighting bits, and the tail light guy must be the one everyone makes fun of at lunch time…..well probably not, but it makes me feel better to think he exists and this happens!
So what cars have the WORST, most annoying, ugly, and awkward tail lights on modern cars? Here are a few…
Toyota Altezza/Lexus IS (1st generation)
Whoever designed these taillights should be run over by an Altezza….THIS CAR brought “clear tail lights” to the mainstream! So every pimpled geeky 17 year-old high school student rollin in his junked out 1991 Corolla w/custom tin can rippy exhaust could ‘special order’ himself a set of Corolla “Altezza” cleared taillights. Oh the horror…..Toyota should be ashamed of itself for introducing such a trend…
Nissan Altima
There aren’t too many cars I hate as much as I hate the Nissan Altima. It is by far one of THE most annoying, common, and idiot-magnet cars on the road today. I swear that every other Altima i see on the mean streets of NYC are driven by a classless blithering idiot weaving in and out of traffic like a stabbed goat. Terrible cars, terrible owners, and terrible tail lights designed by someone who thought it’d be cool to go 3D…..guess what, they look like shite maaan! That whole pseudo 3D thing is a miserable failure….looks like several animals were butchered, and then stuffed into a glass cylinder….awful awful.
Mitsubishi Eclipse (current)
The current-generation Mitsubishi Eclipse is a true loser of a car. Crap performance, very crappy looks, and horrendous cleared out tail lights (thanks Altezza!…really). I must admit that i’m not sure if it’s the ill-proportioned car that is making the tail lights worse, or whether they are just rubbish at their steady state normal!
Nissan 350z
You might start to think that, at this point, I am blindly attacking japanese cars; however it is difficult to deny just how tasteless their design subtleties can be sometimes! The 350z is another example of a car which just fails on so many levels of design, inside and out. Aside from being a robotic, warped imitation of the Audi TT design, they decided to turn the tail lights into an elongated spear-shaped trajectory. This leads to the tail light horizontally invading the side of the car. Terrible….just terrible.
that’s my shortlist…i’m sure there are plenty more! do you have any suggestions or nominations?
Makoto Ouchi airbrush drawings.
These are airbrush drawings by Makoto Ouchi. Very cool stuff indeed…
MORE INFO: http://www.khulsey.com/masters_makoto_ouchi.html
CLICK TWICE FOR HI-RES FOTO:
1960 Maserati Birdcage Tipo 60/61
1952 Alfa Romeo 1900 Disco Volante
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