A trio of 2000GTs, courtesy of the Toyota USA Automobile Museum JAPANESE CLASSIC CAR SHOW October 4, 2009 When the Toyopet was first unleased into the United States back in 1957, nobody in his or her right mind anticipated that the vehicle would one day attain collector status. Indeed, the first offerings from Japan were miserable cars, even by the standards of the day. By comparison, the Volkswagen Beetle of the 1950s was vastly superior. Well, that was then. Now, "made in Japan" connotes quality and reliability, and we just held witness to the 5th annual Japanese Classic Car Show. The first three Japanese Classic Car Shows were held at the Queen Mary. However, the show has grown so much in popularity that last year's show took place at Hidden Valley Park in Irvine, CA (the former home of Lion Country Safari). This year was the 5th show, and the Irvine venue proves to be a perfect fitting for this event. The Japanese Classic Car Show Association sponsors this event, and they are proud to point out that it has become the largest old-school Japanese car event in America. "The show was successful from the start, but popular opinion pulled in many directions," says the Association. One thing that keeps improving is the quality (as well as the quantity) of cars at the show. We're not talking about high brow concours cars, but they include some of the cleanest, most highly cared for samples of vintage Asian vehicles on this side of the Pacific Ocean. And yet, the down-to-earth fun factor is not lost. Toyota Celica No. 00005 Honda's first USA car, the 600 510s in all manner of condition were on display Corona: The car that put Toyota on the map in the USA 1966 Toyota Stout 1900 Frenchy Dehoux's 1958 Toyota Crown More at: LA Car.com - The Cars and Culture of Southern California Magazine & Directory - JAPANESE CLASSIC CAR SHOW
In the photo labeled 'Toyota Stout 1600' there is in the background a blue Hilux EXACTLY like one I had and it ran for about 250,000 miles and took all sorts of abuse like overloading, desert dirt roads for days, etc. Finally the heater went out so I rigged up a place to burn candles on the console for heat and used that method for many years including spending a winter in a teepee in Montana. When it came time to leave the snow was so deep I had to flag down a logging truck who towed me 65 miles to the nearest (plowed) paved road. That truck was what sold me on Toyotas.
There are some nice cars in there. Many people do not see the value of restoring older imports. I think they are a nice reminder of getting 40mpg, without all the emissions on them. Great photos.
