Julian Edgar, 50, has been writing about car modification and automotive technology for nearly 25 years. He has owned cars with two, three, four, five, six and eight cylinders; single turbo, twin turbo, supercharged, diesel and hybrid electric drivelines. He lists his transport interests as turbocharging, aerodynamics, suspension design and human-powered vehicles.
Where’s the next 240Z, RX7 or Miata?
Where’s the next 240Z, RX7 or Miata?
It’s a long time since here in Australia we’ve seen a breakthrough Japanese car. And, since along with the US, Australia is one of the largest markets for Japanese manufactured (and, more confusingly, cars manufactured in overseas but Japanese-owned factories), the breakthrough cars we see here are pretty well what others also see.
Once, in the dim distant past, Japanese cars were regarded as a joke: despite having a domestic manufacturing industry that pre-dated WWII, Japanese cars were pedestrian right through the 1950s and early 1960s, often being modelled on UK products – which in turn were nothing fantastic. Datsun may have been founded in 1931, but thirty years later their cars were uninspiring. Toyota started making cars in 1935, but not products with any marketing, styling or engineering excellence. Of course, being part of the losing side in WWII certainly didn’t help things…
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