[Tyga11]

What do we have now?

The Supra? Civic Type R? The NSX is kind of dead.

I remember the days of the RSX Type S, S2000, Integra Type R, etc.

There's nothing now

[Burrcold]

Are you kidding? Toyota has several cars that really shouldn't be around in these days (Supra (manual!), GR Corolla, GR86). Not to mention, the Civic Si and Type R, soon to be Integra Type S, Subaru BRZ, Mazda Miata, Nissan Z and GTR at the high end.

What else are you looking for?

[AWDtoRWD]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

Are you kidding? Toyota has several cars that really shouldn't be around in these days (Supra (manual!), GR Corolla, GR86). Not to mention, the Civic Si and Type R, soon to be Integra Type S, Subaru BRZ, Mazda Miata, Nissan Z and GTR at the high end.

What else are you looking for?

Agree. The GR corolla is sweet. The supra is mostly bmw which op should think is cool. Mazda is bringing back the rotary. Seems pretty cool

[Germanauto]

There's more cool Japanese cars today than there have been in the past 25+ years

[G30M]

They cost too much nowadays

[10"]

a shame there is no Evo and no 5 door WRX or STI—but otherwise they are doing pretty well right now. Better than Germans I’d say!!

If anything, all german cars have totally lost the plot these days—getting heavy and appliance-like.

[Housekeeping]

Huge oxymoron ��

[Patton250]

I think I have a much different definition of what cool is. Of course half my families fleet are Japanese cars. Honda civic, Lexus, Corolla. They are efficient, practical, durable, and dependable. I would not call them cool.


PS-the supra is almost as ugly as Teslas. Just saying.

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by g21

They cost too much nowadays

So does everything else.

[pikkagtr]

IS500 with that sweet V8
The N line cars from Hyundai as a hoot to drive
GR Corolla is legit new gen Evo
The GTR still is a thing , some how
Same same but different Nissan Z is ok
RF Miata
Integra type S coming out soon
There are a lot more cool Japanese cars than there are cool German cars, who mostly build the same bland formula IMHO

And the person who compared the supra to a Tesla toaster, I have a few family members who are optometrists if you need a refer
Modern glasses do wonders for your defective eyesight

[Patton250]

Originally Posted by pikkagtr

IS500 with that sweet V8
The N line cars from Hyundai as a hoot to drive
GR Corolla is legit new gen Evo
The GTR still is a thing , some how
Same same but different Nissan Z is ok
RF Miata
Integra type S coming out soon
There are a lot more cool Japanese cars than there are cool German cars, who mostly build the same bland formula IMHO

And the person who compared the supra to a Tesla toaster, I have a few family members who are optometrists if you need a refer
Modern glasses do wonders for your defective eyesight

I never liked the look of the supra. Ever. It’s like the car is screaming out that it wants to be something, but it’s not. Anyway, I stand by what I said. Japanese cars are all kinds of good things but cool ain’t one of them. But then again, maybe you and I have a totally different definition of what cool is.

[Bongoxxx]

Originally Posted by pikkagtr

IS500 with that sweet V8
The N line cars from Hyundai as a hoot to drive
GR Corolla is legit new gen Evo
The GTR still is a thing , some how
Same same but different Nissan Z is ok
RF Miata
Integra type S coming out soon
There are a lot more cool Japanese cars than there are cool German cars, who mostly build the same bland formula IMHO

And the person who compared the supra to a Tesla toaster, I have a few family members who are optometrists if you need a refer
Modern glasses do wonders for your defective eyesight

I thought the title was cool Japanese cars…Hyundai is Korean, which is definitely not Japanese.

[Kolyan2k]

I wouldn't mind getting GSF or LC500

[Tyga11]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

Are you kidding? Toyota has several cars that really shouldn't be around in these days (Supra (manual!), GR Corolla, GR86). Not to mention, the Civic Si and Type R, soon to be Integra Type S, Subaru BRZ, Mazda Miata, Nissan Z and GTR at the high end.

What else are you looking for?

- They are asking OVER sticker for a Corolla GR and it's ugly

- GR86 and the Subaru are slow as hell and the RSX Type S is still a better option

- Mazda Miata? They still make those?

- Nissan Z would have been cool 8 years ago. I had a redsport and it's literally the same car

So again, my point stands

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

- They are asking OVER sticker for a Corolla GR and it's ugly

- GR86 and the Subaru are slow as hell and the RSX Type S is still a better option

- Mazda Miata? They still make those?

- Nissan Z would have been cool 8 years ago. I had a redsport and it's literally the same car

So again, my point stands

That's great for you. I stand by my comment.

[Tyga11]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

That's great for you. I stand by my comment.

So you are saying the current gen is better than:

- EVO
- STI
- S2000
- Integra Type R
- RSX Type S
- RX8
- G35

This is the hill you want to die on?

[Clark_Kent]

There's nothing now? Interesting take. As others have mentioned there are several legitimate Japanese cars available today whether you agree or not. And since you're the authority on "cool Japanese cars" why is the lame ass G35 on the list?!

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

So you are saying the current gen is better than:

- EVO
- STI
- S2000
- Integra Type R
- RSX Type S
- RX8
- G35

This is the hill you want to die on?

Trust me I'm a huge JDM fan (90's and early 2000's). I've owned so many I can't count now. Those are all great cars for their time, but I think the current offerings are pretty solid considering the market these days (we should be thankful that there are any small coupes, rwd, manual options).

What is so "cool" from other manufacturers compared to previous generations?

[Tyga11]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

Trust me I'm a huge JDM fan (90's and early 2000's). I've owned so many I can't count now. Those are all great cars for their time, but I think the current offerings are pretty solid considering the market these days (we should be thankful that there are any small coupes, rwd, manual options).

What is so "cool" from other manufacturers compared to previous generations?

So why don’t you own one anymore? That’s exactly my point.

[Tyga11]

Originally Posted by Clark_Kent

There's nothing now? Interesting take. As others have mentioned there are several legitimate Japanese cars available today whether you agree or not. And since you're the authority on "cool Japanese cars" why is the lame ass G35 on the list?!

How is the G35 lame?

Some of you have gotten so old you’ve lost the trees. Sad really.

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

So why don’t you own one anymore? That’s exactly my point.

That's not a point at all. If I was in my teens or 20's I probably would own one. The last I checked, I'm not. If I was in a place right now to get a manual GR86 to sit alongside my current cars, I would in a heartbeat. However, I've got 3 young kids, etc etc it's just not feasible.

You still didn't answer my question. If you think there are no cool JDM cars left, what do you consider cool these days? I could say the same thing about German cars as well.

[Smooth_Operator]

It doesn't help that consumer tastes push these companies towards crossovers and away from sports cars, making dedicated platforms non-feasible. Toyota has 3 sporty cars (Supra, 86 and GR Corolla), 2 of which wouldn't have happened without the involvement of other manufacturers. At this point, I'm just thankful that we still have the options that we do. Yes, the STI, S2000, Mazda RX series and Evo are all dead. Blame consumer tastes, government forces, whatever. It's the unfortunate truth of the world we live in. Would it be amazing to waltz into a showroom and buy a brand new 2JZ equipped Supra? Absolutely. But those days are over. The market isn't there to justify the high development costs. Not to mention that the Japanese car industry really started to get insane when Japan's economy was among the strongest in the world. Now they're a shell of their former selves, just like the cars they build. They just don't have the money to throw around at insane four-wheel-steering vanity projects anymore.

It isn't all bad though. Yes, the 86 is slow. So was the RSX, Nissan S13, S14, Mazda RX-8. Not to mention, you know, the AE86, the spiritual predecessor to the modern 86. A car doesn't have to be fast to be fun. That's essentially the philosophy of the 86. Remember on Top Gear when that car came out? Clarkson said they put the 86 on the same tires that the Prius rode on. They intentionally gave it terrible tires so the limit of grip would come at a low speed. The new Supra is cool, no matter where its guts are from. It's still a premium sports car with an inline 6. That's a win in my book. The Miata is still built off the same formula it's always been. We (Americans) actually get the Civic Type R now, and a sporty Integra is coming. And the Nissan Z is alive.

Also guys... calm down with the style arguments lol. I think it's fair to say that a Supra objectively doesn't look like a Tesla. I mean, they've vaguely similar, but so is basically everything from a particular era, especially within a class. Look at an FC RX7 and an A70 Supra. Throw in a Porsche 944 for good measure. Show them all to someone who doesn't care about cars, and I bet they wouldn't be able to see a difference. Compare an FC RX-7 to a 1989 Honda Accord. If we operate under the assumption that the new Supra and a Model 3 look alike, I think it's more than fair to say that these two look alike.

Even in the golden age of Japanese cars, very few of them were actually really good looking. FD RX7 was stunning, I think the A80 Supra was extremely graceful. But I think these are exceptions rather than the rule. The Skyline GTRs were all just two door sedans with a bunch of functional speed bits bolted on. It was not designed to be pretty. It wasn't really designed with looks in mind at all. It was designed to be fast. FC RX7, A70 Supra, Nissan Silvia... they were all pretty basic designs, borrowing many cues from popular commuter cars of the era. I think we all just assume they look good because they're very simple, purposeful designs, and they were juxtaposed with hyper-bland generic cars like the Chevy Lumina and Ford Taurus.

I think the S2000, RX7 and the STI/Evo are the things that are really lost. We still have cheap, slow sports coupe (86), premium inline 6 sports car (Supra), "budget" supercar slayer (R35), insane FWD hatch/small sedan (Civic Type R) and cheap classic style roadster (Miata). The premium roadster (S2000), rotary sports car (RX7), and rally car for the road (STI/Evo) are the big losses, if we look at Japanese cars in a macro sense. And they're pretty niche products.