- Jan 7, 2002
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You're 24 years old, you don't earn much money, but you'd rather walk than drive an entry-level compact car that looks as if it came off a rental lot.
There is an alternative. Some enterprising consumers are kitting out mainstream Japanese cars with components normally sold only in Japan but that are now available on distributors' Web sites. For a few hundred dollars more, they're driving a vehicle like no other.
Over the past six years a small industry has mushroomed out of the importation of so-called JDM - Japanese domestic market -- components, ranging from wheels and power mirrors to engines and plastic headlights. The phenomenon originated in California but has spread across the country and into the Midwest.
"Demand is very high for this stuff," says Steve Argueta, the 25-year-old owner of JDM retailer HMotorsOnline in Burbank, Calif.
"People like the look, and they want their cars to be different from everyone else's," Argueta said
The irony is that when Japanese automakers first ventured into the U.S. market in the late 1950s, their oddly-styled compact cars flopped. The Japanese became a force only after returning with bigger vehicles, such as Toyota Motor Co.p.'s Camry, designed to appeal to Americans.
But now, car components for the Japanese domestic market have become popular with U.S. enthusiasts attracted by the off-beat gadgets they see on Web sites, broader engine offerings and the distinctive styling of dashboard gauges sold in Japan.
What's hot on the market now? Any component from Honda and Acura Type R performance cars that are available only in Japan. Demand also runs high for Japanese parts for the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Subaru WRX STi and Nissan 350Z.
Interest in Japanese components originated as an off-shoot of the muscle-car phenomenon of the '60s, when teenagers souped up Chevrolet Camaros and Ford Mustangs. The Japanese parts created a look that "was different from the traditional muscle-car crowd," says John Naderi, editor in chief of Super Street, a Los Angeles-based magazine that caters to JDM enthusiasts, mostly in their teens and 20s.
Now, people get exposed to the "JDM look" from graphic Japanese manga comics, video games such as Sony's "Gran Turismo" and anime cartoon features, notably TokyoPop Inc.'s street-racing "Initial D."
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0502/08/A01-83682.htm
There is an alternative. Some enterprising consumers are kitting out mainstream Japanese cars with components normally sold only in Japan but that are now available on distributors' Web sites. For a few hundred dollars more, they're driving a vehicle like no other.
Over the past six years a small industry has mushroomed out of the importation of so-called JDM - Japanese domestic market -- components, ranging from wheels and power mirrors to engines and plastic headlights. The phenomenon originated in California but has spread across the country and into the Midwest.
"Demand is very high for this stuff," says Steve Argueta, the 25-year-old owner of JDM retailer HMotorsOnline in Burbank, Calif.
"People like the look, and they want their cars to be different from everyone else's," Argueta said
The irony is that when Japanese automakers first ventured into the U.S. market in the late 1950s, their oddly-styled compact cars flopped. The Japanese became a force only after returning with bigger vehicles, such as Toyota Motor Co.p.'s Camry, designed to appeal to Americans.
But now, car components for the Japanese domestic market have become popular with U.S. enthusiasts attracted by the off-beat gadgets they see on Web sites, broader engine offerings and the distinctive styling of dashboard gauges sold in Japan.
What's hot on the market now? Any component from Honda and Acura Type R performance cars that are available only in Japan. Demand also runs high for Japanese parts for the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Subaru WRX STi and Nissan 350Z.
Interest in Japanese components originated as an off-shoot of the muscle-car phenomenon of the '60s, when teenagers souped up Chevrolet Camaros and Ford Mustangs. The Japanese parts created a look that "was different from the traditional muscle-car crowd," says John Naderi, editor in chief of Super Street, a Los Angeles-based magazine that caters to JDM enthusiasts, mostly in their teens and 20s.
Now, people get exposed to the "JDM look" from graphic Japanese manga comics, video games such as Sony's "Gran Turismo" and anime cartoon features, notably TokyoPop Inc.'s street-racing "Initial D."
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0502/08/A01-83682.htm
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