What Japanese car would you buy with your own money?

[grbeck]

The 2013 Accord and Civic, along with the Acura ILX and TL. Otherwise, I'll pass.

[F250]

And yet it was Akio Toyoda, CEO of Toyota Motors that insisted on the development of a new sports car precisely because he was disturbed by the lack of exciting products in the Toyota lineup. No Toyoda, no BRZ.

 

I guess he looked at the Scion TC and knew he'd better call Subaru for a rear wheel drive boxer engined sports car.

[FordBuyer]

For me, Acura station wagon, Subaru Forester, or newest Accord sedan would be about it. I do like the new Scion/Subaru RWD twin coupes, but wouldn't replace my Boxster with one since it handles even better and is faster and more fun with top down. So practical daily driver only for me, and would pick 2014 Fusion, Escape, and 2013 Focus over above.

[OHV 16V]

I'm interpreting this question as in a "current day" context, so...

 

Money no object? Nissan GT-R or one of the last Lexus LFAs, (which just wrapped-up production).

 

On a more realistic scale? I love the Nissan 370Zs, would be my next choice after a Mustang, even over the Camaro or Challenger. WRX or Evo are great too, but I'd take a Camaro or Challenger over them.

 

Incidentally, I do have a Japanese car in my stable of vehicles currently, added just over a year ago because Ford doesn't have a vehicle in the category I was shopping. Only the second time ever that's happened to me, but hey, Ford has to do what they know will make them profitable.

Edited December 19, 2012 by OHV 16V

[Donaldo]

Highlander hybrid, I like hybrids and I have been wanted to get a 7+ passengers (mid-size) hybrid for a while.

I drive an Escape hybrid and also drive Highlander hybrids at work. The HH is a much better driving hybrid, with almost 2x the power of the old Escape hybrid. The HH's two electric motors make it 's performance sweet. However, Toyota doesn't want you to off-road it and may have difficulty in snow. Good luck finding one for less than $40K new, and from what I've seen their mpg is in the low 20s.

Agreeing with some of the other posters here, the new Subarus seem to be a good choice for an all-around AWD with high MPG. New Foresters will even have a rear diff lock to help get unstuck.

[efy]

Had an '05 Mazda RX-8 about a year ago. Only had it for about 6 months, then got a new job with a much longer commute, so I got a Fusion for better gas mileage. I've missed the RX-8 ever since, so I plan to buy another one in the future.

[calypsocoral]

Honestly, I'd love to have one of these parked in front of my apartment:

 

 

If I was helping a buddy of mine move, or if I was driving on a hunting trip, I'd probably go for a Nissan Frontier. Admittedly, this is partly-due to a softspot I have for it, since my first vehicle was a 1989 Nissan pickup.

 

Lastly, just for fun, I'd totally rock a Subaru BRZ Limited in Galaxy Blue. Or, if they did an STI version, I'd have to change the color to WR Blue, to match the attitude of the powertrain, of course!

[fireman9027]

Subaru Impreza WRX STI

[jc21]

Honda Fit

 

.... at some point (hopefully this year) we're hoping to replace DW's '05 Escape (XLS, fwd, 145,000+ miles) and/or my '02 Ranger (2.3L, M/T, 153,000+ miles). We were impressed with Fit's amount of interior space for its size and the versatility of that space. We haven't had a chance to drive the Fit yet ..... that could change my opinion. Pickups- I don't see the Tacoma/ Frontier as a Ranger replacement because of price/ value/ performance - the F-150/3.7L has it beat by a country mile.

Edited January 27, 2013 by jc21

[Guest abjb]

We were GM customers for decades, UNTIL the 80's 90's quality controll got SO BAD!

 

Personal opinion "Ford's were BORING in the 80,90's except for the Turbo coupe, bought one in 81.

We're now on our 4th Ford and getting ready for our 5th.

 

To answer the OP's question

Nissan GT-R ... nothing else even close

 

ab

[inkblot]

I'd always heard good things about the Subaru Imprezza WRX. But as I wanted a Mustang and talked myself into a Fusion, I'd likely want a WRX and talk myself into an Accord instead. The 2013 Accords don't look too bad (they, and Camrys, still put me to sleep aesthetically speaking).

[NLPRacing]

Acura NSX

[calypsocoral]

In fact, there are TWO Japanese vehicles I'd happily own. The Mazda6 Wagon that I posted above would be my "practical" car. As for a "fun" car, I'd probably pick this:

 

2.0L 4-cylinder boxer engine, light weight, RWD, and a BLAST to drive!

[BlackHorse]

I guess he looked at the Scion TC and knew he'd better call Subaru for a rear wheel drive boxer engined sports car.

 

 

In fact Subaru was quite opposed to the idea at first and it was Toyota that had to convince them that it would work. The boxer engine from subaru is used precisely because all of the inline engines from Toyota are tall and they wanted an engine that would keep the center of gravity low. For that the boxer engine was ideal but the problem was Subaru did not have direct injection. Without DI the prototype car was developing just 120 hp. Toyota decided to put their DS4 Direct Injection system on the Subaru engine. This again was met with objection and doubt from both companies. But they went ahead with the plan and the end result was a boxer engine that went from 120 bhp to 200 bhp. As for the rest of the car, all of that great handling is pure Toyota technology. Subaru of course wanted to turbocharge the car but Toyota insisted on keeping it normally aspirated to keep the price tag down and let the aftermarket handle the turbo chargers. My guess is that at some point they will both offer a special edition package with a factory turbo charger.

 

Oh and by the way I have a tC RS 8.0 and its actually a pretty fun car. So I guess I already made my choice. But I also wouldn't mind having the FR-S or the 370Z. If I was to go with an American sports coupe it would be a toss up between the Mustang and the Camaro but frankly I don't like the blind spots on the Camaro and the body style isn't quite as appealing as the Mustang body.

Edited February 22, 2013 by BlackHorse

[BORG]

I'd probably go for an Acura MDX or Lexus RX.

Edited February 25, 2013 by BORG

[FordBuyer]

Acura NSX

 

Yes, saw the new NSX at the NAIAS and it's super nice. Certainly a desirable sports car in the extreme. Kudos to Acura for green lighting it. Even if it makes no money, to attract top flight engineers you need to excite them with projects like this and show what can be done as I'm sure some of the technology trickles down to the more mundane rides. I know in particular Ford has gotten top flight engineers because they wanted to work on a new Mustang coming down the pike. Jack Rousch has always attracted top engineers because of chance to work on exciting projects. Camaro, Corvette, Z cars, Mustang, NSX, and on and on do a good job of attracting the best.

[buddysystem]

Just got the wife a 2013 Honda Pilot EX-L (dark blue ext grey int)to replace her 2003 Pilot EX-L. Looked at Acadias and Explorers and it came back to another pilot. The interior packaging just works for a family of 5. Much better screwed together than the '03 with many nice standard features. Explorer was too small with a high beltline and the Acadias are too expensive for a decent trim level. Flex could have been a contender but she doesn't like the looks. Suburbans and Expeditions ELs are too big to drive every day.

[V8-X]

I'd opt for a Nissan/Infiniti product as a brand. Otherwise Subaru would be the #2 brand on my list.

 

Have owned a few Datsun/Nissan products, and they have all been great. Those Honda products we've owned never lived up to or near their reputation and were more expensive to maintain. Toyota's, new or old, have never interested me and those that I know who have owned them had their fair share of issues. The Nissan products never felt like the materials were of as high quality as the Honda materials, but they were just as durable and the vehicles always had less problems and were more reliable.