Scenes from the Japanese Classic Car Show

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