If no other word describes a 40 year old Toyota or Honda or Datsun and others, it is "cool" and worth owning. Even a 70's era Honda Civic wagon near me would be fun to own. My Miata is now close to 20 years old and has a certain swagger about it. In fact, I bought my 79 Fiat Spider when it was 20 years old and it immediately got a lot of attention. If the common older Japanese cars are now cool, then the uncommon/special ones will surely be collectibles and classics.
Cheers Ron
I'm hoping my '92 Subaru SVX will finally have its day 
I bought my 1966 Datsun Roadster in 1990 as it was 24 years old.
I don't know of many 1988 Nissans that seem as cool to me as that roadster. 240sx?
I completely agree. The SVX was praised by Mr. Brock listed as a "but now" by Mr. Reid and nw not even mentioned. Heck, the XT's especially the XT-6 with the height adjustable suppension was a reasonably good car. But the SVX is pretty, comfortable and affordable.
At the very latest I would suspect that these cars will become collectible at the point where current enthusiasts have the disposable income to, say, search for the best condition all original 1st Honda CRX.
Same thing happened with muscle cars and other classics.
BoxheadTim wrote: At the very latest I would suspect that these cars will become collectible at the point where current enthusiasts have the disposable income to, say, search for the best condition all original 1st Honda CRX. Same thing happened with muscle cars and other classics.
I agree somewhat. These cars are and were collectibles from the day they blew imports from everywhere around the world out of the picture. Buy one now! You're looking at the next great thing in collector cars!
Rupert wrote:BoxheadTim wrote: At the very latest I would suspect that these cars will become collectible at the point where current enthusiasts have the disposable income to, say, search for the best condition all original 1st Honda CRX. Same thing happened with muscle cars and other classics.I agree somewhat. These cars are and were collectibles from the day they blew imports from everywhere around the world out of the picture. Buy one now! You're looking at the next great thing in collector cars!
BTW: One of the most enjoyable street cars I ever owned was my '85 Honda CRX SI. Not only did it take several stock F.T.D. trophies at SCCA autocroses, it also blew by many a "hot ride" while climbing mountain roads without even downshifting, much less pulling off to cool off!
My wife was driving on a long trip one time while I slept. After two brake stabs I opened my eyes and noticed the speedo registering 95+ mph. I asked, why are you going 95 mph? She replied, because the S.O.B. in front of me won't get out of the way!
If you can sleep & your wife can comfortably drive at 95+mph in the US, that's a truly comfortable car. Especially when you consider it was only 144" long. That's right a twelve foot long car was as comfortable and in control at 100+ mph as almost any car I've ever been in.
Yeah, it's just a little Jap. car, don't pay attention to it. I love to suck them up at bargain prices then blow you away with them!
The only problem with the CRX was that it seemed to really want to return to the Earth at an alarming rate...Much faster than a speeding British car could ever dare.
BTW: I had an '85...and miss it dearly.
Leo
I'd love to have an 85 with the little black plastic spoiler. The original CRX was the car that made people wake up and realize that 4-wheeled Hondas could be fun and competitive.
I like them much more than any H car that came afterwards. The early cars don't carry the Fast and Furious stigma either.
I occasionally look for one. You can still find them pre-composted out here, but the previous owners "care" really seems to have taken its toll on them.
Have you all seen the latest Depth of Speed video? It's about a guy and his 1970 Skyline GTR. That definitely seems worthy of being collected. Here's a link to a blog post with that video and a track day video of the same car. Good stuff.
http://startinggrid.org/2012/06/12/depth-of-speed-taking-the-plunge/
It doesn't have to be 40 years old..........
February 2005 (I believe) issue of Hemmings Motor news called the AE86 GT-S an emerging classic.... That was 7 years ago now....
If you want to check out the classic/vintage Japanese cars you need to lurk over @ Japanese Nostalgic Car forum.
I'm not a big fan of the 40 year old JNC... a bit too crude, and slow. I'm doing(3 year project so far) a resto mod of an E7 Corolla.... http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/2130/
I am currently enjoying my 73 Mazda RX2!
I recently added a '79 RX7 to my fleet.
There are quite few that I think will make the list.
Acura: Integra, RSX Type R and NSX Datsun: Roadster, 1200, 510, 240 - 280 and Skylines. (these already are classics) Honda: CRX for sure and S2000 Mazda: RX2 to RX8, Miata and the Mazdaspeed versions from Protege to 6 Mitsubishi: Starion, Eclispe, 3000GT VR4 and Evo Nissan: 240SX, Sentra SER and all the Z car derivatives (even the hideous ones) Subaru: SVX, 2.5 RS and WRX Toyota: Early Celicas as well as AWD Turbo faux rally car, Corolla GTS, Supras especially the last models.
I'm sure I forget several but much given the numbers I see at vintage races I only see them becoming more popular. The plus side is given the numbers they were made in Japanese classics will still be affordable. Sure they'll be some like the Toyota 2000GT and early Skylines that will command big dollars but overall if you look at 240Z prices they reflect how I think the prices will be. You can still buy a decent one for 5K and 10-15K will be a really nice one. In other words I'm not expecting the Muscle car stupidity of 8-10 years ago.
Tom
If anything would mirror the Japanese collector car market, it would be their 1960 - 1980 motorcycles and those are both collectible and cool. Also they are not too expensive.
Cheers Ron
I totally agree and have been hunting for an 1985 CRX Si for a while. Not only are these (and a lot of other Japanese cars from the same era) going to be valuable, but they have some other real benefits over the stuff we collect now. 1. They are mostly very fuel efficient 2. They are mostly less likely to rust 3. They drive a heck of a lot better than a lot of the stuff we collect now.
Tim,
I agree! In a lot of ways I regret selling my '85 CRX Si (It was dark blue and a real sleeper in its' day) in the mid '90s. I had a huge blast at the autocrosses and it was very comfortable for long trips for the two of us and our luggage. 35-40 mpg on a trip made for a happy wallet even back then!
Plus we often enjoyed trips through the mountains in hot weather. We'd cruise along with the A/C on in 5th gear and pass all manner of "hot rides" that were literally hot enough they were either being driven very slowly and carefully or pulled over because they had overheated.
After over 150,000 miles and tons of autocrosses I sold my CRX to a guy who was a pizza delivery man. He put another 75,000 or so miles on it before it had its' first breakdown ever! The radiator cracked at over 200,000 miles. That was the first maintenance ever done the car other than tons of replacement tires & brakes, a headlight bulb, a set of shocks at 100,000+, and routine oil changes etc.
Moving away from the area I lost track of the car. But I'll bet, if that guy has any sense, he's still pushing pizzas in it.
240Z is #1 Jap for me.
If I had to pick a top 5 for collectable:
Skyline GTR.............this is the Holy Grail of early Japanese performance cars.....period
Toyota 2000GT..........I think it's not as well known among younger enthusiasts, of course it may turn out to be the GTO of Japanese cars price wise.
240Z..............it put Japan on the map and proved sports cars could be reliable and practical.
Honda CRX................the sport compact scene wouldn't exist without it .Huge performance, streetable 200+ HP , monster corner speed and general track day weapon.
Miata.........universally loved and the absolute funnist car to drive ever made.
Tom (my .02)
We have been talking about working a little more Miata content into Classic Motorsports. We feel the Miata is a genuine classic already, but feel some readers might resist.
Not sure if "resist" is the right term - maybe "raise an eyebrow" 
(I'll still read the articles)
I'd get a Skyline if I had the room.
Living Canada we can actually get one still. (I think)
Well given that the Miata is now 23 years old (remember they showed up in 89) the magic 25yr old mark is fast approaching. Also the UK classic publications have done Miata features and one is now a regular in the "our cars" section I think CM would be totally justified in any early Miata feature. Of course I'm prejudiced, I used my SSC Miata not only to run local SCCA club races & Rallycross but also as a daily driver.............the looks you get with a car seat and a roll cage in the same car!!!
Tom
See! we do agree on one thing! The 240Z you see in my avatar was bought new by me in '71. I finally sold it in the mid nineties to a local Bugeye Sprite guy who needed something dependable for drive.
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