It’s 2022, and JDM as a trend is still going strong. Calculating the 25 years-import law, soon, cars from 1997 will also reach US shores, and the fans are waiting with bated breath to see which new models can set the JDM market on fire.
There are already many JDM sports cars in the American market today, but not all have equal footing in terms of popularity, demand, and consequentially, price. What makes a JDM car soar in the US, while others fail? A lot has to do with the movies-inspired JDM culture which basically starts (and also stops) with the F&F franchise.
The other characteristics to affect the same are then the power, as in performance, and price. Being a 25-year-old classic, the JDM needs to come cheap but have thrilling power as well as reliability. Tough shoes to fill. So here go five JDM sports cars no one wants to buy and five that have all the fans in the US.
10 Unwanted JDM Sports Cars: Nissan Skyline GTS-T
The problem with the Nissan Skyline GTS-T is very simple. It’s not a GT-R and while people may reach for it reading the “Skyline” bit, once they realize the different lettering, they drop it like a hot potato.
It’s still a very cool JDM sports car, it is just not in the league of the GT-R. So if you are putting down for a Skyline, might as well girdle up and shell out more, for the GT-R, than the second-best, right? At least that’s what most people think about the GTS-T.
9 Selling Like Hotcakes: Nissan Skyline GT-R (R33)
Obviously, after telling you that the GTS-T simply does not make the mark, we have to talk about the GT-R that everyone lusts after. The R33 Skyline GT-R could be exported into America in 2020, and it’s still a major draw.
With legendary engine and performance, the Nissan Skyline GT-R was so cool, even Paul Walker from the F&F franchise fell in love with it, enough to buy several of his own. One in-demand model is the LM Limited R33, of which only 188 models were ever made.
8 Unwanted JDM Sports Cars: Eunos Cosmo
When Mazda decided to make luxury cars, they did so under the Eunos marque, and the Cosmo was the very first offering with a little over 8,800 cars made. It came with two engine options, with the second one being a 2.0-liter Wankel, jetting 300 horses and 297 lb-ft of torque.
Yet, the Cosmo is not a very popular JDM, even though it could reach top speeds of 158 MPH, and do a 0-to-60 MPH sprint in 6.0 seconds. They come cheap on the JDM mart, but demand is pretty low, perhaps because it’s a forgotten brand and car.
7 Selling Like Hotcakes: Toyota Celica GT-Four
While the Celica is not a Supra, even though it kind of birthed the latter, the Celica GT-Four makes for an amazing JDM car, with one of the best AWD systems of its time. The one good thing is that this JDM costs much less than a Supra on the JDM bazaar, despite giving you Supra-like performance.
At the time, it was a great alternative to the STis and EVOs of the day, and it was a recognized and awarded rally car for Toyota. There is one up for grabs at $32,000.
6 Unwanted JDM Sports Cars: Nissan Silvia
The Silvia may be a cool drifting car and won many awards in Japan on its debut, but when it comes to the US, its popularity as a JDM has never been all that high. It came with four engine options and was turbocharged as well for maximum performance.
The power was mated to a four-speed automatic transmission or a five-speed manual. Plus, the Silvia comes very affordable on the JDM market, but it does not carry the same symbolism as do Nissan’s other JDM cars like the Skyline so no one wants it much.
5 Selling Like Hotcakes: Honda Integra Type R
The Honda Integra came to the US as the Acura Integra Type-R but came only as a liftback. If you want the saloon-style sedan, you have to get a Honda Integra Type-R from the JDM mart, which debuted with nearly 200 horses.
It’s closely related to the Civic as a model and was sold in Japan as the Honda Quint Integra. It's different enough from the US-sold Acura Integra to sell well on the JDM mart, especially since there’s the availability of clean examples, like this one for $33,000.
4 Unwanted JDM Sports Cars: Mitsubishi FTO
Why doesn’t anyone want a V6 In A JDM? We don’t quite know, but we do know that the Mitsubishi FTO was another Japanese car with an Italian touch. FTO stood for Fresco Turismo Omologato aka. Future Touring Origination.
The FTO did not make it to the US shores but was sold in the UK and Australia, with a 200-horsepower jetting V6. The FTO was never made in high numbers and is not all that well known, reason why there’s not much demand for it in the JDM car culture, although it did boast thrilling performance.
3 Selling Like Hotcakes: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV
The rather cool, bordering on the legendary AWD sports sedan from Mitsubishi finally completed its stipulated 25-year waiting period in August 2021. The EVO IV came with a new twin-scroll turbocharger that let it help the engine jet a cool 280 horses.
Perfect weight balance was achieved because the engine and transaxle were rotated 180 degrees and the EVO took on all the Subaru Impreza could do, and went a little ahead. Since this JDM just became available for import, it’s creating quite a buzz in the market.
2 Unwanted JDM Sports Cars: Isuzu 117 Coupé
This diesel-powered sporty JDM from Isuzu was pretty cool but ever since Isuzu left the US under a dark cloud, and never returned, there’s not much JDM demand from this brand. Especially since there’s no future Isuzu presence being planned in the US and aftermarket isn’t all that great.
That said; the 117 coupé was the first Japanese car to be designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. As a compact GT-type sports car, it’s technically a collectible but not many in the JDM mart reach for it, despite it being rather affordable.
1 Selling Like Hotcakes: Honda NSX Type-R
The Acura NSX sells in the US, but trust Japan to always have an ace up its sleeve, with the rather insane Honda NSX Type-R. Yes, you read that right. It’s a super rare car with only 500 ever made, and has shorter final gear, being some 250 lbs lighter as well.
These ultimate JDM sports cars demand six-figure prices when they do land up in the JDM mart but are always grabbed up almost instantly. So while they may be expensive hotcakes, they still are very much in demand.
Sources: MotorTrend, JDMBuySell, Road&Track