The most iconic Japanese cars that changed and defined the automotive history forever !
1986 Acura Legend.
The Acura Legend was a full-size luxury car manufactured by Honda. It was sold in the U.S., Canada, and parts of China under Honda's luxury brand, Acura, from 1986 to 1995, as both a sedan and coupe. It was the first flagship sedan sold under the Acura nameplate, until being renamed in 1996 as the Acura 3.5RL. The 3.5RL was the North American version of the KA9 series Honda Legend.
The opportunity for Japanese manufacturers to export more expensive models had arisen with the 1980s voluntary export restraints, negotiated by the Japanese government and U.S. trade representatives, restricting mainstream car sales. The initial success of the Legend and Honda's Acura division in competing against established European and American luxury manufacturers would lead to Toyota and Nissan creating the Lexus and Infiniti brands, respectively, to compete in the luxury car market.
1984 Toyota MR2.
The Toyota MR2 is a two-seat, mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car produced by Toyota, from 1984 until July 2007 when production stopped in Japan. There are three different generations of the MR2: 1984–1989, with angular, origami-like lines, 1990–1999, which had styling that some compared to Ferrari sports cars, and 2000–2007, which somewhat resembled the Porsche Boxster.[1] It was designed to be small, with an economical powerplant, but sporty in style and handling. Basic design elements, such as MacPherson strut front and rear suspensions and transverse-mounted inline-four engines, are common to all three generations of MR2, though each generation differs greatly from the next in particulars.
In Japan, it was exclusive to Toyota Japanese dealerships called Toyota Vista Store (later rebranded in 1998 as Toyota Netz Store) as an alternative to the Toyota Celica which was exclusive to Toyota Corolla Store locations.
The MR2's life began in 1976 when Toyota launched a design project with the goal of producing a car which would be enjoyable to drive, yet still provide good fuel economy. Initially the purpose of the project was not to design a sports car. The actual design work began in 1979 when Akio Yoshida from Toyota's testing department started to evaluate different alternatives for engine placement and drive method. The choice was finally made to place the engine transversely in the middle of the car. The result was the first prototype in 1981, dubbed the SA-X. From its base design, the car began evolving into an actual sports car, and further prototypes were tested intensely both in Japan and in California.
1979 Toyota Celica Supra.
The Toyota Supra was a sports car/grand tourer produced by Toyota Motor Corporation from 1978 to 2002. The styling of the Toyota Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider. Starting in mid-1986, the A70 Supra became a separate model from the Celica. In turn, Toyota also stopped using the prefix Celica and began just calling the car Supra. Owing to the similarity and past of the Celica's name, it is frequently mistaken for the Supra, and vice versa. First, second, and third generation Supras were assembled at Tahara plant in Tahara, Aichi while the fourth generation Supra was assembled at the Motomachi plant in Toyota City.
The Supra also traces much of its roots back to the Toyota 2000GT with the main instance being its engine[citation needed]. The first three generations were offered with a direct descendant to the Toyota Crown's and 2000GT's M engine. All four generations of Supra produced have an inline 6-cylinder engine. Interior aspects were also similar, as was the chassis code "A".
Along with this name and car Toyota also included its own logo for the Supra[citation needed]. It is derived from the original Celica logo, being blue instead of orange[citation needed]. This logo was used until January 1986, when the A70 Supra was introduced. The new logo was similar in size, with orange writing on a red background, but without the dragon design. That logo, in turn, was on Supras until 1991 when Toyota switched to its current oval company logo. (the dragon logo was a Celica logo regardless of what color it was. It appeared on the first two generations of the Supra because they were officially Toyota Celicas. The dragon logo was used for the Celica line until it too was discontinued.)
1978 Mazda RX-7.
The Mazda RX-7 is a sports car produced by the Japanese automaker Mazda from 1978 to 2002. The original RX-7 featured a 1,146 cc (69.9 cu in) twin-rotor Wankel rotary engine and a front-midship, rear-wheel drive layout. The RX-7 replaced the RX-3 (both were sold in Japan as the Savanna).
The original RX-7 was a sports car with pop-up headlamps. The compact and lightweight Wankel rotary engine is situated slightly behind the front axle, a configuration marketed by Mazda as "front mid-engine". It was offered as a two-seat coupé, with optional "occasional" rear seats in Japan, Australia, the United States, and other parts of the world. The rear seats were initially marketed as a dealer-installed option for the North American markets.
The RX-7 made Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list five times. 811,634 RX-7s were produced
source:
http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1068237
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acura_Legend
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_MR2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Supra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_RX-7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_BRAT
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Model_A
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_(first_generation)
