Category Archives: The most popular JDM EXPO Blog articles slideshow

JDM EXPO Comes to the USA!

JDM EXPO is now in the USA! We are proud to officially announce the opening of our USA branch – JDM EXPO NY – soon to be the USA JDM fans’ top source for Nissan Skylines, Supras, NSX, RX7 and many other JDM  cars for sale!

JDM EXPO NY is a company in upstate New York that assists in the importation of JDM cars to the USA, and arranges the transportation of JDM cars to the front door of its new owners. Along with having a rotating inventory of JDM EXPO cars on hand and ready to bring home, JDM EXPO NY also provides the services of sourcing and purchasing JDM cars in Japan. Click HERE to learn more about JDM EXPO NY.

Being the official representative of the largest JDM sports cars exporter in Japan,  JDM EXPO NY has a number of distinct advantages over the other USA based imports. Those advantages include cost efficiency since since unlike others, its operations doesn’t include the use of middleman, and its access to a large inventory of JDM sports cars in Japan with recently completed state-of-the-art repair & tuning facilities.

How to Import JDM cars to USAJDM cars to import USA

Furthermore, its only through JDM EXPO NY, the USA buyers are given the option to work with Stateside company while directly purchasing their car from a reputed exporter in Japan at the most competitive market prices. To learn more about our inventory cars in Japan, click HERE Another advantage of JDM EXPO NY is what we call Try Before You Buy Program which exclusively available at JDM EXPO NY. This program allows USA based customers to pick out a car in Japan and have it imported to the USA through JDM EXPO NY and then inspect the car in person before completing the purchase. It is important to note that until now, no other company has been able to offer this kind of security and benefit when looking to buy 25 year old/older JDM cars.

Since its opening in the early 2016, JDM EXPO NY has already become one of the dominant JDM car importers in the East Coast. As we are committed to keep spreading the awareness in the USA, our goal is nothing less that being the #1 source of USA JDM fans & customers when it comes to to importing all original examples Japan’s finest sports & classic cars while maintaining highest track record on customer trust and satisfaction. Thus, we welcome you to contact us at JDM EXPO NY if you would like to:

-Buy a car in Japan such as a Hakosuka, rhd AE86 or Skyline GTR

-Buy a Nissan Skyline, Honda NSX, Mazda RX7, Toyota Supra or other JDM car for sale in the US

-Buy an unusual JDM car that is hard for smaller importers to source

-Get assistance in handling export & logistics for a car you have already purchased in Japan

-Bring a car home with you as a member of the military stationed in Japan

Click on the picture to learn more about JDM EXPO NY & its operations

The History of the Nissan Skyline GTR

The History of the Skyline

This legend from Japan has made appearances in just about every racing game made from Need for Speed to Gran Turismo. It has made appearances in no less than 6 of The Fast and Furious movies. And yet, “Godzilla” never officially made it to the US shores. Of course, we are talking about the Nissan Skyline GTR. But while everyone knows about the incredible R32 Nissan Skyline GTR, the car that earned the model its Godzilla nickname, the history of this highly coveted tuner car goes all the way back to 1957 in a ward of Tokyo called Suginami, Japan.

The Car Formally Known as Prince

After the end of World War II, a company called Tachikawa Aircraft dissolved and was renamed Fuji Precision Industries. After several name changes, the Suginami based manufacturer settled on Prince Motor Company, named to honor the Prince and now Emperor of Japan, Prince Akihito. Introduced in 1957, the Prince Skyline was not the all-out performer it is today but rather a luxury sedan. Prince did, however, introduce a more stylish Skyline Sport that was available in coupe or convertible format. With much more modest production numbers, the Sport did find its way into a number of Toho/Fuji Media (think Godzilla) movies of the early sixties.

The Skyline Gets Sporty

Moving ahead to 1964, Prince decided it was time to put a Skyline on the racetrack. Beginning with an earlier model, they did some major performance modifications including the addition of a straight six motor from a Gloria that made up to 125 horsepower in its top configuration. The car debuted at the second Japan GP in 1964 and took second through sixth place! Highly successful in GT racing, the newly named Skyline 2000 GT (S54) was then put into full production in the Japanese market.

Around the same time, the Japanese government decided that larger automotive companies should be created to ensure their success and longevity in overseas markets. Since Toyota had already merged with Daihatsu, the next logical partner was Nissan. Prince joined with them in 1966, and the Nissan Skyline was born.

The Three Letters That Started it All

Making its debut at the 1969 Tokyo Auto Show was the first high performance version of the Skyline, the GT-R. Power comes courtesy of a DOHC 2.0 liter inline 6 making 160 hp, a very advanced and powerful motor for the time. While originally released as a four door sedan, Nissan introduced the more familiar two-door coupe in 1971. Much like the factory race cars coming out of Detroit, the Skyline was stripped of all unnecessary weight in order to improve track performance. This car started the near universal adoption of the “-R” designation for the factory performance or racing version of a model. As a nod to how influential Skylines are to the Fast & Furious franchise, you can catch a glimpse of a ‘71 in 2011’s Fast Five.

GT-Rs in the ’80s and Beyond

After little success with the 2nd generation GT-R in the ‘70s as a result of the worldwide oil crisis, Nissan came back strong in the eighties with the introduction of the r31,32, and 33 GT-Rs. Production on these models began in 1985 and the GT-R maintained this general body design through 2002. The R31 saw the reintroduction of the DOHC inline 6 engine, producing 210 hp. Introduced in 1989, the R32 featured a NISMO twin-turbo 6 cylinder with AWD, capable of 280 hp.

The Pinnacle of Design

The GT-R R34, produced from 1999 to 2002, was the culmination of over a decade of competition resulting in the most technologically advanced Skyline… and priciest with a sticker of just under $90,000. A ceramic twin-turbo inline 6 put out 276 hp with full-time AWD. New features included an LCD multifunction display that put important engine data right smack in front of the driver as well as 6 speed Getrag transmission.

 

While the Nissan Skyline has been a fixture in Japanese movies and television since its inception, in America it’s the Gran Turismo video games and The Fast & Furious movies that introduced the R32 version to US car enthusiasts. This has caused huge demand (and huge price increases) for the 1989-1994 Nissan Skyline GT-R which have just recently been legal for import due to the 25 Year Rule. And for the deep pocketed GT-R fan, you can actually own arguably the most famous GT-R of them all, Paul Walker’s R34 Nissan Skyline GTR from 2009’s Fast and Furious. This car was owned by Paul Walker and sports only 3,728 miles, plus a whole ton of modifications to both the look and performance of the car. The price is a secret but said to be between $1 and 5 million dollars.

Godzilla Comes to America

Finally, in July of 2008 you could go to your local Nissan dealer and get a GTR. However, there’s a catch. At this point, the GT-R was no longer carrying the Skyline moniker. Not to mention, the trademark & highly successful straight six engine layout was also shelved. In its place was an alloy V-6. In the spirit of the RB26DETT, a motor used in nearly 20 years of Skylines, the twin turbos were kept making the new GTR capable of 473 hp and 434 ft lbs of torque. Top speed is now an extremely impressive 195 mph with 0 to 60 times in the low 3 second range. Styling is modern and very aggressive but with considerable homage paid to previous GT-R models. Does that mean it’s part of the Skyline Family? Some say yes, but many enthusiasts feel that the “real” Nissan Skyline GTR ended with the end of production of the R34.

Why should you buy Hakosuka / Kenmeri from Japan?

1970s-era Japanese sports cars were some of the coolest ever made. Undoubtedly, the jewels among them were a 1971 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R ‘Hakosuka’ and a 1973 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R ‘Kenmeri’. Those cars embody a particular 2000GT-R style that evokes the best vintage Nissans ever produced, and currently they are one of the savviest classic-car investments to make.

Traditionally, it has been extremely rare to see an early Skyline 2000GT-R outside Japan, and especially on the auction blocks of the USA – unquestionably the largest market for classic & sports cars. However, the times are changing. From 2014 to 2015, the US auction houses reported saw people searching for those cars jump over 377 percent. More interestingly, 80 percent of those cars were searched by millennials, which bodes well for its continued popularity as those buyers age, and acquire more wealth, over the next decades.

Why there has been such a big jump in the number of people looking for those cars? Here’s why: Nissan Skylines were all exclusively produced for the Japanese market, and it has been illegal to import to the USA any types of Skylines that are less than 25 years old. Recently, as the late ‘80s popular R32 versions becoming available for USA import, the interest for the further down the line in the earlier models of the Skylines have also been picking up dramatically.

In terms of numbers, while Nissan made almost 300,000 R32s between the years of 1989 to 1994, in the 1970s, only 832 Hakosuka sedans and 1,197 of the Hakosuka 2-doors were manufactured. As of today, only a handful of a few hundred of those cars known to be remaining, mostly in the Japanese market. As for the Kenmeri versions, the production of those cars were halted after only 197 units were produced as the stricter emission regulations were introduced in Japan shortly after their debut.

Since the iconic Skyline R33 and R34s will soon become available to USA import, the interest in the early models of Skylines is expected to continue increasing over time. Since the two models have progenitor status and rarity and will be of interest as awareness of these cars becomes more mainstream, they are expected to provide significant returns over time for the long-term investors who hold on to those cars.

At JDM EXPO, with almost 4 decades of market experience as a Japanese sports car dealer, we have been in the business of purchasing, restoring and selling all types of sports and classic Japanese cars. Currently, we have several Hakosuka and Kenmeri available for sale, and we also have been the top sources of those vehicles for the overseas buyers. If you are interested in purchasing one of those cars, shoot us an emails at [email protected] with a brief description of what you are after in the market, and we will get back to you within 1-2 business days of your inquiry. In a meanwhile, we welcome you to learn more about us through our main website at www.jdm-expo.com and contact us through the contact boxes with your further inquiries.

Purchase through random auctions or from reputed JDM dealership?

What is the difference between buying a car from a Japanese auctions with a help of middleman, and buying a car directly from a well reputed Japanese sports car dealer with an existing stock of JDM cars? In the followings, we answer this questions with several highlighted points in recommending you to always choose to buy from Japanese dealership with large existing stock of JDM cars.

Vehicle_Inspection1. QUALITY!  When you purchase a car from the auctions, you usually need to do that purchase though a licensed middle man who can bid to the car in your name. In a result, you basically place a bid through a middle man to the car which none of you have personally inspected. This is especially the case when a US importer bids for cars from the USA in the auctions conducted in Japan. Thus, there is NO one who can give you any clear assurance for the quality of the car that you will get which can be a big surprise after you have already purchased the car!

icon-get-offers-22. COST! Always remember the trick. The main objective of the middle man is to make a profit out of your bid! Plus, if the middleman who you trust is not licensed/registered company in Japan, then this middleman needs to find another licensed middleman in Japan to bid for the car in your name whose objective is also to make money of out this bid. As a result you are paying double middlemen who are the most interested in making profits and transfer to responsibility to the person who will end up with owning the car. And this person is YOU!

trust_icon-400x4003. TRUST! When a seller wants to sell a used car, it is sometimes a common practice that he/she hides the car’s faults and makes praises to make the sale. However, when this kind of information passes through several channels as illustrated in the example 2, a bad and rusty car can be described as a really good car. Notice, it starts with the auction, then Japanese middleman makes the praise and hides the faults, then your US middleman makes further of the same thing to make the sale for YOU. Then, you can easily end up with a car that you had never wanted!

4. GUARANTEE! When you purchase a car through a middleman, there is basically no one to make you any guarantees on the mechanical condition of the car that you will receive since the middlemen the most of the time can’t inspect the car personally.  It is not like they own any of the cars that they offer to you, they simple see two or three random photos of the car provided by the auction house and based on that they make their recommendation of the car to you! As the commonsense commands, when you purchase a car without actually seeing it running, it is always at least better to check the detailed photos of it before throwing your hard earned money to it!

icon63CounterfeitChecks5. FRAUD! Almost in all cases, the middlemen request you to pay for the car even before they win it at the auctions! Consider this which happens quite often: What if they don’t win the car? Well, the most of the time they try to replace the car with similar ones available at the auctions for cheaper price. But then again there is no guarantees on anything! Your money is already gone and you can easily end up purchasing a car that your importer decided with a suggestion of another middleman in Japan whom all trying to make money out of this sale to YOU!

Show & Display Exemption Explained

The Show & Display clause of the US import laws causes a lot of confusion. Many people seem to think you can bring in almost anything and declare that it is for “show & display” but that is not the case. In reality, it is a long and challenging process that in general, is not worth the time and expense.

Italdesign Aztec

Italdesign Aztec

First off, not just anything can be imported under the Show & Display provision. There is a list of approved cars from the NHTSA. These are not your average cars, this list includes cars such as the Italdesign Aztec, the 2005 Rodedawg and Pope John Paul II’s Ferrari Enzo (yes, just that one).

2005 RodedawgThere is also a list of cars that have been denied already. These are cars where people have applied to have a car put on the list but the NHTSA determined they were not eligible. Many Nissan Skylines show up on this list. If there is a car that you think is special enough to be approved and it hasn’t already been denied, the NHTSA has a good walk-through on how to apply. Be prepared to create a college-level presentation with many facts backing up your position! Jalopnik recently had a person who imported a Masarati Shamal explain what he did to get his car approved.

R34 Nissan Skyline Midnight Purple

1999 Nissan Skyline GTR V-Spec in Midnight Purple II paint

A couple of Nissan Skylines are on the approved list however. Nismo Edition R32 GTRs could be imported as Show & Display, but they are now over 25 and so can be imported normally. The 1999 Nissan Skyline GTR R34 V-Spec Early Model Limited Edition is the other Skyline on the list. But, wait! The 1999 Nissan Skyline GTR R34 & 1999 V-Spec version show up on the denied list too! The closest guess to what a “ Early Model Limited Edition” is (since nothing ever received that distinction from Nissan), is a 1999 Midnight Purple II V-Spec with a build date that’s early in the run. The only way to know for sure is to submit an application seeking approval and nobody has done that yet.

Nissan Skyline GTR V-Spec LM

JDM Expo’s 1996 Nissan Skyline GTR V-Spec LM

What about R33s? There are a few people who have imported them legally and R33 Skylines are a bit of a special case. The 1995 Nissan Skyline GTR, 95-96 GTR V-Spec and 1997 Autech 40thAnniversary Eidtion are on the denied list and there are no R33s on the approved list. But, there’s a loophole! R33s were legal at one point and not just for Show & Display but for actual, normal import. To do this, they had to be converted to meet crash testing and EPA standards. So, with the GTR and the GTR V-Spec not eligible that leaves only one model. The legendary GTR V-Spec LM Edition. This car was built to commemorate a Le Mans win and made only in Championship Blue. Only 98 cars were ever built and with special aero pieces, color and badges it is extremely hard to find an original one.

This car can be imported, but must be brought into compliance with US emissions regulations. This roughly $20,000 job can only be done by one company and it can be years between when you buy the car and when you actually get it. If you must have that car, you may want to wait until 2021 when you can bring it in without issue.

Now, the next time you hear someone say “Oh, you can just import that as Show & Display!” when they’re talking about Skylines, you’ll know the answer is “You can but…” because technically you can but realistically probably not!

Import Nissan Skyline GTR R32 with JDM EXPO Japan

New Arrivals! Nissan Skyline GTR R32s for sale in Japan. Import Skyline GTR R32 to USA from Japan under 25 years old rule. Check out those latest arrived Skyline GTR R32s all in a great condition and the most can be imported to the USA under the 25 years old rule! Click on the photo of the vehicle to learn more about the car and feel free to contact us for more info at [email protected] / www.jdm-expo.com

Skyline GTR 32 for sale Japan. Import Skyline GTR R32 to USA

Skyline GTR 32 for sale Japan. Import Skyline GTR R32 to USA

Buy Skyline R32 Japan. Import Nissan Skyline GTR 32 USA

Buy Skyline R32 Japan. Import Nissan Skyline GTR 32 USA

Skyline GTR R32 sale. Import Skyline GTR R32

Skyline GTR R32 sale. Import Skyline GTR R32

Toyota Supra for sale in Japan at JDM EXPO

With its introduction in 1993, the fourth generation Toyota Supra was the fastest and arguably the most formidable performance cars that Toyota had ever produced, dominating the period which was known as the golden decade of the Japanese car manufacturers (Period which gave a birth to Nissan Skylines, 300ZX, RX-7, NSX and many other iconic Japanese sports cars).

Although much description of the car’s legendary performance is not needed for the Supra fans, the initial price of this car in the 90s started with $40,000 (USD) which would be equal to almost $ 60,000 in today’s dollars. Now, after more than two decades of time period have passed, you can import one of those legends in a very good condition from Japan at a lot discounted prices.

In the links shown with pictures below, check out the Toyota Supras available for sale at JDM EXPO Japan and feel free to contact us for more info in any of those sports cars.

Toyota Supra for sale in Japan. Import Toyota Supra from Japan with JDM EXPO

Toyota Supra for sale in Japan. Import Toyota Supra from Japan with JDM EXPO

Toyota Supra for sale in Japan. Import Toyota Supra from Japan with JDM EXPO

Toyota Supra for sale in Japan. Import Toyota Supra from Japan with JDM EXPO

Import Toyota Supra from Japan. Toyota Supra for sale at JDM EXPO

Import Toyota Supra from Japan. Toyota Supra for sale at JDM EXPO

Why should you buy Honda NSX (Acura NSX) from Japan?

You have probably heard that Honda NSX (Acura NSX in the States) is one of the most expensive sports cars ever made by Japanese manufacturers. Have you ever wondered why it is actually more expensive compared to other JDM sports vehicles? To find an answer for this question, let’s pay a little attention to Honda NSX’s development process and capabilities.

Initially, in the mid-1980s also known as the golden development period of Japanese car manufacturers, Honda committed itself to develop a car in order to beat the world’s top sports car manufacturers from Italy and Germany. This resulted in the development of Honda NSX which was originally targeted to rival the Ferrari 328 – the fastest and perhaps the most expensive cars of the time. Later on in the late 1980s, the plan was revised to beat the newly produced Ferrari 348 of Ferrari.

This resulted in the development of the rear-wheel drive two-seated Honda NSX with an all-aluminum body powered by an all-aluminum powerful V6 engine which featured Honda’s unique VTEC(Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) systems. The Bodywork design of the car was specifically researched through studying the 360 degree visibility inside a legendary F-16 fighter jet cockpit. Thematically, the F-16 came into play in the exterior design as well as establishing the conceptual goals of the NSX, resulting in optimized visibility of the car – Honda NSX, while the long tail design of it enhancing high speed directional stability of the car.

After all its developments, when the Honda NSX was first unveiled at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show, it was nothing short of a revolution, offering performance to rival the established competition produced by the likes of Ferrari through intelligent design. It was also the first production car to utilize a lightweight and incredibly strong aluminum monocoque chassis, together with never-seen-before-seen accessibility. Perhaps, it was the most technologically advanced car ever built during its time of the production!

However, apart from everything, up until today the most credit for Honda NSX given to its reliable. It’s probably the most reliable sports car even after 200,000 kms of its life mileage, still running like a champ.

As for the price of the car, the most people would range them from 60,000 USD to 80,000 and 100,000 USD depending on its condition. However, at JDM EXPO, we offers you the top quality Honda NSXs from Japanese domestic market at the most competitive prices in anywhere around the globe. We already have 10s of Honda NSXs available in our stock ranging from incredibly 17,000 USD to all the way up to 70,000 USD while all being in a great condition without any issues or accidents. We also deliver the purchase Honda NSXs in anywhere around the globe and the most of our Honda NSXs are available to export to the USA under 25 years old rule. Feel free to check out our available Honda NSXs at our stock and don’t hesitate to ask any questions that you might have.

Remember, we love hearing from you! ? http://www.jdm-expo.com/18-honda

Click on the picture below to learn more about the shown vehicle!

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JDM Nissan Skyline/RX-7/Supra for sale in Japan. Import Nissan SKYLINE GTR R32/R33/R34/Toyota Supra/Mazda RX-7 from Japan

Although we daily receive several sports and classic cars to our inventories, this time we want to share with you some of the unique vehicles we recently added to our Nagoya Port Inventory. Check out those beauties and never hesitate to make inquiries for the vehicles you want to import from Japan. We assure your highest satisfaction with our services!

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GTR R34 V Spec II Nür – only 750 of them were ever produced!

10s of Mazda RX-7s for sale at unbeatable prices at JDM Expo!

We all know that Mazda RX-7s are flawlessly engineered, breathtakingly beautiful and astonishingly fast. On top of that, they are surprisingly affordable compared to the most sports cars available for sale in Japan.

Would you like to own one of those beautiful, great running sports cars while spending not much money on it? Then contact JDM Expo today! We offer you tens of Mazda RX-7s to choose one from at unbeatably prices! We also offer a finance option if you like to pay the price of your chosen vehicle month by month.