The Hunt is on For the Fastest Import Cars from Japan

The car that currently holds the record for the fastest acceleration, Bugatti’s Veyron Super Sport, costs about 2.5 million dollars, a price that is terribly out of the reach of most consumers. It is definitely a rich man’s car, but motorsport enthusiasts are not disheartened one bit, because they have another source of fascination that satisfies their need for speed: import cars from Japan. Here’s a list of high-performing roadsters that can set your hearts thumping because of the thrill of the ride and not because of the cost!

Japanese Car Brands

Nissan GT-R R35 – All-wheel drive anyone? The GT-R’s twin-turbo six-cylinder engine makes it one of the fastest Japanese autos, allowing it to reach 60mph in just 3.2 seconds. Pushing it to its limit takes you to a speed of 193 mph.

Mazda RX7 – When the RX7 came out, enthusiasts loved it so much enough to put it in Car and Driver Magazine’s 10 Best Cars list from 1993 to 1995. Owners were impressed by the car’s front-mid-engine layout and timeless design, and it is one of the easiest sports cars to handle.

Subaru Impreza STi – The Impreza WRX is impressive, but if you need something to up the ante, the STi is the roadster for you. It is called the STi because it is developed by the Subaru Tehcnica international division. Equipped with a 2.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, the car can zoom to 60mph in just 4.7 seconds. This model is one of the most sought-after import cars from Japan.

Toyota Supra Mark IV – Based on the Celica platform, the Supra launched in 1997 makes use of a Sequential Twin Turbo that is able to boost its acceleration, reaching a speed of 60 mph in just 4.6 seconds. The 3-liter 2JZ-GTE inline 6 engine pushes the car to a top speed of 170mph.

Honda S2000 – Honda’s take on what it means to be a sports car is embodied in the S2000. Its engine, a 2.0-liter inline 4, is coveted by many a Honda VTEC fan. The engine alone is so remarkable it was recognized as the International Engine of the Year from 2001 to 2004.

With lots of patience and research work, you too can have one of these import cars from Japan—just look around pre-owned stocks of Japanese exporters!

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These Celebrities Trust Japanese Vehicles!

If you’re a big fan of the entertainment industry and are interested in how celebrities conduct their everyday lives away from the camera, you may be interested to know that a lot of your favorite actors and actresses trust Japanese vehicles—especially the Toyota Prius and Honda models—to be their primary modes of transportation.

Honda has plenty of fans in Hollywood. Sarah Jessica Parker for instance drives a Honda Odyssey minivan. Not a car you’d expect to be driven by a big star, but Sarah shares that for her, the Odyssey is the best car for her errands and when she drops her children off to school. It’s also low-profile, which means the paparazzi won’t be a problem.

Have you seen the Indiana Jones movies? If yes, then you might be wondering what Harrison Ford drives when he’s not busy finding treasure and fighting the bad guys. Mr. Ford drives the Honda NSX, one of Honda’s iconic sports cars. The NSX is equipped with an all-aluminum V6 engine with Variable Valve Timing and Lift Control system, also known as the VTEC. These give the NSX a powerful performance, making it the perfect car for the swashbuckling Indiana Jones. If he trusts Japanese vehicles, you probably should, too!

The last Honda fan here may not be an actor, but he’s a celebrity nonetheless. Mark Zuckerberg—the big man behind social networking giant Facebook—drives a really small car. The Honda Fit is his car of choice, and it’s an enigma considering he has billions in his pocket. Why the Fit? Well, the fit is pretty low-key and Mark may also want to avoid the paparazzi as much as possible. In addition, the Fit has a remarkable performance as a subcompact hatchback and is Honda’s best-selling hatch, selling 3.5 million units in the United States alone by 2010. It’s similar to Facebook’s user growth!

As for Toyota, the Prius remains as celebrities’ car of choice because of its low emissions. It’s not only environmentally-friendly but a wise investment as well! Some of the actors and actresses who own a Prius are Dustin Hoffman, Cameron Diaz, Matt Damon, Kate Bosworth, Tom Hanks, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Bilson, Leonardo Dicaprio, Jessica Alba, Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Demi Moore, Julia Roberts, and Emily Deschanel. Emily even drove her Prius in one episode of her television series Bones.

Do you know other Hollywood celebrities who trust Japanese vehicles? If you were an actor or actress, which car would you drive?

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Financing Your Vehicle Purchase With Used Car Loans

When you find yourself in a bit of a financial fix just when you’re about to purchase a pre-owned car, one of your options would be to apply for a loan. Used car loans are usually flexible which means you can set the amount for monthly payment. Financing through an independent source such as an online lender, a bank, or a credit union gives you the most control over the transaction and some institutions also have low interest rates for pre-owned car loans.

Before contacting a seller, you can already visit your credit union or bank, or you can apply online for a loan. By doing this you will be confident that you have a lending company to back you up. Credit companies are flexible in the sense that they can give you a pre-qualified amount even before you have your eyes set on a car. This way, you’ll have an idea of the budget range so you can start looking for the car you want. Loans can also be fast-tracked, especially if you’re ready to purchase a car.

Financial services companies such as Wells Fargo offer auto loans and application can be done in four easy steps. The first is to accomplish a short online application—the process is free, takes only a few minutes, and there’s absolutely no obligation on the part of the customer. The customer will then receive a credit decision—the feedback or credit decision is usually immediate, so there’s no prolonged waiting time spent during loan processing. Once the application is approved, the customer can then head off to the local Wells Fargo establishment where he or she will get a check for the specified price of the vehicle chosen. After signing the paperwork, the customer can now purchase the car. Used car loans offer the convenience and confidence—the general feel—of buying with cash.

If you’re planning to take out a loan, always remember to figure out just how much you can pay per month and the length of the loan. As much as possible, don’t go over budget! Remember that you still have to set aside a budget for gas and maintenance. When applying for used car loans, it’s best to know your limits so you won’t find it difficult to make your monthly payments regularly.

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Deciding Factors in Buying Japanese Used Cars

Millions of people all over the world swear by their Japanese used cars, and for good reason: vehicles made in Japan, or models made by Japanese brands (as there are models not specifically made in Japan) are the best when it comes to affordability, availability, mileage, fuel efficiency, hassle-free maintenance, safety, and reliability. It may all sound too good to be true, but statistics show that Toyota, one of Japan’s most prominent auto companies, is considered the bestselling automobile brand for 2012.

Let’s take a closer look at the vehicle qualities mentioned above and see what makes Japanese brands stand out enough to make buyers go for Japanese used cars.

Price – Japanese companies do their best to make sure the work flow at their auto plants and factories is efficient and ergonomic, wasting no time and resources. As a result, the production of their cars costs less. New models are therefore very affordable; this of course means that pre-owned units would cost a lot less.

Availability – Japanese vehicle exporters have a wide selection of models in stock and you may most likely find the model you are looking for there. Sellers are so helpful that sometimes you only need to tell them some specifications of the car you’re looking for—say, a sedan with a moonroof—and they would be the ones to look for the car for you.

Low mileage – The Japanese are notorious for trading in their cars for new ones as soon as the new models come along or when their regular strict Shaken inspection is coming. Vehicles being sold in the secondhand market are sometimes as young as eight months old and have run just a few thousand kilometers.

Well-maintained – The inspection also makes Japanese car owners take lots of care of their vehicles—a broken part may mean a big fine and a trip to the repair shop, which of course won’t sit well with their busy schedule. Japanese roads are also well-engineered to the vehicles don’t have the dings and loose parts that come with driving on rough roads.

Safety and Reliability – Japanese vehicle models have long had the reputation for being the safest and reliable—they are equipped with the best safety features and they rarely break down. These qualities, along with the others above, truly make Japanese used cars the hottest items to buy in the automobile market.

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Interesting and Fun Facts About Used Cars

Vehicle specifications can be overwhelming to read sometimes, especially when the engine and torque combos are too many to ingest. You can take a break from researching about engine displacements by reading fun facts about used cars or cars in general, like the ones listed here.

Facts about the Corolla
The Toyota Corolla is the world’s best-selling car. In fact, more than 32.5 million units have been sold since it was launched in 1966. Eighty percent of those cars are still plying the world’s roads today, either as new vehicles or pre-owned units exported from Japan to other countries such as Tanzania. How is Toyota able to keep up with the world’s demands year after year? Statistically, a new Corolla is manufactured every 23 seconds, so you do the math.

Fun facts about used cars from Japan
Japan is the world’s leading auto manufacturer, where new models are launched left and right in quick succession. The Japanese tend to want the latest models every time (and it also gets expensive to keep cars more than two years old), so they trade in their cars for new ones. These low-mileage, good-as-new cars are what you can find in lists of Japanese cars for sale.

The regular motor vehicle inspection in Japan is called Shaken. This thorough car checkup makes sure that all cars in Japan are roadworthy. This is also part of the reason why the Japanese take extra care of their vehicles—which is why used cars from Japan are neat, well-maintained, and without dents or scratches.

Miscellaneous used car tidbits
In its lifetime, the average car will likely go through three different owners.
The most common color of used cars is silver. Next in the list is black, followed by white, red, blue, and gray. The rarest color is pink, though you’ll find plenty of pink and Hello Kitty-themed cars in Japan.
In the United States, six out of eight car purchases are used vehicles.
There are more automatic than manual-transmission cars in the secondhand-car market.
One of the greatest cars you can find in the used-car market is the Nissan GT-R, a sportscar that has garnered many awards including the 2009 International Car of the Year. In 2011 it made the Guiness World Record for having the fastest acceleration by a four-seater production car.

I hope you enjoyed these interesting and fun facts about used cars. How about you, do you know a fun fact about cars? Do share!

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