It was only coincidence that my first car was Japanese. My stepdad handed down his 1994 Toyota 4Runner in black over gray fabric, just 265,000 miles on the clock. He bought a gently used Lexus GX the day after; His first new car in a decade.
The old 4Runner meant everything to me, a 16-year-old boy equipped with sudden and terrifying possibilities. From that moment—with gas hovering just above a buck a gallon—I could drive anywhere. More importantly, I had a ride reliable enough to get me there. The future just sat dangling right there.
But mostly the 4Runner got me to school. During Summer break, it bounced down the sunbaked gravel roads to work and back. In my car, I picked the music. I left the a/c off and the windows open, including the roll-down pane in the 4Runner’s rear hatch. Dust and sunlight filled the cabin. Occasionally, when it was dark, I explored the 4Runner's capacious rear hold with the fairer sex, back seats folded down and laid flat. Sorry, Mom.
All those old American cliches you’d hear in a Springsteen song: I lived them. Except in this gas-powered coming-of-age tale, there wasn’t a Pony Car in sight. Only a boy in his well-loved Japanese 4x4, becoming a man.
I suspect your life story is something like mine. Even if the particulars are different, sales numbers suggest that Japanese cars left a mark on your life. Maybe your first kid came home in an Accord. Maybe you blew that first real paycheck on a gorgeous Maxima. Or maybe your neighbor bought an Isuzu Trooper and you never stopped pining for it. Even now.
We—the staff of Motor1—dedicate November to the Japanese automobile. We’ve worked feverishly on this project for the better part of 2024, so that in addition to your regular news and reviews, we could deliver 30 excellent feature-length stories, videos, columns, and interviews—one per day—that’ll be well worth your time. Expect photography on par with your favorite coffee-table book, captivating storytelling, and absorbing video. Expect passion on these digital pages.
The goal this month is to understand and explain our attachment to Japanese cars. By driving them, by speaking to the people who designed and built them, and by learning and sharing their stories. This is fertile ground, and we aim to cover as much of it as possible.
Of course, plenty of fast cars made the cut. Think Skyline GT-Rs, RX-7s, and lots of race machinery. But we reached for obscure stuff, too, like the first batch of doomed-but-pioneering EVs, and a hyper-detailed look at the only production V-12 Japan ever built.
If you don’t like Japanese cars (and we’ve even got one of you on our own staff), there’s something here for you too. There’s at least one irreplaceable totemic Ferrari, photographed so beautifully, it’ll melt your heart. We’ve also got tales of racing legend Ayrton Senna and his Honda-powered McLaren. We have an essay about a truck built entirely on American soil and an off-road adventure across America’s most picturesque mountain range.
If you can’t find something to get your pulse racing during this next month, it’s too late. You’re either totally obstinate or already dead.
We hope you’ll stop to enjoy a new feature-length experience every day this month. If you’re so inclined, please leave us some feedback on our recently redesigned website and on Japan Month itself. Whether you love it or hate it, leave a comment. Just remember to be kind.
Mostly I’m just excited to share our hard work with you, the readers. I hope these stories resonate with your own.
In many ways—or maybe by coincidence—the start of Japan Month proved timely. This weekend I’m heading back to my childhood hometown to pick up a new 2024 Toyota 4Runner. This time it’s gray over black. It should last me a good decade or two.
In the fullness of time, if God allows me the years, I’ll hand that 4Runner down to the young boy sleeping in the bedroom just a few feet from my office door. He’ll make his own story in dad’s old truck. He’ll make his own mistakes. Maybe he’ll even fold those rear seats down. Who knows?
One thing I’m confident about, however, is he’ll have yet another faithful Japanese truck to take him wherever his dreams may lead. Thanks for reading,
Kyle Kinard
Executive Editor, Motor1
