Sunday, July 19, 2015

Fast and Furious - Honorable Mention

While the 3 main articles posted before, focused on model names that made the most appearances in all 7 Fast and Furious movies, there were some models that were more memorable or personal favorites for someone like me. So, I will be featuring 3 JDM sports car in this article that are special for me. 

First up we have the Honda NSX Type R. We first saw Mia Toretto driving this baby in Fast and Furious (2009) to meet with Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Connor after they ran away from the bad guys. Many might have missed this scene but fear not because we get to see it later in the movie. At the end of the movie, Dom was sent to prison in a prison transport bus and we hear engine roaring in the background. Then we saw Mia inside the awesome and beautiful facelift NSX-R and straight away we knew, a prison break is about to happen but that was it. It wasn't until Fast Five (2011), we get to see more action from the NSX-R in the beginning of the movie. Mia was speeding in it, drifting with it and all sorts of action. No one knows what happened to it as the crew went abroad right after Dom was "rescued". 




At the end of Fast Five (2011), each of the crew took their share of the loot and went their separate ways. Then from a distance, we could see a glimpse of a Supercar and came the Lexus LFA. The LFA was one of the hottest, new Supercar from Japan when the movie was released and I am sure many enthusiasts were screaming like little girls. The LFA did not play much of a role but I did not mind the short cameo because the series needs more JDM. It definitely is a nice car to zoom down the Autobahn where there is no speed limit. You could say that is when the LFA gets to shine the most. Giselle was asking Han where they are heading next and this is where Han hints he would be going to Japan, "eventually" but we know wherever Han and Giselle plan to go, it would definitely be in style. 



Last but not least, one of the most memorable car in the entire franchise for me, has got to be the "out of this world" Mazda RX-7, dressed in Veilside Fortune widebody bodykit. Add on a bright and striking orange and black paint job into that equation, you get what is definitely close to perfect. It is the primary car driven by Han in The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) movie, up until his death inside the car. I was definitely overwhelmed when I saw the Mercedes hit the RX-7. It looks perfect and quick even when it is not moving. In the movie when it drifted around the Nissan Skyline GT-R R33, nothing could be more cooler than that and you get to get phone numbers from pretty girls. Not a bad night, indeed. 





So, there you have it. These above are my Top 3 memorable cars from the franchise. You might agree or disagree but feel free to comment in the comment section to give me your opinions. Which is your favorite of them all ? The photo below is really a great summary of the series.


Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Land of the JDMs

I was told that I would be going to Osaka for a business trip and all I can think of is spotting countless JDMs. I was so sure I could easily see one at every corner but I was wrong. In a slower pace prefecture like Osaka, there weren't as many sports car as it would be in Tokyo. However, I still managed to spot a few and luckily get photos as proof but not all of them. Anyway I really enjoyed my time in Japan.







I saw in total 19 JDM sports car when I was at Osaka and I think that is quite a number because I was there only for 3 days. Even before I fly back, I was thinking when will be the next time I could visit the land of the JDMs. 

Cars that were spotted:
  • Nissan GT-R R35
  • Toyota Altezza
  • Nissan Skyline V35
  • Honda S2000
  • Mazda RX-8 x3
  • Nissan Fairlady Z (350Z) x3
  • Nissan Fairlady Z (370Z)
  • Mitsubishi GTO
  • Toyota 86 x2
  • Subaru WRX STI
  • Toyota Celica ZZT231
  • Mazda MX-5 NC
  • Honda S660
  • Toyota MR-S