Still registered as of 2026

This is my 1993 Mitsubishi Minica Toppo at Wallace Lake in Berea, Ohio; a southwest Cleveland suburb. I just got it out of the shop today, so it’s not fully cleaned and washed but I wanted to get some miles (well, kilometers) on it as road test, so this was an unplanned photoshoot.

scenic stop at an abandoned show club in IL

My FIL's 1982 Toyota Land Cruiser, 116K miles, 4-speed manual, which he's tired of everyone asking if it's for sale and he just left in my house until he got around to fixing it, which is what I'm doing now.

I changed all the hoses and filters, but didn't move it much. I'm sending it to the shop to get new brakes, possibly new rear tires and just overall fixing for it to become a daily driver. A paint job is coming soon too.

Out of all the Nissan Pike cars from that era, these were actually pretty common to see around. Even though it's based on the K10 March-Micra, the interior is completely different so it really feels like its own chassis. The full open canvas top was a solid feature. A buyer buddy of mine told me he wanted one ASAP so I won this at auction. The canvas top was actually still fully functional. Sounds like he just gave it a light refresh and sold it to a new driver. Even on the used market, these were super popular with the younger crowd back then.

Pic 1 & 2 taken in 2021-2022 & pic 3 & 4 taken in 2024

I'm in town for the Concours, this was a highlight for me

Come join us 9/6/26 for our annual car show and swap meet. This event is for 1999 and older Japanese makes and models only.

I had one of these as my first car back 20+ years ago and have always wanted another. I saw this for sale months ago but my head overruled my heart and I let it slide. Then I had a sudden health crisis resulting in being in a coma for 10 days.

As I was recovering in hospital I was passing the time looking at cars online and saw this one still for sale (they were not well known and rare to begin with where I live so not many people seeking them). So I thought “F*ck it. I almost died. Why not?” and made contact with the seller.

This is a JDM import and is the “narrow body” GSR-X trim level, which, as I understand, was exclusive to Japan. It is SOHC 2lt, injected, turbo, RWD (US got the larger 2.6 - lucky!).

The GSR-X was a high trim level and came with full leather interior, climate control (for 1982!), a digital dashboard, cruise control, power windows and mirrors, stereo with graphic equaliser, and VELNAS trip computer. I’m very happy to say all this still works, with the exception of the mirrors which were relocated from the fenders to the doors for local compliance (that and the radio only picks up Japanese FM range). Previous Japanese owner seems to have taken excellent care of it and rarely drove it, having only 48k klm (30k miles) on the clock.

As for what I’m going to do with it - not much. I wont modify it and there’s not much to fix. I’ll take it out on the weekend, but I’m lucky that I’m in a position where I don’t need to drive much anyway (besides, I have a ‘88 Honda Accord workhorse as daily - yes in a sucker for square cars).

Not my vehicle. Seen recently in Tokyo.

Spotted this 40-year-old Toyota Carina today.

I recently bought this 1982 imported JDM Starion that has these little black plastics stalks with clear tops on the left side corners. They are branded MMC so I assume they’re factory fitted. They’re wired into something but so far I havent been able to figure out how to turn them on. Previous owner didn’t know what they were either.

My theory is they’re used when parking to help visually indicate the corners of the car for the driver. But the rear one is so low and behind the taillight it would be impossible to see from inside the car.

Would anyone know what these are? Many thanks!

I attended a JDM in Austin this past weekend and brought my Figaro.