Calgary, right hand drive cars

[rjmcmillan]

Has anyone else in cow town noticed an abundance of right hand drive vehicles lately? I talked to a guy with a RHD RX7 the other day and he said he got it imported from Japan. I've seen a couple of Nissan's as well and quite a few Toyota trucks. I wonder if you could import a NSX Type R?

 

[Bram]

It must be 15 year old...NSX-R came out in 1994, so in 2009


Bram

 

[Kouki Monster]

NSX-R came out in 92 I think?? If so you can bring it over. The go for about 70k CDN in Japan

 

[95EagleAWD]

You can import the 92s now... and the 91s if you want the non type R.

Why would you though? They're RHD, which sucks, and you never see them before the arrive and you've paid for them.

The JDM NSXs are not any cheaper than the USDM or CDM models, unlike the RX7 which is about half price in RHD variant.

So there's no advantage, and many disadvantages to buying a JDM NSX.

 

[Maximumyield]

RJM, how are u bud
I would have to agree, I was just saying that to a few friends the other day, that I have seen so many cars right hand drive lately.

I never seen so many ever, I believe skyline,landrover,rangerover and a few other toyota's trucks and some other imports I have seen lately.
Funny u mentioned it, cause its definately true in cowtown.

maximumyield

 

[nsx-tech]

in Saskatchewan they are going to ban the importing of right hand drive vehicles with in the next few months.

 

[lucky guy's '93]

The same phenomenon is happening in Edmonton. Saw a RHD Skyline the other day and On the way home after ball tonite the wife and I were talking about the RHD Toyota Aristo we saw. Fancy smancy lol

 

[rjmcmillan]

A container ship must have docked or something. In my short conversation with the RHD RX7 driver, he mentioned he looked into NSX importing but the pricing was about the same as the current Canadian NSX market pricing.

 

[rjmcmillan]

RJM, how are u bud
I would have to agree, I was just saying that to a few friends the other day, that I have seen so many cars right hand drive lately.

I never seen so many ever, I believe skyline,landrover,rangerover and a few other toyota's trucks and some other imports I have seen lately.
Funny u mentioned it, cause its definately true in cowtown.

maximumyield

By the way maximumyield those videos of your dyno pulls were crazy. How soon till you show it off? Do you have it fully on the road now?

 

[Maximumyield]

By the way maximumyield those videos of your dyno pulls were crazy. How soon till you show it off? Do you have it fully on the road now?

RJM I do have it fully on the road got my Out OF Province inspection and I was ready to go, I had to tweak my lamps to go daytime running, was really easy if anyone needs to know.
I been driving alot in the last 2 weeks, I put 1000 miles on the car now, it pulls very hard.

The dyno was so loud when I was there I thought my eardrums were going to blow. I got the unedited videos too, alot more detail than just a 10 sec clip.
How about U? are u enjoying your nice ride, and putting some miles on her too?

I can show it anytime, suprised no one has seen me yet local, I even seen the flatbed driver last week hehe deerfoot 16th ave, he remembers towing it to the shop for the turbo install,I am sure as he was hanging out of his truck looking, so I gave him a sample hehe.
But do remember I Am going to Asia for 5 weeks very soon, so I really only have a couple weeks to meet anyone, untill I get back.I will be around I believe untill I go, so if u or anyone wants to go for a cruise or chill for abit don't be shy to contact me, I want to meet you guy's

Maximumyield

 

[LUV2REV]

I despise all the "JDM JUNK" we have cruising our streets. It boggles my mind that our Federal Government (Transport Canada) allows them to be imported, I just don't get it. I usually get the "punks" in their old R28/30 Skyline's that pull up to my 2005 STi and sound off their BOV's, I simply mash the throttle and show them how much technology has changed in the past 15 years. I even saw some strange RHD Toyota van with an older lady driving it yesterday, get real !! Just imagine getting parts for some of these vehicles. Ahhh... I feel better having vented now. :smile:

 

[95EagleAWD]

in Saskatchewan they are going to ban the importing of right hand drive vehicles with in the next few months.

Highly doubtful.

There's no real reason. They claim safety, but it doesn't make sense. Are you going to ban RHD Postal Trucks too? Garbage trucks?

Matter of fact, why 15 years? Why not 5? Newer cars are safer, have better emissions, etc... The law is simply there to cater to the manufacturers of new vehicles.

Maybe if they sold the good stuff over here, we wouldn't be forced to go looking for it.

I despise all the "JDM JUNK" we have cruising our streets. It boggles my mind that our Federal Government (Transport Canada) allows them to be imported, I just don't get it. I usually get the "punks" in their old R28/30 Skyline's that pull up to my 2005 STi and sound off their BOV's, I simply mash the throttle and show them how much technology has changed in the past 15 years. I even saw some strange RHD Toyota van with an older lady driving it yesterday, get real !! Just imagine getting parts for some of these vehicles. Ahhh... I feel better having vented now. :smile:

R28/R30 Skylines? Never seen one. There's a ton of R32s though, and I've seen a few that will tear an STi to pieces. That said, I think they're pretty damn ugly.

 

[swbatte]

It's funny you brought this up. I have seen in the last month:

A Honda Jazz Convertible
A Skyline
A Toyota ugly weird car don't know what it is, and
A Honda Integra Type R

All right handers.

 

[LUV2REV]

There's no real reason. They claim safety, but it doesn't make sense. Are you going to ban RHD Postal Trucks too? Garbage trucks?


R28/R30 Skylines? Never seen one. There's a ton of R32s though, and I've seen a few that will tear an STi to pieces. That said, I think they're pretty damn ugly.

Isn't safety a very good reason ? Do we drive on the right hand side of the road here in North America ? I have also been told the older JDM vehicles have thinner glass then North American market vehicles. Perhaps in Edmonton, I have yet to see a RHD postal/gargage truck here in Calgary, street cleaners have dual columns.


I would challenge any R32 in Alberta for a dragstrip/autocross dual against my 20g STi (which is currently set-up for Solo 2), bring them on.

 

[Oyagi]

My previous car was one of the very first R32 GTRs imported into Canada. In fact, I founded and run GTRCanada.com.

I can guarantee you there are Skylines out there that will rape that STi of yours. There are also many that are heaps brought in to fuel teenage dreams of Gran Turismo. Bottom line is don't make gross generalizations. That POS R32 is virtually the same car (mechanically) as the R34. :wink:

Regarding safety: many countries have both rhd and lhd on their streets (the UK and Japan comes to mind). Being on the right side makes very little difference once you get used to it. Most people complaining that they are unsafe have never driven one. I will bet any 15 year old jdm car is safer than a 15 yr old domestic car.

Now having said all that I can certainly see how all these jdm cars are freaking out the general pubic. The demographic of the owners have a large part to do with it (young). However there are many guys my age (late 30's) who's grown up wanting one and finally are having that opportunity. These are classic cars, with a very loyal fan base both here and back in Japan. In fact the GTR moniker conjures up racing legends extending back to the 60's. Keep an open mind about them.

Cheers
John

 

[LUV2REV]

My previous car was one of the very first R32 GTRs imported into Canada. In fact, I founded and run GTRCanada.com.

I can guarantee you there are Skylines out there that will rape that STi of yours. There are also many that are heaps brought in to fuel teenage dreams of Gran Turismo. Bottom line is don't make gross generalizations. That POS R32 is virtually the same car (mechanically) as the R34. :wink:

I can guarantee you there are STi's that will thrown down many an RB26 powered GTR, what is your point and who is generalizing here ?? I did not say my STi was faster than all "Skylines" as I know it is not, I have certainly shown the two that have pulled up beside me piping their BOV's what the rear end of an STi looks like in a mighty hurry. The R32's that I have ran into are the very heaps (I have yet to see a nice one) you speak of with "young" drivers stouting their BOV's, now that is Macho. I could care less if the R32 is mechanically similiar to the R34 as neither was federalized for sale in North America, I get a chuckle out of the occasional R34 that has been DOT'd in the U.S. and the seller wants $85K for it, dream on. Bottom line is you like 15 year old recycled JDM frump, I do not.

 

[95ttht]

I would challenge any R32 in Alberta for a dragstrip/autocross dual against my 20g STi (which is currently set-up for Solo 2), bring them on.

There are at least 3 GT-R cars running deep 11s here at the local track in Ottawa. And I bet they paid 1/3 of what a done up STi cost.

The fact that kids are able to buy a 11 second car for $10-15K is the main reason we are being poluted by so many RHD cars.

I've seen GTS Skylines selling for $7K. Why kind of used car can you buy for that money? JDM imported FD RX-7s are half the price of the same Canadian version, and they don't salt the roads in most of Japan so rust isn't an issue.. JDM MKIV Supras will become legal in December, and you can bet they will be coming over by the boatload since they cost about $10K in Japan compared to the $25-30K they command here now.

It's too late to stop it, the floodgates are wide open. The goverment, as always, is ten steps behind.

 

[Oyagi]

I could care less if the R32 is mechanically similiar to the R34 as neither was federalized for sale in North America, I get a chuckle out of the occasional R34 that has been DOT'd in the U.S. and the seller wants $85K for it, dream on. Bottom line is you like 15 year old recycled JDM frump, I do not.

GTRs that were brought in through Motorex and federalized do command that sort of money because they are the only legal versions sold in the US, and the company only did this for a limited time until it ran into troubles. Those cars now are very rare there which results in the price. As well, R34s still command used prices up in the $65K+ zone domestically. Its a market economy in the US the last time I checked so if the seller can get $85K for a GTR, all the power to them. As for your comment about 15 year old recycled jdm frump, yes I cannot agree more! My NSX is 15 years old this year! I guess you're only into the later versions of the NSX right?

Relax friend, no one is trying to start something with you.

 

[95EagleAWD]

You can still legally import R33 Skylines to the US, since those were the ones that Motorex crashed for the Government.

 

[lucky guy's '93]

I had an incredible opportunity, and spent a year in Japan. There were about 15 of us that worked together. All of us were amazed at the used vehicles that were for sale and very reasonably priced. For an example a BMW 325 two door coupe 4yrs old was about $5k. LHD as well. After shipping (about 1500 at the time) You could have a very nice vehicle relatively new after you cleared the border and taxes. I'm going to guess at $8000. It seemed to us foreigners that very few people kept a car for longer than three years. With the Canadian dollar as high as it is, I'm sure some business men are making a pile of money exporting used vehicles from Japan to Canada. My guess is that we are seeing such an increase because of the strength of the dollar and it is profitable right now.

 

[Oyagi]

You can still legally import R33 Skylines to the US, since those were the ones that Motorex crashed for the Government.

No you can't because Motorez holds the exclusive rights to bringing in the cars. No MX, no more GTRs in the US (legally). I know Az is getting a lot of jdm cars nowadays due to lenient gray market laws.

 

[fitzair1]

what i want to know is...can i bring a 15 y/old nsx into Canada RHD and then bring it to the US I want a RHD NSX !!!!

what you guys think?

 

[Bigglezworth]

I totally missed this thread a few weeks back. Lots of RHD stuff in Calgary yes. Early 20's brothers across from me have lots of friends all with RHD drive rides. There's an SC400, a Prelude, a Skyline, an Aristo, a Supra, and a 300ZX. No NSX's.... lol. Egotistical young males with too much testosterine and no respect for others that may have more knowledge or been around the track more then them.

Amazingly they actually shed respect my way though after one day when I had my NSX out being washed and then brought out my Buick (Garage Queen). The one kid actually knew what it was. Would love to show these guys the ropes at the track one of these Friday's during a Test 'n Tune. You talk about 15 years of time for the STi vs. a Skyline. My Buick turned 20 this year and unless you are running low low 10's, you will see tail lights. Just don't be behind me when I try to brake....

 

[LUV2REV]

You talk about 15 years of time for the STi vs. a Skyline. My Buick turned 20 this year and unless you are running low low 10's, you will see tail lights. Just don't be behind me when I try to brake....[/QUOTE]

Or turn... :biggrin: The Grand National was only truely good at one thing and that was straightline acceleration.

 

[Bigglezworth]

Or turn... :biggrin: The Grand National was only truely good at one thing and that was straightline acceleration.

I actually have the GNX model with upgraded suspension and Baer brakes now so it brakes quite well. I was really wanting to track it this year at Race City, but have left it on the lift in the garage under cover. Perhaps next year I'll get it out to the roadcourse. I'd love to see how it does.:tongue: