Clarkson's Car Years - How Japan Took Over The World... And Then Lost It.
2013 ж. 21 Сәу.
3 403 853 Рет қаралды
Copyright BBC 2000.
Uploaded for educational purposes.
I do not own this video.
Copyright BBC 2000.
Uploaded for educational purposes.
I do not own this video.
"Until the Japanese came along, we all assumed cars break down.." 😂
And then BMW came along in 2005 with their new models and proved we were right all along.
Japanese car are very reliable ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
@@johnj3577 as an owner of two German cars I can confirm that German cars are very overrated, something always breaks
Because you never owned a Mercedes!!! Benz please.
Great compliment to Toyota
:) My favorite quote: " Land Rovers's 90% share of Australia's off-road market falls to 2% after the introduction of Toyota Land Cruiser."
*saddest
You know what the Arabs say: "If you want to go to the desert, you go in a Land Rover. If you want to return from the desert, you go in a Land Cruiser."
Insane
The Land Rover is a nice off-road brand. Buying a car isn't just about reliability, it's about passion, aesthetic, performance, and heart. That's why I'd still buy the Land Cruiser. :)
The original TLC (They don't make them like that any more) was the Hilux of it's day. You remember what Jeremy did to a Hilux? Yeah, that's it's grandfather. The Hilux inherited it's nigh indestructibility from the FJ40.
"Can you imagine ANYTHING worse?" Yeah British Leyland.
Tf British Leyland are the best
It's sad how this kind of documentary cannot be made today. It will be called ant-globalist, rac|st, xenophobic, bla bla bla bla
Hahah, Clarkson has an excellent piece on BL as well that more or less says the same, nice homage :-)
Lada?
Aaand then you missed the point. BL might not have made reliable cars, but they were sure pretty.
"Until the Japanese came along we all had assumed cars break down." I spat my drink.
I read this as he said it. I don't have a drink
Driving a Corolla for six years now as my daily commute. It always gets me from A to B with zero hassle. I don't appreciate it enough, may be because it's just a regular sedan. Only now I realise that it's the most reliable piece of machine I've ever owned.
@@nationalismispatriotism9812 wife's got a '09 Corolla. Bought it since new. In 2022 only basic maintenance has been performed and with 172k miles on the clock (and climbing,) I have to say it's the most reliable thing out there. Still on it's original rear drum brakes & shoes, fronts were changed twice. Still maintaining it complete original exhaust and the under carriage is still flawless despite the years of driving through salt and snow has gotten me bewilder as to why much newer vehicles than this 12 year old one, are falling apart much sooner! "I love what you do for me Toyota!"
'87 Toyota van , been in the family since new. 245,000 miles and everything working good to perfect, I figured it could last for ten forevers , especially now I drive less. Boom! At 3am? What's that? A drunk girl crashes into it parked minding it's own .
@@aaronsmith5433 what a shame, it lived a good life being well cared for only for some dimwit to take it out.
Damn, this video is from 2000 and yet I thought it was from late 80s or 90s. I thought 2000!? But that's only recent. Then I realised 2000 was almost 20 years ago. Somebody hand me a paper bag.
G3ORGE hate when that happens
I know. Its like it was yesterday, but I never would want to come back.
But the current GTR stated in the video (R34) was first made in 1999.
20 years from yesterday :)
@@StopFear i'd love to
Now if Mitsubishi would just get their shit together again and resume making Evos...
Wish they could, but they've retired it for good. Maybe a successor to the Evo will rise from the ashes?
+lawlerzwtf Mitsubishi is out as a major car manufacturer. The Lancer hasn't been notably updated since 2012. In any way. Whatsoever. The i-MiEV is a joke. The Outlander is outdated and nobody touches it. Mazda is taking the spot it formerly occupied as we speak.
Mickey the Luxray sad truth, but at least Mazda is getting bigger.
+lawlerzwtf No more Lan Evo's :(
BoostBoy Apollo Given the RX-Vision and Mazda's recent promises, the RX-7 should be making a return sooner or later. Mitsu is probably just going to stick to heavy industry and electrics at this point. Probably smarter now that they've shat the bed completely.
This is Clarkson at his best... informative, entertaining and funny with a compact writing and delivery style that has been copied by all kinds of presenters and lecturers. Certainly he can be a bit of an arse, but this and the Motoworld shows demonstrate how he got where he did.
Absolutely well said
To.bad he became intolerable as if he already wasn't
@@davidt8087 I don't think he's changed much, just people can't take any heat anymore
I know he's inappropriate and over opinionated but I love him, I read one of his first books years ago and it was the funniest thing I ever read. Love him or hate him he's still a legend.
He's a bellend but he's a legend and god damn hilarious
here in Australia they gave us heaters and adjustable seats without us having to pay more for the privilege. When we found they were reliable that was the icing on the cake. To this day our car enthusiasts will tell you if you want to minimise extravagant post warranty costs then buy Japanese over Europeans
Even if you've got the money to buy and maintain the expensive German luxury cars, you're better off buying a Lexus because it will last and hold its value unlike a Mercedes.
"The current Nissan Skyline..." How time flies.
Yeah this GT-R is a generation old now.
about to be 2
UGU Zach it managed to get worse
They're even legal to import into Canada at this point
The R35 nissan GT-R isn't a skyline because the r35 borrowed design from their sister company, Infiniti so it's technically a car from infiniti
"What are we going to do today, Hirohito?" "Same thing we do every decade, Prime Minister. Try to take over the world!"
Why does that seem familiar? *putting pinky in ear and wiggling* No, dont remember. My brain is not what it used to be.
Pinky & The Brain
Now Chin try good copee
And, unlike Pinky and the Brain, they did. But then, they lost it.
Considering that Japan was pretty much medieval less than a century before WW2 (and underwent a rapid modernisation period before the turn of the 20th century), i think it's pretty impressive that they have an automotive industry at all. Most countries don't. Good for them, i say. The Japanese have never been too proud to try and learn from others.
In the late 19th century, Japan feared becoming a colony of the West. They decided to adopt Western industrial methods so they could export products and become a major power, with a world-class navy. Japanese culture, which is group-oriented rather than individual-oriented as in the USA, caused the whole country to modernize and for the large corporations to work with the government and each other to get maximum productivity in the shortest time. WWII was a setback for Japan but also an opportunity. The U.S. feared that the defeated powers would go communist, and so via the Marshall Plan helped Germany and Japan rebuild their industrial base. American companies helped out. Steinway, the American maker of premium pianos, sent some samples to Yamaha. That company used the Steinways as a template and ended up building pianos very nearly as good at a fraction the cost and in large quantities. Now, Yamaha is the Toyota of the piano industry and Steinway is for the elite only. American and Britain both had the resources to compete with imported Japanese products, but their arrogance and their refusal to see their cars as mediocre and sloppily built caused car company executives on both sides of the Atlantic to laugh them off and not respond. Once the Japanese had a foothold in the USA, the American auto industry was so riddled with bad practices by both the unions and the executives, the economy cars they built, like the Pinto, Vega, and Chevette, could not begin to compete with what Japan was building in the same price range. The same went for Britain, and in that country things got even worse when they consolidated most of their manufacturers under one umbrella company, British Leyland. The British car industry is pretty much dead, and were it not for government bailouts the American industry would be, too. We can only hope American decision makers will use electrification as an opportunity to build a world-class lineup of cars that can compete with anybody.
@@johntechwriter Nerd alert.
@@falconater68 learn from history of remain ignorant.
@@falconater68 its called being smart and having knowledge
I still don't understand how US could rebuild Japan and Germany into one of the world's most hailed country in the world, yet they couldn't do so in Iraq and Afghanistan despite the technology and knowledge is far more advanced than before.
After suffering too long in a Morris Minor, top speed 71 MPH, a bad joke of a heater [it was barely warm to the touch] and Lucas electrics, I bought a 1969 Datsun 510. Cruise all day at 80 MPH, front disc brakes, independent rear suspension, and actual working heating system, much appreciated here in Canada, I knew that Japan would eventually dominate the world car market.
Love how this goes from "Japan is legit" to "Japan copies everything from us and fails" in a minute flat. Vintage, trademark Clarkson.
He says the Skyline is totally original and goes straight to saying all Japanese cars are copies
But at least they work and that's all I'm happy about 🙂
A cool car is a running car.
@@firstescobar6863 way to set the bar so low
He clearly didn't see the compact SUV coming - but it was pretty much all the Suzuki Vitara and Toyota Rav4 that made it happen.
I think the Silvia is a nice name for a car and it was a great car too
+Interceptor810 agreed. why do they have to be so rare in the US?
+roguedogx The s12 was the 200sx and the s13 was basically the 240sx.
***** yes but have you tried finding one that is not hatched up, has a million miles, or has a "drift tax" on it?
roguedogx Mileage doesn't really matter but yes, its difficult to find one that hasn't been trashed. I've maybe seen only 3 decent ones out of the dozens I've seen.
+roguedogx They're like that because they are Nissan's equal to the Civic. Affordable and economically efficient. Their popularity grew because they were marketed as entry level sports cars for an affordable market.
1:21 Step On - Happy Mondays 2:05, 4:46 Walk Don't Run - The Ventures 3:28 My Generation - The Who 8:49 Let's Dance - David Bowie 10:13 Chique Image - Paul Williams & Norman Percival 14:47 Thunderbird - Hans Zimmer 21:51 Porcelain - Moby BBC did really have great soundtrack playlist, didn't they.
10:36?
5:40?
@@evani4067 Leftfield shallow grave soundtrack
Does anyone know the song at 12:20?
1:07!??
The best thing about Japanese car's cars. They never break down. Seriously they're almost indestructible.
They get stolen easily
And they rot
@@davidt8087kinda like VWs & Fords😂
I agree that the Japanese are bad at names. My car is called the Honda Comfortable Runabout Vehicle. Thankfully they were smart enough to abbreviate the name to CR-V
Who cares? Miata is way more reliable than British roadsters, no wonder it soon caught on in GB. No rust, no engine issues etc' .
+Jason Hamelin in what world is it the coolest car car from that era you forget all the the awd eclipse the crx,nsx I would take a civic over a girlie miata anyday
+humpty lol civic... crx.... have a nice roadtrip if its what you prefer.
Honda Civic EX is fine, I've just never figured out how it is executive 😁
Boosted Fool lol it's funny cause where I live there were also luxury versions of the Civic that were rebadged and had slightly altered appearances. the 96-01 Acura 1.6 EL; the 2002-05 Acura 1.7 EL; the 2006-2011 Acura CSX (this altered version was then sold in Japan as the regular Honda Civic)
The build quality on an early Lexus LS makes a 90's Mercedes look like a 70's Fiat
here in the middle east they are loved by every one a millionaire would buy all the ones with his favorite specs and build his own dream ls
Depends on the mercedes and depends where it was made. Its also that i noticed that ppl are much more forgiving about problems with toyotas or lexus when they have to be recalled or the dash melts etc
@@kloschuessel773 happened in middle east a lot also to the Mercedes C classes 😆
@@Axel_sms what now?
@@kloschuessel773 what now?
"It was aimed at the middle-aged family man, who knew all about the Japanese. Just a few years earlier, he'd helped them build a railway, through Burma." All these years and I never caught that one, now I'm gasping for air through the laughter.
It’s 2020. It’s safe to say that Japanese car manufacturers are back at the top of the throne. They may not make the most luxurious cars but the engineering is a master piece. The engines are reliable, efficient, powerful and innovative. In America, Japanese cars rule.
Quite a weird time for cars with the push towards electric.
@@TheDude50447 Won’t last. There’s not enough cobalt in the world to make all the lithium batteries needed, there’s not enough child slave labor to mine the cobalt, and you’d have to build a nuclear power plant every week for the next 30 years to supply enough electricity just for the US.
Japanese cars are where American cars were in the 1970s. The Nipponese Malaise Era. The craftsmanship is poor in comparison to the 80s and 90s. They discovered planned obsolescence and they're not even trying anymore. They know that the uninformed public will keep buying Toyota and Honda because mom's Civic lasted 20 years, and they don't understand why their CVT craps out after three years and the engine is ruined because the timing belt snapped. Anyone that is marveling at Japanese build quality in 2022 are people that have never driven anything else and are just ignorant.
They were. Korea has now overtaken them with the offerings from Kia and Hyundai.
@@RockandrollNegro that's why they keep winning Le Mans and WRC right? And who gives a shit about CVTs when the best Japanese cars are manual or DCT.
He should have mentioned the MR2. It had Italian styling and Japanese build quality, especially the second generation. The best of both worlds! I wish Toyota would make a new one.
Italian styling..? 2nd gen could well be the ugliest roadster ever, with its disproportinally large headlights making it actually look a bit disgusting, like a Nissan Leaf. :o
@@miljororforsprakpartiet290 do you mean third gen, as first gen is OK but dated, 2nd gen is a beaut, 3rd gen meeeh
@@thechurchofsupersampling yes, the one without popups. Didn't know there were 3 gens
1st gen was a copy of the Fiat X19
The first one yes. The 2nd one looked like a car made out of Lego
I wouldn't say Japan has lost it; Toyota is still the largest auto maker in the world, and Japan is still dominating most markets. Not to mention how Japanese cars are still some of the most reliable in the World.
+SirSnivy ofNottingham This is from the June of 2000, they weren't doing so well back then.
***** They, and other Japanese automakers, do still rule many reliability surveys, and Japanese cars still last for hundreds of thousands of miles.
***** I can maybe see modern Toyotas being relatively less reliable when compared to their '80s ancestors (which are immortal tanks), but, that being said, to my knowledge, Toyotas are still reliable when compared to other makes (especially non-Japanese makes).
Any properly maintained American and European car can reach a million miles with your point being?
Totally Winning Pro Gamer Of course any can. However, ultimately, it amounts more to how much abuse a car can handle before dying (even regular driving can count as abuse, depending on the environment), and also how reliable the car is in the first place (unreliable cars often tend to be scrapped sooner than more reliable cars). Put a Citroen (except 2CV) and a Toyota through the same lifestyle in northeastern Pennsylvania, with rough winters and mountain roads, and see which one lasts longer.
15:55 - the cameraman must be proud of that shot till this day!
😌👍
The fact that he gives hope for the European car makers in the end and the clip finishes with a Rover 75 driving in sunset almost got me In tears it's sad how things have turned out for Europe and we still haven't managed to get up Japanese standards while we have lost historic brands like Rover, Saab, MG, Triumph and so on
Japanese standards? You realize 90-95% of VW's income is service and repairs? Japan have always played catch-up, not only in design but nowadays also profitability. Japan no longer have a reliability advantage in consumer indexes (surpassed by the cheap Renault sub-brand Dacia), even less so in reality.
@@miljororforsprakpartiet290 Man...you have an answer for everything, don't you? Your debating style can be summed up as: talk trash; apply your white/Euro pride issues to random consumer goods like you're stuck in the 1960s; say that up is down, left is right, good is bad, and call a turd a rose -- DONE; you win the argument all in your head.
@@braynstorm3149 And your debating style can be summarized as: generic, mainstream, anti-logical and anti-intellectual. At least I have my own opinion, based on knowledge rather than ignorance.
@@miljororforsprakpartiet290 were you born an asshole or did you grow into it?
Well, this is what happening when money is more important than the customer. Europe could dominate the world if with some magic the money would be secondary for the people.
I have a Toyota Refrigerator. It's a 2006 with 300,002km on it (186,000 miles). I tell ya, the A/C in that car will freeze your face off, use with care.
Go play some rugby please.
Corrie De Beer I'd be rubbish at it.
However toyota seemed to make that ac work so good, that they made a switch to shut it off so you could wind out the borderline pathetically underpowered engine. The xr2 i imagine did not possess the same issue, but with the regular 1.8 it is frankly dull and very beige. Mind you i live in a society obsessed with displacement and 75 mph speed limits on uninspiring roads. Saskatchewan is the wrong place to own a capable beast. As the most interesting thing to do here is take 300$ cavaliers and make them fly without wings.
Toyota Refrigerator owner here. 250.000km, from 2001. Most expensive problem I had was a trunk shocks failiure. Oh the shocks were cheap, about 7€ each, the problem was I couldnt work for a while with a cracked skull xD At first I thought "this is just a beater". Then I started hating it. Then, I put diesel in it, watered petrol, didnt change oil for years, went rallying... And it didnt die. Then I started loving it, because although it may not be really good at anything in particular, but there isn't really anything that car says "no" to. And then, the best part: rollas are usually cop cars. I rarely ever get pulled over XD
Corrie De Beer I feel like that’s mildly racist.
how clarkson took over top gear.......and lost it
ahahahahaha
Simple, get paid to say scripted offensive things to generate headlines and viewers, and do the same shit day in day out and on top of taking all the heat, have every word he spoke copyrighted by a bunch of money grabbing bastards who will reprimand and/or sue him for stuff as little as having the freaking wind blowing in his general direction :)
How the BBC had the only reason anyone watched their poxy channel,.......and lost him.
clarkson is not scripted
You do know that Jeremy clarkson was one of the people that made the new format he even sold it to the bbc because he owned the new format of top gear.
I've had many cars in my time including a Marina, Triumph 2000, 2 Granadas and a Mondeo. These all had their reason for loving them and were a joy to drive. Then, 10yrs ago, I had a good think about what I really needed from a car and bought a 4 year old Mitsubishi Colt. It was a HORRIBLE little joyless pram but it got me from A to B cheaply. 10yrs later it's still HORRIBLE but it is still getting me from A to B cheaply while my toolset has rusted away.
The last Colt generation is very ugly, but it is extremely reliable. I collect Mitsubishi (Starting from the early 80s up to the last Galant) and that Colt is just fine for driving to work.
I had a Granada and the wipers flew off in a rain storm on the motorway when the linkage fell apart. Last Ford I ever owned lol
why be joyless and boring?
@@AverageAlien Exactly! Why get a car that impinges on your ability to get to where you find joy & excitement. Cheap means I can spend more money on the boat, family & friends etc. While reliable means it doesn't stop me getting to the places I like to be. Though I loved my Triumph I certainly didn't love seeing my time & money drain away in petrol stations and repair bills. The trick is not to waste money, while retaining high availability, in getting to the places you love to be. Thus 'cheap & reliable' car = more joy & excitement.
@@Kimdino1 No, not how it works at all. Plenty of reliable and fun cars. No excuses. You choose to be a boring sod
16:34 Jeremy’s been watching too much initial D
Kozo Hoshino God Foot: DORYAA!!! (screaming intensified)
"Till the day I die, I'll drive a GT-R"
Italian aesthetics, German mechanics, Swedish safety, French suspension and Japanese reliability in the same car... Is that just a dream?
Don't forget American and British Ride Quality.
The FD RX-7 is a great example of a Japanese car which is unique in every aspect and looks much better than a lot of European cars.
And nsx gen 1
@@eriksantoso1741 desinged in italy
the rx7 is very unique in the engine rebuilding compartment
Still ugly.
Japan is the land of quality and reliability and not only in cars - motorcycles, pumps, watches, laptops, music instruments, you name it. They tend to be the best at whatever they do.
Yes, but they're incapable of original thought. They COPY Western designs, eliminate what's considered frivolous & then flood the markets with a different take on our ideas.
@@lukespector5550 They are capable of original thoughts, they just don't export them 'cause we would probably not like them. To sell to the world they copy what the rest of the world likes and that's just normal
They also take care of their stuff better on average too
Not anymore.
they are so good at what they do that they die of overwork
I used to work for an authorised Daihatsu, Honda & Toyota workshop back in the early '90s and with the exception of a few rust problems in certain areas, they were nigh on indestructible. Mind you, as the '90s went on even the rust problems vanished due to the widespread introduction of galvanised steel. That being said, Nippon Denso also deserves a good deal of the credit for producing electrical systems that did at the time make Lucas & Bosch look like they were still stuck in the 19th century, although admittedly, the latter quickly caught up around the turn of the century.
Bosch may have caught up, but Lucas stayed the same old crap manufacturer. They only make unreliable garbage.
@@joshuagarden7304 it earned the moniker, “The Prince of Darkness”
I just realized, the Top Gear guys are like the dream team of car journalism, the all had very good shows and bits on their own
aaaand 2:51 MICROAGRESSION! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Yes. James May was also an excellent magazine editor until he got fired.
What about Honda Civic? They didn't seem to copy anyone with that one in 2005 and it certainly made the other hatchbacks look like cars from the 70s.
+Adam Jensen OOOH the JP/EU spec Civic is SUCH a cute little spaceship, it's amazing. I think people claiming that Japanese copy EU vehicles disregard the obvious: EU and US vehicles copy each other and the Japanese all the time! Everybody does. It's called following trends. You either follow the trends, or you set the trends, and if you do neither, that's usually your door out.
Siana Gearz That's true. But someone who *only* follows the trends means he has no idea what else to do. Maybe you need to come up with something of your own if you want to stay relevant.
+Adam Jensen u never know dude they could have
True it was very futuristic and has own character. but at the end of day it wasn't beautiful, whole glass front panel, very odd propotions at back doors, very low bonnet, not good for crash tests, like an arrow to enter a lorry from back. even push button you needed key!!!.Honda models from 90 s has much advanced suspension then this... so focus and golf s independent rear suspension were way better. and they tried hard, they couldn't achieve it..they still evolve this car, with patches after 10 year. wearing a glass or smoking a cigar does not make you intellectual, you are who you are even with different cloths.
Civic spelled backwards is... Stupid and gutless.
13:26 That was a PROPER SEND - props to the driver!
It's funny how 20 years on and nothing has changed. Toyota still dominates the sales charts in many countries and Euro cars still have more problems compared to Japanese rivals. And Euro cars still have cleaner design and more premium interiors. It just feels like everything has just gotten better equally, they're all way better than their models 20 years ago but the old tropes still stand.
Japanese cars are overall the best...i dont care if interior is a bit less upscale. I care for how practical and ergonomic it is and japanese are superior to entire world with that. Getting the most from least amount of space and materials. Making fun cars by accident just because of them being light. And incredibly fun cars when they mean it ergo MX-5 or any other dedicated sportscar from japan
@User European (German) cars still have boring design and their problems . The Japanese can also match interior quality too. If I was spending my own cash I would take Japanese every time. Euro cars fine for a three year lease and then get shot...
You mean same european cars with cheap plastics and fall apart after 3 years. The europeans are expert at selling myths, Lexus, Honda, Toyota, Acura, Mazda, Subaru all vastly superior in every way.
Japan didn't lose it. They had recall issues here and there, but I still believe they rule the entire world. Their cars are pretty everywhere now. They won the world with their reliable cars which keeps cost of ownership low.
Very well said! In life no one is perfect! However, there are those who aim for perfectionism.
+Adam K exactly Japanese are perfectionists without a doubt
Dark joke: They had recall issues, and since they are japanese they wouldn't take it and committed suicide. Sorry.
ThePwaro Yikkes! Didn't know that bro. But, I am aware of suicide in Japan. Just didn't know even Honda employees were committing suicide. Very sad.
Organic Beast they just lost their edge
This was extremely informative. Where is the REAL Jeremy Clarkson and what have you done with him?!?
Men. As we grow older, from certain points, our personality goes bad as we become more arrogant and confident. That is good and bad at the same time.
When you're born, you're given a credit card fuck of "fucks" to give. When you young, you use it liberally. As you grow older, you start to run out of these fucks. Eventually you have run out of fucks to give. And towards the ends, there is none left.
This is not only very true but also has an amazing fucks-to-length ratio. Brilliant.
+GodKing804 that's some wise things you said there! But that's not an excuse for shameful behaviour, a gentleman must remain a gentleman at all times.
Maybe James did the editing:)
The Starion name wasn't due to a mistranslation. It's motor was part of Mitsubishi's Orion series. It's just a portmaneau of Star and Orion. The engine series that followed were also named after a star. That star being Sirius, and those engines powered a ton of models throughout the 90s.
Clarkson likes to spread disinformation
It's a joke
I think this sums it up well: My family bought a Toyota Highlander when I was still in Elementary school. I’m currently a Sophomore in College, and we still have that car.
My family bought a 1997 Toyota Kijang (Revo) in 2011 or 2012. Still running well more than 10 years later. No issues to report apart from the usual wear and tear such as the clutch plate, clutch master, and routine change oil.
My dad bought a 1984 Toyota SR5 pickup in Jun of '84 when I was 5. It's been mine since 1995 and I still drive it at 44 years old although it hasn't been the daily driver in a couple of decades. Now I have to beat people off with a stick who want to buy it.
Starion is NOT a mistranslation. It was meant to be short for "star of Orion", but everyone assumed it was Engrish.
I never understood why people believed that Mitsubishi named the car over the phone. "Why send out a printed press release? We'll just phone it in."
They need to make more interesting cars like in the 90s.
nsx
+Jon Doe (Mr White Foxy) That is why they are trying to remake some of them.
+John S No way man.
+Jon Doe (Mr White Foxy) And the LFA's and NSX'S of today are so very unutterably dull.
Supra, Skyline, Integra type R, RX-7 etc.
I’m English and have bought English cars until I could afford the Japanese one I wanted. At a time in life I treated myself to a prestigious UK car which had serious failings, lost thousands in one year and had a 5k warranty repair which actually didn’t help. Chopped it in for another Japanese car. Currently own 3 Japanese cars. In April ‘18 I took delivery of my 15th Honda. I own a 27 year old classic and rare Honda. Perhaps many cars are reliable but I never ever think there’s going to be a problem..... and there hasn’t been! One time I was hit from behind when stationary. Major damage to the other car (Police!!) but mine was still drivable. My insurer suggested its strength was an asset. He’d know. The Police admitted their fault. They couldn’t not do. Yes, some Japanese cars are undesirable/bland etc but image isn’t my priority these days. I want a car to do its job and not require a mechanic’s assistance. Safety is an issue too. My choice suits me.
Lmao, "cars without a soul," that's why every car from Europe was on average $5000-$10000 MORE than their Japanese counterpart. Europe was getting all mind over matter over Japan, but with the general audience, that doesn't work. And people still wonder why the Corolla is the best selling car in history.
I love the Skyline GT-R R34 so much :D
my honda accord have 205000 miles, still run like new, ready for 100000 more, nothing under hut is being replaced so far.
I purchased a Honda Civic Del Sol new in 1993 and still drive it. Honda and Toyota, forget the rest! Honda must be one of the most comprehensive industrial manufacturers of all time, cars, bikes portable power units. Greetings from a Brit residing in the USA.
Sometimes true ingenuity is not in inventing something completely new, but in rediscovery, and perfecting a set of ideas from the recent past.
"No heart or a soul" -MX-5 -Skyline -RX-7 -180SX/240SX/Silvia Platform -Supra -Evo -Impreza -NSX -AE86 -S2000
And MR2 :)
Simon Liu Why? MX5 are being produced, Skylines, Evos, I beleive they have just released the new NSX as well. Also, Toyota is planning a successor to the Supra in collaboration with BMW. Mazda has also tested a prototype for a new RX7.
+Aldous Forest You just put me to sleep with that list
+Aldous Forest CRX (don't care that it was a civic)
+Romero Turner (ROMXAVTUR) Yeah, Skyline GT-R. I'm sure everyone understood what I meant
MITSUBISHI STARRION, MARVEROUS
BS. I was a factory rep ( District Manager) for Mitsubishi. The STARION was garbage as was the rest of the line. Mitsubishi is a Finance Company making cars. No more, no less. They were under the thumb of CHRYSLER, the worst car company in history. I had enough of them after 2 years and went back to work for Volvo Motors of America. An adult company with quality products.
@@bohemian46 Volvo quality? not since the old 240's
@@bohemian46 thank you for sharing your knowledge from the inside out... I always thought less of Mitsubishi but never knew why. It has one iconic car and a business model that looks like a money laundering front lol... It all makes sense now.
@@plainpawesome Its sad how mitsubishi made a lot of cool cars in the 90s yet today only has 3 or so models that are absolutely bland and no one really buys. Today its just a complete mess.
Mitsubishi in the uk died when it joined forces with Renault/Volvo at Nedcar in Holland to avoid import taxes from Japan. Colts, lancers, shoguns, sigmas, 3000gts, galants, l200s, evos, l300s and the rest of their predecessors were great cars and I hate to say the starion were iconic too. The introduction of the carisma in the 90’s onwards with the rest of their inbread crap was the the death of the brand. Many more models with good spec were denied imports into the uk because of financial politics, this can be seen in the uprising of the pajero, fto, vr4 , Trojan/Tritan and delica just to name a few being brought into the county by businesses not linked to the colt car company or Mitsubishi..
11:45 I'm italian and see jeremy Clarkson put a granade inside an arna is a bliss, I love this man LOL
"they haven't seem to learn from us on how to make a car with a heart and soul. we've whipped away their only advantage (reliability). " unusually powerful for jeremy.
Sounds like pompous bullshit to me if I'm honest
@@msimomi y
Europe still hasnt figured out how to make them reliable
@@MrWalker1000because "heart and soul" has always been a get out of jail free card for Clarkson. A rover 75 or a Mercedes C Class is as much of a mass produced car than a Lexus LS. But somehow the Europeans have more soul and passion. Why? Because his fellow Europeans are somehow more passionate about their work? How do you quatify this?
Honda has it on reliability overall. I had a 87 accord with 198000 miles on it (197 by me) and it never gave a problem except for its attraction to car thieves. Got nicked 8 times in total, never got it back the last time. Now loading up the miles on an S2000 which has legendary reliability and 240 bhp
This is more like "How Japan Took Over The World... And We Don't Want To Admit It"
+INUMIMI28 If only their engines were any good and the design wasn't as pathetically rounded and feminine.
Towe96 Look the video, all young Jeremy Clarkson can come up with, is a headlight washer, which the more mature current Clarkson doesn't complain, and really if there's more substance than the style, it can make a case for itself, don't you agree?
+Towe96 yeah because a 2000hp+ 6 cyl or a 1500hp+ 4 cyl is girlie hahaha id like to see you have enough balls to steer either one of those machines down the strip ;-) now go play with you "manly" american rubbish, i mean "muscle"
AKA as Zeus I'm not even American. I'm from Germany. Point is, you can't make anything that's significantly over 100 kW/l reliable. Period. I just find no appeal in engines that need a rebuild every 500 km. Have a guess why a Veyron costs 5'000'000$ to manufacture while your crappy GTR's only cost 100'000$.
+Towe96 the 2jz is incredibly reliable as is the 1uz.. the rb series is less so than the jz series but man there's very few german engines that i'd take over an rb.. and it's basically only the m120 and the other merc v12's.. cause let's be real, an engine that is good enough for a zonda is good enough for basically anything
I have lived in Japan for many years now, it's a wonderful place. I used to work at a place called the "Techno-Garden," which is a fantastically modern building complex that houses some of Japan's top companies. One of these companies has a contest every year; every single person, from the big boss down to the janitorial staff, gets to submit an idea to the company for a product or service, or an improvement on an existing product or service. The person who comes up with the best idea gets a prize. BTW, "Toyopet" is still a popular model name in Japan in 2022. The "Cedric" is like the Checker Marathon, it has been the standard taxi in Japan for decades.
The best cars has already been made, I love cars from the 90's. Wish I could buy a brand new one.
Holy cow, Jeremy's "World Motoring Climate" meteorologist bit at 7:47 is one of the most clever ideas I've ever seen. Classic Clarkson! 👍👍👍
I ♡ My R32 Skyline GT-R!!! I love 90's Japanese cars. there was just something special that makes me smile
Clarkson: *calls Japanese cars boring and without personality* Tuner Culture: ALLOW US TO INTRODUCE OURSELVES
The Toyota corolla scene .. I have watched it for more than five times..Jeremy Clarkson is a genius
We never see ourselves "great", but we see YOU "great", so we have been trying our best and work as hard as possible to catch up with you guys. That's our spirit. from Japan
Words to live by. Greetings from Portugal.
But Japanese engineering IS great. We wouldn't have ever known a car could last more than 5 years/100,000 miles without y'all showing the way. We need to work to catch up with you guys.
Thanks for showing the Peugeot 406 Coupé (@21:57) as an example of a great European car. I dreamt of it for years, finally bought it used. It made me feel awesome every time I looked at it or drove it.
Before I bought my top spec Honda Accord I shopped it against the 5 Series, E Class and A6. Honestly an amazing car with the luxury and comfort of a Euro but with great reliability and reasonable quotes from service departments and insurance companies.
The only let down is on the security department, for passive as well as active safety, German cars remain unbeaten. They still are the best insurance against car accident death.
Accord is FF. Not even Japanese buy it.
Who can remember the days when an R-34 GTR could be had for £25k. I very nearly bought a car which recently sold for 5 times that price...to think I could have owned a car that was appreciating 4 times fast than each mile that was put on its clock. That metric alone tales you just how special that car is.
I love the part at 9:36 with the Toyota Corolla. Jeremy couldn't distinguish the difference between a Corolla and a household appliance LOL XD I wonder why, though. Maybe because it's an incredibly dull object like a household appliance. Or, like a household appliance, it is mass-produced in enormous quantities, and thus, customers seem to take it for granted.
+ZeroStriker426 And a Volkswagen or a Peugeot isn't mass produced in enormous quantities then?
+ZeroStriker426 Maybe because Corolla (like many others japaneses cars) is just a household appliance and nothing more?..
. Ae86?
Genius, broke my shit laughing at it.
Thanks for explaining the joke. As if I couldn't tell what the joke was without this comment.
This is next level, Clarkson is in a league of his own. This is true talent
2013 Jeremy: Japanese cars are doomed. 2021Jeremy: .... oops
5:30 that transition was so smooth!
I don't get why lots of Europeans hate on Japanese cars. Japanese cars are reliable and they do what they are designed to do. Sure some are boring but at least they get you where you want to go. I'd rather drive a boring car than push a beautiful car to the repair shop.
Oinky Aldritz I’m with u
You have no soul
Because i am proud european. I Will never buy japaneeeese shit.
@@santiagomachado7378 Well my golf 4 with legendary 1.9tdi is also reliable. Theese engines can easilly hit 1 million kilometers without problém. But golf is much better than for example toyota avensis in terms build quality and driving. And New cars are still reliable they can hit 500 000 or 1 Mill km too but depends on motor and Basic maintainence.
I'd rather push my Alfa than drive a Toyota.
Ah yes, the Starrion is very beautifurr car.
+Viktor Penc Beautiful car, shitty engine (8v SOHC). 4G63T swap FTW!
WasmachinemanTT5/R™ You didn't really got it, did you?
It's a marsupial?
+Viktor Penc I found an LS swapped one in my area, so its even better now!
+Viktor Penc Starrion?? Imposibrru!!
the impreza, skyline and evo next to each other is a dream
Thank you mr Clarkson for giving me the best childhood that no one else ever had
And in 2014 If I'm not mistaken Toyota a Japanese owned company is still the worlds largest auto maker, so no the sun has not set on Japan. My step father drag raced cars for Mopar aka Dodge/Chrysler in the 70's but what does he drive now in 2014 a Toyota Camry(my mother's car mainly), and a Toyota Tacoma extended cab, and he says they are some of the best autos he's ever owned. We even had a 92 Toyota Corolla that had nearly 350K miles on it before putting it for sale, and it still ran fine. As much as I love American cars like the Corvettes(my real father had a 75, 78 86, 89, and 92) I don't think they where ever as dependable as any of the Toyota's my family has owned.
Yes but thats america things are different here in the uk, we dont have companies like dodge or chevy selling top quality muscle cars we just have crappy nissan micras because theyre practical as are most japanese cars which are just plain and boring
Commodorefan64 . I have owned many American cars and they have sucked away at my wallet with gas or even parts but my Japanese cars are fun. Here in canada we love to make sleepers with small Toyota, Honda, nissan imports are just so much fun and when it come to have some track time they don't hurt the wallet
I liked my commodore 64 in 85!
Nothing can beat the reliability and value of Toyota - I've had many cars from all three North American manufacturers over a period spanning 4 decades. After many years of trouble with reliability and service, maintenance costs, etc, I eventually switched to Toyota and never looked back. I do have a Ford F150, which is a reasonably good, affordable pickup truck, and drive a Toyota Matrix as a commuter which can't be beat for value, fuel efficiency and reliability. For my purposes, I would never consider anything other than a good basic Toyota model like a Corolla or Matrix for an all round car. My present 2010 Matrix has over 200 K Km and still drives like new. The only expense thus far has been one set of brake rotors, and recently, one CV joint boot. Pontiac did make one great car: the Vibe - my previous car. But then again, that had a Toyota power plant (it was essentially a Matrix), which is what made it great. Who cares if Toyotas look "mass produced". The MGs, Mustangs, Camaros and Lincolns may have looked great, but they were unreliable pieces of garbage. When I get in my car I want it to work flawlessly and know that it will get me where I'm going and back. Toyota does just that. They don't have all these stupid little things going on them, transmission failures and rattles developing within a year from being driven off the lot. Toyotas perform consistently well and just keep on going. I'd say that's good value for the money. The N.A. manufacturers just never learned how to make a good car, banking on the complacency of their consuming public.
Jack, pre-97 f150 is all I can tolerate regarding cost risk of ownership. IMHO post 97 toyonda also went corrupt, especially with automatic transmission.
Quite a bit of difference between a Toyota and a Ford, lmao. A Toyota and Volvo would be a fair comparison, or a Ford and anything between Alfa and British Leyland.
an f150 is literally 90.000 dollars in my territory
A Pontiac Vibe is A Brand engineered Toyota Matrix.
My family has owned a 1997 Lexus ES300 for over 20 years--we're the second owner. Never a hiccup, despite being driven in Minnesota, so the struts and shocks inevitably rusted away. A Mercedes would not be running so smooth 20 years after leaving the factory. Who cares about styling when it runs and doesnt cost money to keep it going?
The 3rd gen Lexus ES is GOOOORRRRGEOUS though
20 years and the only thing that went wrong is the entire suspension rusted to pieces….
at 16:38 my guy said God's feet.... NANI?!?!!? Initial D reference WHAAA-
I like my Mitsubishi, bought for $100, all it needed was a timing belt, and thing is rock solid. Now has 180k miles, and still drives better than the Ford Focus I used to own.
I have a 1994 Toyota MR-2 which it still runs Beautifully and I Loved it :D
The Japanese also had the good sense to hire William Edwards Deming, the American management consultant, who taught the Japanese to make reliable products from accurately made parts. (The Americans didn't heed him, so the Japanese gained an advantage.)
I remember this classic episode, thank you for bringing it back!
Bleeding hell, people are so difficult to satisfy. Obviously dull cars are going to be made, because there are plenty of dull people that buy them since they can't see past the bean counting. My parents are like that, and they've had 5 Toyotas they've bought new now. While I was in high school, I'll admit that the Camry at my disposal was a bore to drive, but you could drive it 80 miles a day, every day of the week and it wouldn't think anything unusual about it. And, you'd still have enough to make monthly payments, insurance, petrol, and maintenance on a minimum wage. For the average, boring person, boring cars look terrific, and god do the Japanese know how to capitalize on it. Of course, because they're so good at making dry, cookie-cutter cars, people lose sight of the gems that the Japanese motoring industry comes out with every so often. You know what I bought after I stopped driving the Camry? A 1987 RX7 of all things, just like the one in the video. It's bonkers. I don't mean that in the sense that it's blisteringly fast (though, for a 28 year old car, it sure as hell is), but just the premise of it was moronic at best. A Wankel Rotary-powered car tamed for the street and mass produced as well? Jesus, not even the Germans that originally designed the Doritos Blender would imagine it would sell. And yet, Mazda went on to sell twice as many RX7 FCs in 6 years than Porsche would sell 944s (the car everyone has to point out that the RX7 is based on) in the same time frame. And holy hell, it's engineering witchcraft to have made a laughable whimsy of a niche sports car into a sales figure of almost two million rotary-powered cars being driven off international dealerships. That's what Japanese auto makers do: they make silly ideas into realities. They're just so damn good at it, that they sell millions of them, which has people assuming they're just as boring as the rest of the tasteless lot. "You've made a brilliant car, but we're just going to consider it boring because you've gone and made it reliable and affordable of all things. Now it has no soul, blah blah blah." Did anyone ever say that about the Ford Focus ST? So why do people assume that about the NSX, the MR2, or even my RX7? People honestly need to stop regurgitating the overused opinions of a select handful of motoring journalists, because I'm sure as hell that at least 95% of the people who think that Japanese sports cars have no personality have never seen one in real life. I've owned this RX7 for less than a year, and I can already tell you it's like having a pet dragon on sedatives. Mazda layered shackles all over the car to make it tame enough for the average buyer. But toss these out and its snaps out of its drugged stupor. It's a sensory overload, an intangible replacement for caffeine, and an experience far more intense than most people ask for. Obviously, it doesn't transmit well across a computer screen and crappy discount speakers, so I'm not going to expect people to believe me without trying it themselves. Still it's all there, hiding under the majority's willful ignorance. I mean, sure, people can choose to have whatever car they want and I'm fine with that, but it's a shame that so many people miss out by having this preconceived notion about Japanese cars. Your loss, my gain, I suppose.
Haha! "A pet dragon on sedatives." That was a good read.
you sir, have nailed it.
I salute you Sir for this, absolutely wonderful to read and 100% the truth.
+Luke Pan Is "personality" by any chance merely an euphemism for flaws, made up by journalists, who are to an extent always at the leash of local or locally prevalent industry, when applied to almost purely technical items such as vehicles? It may have embedded itself into public consciousness like that, but i don't think it's applicable.
+Luke Pan Great essay; I could have written that myself. =) I am very impressed with Japanese carmakers. US carmakers made/make just as many "boring" cars as the Japanese do, with considerably less quality (think Chevy Citation, Cavalier, Malibu, Dodge Neon, Ford Escort, etc, etc...none of them "exciting" in any way, shape or form), but the Japanese were building a whole slew of interesting performance cars of various categories while the US only had the Corvette and Firebird/TA. That was IT for a long time, and a Supra will pretty much stomp all over any Firebird of the same era, probably the Corvette too, unless you're a really good driver. But I will take issue of your term "boring cars". I know exactly what you're getting at, but sometimes I think people are too picky. I am a Volvo 240 fanboy, personally. I don't think they are "boring" at all, although some people do. I had a Geo Tracker once; I had a blast in that thing. My moms old Volvo XC70 Cross-country ripped like a rally car on snowy backroads, and could take trails that a lot of modern SUV's wouldn't touch. I have a 2000 Civic EX manual coupe; regardless of what people say about it, I find it to be an excellently engineered, reliable car, and TO ME, it feels pretty close to a sports car when I get behind the wheel. It loves to rev to 7,000rpm, and it's nimble and handles great. Yes, it's FWD, and it certainly isn't going to beat any real performance car in a race, but that's not whats important. What's important is if YOU think it's fun to drive or not. I don't need to make a quarter mile in 13 seconds. I don't need 400hp. (I do, however, need a manual transmission, as a rule). There is nowhere where I can take advantage of a 155mph top speed. I'm perfectly happy flogging my little go-cart down a backroad at 2:00AM, engine singing away, doing a little heel-toe work and keeping the RPM's stirred up because it loves being at 4,000rpm or above, and hates being below. I think most people just want "nice" cars for the status symbol, personally, or to overcompensate. Not all of them, *most* of them. The rest of us just enjoy a good car. I'd love to own a E30 or E36 six-cylinder BMW 3-series someday (doesn't have to be an M either). An RX-7 would rock my world, or an AE86 Corolla. I wouldn't even mind a muscle car, although that's not really my style (the roads are very windy around here anyway, and the winters are long...not ideal muscle car territory). gthe list goes on...but I am not going to loose sleep if I don't ever get one. I am a firm believer in the "I'd rather drive a slow car fast than drive a fast car slow" philosophy, and as long as I can stay away from anything too horrid (CVT's!!!), I'll be okay. I don't even mind the people who just want a "transporter appliance". Whatever floats their boat; if they mandated that only sports cars could be built from now on, where would we find special cars to dream about or snap photos of? A little exclusitivity is a good thing. Doesn't have to be much; back to my Civic again; it happens to be a really nice example, a 2-door, and with some pretty uncommon trim options; 1.6L D16Y8 engine, manual trans. Nothing really special, but it always attracts admirers who like Civics, even just casual admirers. I've had to turn down like 6 offers from people who wanted to buy it on the spot. It makes the car feel kind of special, which is nice.
Clarkson comments that Mazda RX-7 it's way too similar to Porsche 944, but he forgets that the former started its production in 1978, whereas the german car started later on 1982. And regarding the MX-5, it's true that it is inspired by the defunct Lotus Elan (16 years already discontinued by 1989, the first year of production for this japanese roadster), but this influence comes as a tribute to a classic british car, not a traditional copycat, unlike what the BMW Z3 was for the MX-5 itself at some extent, with its production beginning in 1995.
The RX-7 that is similar to a 944 is the FC model which started production 1985. The FB is quite different to both.
dandinofat 924
I agree, absolutely no explanation or elaboration of how the RX7 copied the porche or if the RX7 was better or worse. He literally dismisses all of its engineering and advancements as just being a copy cat.
Dandinofat, true 1st Gen rx7 was sort of unique, but I wasn't impressed with it's handling. I loved the 2nd gen RX high speed cornering enough to buy one in 87. Styling did remind of a shaved 944, at only 25% lower cost, but I didn't want an unreliable, unsafe VW piece of crap. My teenage background was muscle cars and main car 72 Camaro.
I have a 1963-71 Triumph Vitesse 2-Litre Convertible, and a 2000 Toyota 4Runner V6 Auto...Love them both, for completely different reasons.
This is very interesting documentary, thank you for uploading mate
Still, his favourite car is LFA :)
Quick Expert Reviews He also called the Skyline GT-R the “best car he had ever driven” :)
Quick Expert Reviews He is also a massive fan of the Honda S2000
Dude I’m a Toyota guy for life and I drive a Lexus LS but if you pass a background check and pay $400k for a Car it better be the best (And it is)
kachow! He also said that to the lexus
The Stig's favorite car is the LFA as well.
What it's surprising, regarding final Clarkson's commentaries here, is that now that Mazda is no longer owned by Ford (whom only keep a 2.1% stake, and they don't share platforms anymore), it is when Mazda own design- Kodo, turn out to be quite acomplished and at the same time, at least, somewhat original.
Hmm, thx for that update.
Nice video thanks for posting.
The handbook...cockpit as a room, and headlight flasher as a light hooter. Indeed amusing, especially as this was before google translate.
16:35 "It makes even the most ham fisted driver feel like they've been suddenly fitted with God's feet!" God foot from Initial D drives an R34 Skyline .o.
Maybe one of the directors have seen it?
+Rage_Hardscope better yet, read the manga. God Foot in the anime didn't show up until over a decade after this episode aired
I was thinking about that!
Me too ^LOL
Randy Buxsel sure, Hoshino come to my head when Clakson say that
This brings a tear to my eye.
The world will forever ve indebted to Japan. Japan taught the world what reliability means.
A very insightful and well researched documentary, kudos Clarkson.
"we've learnt how to make reliable cars" ha ha
k
StopDropandLOL german cars are OP in all aspects mate.
OP?
Elliot Eslander German Cars reputation far surpasees their reliability
RomansIII wrong.
no matter what I will always love what the japanese did during the 90s, their cars were and still are amazing
This is from 23 years ago. It was my youth, the late 90s and early 2000s were peak car time. But the japanese had their prime in the early 1990s. Even we in germany had to admit that the Lexus, Hondas, Mitsubishis, Subarus get on the level of BMW, Mercedes, Opel, VW or Audi in the 1990s. They were cheaper but had more features and lastet longer (expect for the Mercedes W124 and W123, they lasted forever). My dad told me about the early 90s, he's a car fan and mechanic, and in that time Japan stood for the future, not only in cars, also microcomputers, HiFi and all the electronic stuff. Must have been an awesome time
Brilliant series. Honestly, his best work.
If only I could get a BMW with a Toyota engine / electronics. BMW styling and power output with Japanese reliability.
That's what the good ol' Lexus is200 is ;)
New bmw z4 lol
The sun was setting on Japan's car industry? That didn't age well. 20 years later Toyota has been #1 in the world for many years now. Give the customer what they want, not what you think they should want. Remember the Datsun 510, the poor man's BMW? Loved that one! Second car I ever owned, after a VW Beetle.
Thank you for posting this. I'm an American that had no access to these episodes otherwise. 🧀
Having had several Japanese cars, two Evos, A Legnum, a Toyota GT-four and a few more I can honestly say that currently there is nothing coming out of the British car industry at the save price level that can compare ...Even my latest car ( A Nissan Juke ) is an excellent drive and is very reliable.
Richard Hammond already hates you
@@marmedalmond9958 I don't care