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Gear Shift: U.S. vs. Tokyo
2025.07.08takeda
takeda

My name is Kevin Fan, and back in the U.S., I am a motorsports enthusiast.

I enjoyed seeing all types of fancy, sporty, or powerful cars. In California, it is common to see very fancy cars, such as Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and McLarens, as well as standard, but expensive, cars like the Corvette. Being in Japan, the car culture is noticeably different. The sports car culture is more focused on older sports cars, JDM. The Nissan Silvia S15, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6, Mazda RX-7, and Honda NSX – these are older yet beloved cars that I wish I could see every day in America. The other difference is the size of cars: I love the compact style of Japanese cars. In America, they’re always so big and can run me over with no difficulty. In Japan, they can fit on tiny roads and look as big as a storage shelf. 

If I could import a Kei car into the U.S., I certainly would.