Technically, the term “JDM” means Japanese domestic market and refers to cars of, Japan, but it is also appropriate to designate any Japanese car.

The JDM the culture is young, humorous and totally reckless. It’s full of memes, shoddy videos, and edited slow-motion videos of the hip-hop song of the week. We idolize Smokey Nagata and Takumi Fujiwara, we respect people more if they have to back up in drive-thrus because they have right-hand drive, and we all don’t care about Mustang drivers.

Besides being mostly 25 to 30 years old, the cars we love are actually from a golden age. When all the big players in the Land of the Rising Sun agreed to a limit of 276 horsepower, they opened up the markets to cars that almost anyone could put their gloves on, and they were forced to endure many moves and modifications. The low cost of entry, retained value, and the avid ’90s street racing culture was a perfect storm that led to what it is now in America.

It’s no wonder there’s a growing culture around JDM cars, and these Instagrams really show it! We selected them not based on subscribers, but only based on content. After following them for a while, we can promise you that: 1) they post enough to be relevant but tasteful, 2) they have great photos and content, and 3) you’ll feel like a real part of the JDM club!

11
_japanese_auto

This page is mainly a collection of videos and memes about Japanese cars in general. Every five to ten posts there’s a cool build someone made or the clean interior piping of an engine bay. This is a great page to follow if you like Drift and Two-Step Supras.

The whole page doesn’t appear to be partisan of one JDM brand or another, but it sticks to real right-hand drive cars, wait 25 years to import. They keep display light, just once every other day on average.

Related: 10 Best $ 10,000 JDM Project Cars Will Buy

ten
jdmicon

This page includes new versions of Japanese cars like, more recently, the unofficial return of the Acura Integra. Following this page is sort of a benchmark for breaking into the overall JDM scene. They go around the wheel with all kinds of JDM builds and styles, all crisp and professionally done.

They post once or twice a day and sometimes have a little video. While they don’t have any advertising or merchandise now, they threaten to add more in the future. Ads are a kind of deactivation on Instagram. We understood! They make turbo keychains! that’s why we chose the pages, they don’t have such incessant clumsiness.

This page loves their comparisons! This page is fascinating because it is not about strictly clean constructions, but rather about the madness and the power of a car. In fact, they have a lot of videos of pulling up the freeway in one car or another.

It makes sense that this is one of the most followed pages on the list! They have a lot of very entertaining videos and they post more frequently, three to five times a day. They haven’t dived into Reels yet, but they don’t leave much to be desired.

Related: 5 Japanese Sports Cars Intended For Modification (5 You Should Be Keeping In Stock)

8
cheapetuglyracing

This page is a combination of memes, JDM artwork, and personal creations from people. Unlike many pages, it actually gives facts and information about the cars after talking to the owners themselves.

They are relatively new and claim to be a racing crew, but no evidence of this has emerged. So far the jokes are hilarious and the builds are very interesting, so that’s what we’re here for! Plus, there isn’t a single paid ad or promotion in sight!

7
jdmzone

This page is one of our favorites because it’s just a ton of great videos! Nothing makes you feel more like part of the Japanese automotive world than watching a GT-R rip it up on a rally course or hearing a Supra turn around a hundred times!

They drop points for the occasional ad, but other than a tasteful casual t-shirt or hoodie, there’s nothing on your face or even what’s visible all over the page. They post two to four times a day, but honestly we kind of wish they were posting more!

Related: These Are The Best Mods For Your Nissan R34 GT-R

6
initial dreams

It is the hub of Initial D Fans. For the uninitiated; Initial D is an animated series about a tofu delivery boy who develops incredible driving skills and bursts into the street racing scene, becoming “Akina’s Ghost” in his old Trueno AE86. Even if you’re not a fan, JDM content is on fire!

Dotted with plenty of memes and videos, the page seems to focus on the cars from Initial D and their modern counterparts as much as the movie itself. There are drifts, jokes, and ’90s footage that really sets a retro vibe.

5
flow undergone

Everything about Subaru! This page focuses primarily on WRXs in their natural habitat; builds, crews and videos. There is a fair amount of variety and balance between the old and the new.

The picture quality is excellent, and the videos are plentiful. They are missing a few points for promotional products that… seem a bit homemade… but every Subaru fan should follow just for featured Subies pulled straight from the actual owners. The owners are even tagged in almost every post! Very professional.

Related: Here’s Why The Subaru Impreza P1 Is Fan Favorite

4
vspechub

This page is strictly R32, R33 and R34 Nissan Skylines! It doesn’t feature any Nissan Zs or new GT-Rs, but it’s still our choice for a Nissan page because 1) the age of the GT-Rs makes them a true JDM, and 2) the content is awesome!

Except maybe too much Fast and furious references, open-hood and throttle-throttle videos really scratch your Godzilla itch. These guys only post once a day.

3
suprahub

When an Instagram name ends with “hub” (despite the unpleasant reference), you know the page will deliver consistently interesting content. This page scored the most followers on the list, so you know it needs to do more than just profit from the popularity of the Supra.

Along with the usual Mk4 Supra, and not counting the “BMW” Mk5, this car also features older Supras with retractable headlights alongside its videos, memes and barn finds. They post on average once a day, so the 2JZ content isn’t overwhelming.

2
vtec__society

This one takes it for the Honda page because it also includes Acura. While too many pages focus only on Civics or just NSX, this one goes for both and adds the old with the new, the S2000 with the Drag Race Chords. There is no shortage of videos, but the main attraction tends to be inside engine compartments and at auto shows.

There is no shortage of new cars, concepts and unique features. Every photo here looks good, even on a full-size laptop, and the cars themselves aren’t cheap multicolored backyard builds, either.

1
rotofanbois

You can’t love Mazda without also being a big fan of the “Dorito”; the Wankel rotary engine. While unreliable, the instant torque from the low weight and compatibility with turbos made these things beast on the JDM scene. That being said, this page really beats him to the max.

Of Han’s RX-7 To professional racing vehicles, the FD and FC here are well made, often with expensive body kits, and just awesome in general! The video-to-frame ratio is always 50-50 and posts arrive exactly twice a day.

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About the Author

HONG KONG, Aug. 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Japan’s biggest car brands are showing their strength. Toyota Motor (7203.T) and Honda Motor (7267.T) topped estimates. Read more on Wednesday; Honda has raised its annual profit forecast by 18%. Even long-beaten Nissan Motor (7201.T)surfed the wave, with global sales up 63% in the three months to the end of June, helping it show unexpected profit and raise its earnings outlook.

Raw material prices and a global chip shortage are issues, but the trio are handling them better than US rivals like General Motors (GM.N), whose shares fell nearly 8% after posting earnings on Wednesday .

This highlights the liquidity buffers that Japanese automakers have accumulated during the pandemic. Toyota had 5,000 billion yen ($ 46 billion) in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter, down from 7 trillion yen a year earlier, but well above its prior average Covid-19 and double the GM reserve. Honda’s stack also looks high. With Tokyo pushing Japan Inc. to stop hoarding and raise wages, such record conservatism is becoming increasingly difficult to defend. (By Pete Sweeney)

On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews

Capital Calls – More Concise Information About Global Finance:

GM finds inflation takes more than it gives Read more

The New York Times beats the Trump slump Read more

Cross-border technology investors are the only ones to know more

Hugo Boss needs stronger legs to win the fashion race read more

SoftBank’s bet on pharmaceutical AI has long chances read more

Editing by Antony Currie and Katrina Hamlin

Ask any enthusiast to make their list of the top 10 terrors on the circuit, and it’s a safe bet that no position would be offered to a full-size pickup truck whose platform dates back to the early 1970s. fact, you’d be hard pressed to find cargo carriers on the starting grid, even for the most upset racing fans.

And yet, nestled deep in the clutches of Japan’s sometimes esoteric automotive culture, there is the exception: a thriving group of boxing fans routinely putting Dodge’s less sporty car to the test on tracks designed for accommodate vehicles that are half the size and one third of their weight. Nicknamed the ‘Dajiban’ in the local dialect, these vans are the ultimate in grassroots motorsport racing – and a clear middle finger for compliance, auto or otherwise.

The antithesis of motorsport

It is important to stress how the Dodge B-Series Van (later renamed Ram) is for racing, or rather for anything other than a heavy straight-line task under full load. Introduced in 1971, Dodge’s workhorse was built on something the company called an “uniframe,” which merged a sedan-like unibody platform with a pair of scale channels underneath borrowed from a traditional truck.

The final result ? An incredibly low load floor and a tensile strength comparable to overcooked pasta, the latter frequently tested by its high center of gravity. Combined with its professional engine series, the largely immutable B / Ram series would run for nearly four decades, quietly commuting through airports, gobbling up gear at job sites, and disappointing families in search of minivans. who accidentally came home with the wrong Dodge.

Van Culture Redux

Indeed, the introduction of the Dajiban to the racing scene in Japan had entirely utilitarian roots. While it may seem unusual for there to be enough Dodge cruising along the island nation’s highways to achieve the critical mass required for full movement, Japan has long been fascinated by pickup trucks. In particular, it has historically imported models like the Chevrolet Ram and Astro in surprisingly large numbers. Some of these carriers are diverted to the craze for the customization of vans which values ​​the American metal, but others are praised for their size and the growl of the V8 by mechanics and traders looking for something different.

It was this latter demographic of free-spirited motorsport fans that gave birth to the Dajiban in the pit lane. Frequently used to transport motorcycles on the track, legend has it that a pilot dared to turn in a few laps in his van for a laugh at the end of a running session. The sight of this beluga out of the water making its way through switchbacks and baffles was so mesmerizing it didn’t take long an entire group of carrier cetaceans regularly tested the high-performance waters.

How to prepare a Dodge Van Race

Understandably, there was only one step between the van antics and the modifications needed to remove some of the most terrifying handling quirks from the Ram pickup. Almost all Dodge vans found in Japan have a short wheelbase, as this is the only way to get them through the still narrow streets of small towns around race tracks (let alone park them), but despite their proportions. More manageable, these Litter Dajiban vans need all the help they can get to stay brilliant.

This is especially true if they plan to compete in the D-Van Grand Prix Race Series, which has been running intermittently for several years now. Hosted by Takuro Abe, it takes place on the Ebisu circuit, and it is here that the intricacies of Dajiban tuning are fully on display. Despite their stripped-down interiors, weight remains a major issue for the Ram, which means upgraded drivetrains (with additional cooling), bigger brakes, and coil-spring suspensions work hard to keep the rubber on the road. Some of these vans even feature carbon fiber hoods, all in an effort to reduce the bulk of their snub nose setups as much as possible.

Most Dajiban are fitted with 5.2-liter V8 engines which have been warmed up by vendors such as Abe himself (who runs a van oriented garage called Abe Chuko Kamotsu) and the late Dodgevanracing.com, which was run by Takahiro Okawa. Originally rated at 230 horsepower, with the right massage it is possible to overtake 300 ponies on the pump gas, increasing forward thrust while dramatically increasing the stress on the poor van’s caps. Mid-stroke adjustments are made all the easier by the fact that the Ram’s V8 is mounted almost entirely inside the cabin between the two front seats.

Missing the point is the point

How do they behave in the heat of competition? Despite the best efforts of their owners, the general consensus is that the Dajiban is an objectively terrible performing machine. That’s not to say they’re not fun, however; once the fear is dispelled, the thought of watching a pack of happy adrift hulks clash within the narrow confines of Ebisu also seems fun to watch. how it is to experience behind the wheel.

More importantly, the Dajibans are not meant to compete with their sports car rivals in terms of speed or handling, and any attempt to judge these machines from that point of view largely misses their existence. In a country where individual expression is often discouraged in favor of homogeneous cultural order and conservation Washington on the streets that have more kei pocket cars than crossovers, racing a thunderous American minivan is like spitting out your HOA by painting your front door purple and then setting your house on fire.

If the method of self-expression is imported, the real passion of the Dajiban crowd could not be more local. By focusing their attention on an unloved American offspring (and giving us a cute tribute to Hot Wheels in the process), the owners let their deconstructed monster flag fly in a completely original way, unique on any American circuit. Don’t confuse the medium with the message – remember, this is the same country that gave us the exaggerated styles of Bosozoku as good as Lamborghini is completely covered in flashing LED lights. If the cult of the cargo ship Ram van didn’t exist, these Japanese mavericks would be doing something else just as outrageous and caring just as little about what their neighbors think about it.

The Ebisu circuit was recently damaged by an earthquake that had a serious impact on the community and the facility, with a major landslide taking the track out of service. Donations to help rebuild the road route and implement disaster prevention measures can be done on the following link.