ALL JAPAN DAY FINALE ROUND UP

Before I jot down a bunch of takes & observations, I want to thank the event organisers in case they somehow end up reading this.

I really do love AJD and it was a pleasure to have a car in the event. All Jap was the first car show I ever participated in (3 years ago) and since then the role of cars in my life has evolved dramatically. My car (silver) AJD 23'

With all that out of the way it's time rip this event to shreds. For anyone expecting a comprehensive overview with a million pictures taken on an expensive DSLR - head to ig, bruz.

Instagram will be completely polluted with images of this event, taken by the worst jits about, tryna build internet reach with no real contribution. 

Ah, I cant cite the source, but watching any short-form vertical-video from this event is like smoking 20 packets a day but for your brain.

Time to rifle through it.

Best vehicle:

The datto ute was merely a prop to flex this Haro Group 1 - no resto, chromoly machine. Tuff twos I reckon, but could use some rep/nos era-acc grips to bring it home. Real recognises real - and the similarities between cool cars n old skool bmx is unspoken.

Actually my favourite vehicle:

2026 has been a return to admiring chrome bumper. This Honda S800 was a standout. Single mirror, bonnet hump, stock as, bright colour, trick shape, simple understated beauty. Once upon a time there was an affordable mint red one on carsales dot com. My old man and I would consistently check on it, remarking its so cheap - it looks way better than an MGB GT. I thought about that car as I admired the yellow one. Like the other 20 million cars my Dad and I would fantasize owning, it was the one that got away, only they all did.

Austin's Pick:

Isuzu Wasp, (apparently) one tonner and ex company car. Actually a very cool choice from Aus. Shining moment of what AJD is all about. Only 122 of these made it to Australia so a real eyeball treat. I'm betting it first grabbed his attention on account of the business graphics. 

One of my best mates and boxer-lad we pulled up to AJD together for the first time. Austin is a gifted graphic designer who put together the slap stickers on the back of our Subaru's. It was refreshing to stroll with Aus and get the takes and gut reactions of someone fairly removed from the wider car scene. We tuned into observing people, how they acted, consumed, and what they wear. The displays of these cars is great but it was undeniably depressing watching the majority of fanbase walk around sipping massive energy drinks and wear all black clothing. This is not their fault - the majority of car scene merch is terrifically heinous. Genuinely best dressed goes to this bloke whose probably put some miles on his tee since buying it at the Royal Adelaide show in 2006...

Staying on track. Triple SSS Pulsar - who cares??

Me. 

I don't like the car. I like the owner. I have no clue who they are but I felt it was my duty to reward this unsung hero. 

This is a car very few people give a fuck about, but on my second time passing it, a small group of heads were trading a stories of their mates pulsar from back in the day. They were laughing. This is another case of what it's all about. This thing was a mint survivor, highest spec, louvers, spoiler, wheels, the lot. It elicited memories and showcased a point on the timeline. I smiled when I read the decals flexing its (likely pathetic) viscous LSD.

Despite the shit I've filled my head with I have a pretty good memory. I remember as a kid watching Wallace & Grommet zip around in a panel van and thinking that looks cool. Natural attraction.

This Toyota corolla pano~wagon looked sweet. I appreciated that it was at a very rare intersection of looking both cute but steezy. There were a good number of Toyota's about including Will's Corona now sporting some new shoes...

I covered his car HERE

I sussed a Mazda 929, which didn't take my fancy one bit, but of the three there - still had it's factory cassette unit. In my opinion one of the best looking oem units ever.

The four wheel drive section was a bit of a snooze with the exception of this Surf. Navy blue ended up being a stand out colour across the board, but looked real good with the gold and chrome. I think the wheels are Enkies but the utility style is what makes em great. I haven't worked out how to explain this look, and its weird perfect use cases but it works here, as it also does; circle hole sunnies on early zooks, interceptors on VL commodores, and pepper pots on Peugeot two'O'fives.

Speaking of wheels there were a few that caught my eye...

I liked this AE92 runnin 5-spoke front, 4-spoke rear, the JTCC spec look - but instead of Tom's or OZ racing wheels it wears two pairs of Volk Racing 5/4's wrapped in serious meat.

I also found it refreshing seeing these Tom's 4spokes on an r34, they look heaps new, maybe a re-release?

I was also amazed to learn these tri-spokes that came on Shaun's gravel express he imported from NZ were a genuine catalogue option STI wheel for a different car in the range.

On the other end of the spectrum, I stood staring at these 34GTR wheels underneath a Stagea imagining how hot they'd look on a VL dot-com. Basically oem+ lad.

Ziggy's pick:

My mate Zigg spotted this diamond in the rough. Guttered I missed it.

More cars...

Sent Jdmparts.rupewrecht some coin ah car.

Shoutout to 300ZX owners, every year coming out with some fuck-ass body kit to mask the fact anyone who owns one of these cars bought it on its way-to, and when-they-did bottom out (value) - only for them to rest there eternally.

I actually really like the way Z30twos look, especially this example:

https://www.zcarblog.com/2023/04/17/automotive-history/mikes-1991-stillen-gtz-300zx.html 

I also got a weird kick outa spotting the aus delivered bits on cars.

Red S14. Seen a few of these HERE & HERE. Also noticed on an S15 the Aus delivered floormats also have 200SX on em.

No aus delivered S13 but I did write about this interesting one a minute back - HERE.

This NSX was terrific. It was a reminder that manufacturers need to make their shitty undesirable (surviving by being financially beneficial) cars, have weird goober colours. Because this NSX with the clear lights & black roof made white paint so classy.

Someone should sell 'make automobiles colourful again' caps.

This Datsun Cedric had me rethinking car design of the sixties and seventies. In that timeframe, yes Europe made some very beautiful cars but I think Japan invented the hot genre. What I mean is when the japs tried to use American influence in combination with their own thinking they pumped out some hot looking machines.

Like these Celicas are just jap pony cars, even with four bangers.

I mean shit, look at what happened when Larry Shinoda got some control at Ford.

Oh and B pillars, why do we need them again?

Now for some lead by example - shoutout Jordan at FitMint. Having an actually fantastic car styled as a demo car is boss shit. On top of the products, aesthetic, and more, FitMint is legitimately cool because they do stuff like this. FitMint stands on business.

#BringBackDemoCars.

Speaking of cool...

Dazda streeter - shoutout headz like Barry Lowe or Hugh Bell

What a formula. Continuing with rotaries..

Total minter. As opposed to...

Built to go for a blat.

But it wasn't all fun & games. I can't lie these event organisers definitely got catfished here & there.

I mean carn. I was kinda caught off guard seeing sights like this;

With machines like this at home..

Moving on.

Subaru XT6/Alcyone - first Subaru boxer 6 and only one in the country.

Which will segway into this...

The ACX-II - the concept car. And hard to see against the black is the chin spoiler. The chin spoiler was almost the first active aero to make it onto a production car. Nissan actually controlled Subaru at the time (pre-plaza accord) and so it ended up on another car...

There's a tonne more photos in my camera roll, and plenty of thoughts in my head, but let's just say I am going to miss AJD. It was fun. 

However, with events like these disappearing I think the void will actually self correct. Car meets have become hunting grounds for social media car influencers, facilitating the production of internet pollution. Even I have been guilty of this.

But the cool heads are networking amongst themselves and will organise their own meets and cruises. From this comes the notion of earning your stripes. Some might see this as being exclusive, and it is. I just don't think that's always a bad thing. I'd love to see the scene go underground. After all rarely do the noisy people have anything worth saying.

But to finish on a fun note, I would again like to thank the organisers, vendors, participants, and mates who came up and said g'day.

The best head award goes to...

Whoever this bloke is;

Chur.