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Thirty-five years on from the first toe-in-the-water imports, Japanese classics have come of age, to become respectable collectables. Some, like the Toyota 2000GT and Honda S800, can stand shoulder to shoulder with their European equivalents while others, like the Toyota Crown, have an ironic appeal that gives them a joy all of their own. Some of these cars made few friends among the cognoscenti - it was years before they caught up with European dynamic standards - but gave buyers what they wanted in terms of extras and value for money. Luxury gimmicks were at the heart of their appeal. What's more, Japanese cars were uniquely reliable.
There's a whole universe of Japanese cars from the '60s and '70s that we never saw, and in many ways it seems they kept the best stuff for themselves. Cars such as the lovely Nissan Silvia or the Isuzu 117 Coupes with their Italianate styling, the intriguing Wankel-engined Mazdas, strange city cars called Carol and big V8 limousines from Nissan and Toyota - all were simply unheard of in most of Europe.
Today the dwindling number of Japs that have survived have a devoted following. On any summer weekend in Britain today you could find grown men enthusing over the merits of a Datsun Cherry. A bit worrying, but harmless enough. Probably.
So if the thought of embossed plastic seats or imitation brocade raises your pulse higher than leather trim, or you find the knobbly wheel covers on a Datsun Sunny more alluring than the wires on an E-Type Jaguar, have no fear - you are not alone.
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