Japanese car ๐ธ๐๐ธ๐๐๐๐พ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ธ๐๐พ๐๐
Featuring vintage Toyotas, Daihatsus, Acuras in mint condition with 850k kilometers on the odometer, and a long-lasting design that hasn't been corroded by yearly updates and programmed obselescence.
I saw it again, and again, and again. That cute mirror, sitting just above the roofline. Thereโs nothing accidental or weird about it. The driver can check whatโs behind without twisting his neck. Itโs been there for decades. It works. So why change it?
This mirror became a symbol in my head. A reminder of something that feels lost today. Most things around us are designed to be replaced. A phone after a year. A car model every two. Even software updates seem to break what was already good (Apple, Iโm looking at you with angry eyes).
We live in a time where everything is redesigned every year. Curves get sharper, screens get bigger, and cars keep shouting for attention and ugly electric minecraft designs. But in Japan, youโll still find a 1990s sedan gliding by, quiet and spotless, with that same look perched like a watchful eye.
Which version do you prefer? With or without the light leak?
Weโve normalized planned obsolescence. Weโre told itโs innovation. But itโs just bullshit for the sake of sales. Itโs hard to tell if the new version is better or just different, usually itโs none.
The roof mirror on that taxi might look outdated. But it works with no failure. And when I see it, I start to question all the things weโve abandoned too quickly.
I had my butt in taxis looked like it hadnโt aged in 25 years. Clean seats, working doors, zero rust. You can tell itโs used daily. Still, it feels respected. Maintained. Like the driver (and his white glove) is part of a system that values durability over consumism.
Design doesnโt need to be new just because. It needs to work. That mirror above the roof, the door that opens with a push of a button on the driverโs cockpit, the thirty-year-old dashboard that still clicks like day one.
Japan taught me that none of it needs changing. It just needs respect.
Again, we donโt need new things. We need to take better care of the good ones we already have.
But if you want to talk about high-tech shit and modern things, then do it right, and fill up the tank with freaking Hydrogen. How about that, America?
I really think Japanese people focus on the right things, as opposed to the other half of the world.
โค๏ธ ๐ฏ๐ต GO JAPAN GO! ๐ฏ๐ต โค๏ธ
They keep their cars so well, they are beautiful
Taking care of things is a lost art in todayโs consumer driven world. Itโs nice to see that it still exists in some places. - I love the nostalgic feel of these images, and love the light leak. In my opinion, it enhances the photo and goes along with the whole theme of the series of appreciating and valuing things as they are instead of replacing them for a โbetterโ model.