I am pretty open with my dislike of California, the greater Los Angeles area in particular – it’s too busy for me, it is expensive, and the roads suck. But what California does have going for it is that it’s a hub of car culture and that is why I moved here.

I would get invited to so many things in Los Angeles, and it was always a massive production to make it happen, as my home in Scottsdale, Arizona is five hours away. I was overjoyed when I was invited to the media preview of “The Roots of Monozukuri: Creative Spirit in Japanese Automaking” and “Fine Tuning: Japanese-American Customs” exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum, and that it would only take two hours to get there. I had worked with the museum in the past on different stories but had never been able to make it out for a visit until now.

With my background at ClassicCars.com, I would hear a lot of elderly people at various auctions saying things like “I’d roll in my grave if a Japanese car crossed the block” (nevermind that a Toyota 2000GT just crossed the block for $2 million, five cars ago). Cars from Japan have been gaining momentum on the block and are starting to invade Monterey Car Week, one of the most prestigious automotive event weeks’ in the world, notably with Nissan/Datsun as the featured marque of the Rolex Reunion held at Laguna Seca.

I’ve spent a lot of time defending these cars and have done my best to explain how Japanese cars, in many ways, are very similar to American hot rods and muscle cars. It’s great to see Japanese cars becoming more accepted and get the recognition they deserve.

After sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, scrapping my Mustang on potholes, and choking on the smog I finally arrived at the Peterson who is in itself an art piece, and I’ve never felt more at home.

The Roots of Monozukuri: Creative Spirit in Japanese Automaking

“The Roots of Monozukuri” exhibit focuses on the theme of “monozukuri,” or “the art, science, and craft of making things,” and how monozukuri has led to Japanese vehicles’ market dominance in the 1970’s and long-term success.

The exhibit showcases each car in its original form which allows us to see the creativity, innovation, craftsmanship and collaboration central to Japanese auto culture, as a replica of a 1936 Toyota AA, 1966 Nissan Silvia, and others.

The jewel of the exhibit was a 1967 Toyota 2000GT, often thought of as Japan’s first supercar. The 2000GT was developed after Toyota took over Nissan’s plans to build a supercar engineered by Yamaha.

The goal behind the 2000GT was to build a car that rivaled Europeans and Toyota certainly did. The revised design created by Satoru Nozaki was fabricated entirely by hand. When looking at the side profile, it is clear what influenced the look of the 2000GT.

The Mazda Cosmo is another JDM car that is easy to see what influenced its design. In this case, Mazda acquired the license to build “Wankel engines” in 1961, from what is known as Audi today, NSU Motorenwerke.

Before the prototype had even arrived from Germany, Mazda had already begun experimenting and improved its fuel economy, gave it superior performance, and functional reliability.

While the engine bore little resemblance to its German counterpart, the Mazda Cosmo became Mazdas futuristic, hand-built flagship. It was introduced at the 1964 Tokyo Motor Show and began production in 1967 as the first mass-produced two-rotor vehicle.

I am fond of this particular Honda N600 because I was able to see it come to life in an online documentary series, “Series One.” This N600 was the first Honda imported to the U.S. via the port of Los Angeles and was the first in a group of test vehicles.

The car collected dust in a junk pile for nearly 50 years and was thought to be lost until Tim Mings, who has owned and restored over 300 of these cars, found it and brought it back to life. It’s an exciting series and makes seeing the car in person so much more meaningful.

Fine Tuning: Japanese-American Customs

In contrast to the monozukuri exhibit which emphasizes cars in their stock appearance, the “Fine Tuning” exhibit looks at the aesthetic and stylistic conversation between Japanese and American tuners. The cars featured are focused on Los Angeles and Japanese car customization styles.

One of my favorite cars in the exhibit was the 1973 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-X, also known as the “Kenmeri.”

For the 1972 model year, Nissan dropped the Skylines boxy styling for a sleeker profile that was directly influenced by American cars. It had a sportier look, larger proportions, automatic transmission and a “fastback” roofline that is very similar to some American Muscle cars like the Ford Maverick.

This new generation, also known as C110 series, became known as the “Kenmeri” among enthusiasts due to Nissan’s advertising campaign that showed a young American couple named Ken and Mary who toured Japan’s countryside in their Skyline 2000GT-X.

This particular car, owned by Patrick Soliman, was found in a less-than-perfect condition. Soliman chose to modify the right-hand drive Skyline with a distinct Japanese custom style. The low-profile and flared fenders give it a Shakotan, or low car, look. The chin spoiler and rare Riverside Super Rivers wheels embody Kaido, or racecar-inspired, style. For performance, the factory engine was upgraded to an RB26DETT 2.6-liter inline-6.

Another car that caught my eye in the exhibit that stood out to me included a 1974 Mazda RX-3 created by DNA Garage. The Santa Ana-based shop built the RX-3 as a homage to famed Japanese motorcycle and racer driver Yoshimi Katayama.

Katayama was a factory driver for Mazda, and his car distinguished by massive fender flares and green and yellow livery. The interior is gutted for weight reduction, and this Mazda has a custom roll cage build by RAD Industries and a Racepak Dash.

Perhaps the car I felt most sentimental about in the exhibit was the 2014 Scion tC by Papadakis Racing. The first Formula Drift event I covered was Round One, the Streets of Long Beach in 2015 where I first saw professional drifter Fredric Aasbo drive this tC. His victory at the event marked the first time a four-cylinder car won, and Aasbo went on to win the 2015 series championship in this car, another four-cylinder first.

Drifting has been a technique in virtually all forms of motorsports racing, but originated as a sport in Japan in the 1970s. Street racers had adopted the method from professional drivers and used it in touge, or mountain pass racing. It then became a professional series in 2000 as the “D1 Grand Prix” held in Japan. Three years later Formula Drift made its stateside debut, and until Aasbo’s victory in 2015, the series had been dominated by cars powered by American V8’s.

Papadakis Racing had converted this Scion from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive and switched the stock four-cylinder engine to a nitrous-boosted, turbocharged engine that produced 800 horsepower.

This paradigm shift is essential for the car community, and the Peterson is changing the culture of what to expect when it comes to the automotive world. Japanese cars are here to stay and are a force to be reckoned with. The museum does a fabulous job highlighting each vehicles cultural impact and history. Both “The Roots of Monozukuri” and “Fine Tuning” will run at the Petersen Automotive Museum through April 14, 2019.

For more information on either exhibit or the Petersen Museum, see the museum website.

Photography by Nicole Ellan James and Dimitri Lazaris