There was even a 1972 Subaru GL Coupe in front wheel-drive livery. The rest of the field ranged from a number of colorful Datsun 240Zs and 510s to a pair of Honda Civic CVCCs, several Toyota Celicas, two Datsun Roadsters and a couple Mazda RX-2s, RX-4s and RX-7s. This motley caravan then headed south to meet up with 28 other classic Japanese cars in Escondido. Mazda also loaned CX-3s, CX-5s and a few MX-5 Miatas. Mazda contributed three cars to this year’s Touge: a 1975 Rotary-Engine Pickup, ’78 GLC hatchback and a 1985 RX-7 GSL-SE, all from Mazda’s heritage collection. Toyotas, Datsuns and Mazdas ruled at Touge California.Īll of the abovementioned people, including us and a small contingent of Mazda employees (who live for this sort of thing) met just after dawn at Mazda R&D in Irvine, Calif. That one started in Thousand Oaks and wound its way through the Santa Monica Mountains, along the coast and ended up at the Toyota Museum in Torrance. Last year was the first Touge California. “I thought, ‘Why is there not something like that for Japanese cars just as there is for German, Italian and American cars?” He had been aware of rallies for European and American classics like the Colorado Grand and the Mille Miglia, too, and saw the discrepancies. Hsu has always been an enthusiastic follower of Japanese cars. Or it might have been last Saturday, April 2, the date of the second Touge California put on by the hard-working people at Japanese Nostalgic Car who, along with rallymaster Patrick Strong and Jacob Brown from Touge-sponsor Mazda and a host of others, laid out a course, sorted through invitations and lined up all the cars for a long day’s drive into night. So it shouldn’t be all that surprising to think that the once ubiquitous “Japanese car” must someday become a classic. Now, it seems just about everything with a Hemi from 1971 and earlier is worth $200,000. When the oil embargo hit, you could get one of those for next to nothing. Same with all those muscle cars crossing the block at Barrett-Jackson for six figures.

Granted, they were pretty impressive and stately cars, but they were not yet classics with their own rows at Pebble Beach and wealthy gentlemen pouring millions of dollars into their proper and correct restorations. There was a time when even Bugattis, Duesenbergs and 540Ks were just… cars.

Every classic car will eventually have its day in the sun.

Jdm socal