Author(s): James Cockington

Technology and Transport

a snapshot of the rich history of Japanesecars in Australia - on the road as well as on theracetrack. The first Japanese cars to reach our shoresin the late 1950s and early '60s were mostly small,crude and often the object of laughter - andsometimes even hostility, because some olderAustralians (with memories of the war still fresh)remained suspicious of these strange little cars fromJapan. But as the Japanese manufacturers rapidlyimproved, it wasn't long before Australia was wonover. These new Japanese brands just had too muchstyle, were too well appointed and offered irresistiblevalue for money - and in some cases were just tooplain cheeky to ignore. From the quaintly namedNissan Cedric of the early '60s to today's Nissan GTR'Godzilla' sportscar ... this is a quirky look back atour four-wheeled love affair with the Land of theRising Sun.