Bubble Era

Everyone loves the Autozam AZ-1. One of the shining examples of Mazda’s bubble-era audacity, the Ferrari-aping,…

It is difficult for me to stress just how much money Japanese car companies threw around at engineering and design…

On the very week before the first Gulf War, Ford showed an innovative engine design for the ‘90s, modular in its…

I love Subaru because it’s a case where the stranger car won out. As Mitsubishi has long given up on the Evo, it’s…

The original Lexus SC was so much weirder than you remember. Or I could say that designing it was weirder than you’d…

The most adorable little convertible and I were born in the same year, we’re both incredible, but only one of us…

Before the Honda NSX pushed Ferrari to make a better, more usable Ferrari 355, there was another set of…

Straight six power. An optional manual transmission. Rear-wheel drive and peerless build quality. These are all…

Back in the ‘90s, Mazda had a plan to take the global luxury market with a line of cars bigger, nicer, and more…

You’re Subaru and it’s the early 1990s. You need something to make your small family van stand out in a crowded…

The Tokyo Auto Salon is the epitome of the contemporary Japanese tuning scene, showcasing the very best and latest…

1998 was relatively late in the Bubble Era but that didn’t stop Isuzu from giving us its perhaps most impressively…

Someone, something, some guiding spirit of light and practicality, is parking dozens of imported Japanese Domestic…

The problem with the second one was that it might be cursed. The problem with the first one was that it might be…

It’s been decades and there is still no car like Mazda’s triple-rotor Eunos Cosmo, a vehicle more ambitious, more…

If you’re going to miss an exit and get stuck on a rural highway for an extra 30 minutes, there are far worse things…

Today, automakers reserve limited-production vehicles to high performance sports cars and supercars. But in the…

The most iconic Subarus are turbocharged rally monsters or low-key all-wheel-drive wagons. The Subaru Vivio GX-T,…

In 1991, Bugatti debuted the EB110, meant to be as high-tech a car as possible. It had a daring five valves per…

All Mazda Millenias have had a strange life, this one in particular. A decontented, almost but not quite-Bubble Era…