Generally speaking, the CCs found in Tokyo are near pristine. I’ve been finding a few scruffy ones on occasion, but basket cases are few a far between. In this case though, I hit pay dirt: three faded glories of the go-go ‘80s, sitting together in a kind of courtyard. Set your clocks to circa 1986, and let’s see what’s left of this tired trio.
The two Japanese cars are sitting side by side in what must have been a car port, several typhoons ago. Let’s start with them.
The Toyota is rarely seen nowadays, in its home country – I don’t think I’ve seen one still on the road here as of yet. Though Tercel-based (and so named in certain markets, such as North America), in Japan these wagons were sold as the Sprinter Carib, starting in the summer of 1982.
Pretty novel concept for Toyota, but essentially they were treading on Subaru’s toes, as many of these Caribs were, like this one, AWD. There’s also a lot of Nissan Prairie in there, though as the two cars are contemporaries, I guess the high-roof wagon thing was just in the air.
These were made until early 1988, when they were replaced by a new generation (Corolla-based) that is still seen around here on occasion. Looks like whoever used this last went skiing with it, appropriately enough. Love that seat fabric!
Intriguing colour scheme on this one – mostly silver, blue bumpers and tailgate, orange roof decals, plus those rust patches. The ski rack completes the look quite nicely.
Next to the Carib lay a dying legend. This R31 Skyline hardtop saloon (1985-89) is the higher-trim GT Passage, which would make the default engine the famous RB20 2-litre DOHC straight-6. It’s also the only Skyline saloon to be a true hardtop.
Seems all that was for naught, alas. This one is definitely not going drifting anytime soon. The grime on that poor car was so thick I couldn’t manage a photo of the interior.
The vines have started to colonize this Nissan pretty extensively. I’d be interesting to see the same car in a decade or so. It might end up looking like one of those long lost Khmer or Mayan temples, eaten by the greenery.
This seventh generation Skyline is pure early ‘80s origami, combining all of the period’s best and worst traits. Still, the quad round taillights, even if they are within a rectangular housing, ties the whole design together pretty darn well. The vines just add to it even more.
Our third ‘80s banger is quite the fancy import: a 1986-91 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC. Price-wise, we’re in a different territory here, compared to the Nissan and the Toyota. But it’s certainly the same era, and in the same neglected state.
Funny how the Benz, though it came out a couple years before the other two cars, looks less dated in many ways. This is a testament to Bruno Sacco’s talent (and is also valid for the W126 saloon): these S-Class Benzes have aged very well, esthetically speaking. Certainly better than their tank-like successors.
Might not extend that enthusiastic view to the interior – that had aged quite a bit. Still pretty nice place to be, for sure, but smacks more of the ‘70s than the exterior styling.
Of the three cars, the Benz probably gets my vote as the most desirable. Certainly, it seems it was in use a bit longer than the other two. Or maybe because it was parked out in the open and not under that rickety shack that disintegrated over the Skyline and the Carib.
There aren’t too many abandoned cars in this town, so finding three 30-plus year old ones together was unexpected. It actually felt like being back in Bangkok for a spell. All in all, a real blast from the past. Well, from 1986 or so.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon: Built For The Really Long Haul, by PN
COAL Capsule: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD – Fourth Time’s A Charm, by Geraldo Solis
Curbside Classic: 1988 Nissan Skyline (R31) GTS Turbo Hardtop – At Least, It’s Not A Pintara, by T87
Auto-Biography/Curbside Classic: 1989 Mercedes 560SEC – My Former Lust Object, by PN
COAL (COJL) – 1991 Mercedes Benz 560 SEC – Only The Best Car Ever!, by Saabaru
Even though we’d seen another, single-color/no plaid seats, US-spec Tercel 4WD automatic wagon just a week or so ago, it still hasn’t imprinted on my mind that the 4wd wasn’t manual-only.
It’s an early one too, only the first year or so had the blue-and-silver two tone before the silver part of the 2-tone was replaced by a lighter blue.
Those R31 Skylines! Nissan seemed to have gone into full-Volvo mode with this model, they were just so squarish and boxy, but came off as just looking dated; the previous model looked newer.
An old man’s car, but Nissan Australia tried valiantly to inject some interest into the lineup with sportier limited editions – Skyline Silhouette, Skyline GTS… but to no avail. Good mechanicals in search of an attractive body. This Passage GT is more attractive than the regular sedan, but… (shakes head).
Didn’t stop me building one though! 🙂
PS: Like the second-gen Jazz in the foreground. Looks better in yellow though. 🙂
That’s a tough choice, but since the Tercels are still common (at least in the junkyards I frequent so I get my fill), and a 560SEC will always be easily to acquire (for a presumably ever-increasing sum), when’s the last time you saw a four door Skyline GT Passage? Not sure I ever have. The rear lights alone make it for me, although at least one angle seems to display a slightly distressing amount of Mazda 929. That’s easy to solve though, just walk around the back.
Overall though a shocking sight in Tokyo. It simply must be the home of a foreigner.
I’m curious about the more modern cars in the background. I see a Jazz and some kind of van?. Are those abandoned as well?
There’s a 2nd-gen Honda Fit, a 1st-gen Toyota Alphard and in one shot of the Mercedes a relatively new 1st-gen Toyota Aqua G’s or GR Sport.
I’d guess from how they’re positioned that the Alphard may well be abandoned or long unused since things are growing around it too, but the Aqua and Fit aren’t.
Nice finds. I used to see quite a few of these Caribs but you’re right, I don’t think I’ve spotted one in last five years or so…
Dead Skylines get vacuumed up by misty eyed enthusiasts here Caribs go to the shredder old Benzs have a following but are getting seriously expensive to restore Ive seen a few old Mercedes here with long grass around them after somebody got out of their depth, dead BMWS are much more common.
Love that phrase Bryce! And as a misty eyed enthusiast, the Passage GT gets my Dyson vote, as zooming in on the trunk I see a “Twin Cam Turbo” badge, so it’s the top-spec RB20DET. The last GT Passage I saw sell here went for about $25,000, and that was the standard RB20E. A number of the GT Passage hardtops that I’ve seen have been the RD28 diesel version. Although I’m a fan of the RD28 it always struck me as wrong that you could spec one in a Skyline hardtop. In a luxury Laurel, yes, fine, but not a sporty Skyline. Fun fact: the GT Passage was available with a multi-cassette-tape changer mounted in the centre console under the armrest, and they are the weirdest thing to see working!
LOL I worked with a guy who has a Skyline hardtop diesel he was eyeing up my C5 diesel hes getting sick of being pestered to sell his car by young enthusiasts its manual with RD28 and had RUCs for past 520,000 kms and still going well and he likes it obviously, my car has a mere 374,000 racked up barely broken in by PSA HDI standards and runs and drives just fine.
There’s some corner of a foreign field/ That is forever Germany. Well, a corner-of-a corner of a foreign field that is forever not England, anyway.
No! There’s some corner of a foreign field/That is forever and ever, amen.
No! There is a field of Germans that forever and ever/Are men in a corner. No!
Sorry, I got a bit lost there. But you get the idea.
I must admit that my curiosity has little to do with the Nissan or Toyota, or, indeed, that still-desirable foreign panzerwagen. What on earth could be the story of this corner of Tokyo, abandoned as it seems to be to slime and rust and foreign car(s)? Surely this little weed patch must be worth more than, I dunno, the entire city of Melbourne, Aus. Why does it contain these deceased occupants?
The Curb here is worth well-more than the Classics, so why do the latter still live there, Dr T?
Ah, Lord Justy of Baum, guten tag to you, marvellous prose, as always, thank you for the music, no wait, that was Abba, I do of course mean danke schoen for the laughter, learnt of friends. My misty eyes were side-tracked by the line of Sky, but I concur: my curiosity peaked and was piqued by the same sentiment vis a vis the abandoned land. What say you Dr T?
Well, as regards abandoned pieces of land in Tokyo, there are surprisingly quite a few. Land is very expensive, it’s true, but there are plenty of abandoned houses in Tokyo. And some get sold (most get torn down, as they’re wood framed and aren’t meaxnt to last too long anyway), but some do manage to stay vacant for what seems like eons.
But you know how people are: they hold on to their parcels until they die, neglecting them for years, then the heirs can’t agree or decide on what to do, and things linger for years.
That’s one possible scenario for this lot of old cars. I can envision the owner’s 102-year-old wife in a care home, not having touched the keys of the 560SEC and the Skyline since her husband ‘s stroke back in 1998… And the land belongs to her, but she forgot about it…
i don’t know if it works the same in tokyo but in nyc, it sometimes makes sense to “abandon” property. if someone is assembling a large parcel for development, the longer property owners hold out, the more they get for their land. that’s why there are so many parking lots here. it’s a way to make enough revenue to pay taxes while waiting for the big pay day. some people don’t bother and just let the land sit.
Thanks T87 (and safe as milk), makes sense. 🙂
My 10-year-old son and I saw a lovely dark blue 560SEC on the road today. I got inordinately excited when I spotted it and said to him to have a look. His response was so far away from enthusiastic that I wished I hadn’t even mentioned it in the first place!
Oh man, that Carib brings back memories because my dad owned one of them in the early 90s. He needed to travel to rural areas a lot for work and figured out he needed something with 4WD, but rather than going with a truck or SUV, he ended up finding one of these.
It was a very high spec from what I remember; push button 4WD rather than lever activated, TEMS adjustable suspension and sporty looking bucket seats. It was the only car I’ve ever seen in that spec over here, we have a fair number of ordinary Tercel wagons but I’ve never again seen one like that particular Carib after he sold it.
My dad soon realized that you needed ground clearance AND 4WD so he picked up a more appropriate vehicle, which will be a COAL subject soon enough. The Carib hung around a bit longer and was eventually sold off.