http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/automobiles/17JDM.html
Street Ready, for Tokyo, That Is
By MICHELLE HIGGINS
June 17, 2005
JASON PHAM has spent about $30,000 and endless hours scouring the Internet for parts for his used Honda Civic hatchback. But there are no flames crawling up the side of the vehicle or multiple plasma-screen TV's inside to make it stand out. His goal was to make his car look like other vehicles on the road - in Japan.
"I didn't want a car everyone else was building," he says. Mr. Pham, a 20-year-old f r o m Fairfax, Va., has swapped out everything f r o m his headlights to his oil cap for replacements f r o m Japan. Just last month, he moved his steering wheel f r o m left- to right-hand drive to simulate the Japanese driving experience. He even has a Japanese driver's manual that he bought on eBay for $35.
"I can't read it - I just wanted to have it," he says.
In a backlash against the showy, over-accessorized customization depicted on shows like MTV's "Pimp My Ride," a growing number of car enthusiasts are spending just as much money to outfit their cars with parts designed for Japan's domestic market and not intended for export to the United States. The result: a modern, minimalist style called J.D.M., short for Japanese Domestic Market.
J.D.M. fanatics like Mr. Pham spend hours searching the Web for hard-to-get parts that often don't look much different f r o m similar parts either made in America or made in Japan for the American market. Some of the more obvious differences include gauges that use the metric system and Japanese parking stickers that show up on rear windows. But f r o m hoods to headlights, seats to shift knobs, there is no limit to the conversions enthusiasts will make to dress up their cars in J.D.M. style - no matter how subtle.
To the untrained eye, "it's very boring," said RJ de Vera, an automotive stylist in Los Angeles who often uses Japanese performance parts in his creations. Most people think it "just looks like a normal car," he said. For many enthusiasts, that's exactly the point.
"Only a few individuals recognize your taste," said Dave Allan, a 25-year-old middle school teacher f r o m Summit, N.J., who has spent more than $20,000 to outfit his Acura Integra in parts f r o m Japan, down to the lug nuts that bolt the wheels to the car. "You have to be in the know."
ALTHOUGH no one tracks J.D.M. as a stand-alone market segment, everyone f r o m importers to car show organizers says that the trend is growing. Over the last five years, HKS USA, a subsidiary of HKS Ltd. in Japan, which manufacturers performance parts and accessories, has seen year-over-year growth of about 10 percent.
In the last three years, sales at the Motorsport Parts Division of Mackin Industries in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., which imports Japanese performance parts, have grown 10 to 15 percent annually.
In an effort to cash in on J.D.M.'s popularity, several Japanese parts companies, including Spoon Sports Ltd. and 5Zigen International, have teamed with American distributors or opened their own offices. Even major automakers are starting to cater to this market. Over the last few years, Nissan North America has been rolling out a new line of car accessories in the United States under its Japanese brand of high-performance parts, Nismo.
The category is beginning to expand on the car show circuit. The number of cars with a J.D.M. theme at popular import car shows, like Hot Import Nights, has almost doubled in the last few years, according to Andy Goodman, president of the National Custom Car Association, which judges the show competitions. "It's definitely more prevalent," he said.
The association has had a J.D.M. category in its contests since it began in 2001. But this year it broke the category into "J.D.M. O.E.M.," for vehicles with original equipment parts made by Japanese carmakers, and "J.D.M. aftermarket," for vehicles with parts that aren't original equipment but are still made in Japan.
Getting the parts is not easy or cheap and often requires a lot of patience, since the most coveted components are often found only in Japan. J.D.M. enthusiasts typically must order through an importer who has ties with shops overseas that can locate hard-to-get parts. If the part is in stock it can typically be shipped to the importer and on to the consumer in a week or two.
But most enthusiasts aren't that lucky. Parts often take months to arrive. Some used components can be found only by scouring junkyards in Japan. Also, to save money most importers wait until they have enough parts to fill an entire container before shipping it to the United States, which can lengthen the delay.
Jason Sierant, a 25-year-old college student f r o m Kenilworth, N.J., waited three months for a bumper he ordered f r o m an importer in California, and when he finally got the bumper, it was nicked on one side.
But Mr. Sierant didn't care. "I wanted to differentiate the car f r o m everybody else," he said, and the hassle to get the part simply validated its rarity. "I knew no one around here had it," he said.
Some J.D.M. enthusiasts cut out the middleman by scouring eBay, the online marketplace. That's where Jack Dial found most of the parts for his Honda Civic del Sol. Mr. Dial, a 24-year-old refrigeration repairman f r o m Seven Valleys, Pa., has spent at least $10,000 modifying his car to resemble its counterpart in Japan - the CR-X del Sol. He swapped out everything f r o m the headlights to the floor mats to the sun visors. His gauges display kilometers instead of miles and his climate control uses Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. He has the Japanese owners' manual and Tokyo parking stickers.
Still, "people don't even usually realize it has as much stuff done to it as it does," he said. "It doesn't look like anything fancy."
The J.D.M. phenomenon has its roots in the early 90's in Southern California, where import cars had become popular with street racers. Honda Civics and Toyota Supras were replacing American muscle cars like Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros as the street-racing cars of choice, and enthusiasts sought out performance parts to go with those cars.
In Japan, major automakers, including Honda, Toyota and Nissan, all offer the models that are available in the United States but in different variations. For example, Nissan's 350Z is sold as the Fairlady Z in Japan. In general, differences are subtle but often include headlights, taillights, bumpers and engines.
Unlike some showy customizations, like tinted windows and booming sound systems, which are restricted in some places, most J.D.M. modifications do not run afoul of the law, although Mr. Pham suspects his right-side steering wheel may bring him trouble f r o m the local police. Still, he's willing to risk it. And besides, "a crazy paint job and lights stand out more."
30grand? Someone should tell that guy he could've just flown over here, picked up a used Civic at auction, and then imported it into the US as a parts car. Would have saved himself 20grand easily AND got a vacation in Japan out of the deal.
