(shoes clacking on floor)
- In the late 2000s,
it was sixties and seventies, domestic muscle cars
that were shattering auction records.
Then came along the air cooled Porsche bubble
that made a ton of really good entry-level nine 11s,
nearly unattainable in the 2010.
But eventually, these bubbles popped
and the hype moved to the next segment of cars
that more accurately accounted for the nostalgia
of the next generation of buyers.
Today, we are at peak classic JDM demand,
mostly due to the fame surrounding these cars.
Thanks to a few very successful select films and animes.
These are cars that used to present a lot of value,
but now cost far more than the performance
that they actually deliver in the real world.
What's going on guys,
and welcome back to another episode of over under I'm Sean,
SeanB.FI on Instagram.
And today we're going to be talking about
the five most overrated JDM cars right now,
but before we jumped directly into it,
you might be wondering,
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So go check that out after you finished this video
and make sure to stick around to the last car on this list,
you're really not going to like
what I have to say about this JDM legend.
Let's get started.
Well, let's just go ahead and rip this bandaid right off.
The first car on this list
is going to have to go to the S13 Nissan 240 SX.
No, I'm not referring to the S chassis as a whole,
but more specifically the U.S. spec 240 SX.
As the Nissan Sylvia continuously gained reputation
for being a monster on the street,
with its turbocharged SR20,
that had tons of easily accessible power potential.
The 246 SX that came state side, got the frigging shaft,
as did us Americans
hoping to finally have a JDM sports coupe that could take on
the typical American sports car offerings at the time.
But instead of getting the potent SR20 DET,
that you could easily squeeze more power from,
our only option was a frigging' KA 24E.
A single overhead cam naturally aspirated engine
that produced a whopping 140 horsepower.
These cars have barely outperformed the cheaper, lighter,
and more nimble Miata at the time.
And then come 1991,
Nissan was ready to give the little 240 that couldn't
a competitive edge.
So they gave us a dual overhead cam 2.4 liter KA24 D E
with a massive 15 horsepower bump.
But because of the reputation of the S chassis as a whole,
these cars were devoured by enthusiasts,
creating such a large demand
that Nissan didn't really even need to change the car
to keep selling them.
Then, as the cars became older and cheaper, the lightweight,
nearly perfect wheel based front engine rear drive chassis
that these cars offered,
turned out to be a really good choice for motor sports.
So as time went on,
a lot of them were chopped up neglected, crashed, smashed,
and Frankensteined together into track rats
and drift missiles.
To this day, the 240 SX still carries the Sylvia
and big power race car reputation,
but with an added twist.
Now, clean examples of these cars are hard to come by
and have aged where nostalgia has become a factor,
putting the 240 SX back to a price
that is more expensive than it's actually worth,
compared to the car it directly competes with.
Earlier this year, a low mile S13 240 SX sold
on bring a trailer for $20,000.
Do you know how much car you can get for $20,000?
You can buy a Bailey, a fun weekend car,
and track rat,
all with double the horsepower for a little bit less money.
And for that reason,
I dub the S13 240 SX over-hyped and overrated.
Next up on the chopping block,
goes out to a car that holds the title
of being the best selling
two seat convertible ever produced.
The Mazda Miata was introduced to the world
in 1988 through 1989 model year, and was a massive success.
The MA Miata is light, it's nimble,
it's well balanced, economical, and is fun to drive.
So it's no wonder why these things
landed in the hands of thousands of enthusiasts.
But when it came to lackluster features and performance,
the Miata was a notch or 12 below the competition.
People more often than not
considered the Miata to be a sports car
or even a performance oriented car.
When it's really not.
The cars barely made over 100 horsepower,
had tiny little baby tires, and had brakes made for ants.
Now, I've talked to enough Miata owners
to know exactly what they would say to that.
(voice deep and distorted) Meet me on a track bro.
And to that, I say gladly, a boat, on a trailer,
on the back of a truck would probably lap a Miata
on a full size circuit.
And this is where my biggest gripe
with the Miata comes from.
Just because a car with a
(voice high and distorted) tiny wheel base
can be successful on an autocross course,
does not mean it's a capable track car.
But that's what everybody who owns one seems to think,
sure they're balanced
and can absolutely be a fun weekend warrior
and teach you a ton about cars and driving,
that you may struggle to find elsewhere,
but they're not good cars.
They're full of compromises
that the peers refuse to talk about.
In fact, peers are the reason
that these cars have falsified hype behind them.
And with hundreds and thousands of them on the road,
they've become cult-like
and can sway the market with their BS claim.
For that reason, the NA Miata is over-hyped,
over appreciated, slow as (beep), and overrated.
The Subaru Impreza 22B STI,
is arguably one of the best looking cars
of all freaking time.
It's wider and more powerful.
It has better differentials and shorter gears
than the standard WRX at the time.
And in 1998, it was one of the best performing JDM cars.
And one of the only JDM performers to gain a super-stardom.
Shooting to 60 in a super slaying 4.3 seconds,
which is actually even quicker than a brain 2020 STI,
oddly enough.
And I'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing,
but not a lot of manufacturers these days
have a performance model from the nineties
that outperforms their most modern rendition
of the car today.
Now, contrary to the rest of the cars featured
on this overrated segment of this over-under series,
the 22B, based on my research,
doesn't fall into the false claims
and don't drive your heroes category.
And maybe that's partially due to the whole,
it outperforms the newest one thing,
or perhaps they under promised and over delivered.
Either way, this is the one people pay buku bucks for.
And I'm talking crazy money,
like six figures money for a Subaru.
The 22B is undoubtedly a fantastic automobile and all,
but it's not a hundred thousand dollars fantastic.
I mean, come on.
I know what has two less doors and is limited production,
but a blob-eye STI is 95% of the performance
for 20% of the cost.
And that's absolutely frigging bonkers.
For that reason the Subaru Impreza 22B STI,
is way overpriced and overrated.
Next up, is a car that became famous
by delivering tofu during the day
and being the underdog slaying canyons at night.
Of course, I'm talking know about the AE 86 Corolla.
In Initial D, Takumi is beating drivers on the tug
in cars that are much faster than his car
in a Toyota Corolla.
However, fanboys' dreams of the capabilities
of the AE 86,
never lived up to the reality of what the AE 86 really is.
It's zero to sixty mile an hour time
is about eight and a half seconds.
To put things into perspective,
A 1997 Toyota Camry was an entire freaking second faster.
The AE 86 was the opposite of the sleeper.
They're expected to be fast, but they are not.
It's a lot like a Miata in a sense.
Again, it's a small, lightweight, balanced, nimble car,
but it's not necessarily about performance.
It was more or less a well engineered economy car
that was fun to drive.
But, because of its fame gained through Initial D,
these cars are selling for two to three times the price
that they would be,
if the market was based around the car and what it offers,
versus emotions via nostalgia.
You would be hard pressed to find an AE 86 base model
in fair condition for under $12,000
That's a bit much,
considering it's a 40 year old Toyota Corolla
with 128 horsepower.
Now don't get me wrong,
I love me an eighties hatchback with sharp lines
and pop up headlights.
But the AE 86 is over-hyped, overpriced, and overrated.
Now I'm going to need y'all to sit the frick down
for this last one, because your knee cap's
'bout to blow clean off your (beep) legs.
The R34 Nissan skyline GTR is overrated.
Right, there I said it.
But, look, I have a point, okay?
The R34 GTR is probably the most guilty
of becoming encapsulated in a bubble of false hype,
simply based on fame.
Like, take the DeLorean for example.
DeLoreans are frigging trash.
It's an unpainted, 136 horsepower ball of terribleness.
But since it was in a frigginG movie doing cool stuff,
people adored DeLoreans, it's stupid.
Just like the R34.
The technology in the car is incredibly outdated
and out-done by the cars of today's era.
Even when it was new,
it was still inferior to other cars of the era.
Whereas many domestic cars had more power,
better handling, offered more fun,
and were overall better cars than the Skyline,
for less money.
Even within Japan itself,
the Skyline was less powerful and slower
than the equally overrated Supra.
It's almost like,
if the old colored Mac computers started skyrocketing price,
and then people started claiming
but it's a more pure driving experience
and has character.
Knock that (beep) off.
Look, the car is neat, it's aggressive.
And, for the time, it made acceptable power
and has some good tuning potential,
being turbocharged from a factory and all.
R34 GTRs you see slaying the streets,
have tons of money invested in them.
And the ones you see dominating it's competition in movies,
are not real representations of the car
and it's performance.
It's the perfect example of what pop-culture can do
to the value and the reputation of a vehicle.
These cars are hard to find under six figure price tags.
Do you know what that means?
That means that you could buy a far superior R35 GTR,
for less money than an R34.
And, for that reason, the R34 Skyline GTR,
is massively over-hyped, over-priced, and overrated.
But, that about wraps up our tour on the trigger mobile.
Be sure to leave a comment
about what cars you think are overrated
and what you think I got wrong.
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I'm Sean with Fitment Industries, SeanB.FI on Instagram,
please don't hate me.
Peace.