In my opinion, Japan's car industry was at their best between the mid-eighties to mid-noughties. No matter whether it was Nissan, Mitsubishi, Honda, Mazda or Toyota, all of them had a good choice of affordable sports cars for common people and halo sports cars. That is why a R34 GT-R always triggers very positive vibes with me, and praise for the technological achievements. I really love those Japanese cars which brought sporty capabilities to the next level back then.
Unfortunately in my professional career, I could save money too late to get one of the gems from that era for reasonable money, so I have no first hand experience with these cars (I adore the Integra Type-R, for example).
Sorry for side-tracking now: In retrospective, I feel more connected to the driving experience with older cars than with the new ones. The new cars - legal necessities aside - detach me more and more from a "well-connected with the machine" feeling. The GR Yaris is one of the few modern exceptions.
Please note this is only my opinion. I feel sympathy for anyone who gets a lot of fun from the very modern cars, I support everyone with a true passion for any niche of car culture and drives, whether it is V8 Americans, Germany's best selection, the good old French Hot Hatches from 80s to 2010s, and so on.
