Redefining JDM: Can Ford Be JDM? You Bet It Can!

^^^Yellow or amber headlight covers are required for GT300 class cars.

LOL.. good post. i dont understand how.. JDM a Ford can be. that would mean that a Nissan 240 can be USDM, or.. a Nissan GTR is USDM because its powerful. i would say that this is more along the lines of a very nicely tuned USDM supercar. Just cause it looks clean and aerodynamic doesn’t qualify a USDM car as JDM to me. its not even a Japanese Domestic Car.. and McDonald’s isnt Japanese Domestic Food.. therefore i dont understand people’s misunderstanding of the word,JDM. Regardless if its just talking about a “Philosophy”

It has alot to do with the lines of a car. Detroit muscle style is very old school, and you would have to go with a design suited to it. What about a 1973 Toyota Celica fastback? That could definitely be considered Detroit muscle style with the right engine swap and such.

I once saw a Civic that was dropped very low on coilovers, badgeless, sitting on deep dish BBS’s, had a silver paint job, and had smoked lights. I would consider that a Euro-styled Civic. Haha, there will be haters for that one.

What’s next? A Civic that’s fully equipped with Edelbrock, Flowmaster, and Moroso parts that’s going to considered Detroit Muscle? Styling or not, I’m not seeing the JDM-appeal on any Ford just because it was built for JGTC. I think if you looked on the other side of coin and called the Camry a muscle car in front of a crowd at Bristol or Martinsville, you’d be laughed at. IMO, it’s like a cross-dressing man: dressing up as a woman, talking liking a woman, and giving himself a woman’s name doesn’t make him a woman.

Japanese Domestic Market

Greetings… just stumbled onto your fascinating site. Forgive me for my ignorance, but was does JDM stand for? For what it’s worth, I’m an old-timer that has built a couple of interesting cars. Last one was a wide-body 914 with a 400+ HP Chevy 350. Thanx.

Just finished the article, if you haven’t read it you should, it is some kind of Ghandi/Dahli lama kind of deep stuff about the philosophy of automotives, kind of like the American Constitution in the pursuit of happiness it is JDM to be in the pursuit of personal automotive perfection. So I’m probably way off but the article still makes me want to go out and spend loads of cash I don’t have and track down the perfect parts I can never find and probably screw everything up installing them in my garage. Still though everyday I’m not looking for new ways to satisfy my lost for automotive perfection I feel an uneasiness like two day hunger, it wont kill you but it sure does nag you until you can at least find a snack, and then its just a little worse so you have to find something else to satisfy your automotive needs, but it just is never quite enough to get rid of the hunger feeling.

I think it is somewhat referencing the styling of the wing diffusers canards side skirts pretty much a majority of the aero design that is completely integrated into high end race cars which are designed to handle as well as lay down some heart in the throat acceleration rather than running in straight lines or circles. Compared with a production GT it is a huge visual difference. I think we see JDM styling so often we don’t even recognize them anymore, especially on the track. I could be wrong though. I am going to read Mr. Schaffer’s earlier article and see how far out from his views I am.

So…. what besides the yellow headlights make it JDMish?