Dive into the world of import tuners with a panel discussion about the roots of the import car scene, beginning with its earliest emergence in the 1970s through the explosion of interest in the 1980s through 2000s.

Cruising J-Town exhibition curator Oliver Wang will be in conversation with a range of panelists including Robert Jung, founding member of the Nikkei racing club Westside Racing Association; Tim Mochizuki, a member of the early 1980s Gardena racing club, KMA, who went onto work at Toyota Racing Development and Toyota Sales; Tod Kaneko, a contemporary of Mochizuki who was heavily involved as an import tuner and has been a longtime engineer at Mazda; Ed Loh, head of editorial at the MotorTrend Group with personal roots in the import scene of the 1990s; and Terry Yamaguchi, cofounder of the Japanese Classic Car Show, now in its twentieth year. Join them as they discuss how Japanese imports made inroads into the American car scene in the 1970s and how two generations of Japanese American and other Asian American youth contributed to the growth and interest in the import scene.

Cruising J-Town: Behind the Wheel of the Nikkei Community tells the stories of influential figures and everyday car lovers alike who have played vital roles in countless car scenes—from hot rods and lowriders to the import craze and drift racing.

See the five classic cars that anchor the exhibition: George Nakamura’s 1940s “Meteor” hot rod; Brian Omatsu’s custom 1951 Mercury coupe known as the “Purple Reign”; a 1956 Ford F150 pickup truck owned by Kirk Shimazu; Tod Kaneko’s 1973 Datsun 510, one of the models that launched the import car craze; and a hot pink 1989 Nissan 240SX from professional drift racing driver Nadine Sachiko Hsu’s days with the Drifting Pretty team.

Revisit historic Los Angeles locations such as the original Ascot Speedway in South Los Angeles; F&K Garage in Little Tokyo; sites of the Mojave dry lake racing scene; Lion’s Drag Strip; the Irwindale Speedway; and classic service stations through photos and memorabilia; and discover the central role that cars and trucks played in the working lives of Japanese Americans.

Come for the cars, stay for the stories, and take Cruising J-Town home with you when you purchase the companion book. Filled with insightful essays, vintage and contemporary photographs, drawings, and more, it’s available for purchase online at the JANM Store. 

Photo courtesy of Ken Hashimoto