Why do people buy Right hand drive cars?
There's no one answer to this question. I'll toss out my opinion on the matter and feel free to agree or disagree with me.
1. It was never sold in Canada. There a bunch of vehicles that fall under this category, and I'd say a large part of the Canadian right hand drive community falls under this category. Kei trucks and Kei cars, Skylines were only RHD until this last batch and other sports cars from Japan were never made in LHD format. There are a bunch of hot hatches under this category too, like the Nissan Pulsar GTiR... which is really neat.
People who travel will sometimes see these vehicles and fall in love with them, and bring them back. Other see them on TV, movie or the fanstastical internet and fall in love. Whatever the case is, they don't come any other way and people want to have them.
There is also the case that a certain model of the vehicle was never released in Canada. Canada has the Toyota 4Runner, the RHD equivalent is the Hilux Surf. But, the Hilux Surf is available in diesel, which is super cool. Personally, I'm scoping out a turbo diesel Hilux Surf because I'd like an SUV, but I don't want crappy gas mileage, so it'd be a good fit for me!
2. Low Mileage. You don't get this with cars in Canada. We have too much highway. Vehicles imported from Japan have hilariously low mileage and are in great shape for their age. It's expensive to drive in Japan, and the public transportation is very good, so cars live good lives. Oh. And no salt on the roads.
A Daihatsu Midget II
3.To be different. I don't have to explain this one. Here's a Daihatsu Midget for your viewing pleasure, and my point and case. Image source.
4. Prestige. There are some cars that are available in both right hand drive and left hand drive, but people still want the right hand drive versions. Cars I've seen like this include MR-2s, Supras, Camrys, RX-7s, 240sx/180sx, and Land Rovers. People in the category can fall partially into 'wanted something different', and that's fine. Even others say that they're 'more legitimate', which is true for both British and Japanese cars if you want to look at it that way.
In the case of late model RX-7s, there's very few around and it can sometimes be easier to find them in RHDs, so you've got prestige and availability. So, why not right? This can even fall under the 'not available here' if you manage to find a 3 rotor, but good luck finding parts for a rotary motor, no less a 3 rotor! The uniqueness has it's ups and downs. Like I've said a thousand times, "Don't be stupid" and "Do your homework", and you'll love your RHD (even more)!
rob
Leave a comment