I’m really hating how the term “JDM” is being thrown around these days. How did we do it right for so many years only to have it so confused as time goes on? I suppose lines are being blurred and soon absolutely everything out there will be “JDM”.

Example #1: I deleted a picture of a Red Bull Mini posted on the JDMST facebook group, Original Poster (OP) asked why his post was deleted. I asked him why he thought I deleted it. He had no idea. I asked why he posted it. He replied “Because JDM”. I asked if he was trolling me, he got confused, then wrote more internet trash like talk “Much JDM! So WOW, Many Amazing.. etc etc”. I got mad at him and asked him to stop writing in internet trash talk, he freaked out and started writing properly. Check (if you live in usa): CVS Weekly Ad, or Coles Catalogue for this week. Turns out he sincerely didn’t know what he was doing wrong.

Example #2: I sold my EG Civic to a kid who couldn’t drive manual. His Dad had to test the car, and his Dad couldn’t drive manual either so he burnt the clutch and drove around the carpark in 1st gear. They bought the car, then I get a call from new owner that night asking what “JMD” means (in relation to all the “JDM” descriptions had in my carsales listing).

Example #3: Just Google “JDM” and check out all the images like the feature image above (created by Michael Ludwig).

Join the discussion (or not!):
JDMST Forum: http://forum.jdmstyletuning.com/showthread.php?60095-JDM-Misrepresentation
JDMST Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/jdmst

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I’m the founder of Zen Garage, Australian INfront, JDM Style Tuning and VWGolf.net.au. I like to create things. I’m into everything Cars, Bikes and Design. In the 80′s I was into skating, mountain biking, and metal.

3 Responses

  2. Raf Reply

    I think the main thing we have to consider is the diversity of JDM itself. As the car scene has expanded rapidly over the past 25 odd years (within Japan in particular), so must the term JDM in order to incorporate this. There cannot be any ‘one’ style of tuning that could define JDM.
    Considering that in Japan itself there are so many different styles of tuning (boso, drift, stance etc), the term JDM has to be an adaptable concept.

    The upshot of this is that as the umbrella term expands, the term must become less specific, and such definitions and lines will become blurred.

    In relation to your second example, the civic is a mass consumer car, you can’t really expect your average joe would really know that much about the car scene in Australia, let alone the “JDM” scene. I don’t think its too unreasonable, not every teenage boy who buys a civic is into cars.

  3. A. Reply

    JDM = Japanese Domestic Market
    Yes, your Nissan or Honda or Toyota is Japanese brand. But ninja please, don’t be saying it’s JDM when it was built and bought for an Australian market or US market or whatever. The definition is actually pretty simple. If it was made in Japan for Japan its JDM. If it wasn’t your an idiot.

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