Imports

A long time ago, the “import” scene exploded in America. “Import” referred to any car that was not made in the good old US of A. It was later associated with modified cars of the same nature (i.e. non-American). And all of that peaked as Hollywood embraced the car culture with The Fast and The Furious. Granted, proper gearheads didn’t really think that the Furious franchise would bear up to 8 films when it came out in 2001. But for the non-gearheads, it became the dictionary for cars like the Toyota Supra, Nissan Skyline, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Mazda RX-7 and then some.

Mazdas by Jada

It turns out that around that time, there was also an American die-cast collectible manufacturer that started a shop in 1999. This manufacturer called themselves Jada Toys. It was a long time ago, relative to the time I am writing this, so the actual dates are a bit blurred. But it was their Import Tuner and Option D lines that mounted up on the hype of the import car scene.

As Jada rolls out their “new” JDM Tuners line, I look back at my small garage and think to myself, man, are these things now vintage? (and why the heck did I sell off most of them before!)

More than a decade after I bought them, what do I think of them now?

Mazda RX-7 FC3S

Green and Yellow FCs

The Option D line differentiated itself from the Import Tuner line in some way. And that is a good thing. As the Import Tuners were more similar to their DUB cousins which looked more show than go. The Option D line kept the enormous upsized wheels and tires but removed the speakers and amplifiers. They also kept the paint jobs and the sponsor decals as well as the body kits and of course the giant wings. They looked the part of a drift-show car but they weren’t play-friendly in the way Hot Wheels cars were. The rubber wheels don’t really do “play” very well especially if you try to drift. At least they roll forwards and backward.

It’s no secret that Mazdas are my primary collection. The RX-7 FC3S, in particular, has always been my favorite despite the newer FD3S and MX-5s. In this scale, the Jadas is a clear winner. Hopefully, we get other die-cast manufacturers to churn out the FC as well.

Mazda RX-7 FD3S

The successor to the FC. More powerful, better balanced, and overall better looking than the FC, the FD once held the distinction of Japan’s best handling sports car. Even today, the FDs status is legendary. Once again, Jada put their magic into their version of the FD3S. Based on the cars that I have, it appears to have several variations. And not just with the paint and the rims. There are distinct body kits and difference in wings. Which is very cool indeed.

Jada works its magic on the interior bits of their cars, even on this small scale. You will see several combinations of speakers, subwoofers, amplifiers and nitrous bottles in different configurations on these cars. There are even some with stereos sporting pop-up screens on the dash. You will not see this amount of detailing on a Hot Wheels car.

Mazda RX-8

The younger RX-8s

The last of the Rotary Powered Mazdas in the last generation. They were unique in the sense that they still employed the use of the Wankel Rotary engine. However, the RX-8 did not turn out to be the “soul” successor to the Mazda rotary monsters. I guess you could say that ended with the FD3S. It’s not that the RX-8 was a bad car. It just wasn’t good enough to live up to the reputation that the RX-7s have established. It just didn’t have the same wow factor as the RX-7. It didn’t handle as well as the RX-7 and it didn’t perform as well as the RX-7 on the track. But it was still beautiful. And Jada did Mazda proud.

The RX-8 casting by Jada was everything you would have expected Jada to have done at the time. Body kit, check. Big-ass rims and tires, check. Import racer paint and tampos, check. Enormous GT wing, check. NOS and stereo systems, check. In terms of beauty, this is a beast. It didn’t have the same lines as the FD3S and the muscular stance of the FC3S. The RX-8 was beautiful in its own right. Once you stop comparing it to it’s older brothers.

I have had a good opportunity to have a good number of Jada Mazdas. I could have had more if I was smart enough in my purchases during those days, but I am pretty happy with what I have. It is enough to put a smile on my face every time I see them.