Tag: small cars

I love small cars. I love Hondas. But I don’t love this car, that I spotted on a local street. The owner was (and probably still is) asking $7,500 for this old gem. It may be “All REBUILT” – but you would have to be very much in love with this particular car to pay the asking price.

Yes, it’s quirky. Yes, it’s very small (smaller than an original Mini), but it would take about three times longer to get from stoplight to stoplight than with just about any new car on the road today. Getting a simple oil change would be an exercise in frustration, as parts are rare, even in Japan! And you could get a used Honda Fit for even less than that price and get about the same good fuel economy.

So before you take a deep dive into nostalgia, count the costs.

The Daihatsu Tanto is a small car not sold in the USA. (And maybe it doubles as a phone booth.) If you’ve read this blog for a while, you will know that I love small cars. The Nissan Cube is huge compared to the Tanto. In fact, the Mini Cooper is 8% longer than this car!

I can hear some of you say, “That car is way underpowered.” True, it would take about twice as long to reach highway speed compared to your car. But the joy of driving something so unique would mean that I’d have fun getting there.

If our old Corolla died and the Tanto was suddenly available in the USA, I’d buy one in a minute. The problem is, I’d have to persuade my family about how great the car is. They couldn’t be convinced.

Credit goes to Tokyobling, where I saw the car in the first place. Photo credit goes to Tennen-Gas.