JDMpire

There’s an overdose of Subaru special edition cars coming out this month in celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary. One of them is the Forester Black Leather Limited, available on 2.0XS and 2.0XT trim levels. It’s comes in standard Subaru colors Sparkle Silver Metallic, Obsidian Black Pearl and Satin White Pearl (¥31,500), but also a new hue introduced on the limited edition, Sunlight Gold Pearl. Special equipment list after the jump. (more…)

The iconic Honda Super Cub turns 50 this year, and Honda motorcycle dealers are gearing up for a big celebration campaign. I am entirely unclear about what this entails and the web page for it doesn’t reveal much, but it starts August 1 and will last until September 30.

[Honda]

What would a new model launch in Japan be without a big campaign and cute, limited edition trinkets you can’t get anywhere else to lure you into the dealerships? The Exiga Debut Fair goes from June 21 to 22 in dealerships throughout Japan, where you can get your hands on these plush Exigas and possibly win a trip to Tokyo Disneyland.

[Subaru]

Teh Amurriken intarwebs are abuzz with the debut of the Subaru Exiga. Sure it’s nice to have a vehicle that can seat seven that isn’t an SUV or crossover, but I’m not quite sure what the big deal is. Give me a (now discontinued in the US) non-Outback Legacy wagon any day. (more…)

Nissan’s Serena, X-Trail and Tiida were all the top selling cars in their class for 2007. To celebrate, Nissan is holding a campaign that will give away one of these cars to a lucky Japanese citizen. Really though, it’s just an excuse to toot their own horn. One X-Trail, please.

[Nissan]

Subaru has just launched a suite of driving assist technologies on its JDM Legacy lineup called “Eyesight.” It warns the driver when pedestrians cross the car’s path, prevents unintended acceleration when both brake and gas pedal are applied simultaneously, has a lane departure scanner, monitors drivers to make sure they’re awake, and has the ability to set cruise control to follow the car ahead by a certain distance. As part of Subaru’s ongoing 50th anniversary celebration this year, 50 lucky winners will get ¥500,000 credit when they buy a new Legacy to use towards the Eyesight.

[Subaru]

From now until July 31, if you buy a three-row Toyota vehicle from the Toyopet chain of dealerships and opt for the digital navigation system, you get ¥30,000 cash back. Your typical sales pitch, except that Toyopet has gone and created an entire family of mascots with televisions for heads and a Welsh Corgi in tow. There’s even a multi-part comic book that unfolds over the campaign period.

[Source: Toyota]

Toyota wants to do a tie-in campaign with the upcoming 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. Lo and behold, they already have a car that’s called the Athlete. The Crown luxury sedan has two sub-models. The Crown Royal Saloon is the more luxurious version, while the Crown Athlete is the sportier one.

For this campaign, all you have to do is write a brief message cheering on the Japanese Olympic team and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a present. What present, it does not say. A new Crown would be nice. Again, Japanese residents only.

[Source: Toyota]

The Nissan Tiida (aka Versa) has sold 1,000,000 units, making it the best-selling Nissan in the world. To commemorate, Nissan is giving away a trip to one of three countries where the car is sold and estimated to have sold the magical millionth one: Dubai, The United Arab Emirates; Shanghai, China; and Toronto, Canada. As usual, the contest is open only to residents of Japan.

The Toyota Passo launches a tie-in campaign with Tokyo Girls’ Collection. The car comes in three colors - red, yellow and brown and has odd touches like a decal to make the round fuel filler door look like a tomato.

[Source]