DaveinOlyWA said:
another thing to mention. in all the taxi's i rode in while in Japan. have to say the average age was 15+ years old and OLDER
The taxis may not have been as old as you think. I've visited Japan 4x between 01 and 09. I avoided taking taxis there because they're known to be very expensive but seen plenty on the road and have ridden in a few. They might just LOOK old inside and out because of their outdated styling.
I can't claim to know the JDM cars well, but many taxis I noticed are Toyota (Crown?) Comfort (http://toyota.jp/comfort/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, http://toyota.jp/crowncomfort/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Crown_Comfort" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false
and Nissan Cedrics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Cedric#Seventh_generation_Y31" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, http://www.nissan.co.jp/CEDRIC/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and http://www.nissan.co.jp/CEDRIC/equip.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false
. Unfortunately, I can't read Japanese, but some of pages work with http://translate.google.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
Be sure to click thru the links on the left side of the Nissan and Toyota pages I linked to. You'll see what looks like rather retro/outdated interiors and dashes. Examples:
http://toyota.jp/crowncomfort/spec/spec/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://toyota.jp/crowncomfort/navi-audio/audio/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://toyota.jp/comfort/spec/spec/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://toyota.jp/crowncomfort/interior_exterior/crew/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; even shows what looks like a taxi.
http://www.nissan.co.jp/CEDRIC/interior.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.nissan.co.jp/CEDRIC/equip.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - check out the radio, HVAC panels and shape of the interior bits around the parking brake handle
http://www.toyota-ej.co.jp/english/products/car.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and http://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/automotive_business/production/production/japan/general_status/toyota_motor_east_japan.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; seems to confirm that those outdated looking Toyotas are still being made.
It would be interesting if someone who's lived in Japan for a long time and has more knowledge of the taxi fleet there would chime in. Perhaps I should start a separate thread for that.