Gizmodo
In the States, "pimping out" your vehicle generally involves adding oversized subwoofers, gaudy rims and stupid- looking ground effects kits and spoilers. It's a masculine, masturbatory affair that I never quite understood the appeal of.
In Japan, they like to pimp out vans. It's no less masturbatory, but it's certainly not as masculine. Check out the above van, modified to look like some sort of spaceship from the planet Little Girl. There are more examples in the gallery below, including models dedicated to pop stars and more cartoon characters. Oh, Japan, you're so crazy but I can't help but love you anyway.
Extreme Japanese Custom Vans [Pink Tentacle]
Comments
it looks like pikachu on some serious crack
yet another product from Japan that makes me ashamed to identify myself as Japanese
I'll take the "Jay Leno" front end clip, please.
It's the magic school bus!
What's with the spike tails on the roofs?
It's sort of a theme.....
Well, so much for aerodymanics...
Where all the tentacle-rape-themed vans at?
Stuff like this makes me ponder who really won World War II. The Japanese have all of the great gadgetry, make the finest autos in the world, have some fantastic TV shows (me like-e the Iron Chef), and spend their free time creating things like this. America? We send our kids to fight in deserts while watching American Idol on TV.
On the bright side, we do not have to eat fish heads. Yeah, so that evens things out. So, you can have your Mickey-meets-LostInSpace-van, Japan, as long as I can continue to enjoy a Big Mac and fries while watching Blake Lewis get his butt kicked in the finals.
Guess that means in three or four years we'll see The Fast and the Furious: Disney Drift.
Holy crap - even Japanese vans have spikey hair!
Amen Monty.
Like all Japanses vehicles, all show and no go.
I was stuck behind a Honda with a bookshelf/wing on its trunk trying to accelerate up the on ramp to I70 today.
Yea, Eugene. ALL Japanese vehicles are all show no go...
Look at the one photo of a van head-on. You'll notice that it is meant to resemble old warrior helmets. That's the point of the spikes/spoilers on the roof.As for Disney, let's just say Mickey is craZy popular in Japan, and leave it at that.
You give the fish heads to the cat, Japan still has troops in Iraq and you don't have to watch American Idol. As for McDonald's, get me a filet-o-fish and hurry, Iron Chef is going to be on soon. It's the octopus one! Me likey taco.
U kidding right?? Pimp my ride is still better than this dreck.. Look at it!!!!
After a Pimp my ride episode,at least u can strip the 20 subwoofers and sell them. What the hell can u do with this spaceship/van??
There are SOO many people in Japan, that people are just trying to find a way to stand out and be different from the crowd. The problem is that as the crowd gets larger, the expression of uniqueness needs to be all that much more grand.
Still, if making a van like this is what that means, I'd rather just blend in.
Japan has an army now? Hmmm...
On Jalopniks they would call these "DONKS". But I call them craptastic!
I know most aren't old enough to remember the van craze of the 70's, but believe me, they got this crazy on the "themes" back then too, Mickey Mouse... the lot.
There's probably even a Samurai helmet version rusting in a junkyard somewhere...
With all the gadgets we have now-a-days, I can only imagine the possibilities...
5 feet to the gallon....sweet.
Good luck getting them to help you move.
Please stay away from our freeway underpasses. We don't have underclearance for your dorky, spiky tail extensions.
Sweet little baby Jesus Monty, you are so right! This country is such a shite whole. I mean I can't stand it so much sometimes I actually pee my pants a little when thinking about how bad it is to live in this country.
As far as the vans go we have that all ready. Our versions are just decorated with sponsor decals, confederate flags, and they habitate in the infield of NASCAR tracks. Rather than decrease their aerodynamics with ridiculous wings on their roofs, our version has lawn chairs and extended family members. Plus there's binge drinking involved and not Disney characters so I gotta say it trumps the Japanese versions.
Sweet little baby Jesus Monty, you are absolutely right! This country is such a hole. I mean I can't stand it so much sometimes I actually pee my pants a little when thinking about how bad it is to live in this country.
As far as the vans go we have that all ready. Our version is just decorated with sponsors and confederate flags, and occupies the infield of NASCAR tracks. Rather than wings and spikes decreasing the aerodynamics and fuel efficiency, our versions have lawn chairs filled with extended family. Plus there's binge drinking involved and not Disney decals.
These are pretty cool, though I confess that I don't understand the huge amount of attraction to All-Things-Disney. I like the spikes, actually, and that one with the huge cow-catcher on the front. The vans are cool and everything, but they've got nothing on the tricked-out semis in Japan. Loaded with lights and chrome and wild-ass bodykits, they look like freight-haulin' highway UFOs. Very cool.
I don't understand what JoeStalin and Monty are griping about, frankly. Custom car culture was born in the US, and these van folks and "import tuners" are following in the tradition of hooch runners, hot rodders and lowriders. I may find the Mickey theme a bit overly-sweet, but these folks are basically doing what Americans have been doing to their cars for 60-70 years.
If I were to see one of these driving around, I would expect some doe-eyed youth in a very short mini-skirt to yell something (while the backround goes into some kind of gauzian blur), and then have her van turn into the head of some six story robot to fight a giant lobster with a tiger's head.
Well, I don't know if I would so much expect it, but rather really, REALLY wish that it would occur.
While I don't get it, I appreciate the work that goes into them. But then, I don't quite get the whole rice racer pimp thing either.
/too old
These are kind of cool in a bad trip/space disco kind of way...
I never thought I would actually see a van with one of those idiotic chin bumpers. i would take a rice racer over one of these any day. (no spinners please)
This has the same idea behind it as a Dekotora. They're fun - but only to look at really. They would be obnoxious to drive. I like the Ayu themed one.
"Where all the tentacle-rape-themed vans at?"
ROFL
so the modern teens in japan find disney characters cool? wow.
Why on earth does that first van have three pipes sticking out the rear?
Oh you crazy Japanese...
They are speed holes.
They make the van go faster.
Methinks someone has seen the Transformers preview, a few too many times.
what? no gundam or transformer looking vans? disappointment with a capital D
As soon as I saw that first Disney image I said to myself "There has GOT to be a Hello Kitty version of this mess." and low and behold there was. Thanks for not letting me down, Japan.
I think Gizmodo previously mentioned the crasy 18-wheelers from Japan and, then as now, I feel compelled to say that you should all go find that old INXS video featuring those rigs in action. I think it was the video "Original Sin" but I'm too deep into my cup to bother finding it...
@vagrant:
Old warrior helmets? Nah, I don't really think Japan is so focused on old samurai aesthetics as occidentals like to say...
It's simpler, sharp forms are more agressive.
Truckasaurus needs to make a cameo at this show and go to town. What a waste.
Have a look at barryboys.co.uk
They have shedloads of this tripe on there.
Tossers with small engined cars who think that sticking bits of plastic and wood will make their car go fast!!
arses!
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