Not content with travelling eight years into the past I've modified the time machine to travel thousands of miles too - in this case it's leapt all the way to the land where the world's wackiest automotive modifiers live - Japan. Think that statement is an exaggeration? Read on...

Those familiar with Young Auto magazine will know that it usually sports a not-particularly-attractrive young 'gal' (their words not mine) on the cover, but this issue is an exception. The big '20' on the front is a clue, this is their twentieth anniversary issue. What does that mean for the reader? It means that the first (or last, depending on whether you're used to reading magazines backwards or not) twenty pages are dedicated to showing all the covers of the previous issues. Here's the page for 1998:

Yep, that's a 240K and those are Hayashis! Believe me about the craziest cars now? Here's some more gems:

How about this Celica which is ticking all the Bosozoku boxes: crazy bodykit, upswept exhaust, reworked lighting, subway ring...it's all there. I almost hate myself for liking it. Pretty radical you'd think...until you see this:

I can't read the text but what we do know is that it's got four rows of seats including the rearmost row which located in what appears to be a trailer! Whether the gigantic 'X' at the back is a spoiler or an exhaust isn't clear. Enough sillyness I think, how about some tamer (but still riding high in the cool chart) vehicles?

  Just how smart is this Celica liftback? I wouldn't usually go for red, but you won't hear any complaints from me! 

 
Ah, much calmer. I've no idea what's under the bonnet, but I'm happy to believe there's some form of Turbo'd modern lump from Nissan under the bonnet of this 610 wagon. Whatever the motivation there can't be many better ways of hauling stuff around.

That brings us to the end of another journey through time , tune in again soon - I'm off to Cardiff to soak up some rift energy.