An American Fairlady Z created by a Nissan-loving owner

The direction of car customization and tuning is diverse. This yellow Nissan Fairlady Z (6th generation Z34) shown here has been given an American style, as symbolized by the large billet wheels. What does American style mean for a Japanese car?　Some of you may be asking yourself. In this article, we will introduce you to the world of USDM, a genre of dress-up that allows you to enjoy an American atmosphere in a Japanese car.

The owner is also the owner of a rare vehicle

This “Fairlady Z” was a vehicle displayed in the parking lot for contest entrants at the TOYO TIRES FAN MEETING IN FUKUOKA held on 9 December 2023. The owner, Mr. Tomohiro Yamamoto, worked as a mechanic at a Nissan dealership for about eight years. He then moved on to become the manager of a dress-up shop, and opened his own business HG AUTO MOTIVE three years ago. In other words, he is a professional who specializes in tuning and dressing up cars.

In Mr. Yamamoto’s case, the reason he got into Nissan cars was that “I like the unique design of Nissan cars and the fact that they are a bit quirky despite being a major company”.

His first Nissan car was a ‘March’ (2nd generation K11), and his subsequent Nissan car history includes a K11 with a retrofit turbo built by a car shop. He then went on to drive a ‘Cefiro’ (3rd generation A33) and other cars, and as a result currently owns a ‘Fairlady Z’ (4th generation Z32) and a ‘Leopard J Ferie’, in addition to this Z34.

“When it comes to the J Ferie, I own a total of five cars, including left-hand-drive American versions. Of course, the number of cars I own includes those that I have taken for parts, but I love that unique and unpopular vehicle in Japan, and I think I’m the only person who owns this many cars.”

This burst of love for Nissan is the point of Mr. Yamamoto’s cars, which are basically dressed up in an American style based on ‘USDM’.

What is USDM?

‘USDM’ is an abbreviation for ‘United States Domestic Market’. You probably know that many Japanese cars made in Japan are exported to the USA. These exported vehicles are made according to local regulations. In other words, ‘USDM’ refers to the dressing up of vehicles with genuine products that are made to American legal specifications.

Some people enjoy the purely American version with left-hand drive, but that is simply a reimported car. USDM” is a dress-up genre that has long been established by car enthusiasts who yearn for the USA, who “enjoy the specifications that are driven in the USA daily in Japan” by installing genuine parts for the USA on right-hand drive Japanese specification cars.