Well, it certainly has been a busy few weeks here at the shop!  The first thing to let people know is that our good friend Asael no longer works here. We will miss his smiling face and wish him luck in his new endeavors.  We have a couple of new people here (both customers of the shop) who are working with us now.  Brent (AZ-1 owner) brings with him a great deal of experience working on vehicles and computer knowledge and Felix (a Subaru Sambar owner) who may lack experience (he is only 20), but brings with him an enthusiasm that only someone his age can bring.

A few weeks ago we received a new shipment from Japan and within a few days we sold seven of the seventeen which had arrived.  We still have a couple of really nice Suzuki micro trucks (all with four-wheel drive and one with both differential and axel lock – this one with only 16k on it).  All of these little Suzuki’s are in really nice shape.  We brought in a 1990 Suzuki Jimny with only 33k on it and is stock and nice.  We also still have the 1989 Jimny (the one I refer to as Jurassic Park) with the rare high roof and roof rack.  We’re a little low (right now) on the little micro vans with only the Daihatsu Atrai available.   I’m not sure why this little van has not sold as I love it and have driven it everywhere.  Perhaps it’s because it is rear-wheel drive and a Daihatsu and people are unaware of this brand, but Daihatsu is one of Japan’s oldest auto manufacturers and is now a fully owned subsidiary of Toyota.  With its folding rear seat, 5-speed transmission and a/c this really is a great everyday vehicle that is fully highway capable.

We also brought in another Lancia Delta Integrale and the Renault R-5 Turbo II.  My good friend Jonathan Burnette is in from Texas and he is tweaking the R-5 for us.  Jonathan is the pre-emininent Renault mechanic in the U.S. (pretty much world known) so we are excited to have him here and use his expertise.  Both the Lancia and the Renault are ready to be sold so come by and check them out.

Speaking of fast and sporty cars, we also received a 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32).  This is a beautiful, straight car but unfortunately needs some turbo work.  We are pricing it “as is” if you mechanically inclined guys would like to do your own work and do mods or we can have it fixed.  The price, of course, will depend on these factors.  We also received a Mazda Familia hatchback.  This is an extremely rare, low production rally car with full time all wheel drive and turbo charged.  We were excited to get this as it is in very nice shape.  Unfortunately, we were not aware of a transmission issue and, during the drive from Tacoma to Seattle the transmission started to go out.  Still slightly drivable, but really only to put on a trailer.  Transmission from the GTX could be an alternative and we have priced it at $9750 to reflect that problem.

Over the next few days we will be receiving more vehicles and we’re excited to see what will be coming in – including a Morgan Plus 8 being delivered today.

We want our business to reflect, not only the Seattle community, but also our customers nationwide.  With that in mind we are doing some slight retooling to the place.  As our customers we would like to hear from you.  Due to our size limitation here the larger vehicles such as the larger HiAce’s, Mazda Bongo and Delica’s are hard for us to store, but we have established partnerships with others here in Seattle who import these vehicles so we can get you what you want.  Do you want more little trucks and micro vans?  More firetrucks?  More Pike cars (the Figaro, Be-1, Pao and S-Cargo)?  More antique Kei cars such as the Subaru 360 and R-2, the Honda 600 sedan and Z Coupe?  How about more modern Kei cars such as the Honda Today, the Mitsubishi Minica Dangan or Mazda Carol?  Convertibles such as the Honda Beat or Suzuki Cappuccino (3 of those will be coming in before the end of the year).  Or, finally more sporty cars such as the Lancia Delta Integrale, Porsches, the Mazda (Autozam) AZ-1 (more of those coming in), Skylines, etc.?

We want to hear from you and want to become a place where you can come and talk cars (either in person or on the Internet).  We want to work towards becoming an integrated member of the SODO community here in Seattle.  And, finally (and the most important piece for me) is that we want you to find the vehicle that will bring you years of pleasure.  We are always here to talk and share our experiences with our customers.

Keith