Product Watch - Decotora Special

In what amateur psychologists would no doubt attribute to a childhood bereft of Tonka Trucks, I am, somewhat disturbingly, becoming increasingly smitten with the Japanese phenomenon of Decotora. Decotora, or decoration trucks, are the Hinos, Isuzus and Mitsubishi Fusos of this world which have been festooned with more tawdry neon than the Las Vegas Strip, bedecked with conspicuous stainless-steel protrusions both fore and aft, and, to finish, meticulously graffitied by someone intimate with the ins and outs of Japanese art. The end result could easily be mistaken for any one of three things: a fairground ride with a vomit inducing moniker such as Super Regurgitator 5001, a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Shinto shrine in neon and stainless steel, or an abstract contemporary masterpiece which has unwittingly found its way outside the confines of the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art.

While trucking all too often becomes synonymous with the squalid underbelly of human existence, the Decotora movement, with its cultural references and allusions to the world of art, manages to elevate itself above many of the dispersions commonly cast on the trucking community. Indeed Decotora emphasise much of what is great about Japan: an unerring, almost maniacal commitment to detail, exhibited even by the weekend hobbyist; the ability to contrive new and evermore idiosyncratic fads seemingly from nothing; and the epic juxtaposition of all that glitters and is resolutely modern with venerable customs and relics of ancient culture.

The Decotora phenomenon allegedly has its roots in the city of Hachinohe, in Japan's northern Aomori prefecture. Legend has it that, plagued by prematurely rusting trucks due to the high salt content of their cargo, local haulage companies specialising in the transportation of seafood from the city's port were left with no choice but to adorn their fleets with stainless-steel panels to ward of the advances of the malicious oxide. It was however not until the advent, in 1975, of Toei Studios' highly successful film franchise, Truck Yarou (トッラク野郎, or 'The Truck Guy', to provide a polite translation), which sees dissident Decotora trucker Ichibanboshi battling all and sundry, that Decotora became a nationwide phenomenon.

Today, constructing a Decotora of your own is certainly not an endeavour to be entered into lightly - what with several miles of electrical cabling required for the lighting rigs alone. Fortunately however, for the Decotora fan lacking the inclination, time and financial wherewithal to take their pastime to its logical conclusion, help is at hand in the form of a wealth of affordable Decotora related paraphernalia allowing you to live the technicolour dream vicariously. So without further ado, here we have the definitive guide to Decotora memorabilia:

1. Yanmama Torakka (Young Mother Trucker) DVD. A rather unfortunate title when written in English, but the Japanese doesn't quite carry the same connotations. Judging by the cover image and the dubious tagline, 'Leave the difficult cargo to me!', this is an attempt to meld the worlds of decoration trucks and soft porn. Corroboratory video evidence is however unavailable.

2. Young Mother Trucker not your cup of tea? How about a little Decotora gaming in the form of Bousou Decotora Densetsu (Runaway Decotora Legend) for the Playstation 2, or Zenkoku Decotora Matsuri (Nationwide Decotora Festival) for the Wii. Both of which, somewhat surprisingly, involve spending a disproportionate amount of time driving around various landscapes in Decotora. Rather tediously, it would also appear that you are required to make full use of your truck's indicators - not something I would normally associate with truckers in the non computer generated world.

3. In at number 3 are miniature pullback versions of Decotora from Takara Tomy's longstanding ChoroQ series of caricature-like toy vehicles.

4. The Decotora Yarou Film Series on DVD. As previously mentioned, it was this series of films which secured the Decotora's place in the pantheon of Japanese contemporary culture. Between 1975 and 1979 Toei Studios produced no fewer than 10 Decotora Yarou films, each starring mildly psychotic and highly irreverent protagonist, long distance trucker Ichibanboshi. With titles such as 'Your Honorable Opinion is Worthless', the films themselves are refreshingly anti-establishment. The Japanese term yarou, could be translated in any number of ways, meaning anything from 'old rascal' and 'arsehole' through to 'dude'. I will however let you view the clip below and form your own impression of which most appositely describes Ichibanboshi.

5. The Decotora no Shuu (Decotora Eagle) Film Series. Arguably a modern interpretation of the Decotora Yarou franchise, the 5 Decotora Eagle films produced since 2003 provide a contemporary glimpse of the world of the Decotora. As the clips below show, the world of the Decotora may have lost some of its rebellious spirit, but it is every bit as flamboyant. That exhaust note has certainly come a long way since the 70s.

6. Radio Controlled Decotora. Model company Aoshima, which actually owns the rights to the term Decotora, have kindly gone to the trouble of creating a number of radio controlled trucks allowing Decotora fans to recreate their fantasies in 1/32 scale. All the models are based on trucks which appeared in the Decotora Yarou films.

7. Decotora Photo Book. Perfectly capturing the ethereal neon beauty of the Decotora movement, photographer Tatsuki Matsaru spent 10 years living amongst the Decotora community, recording his experiences through the medium of film. His work can be seen interspersed between the paragraphs at the start of this post, while more information on his motivations can be found in this interview from the sadly now defunct Ping Mag.

07/03/09 - Budget Classic of the Day

Model: 1975 Isuzu 117 Coupe XC
Price: 970,000 Yen

Isuzu may well be the world's largest manufacturer of light and medium duty trucks, however the last decade has seen the company gradually extricate itself from car markets around the globe. Today, all that remains of Isuzu's once distinguished passenger car division is a motley collection comprising of the odd pickup truck and a smattering of awkwardly proportioned SUVs designed for Southeast Asian consumption. This somewhat cheerless state of affairs belies Isuzu's true heritage as a uniquely characterful manufacturer of cars which were innovative from both a technical and a stylistic perspective. One only needs to look as far as the 1993 VehiCross, or 1981 Piazza to see mould-breaking examples of the latter.

If I were to choose a single representative of Isuzu's oeuvre to take pride of place in my hypothetical multi-storey of Japanese exotica, it would however have to be the 117 Coupe. While the Piazza and VehiCross may be more idiosyncratic choices, the 117's beguiling blend of classic Italian carrosserie styling - highly reminiscent of the Fiat Dino Coupe - and Japanese technical innovation render any competition sadly impotent.

The Giorgetto Giugiaro (hence the striking similarity to the Dino) pencilled 117 was first unveiled at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, with the first production vehicles completed in late 1968. In its transition to production the 117 laid claim to several firsts. Not only was the 117 one of the first Japanese cars to be styled by an Italian design house, it was also the first Japanese car to be equipped with an electronic fuel injection system. With diesel engines finding their way under the bonnet of the 117 on several occasions during its thirteen-year production run, it can also be argued that the 117 pioneered the use of diesel powerplants in luxury passenger vehicles, a trend which has finally come full circle some forty years later.

Early first generation 117s were largely handbuilt in very small numbers, and as befitting a coachbuilt Italian-styled exotic were trimmed in the finest leather and Taiwanese camphor wood. By 1972, when production of the first generation vehicles drew to a close, only 2,458 examples had been produced, and today as a result of their rarity these early vehicles duly command a premium on the rare occasion they find their way onto the open market.

For reasons of economy I have thus selected a second generation 117, which showcases some of the cost saving initiatives implemented by the pernicious hand of GM after it joined forces with Isuzu in 1971. Not only was mechanised mass-production introduced for second-generation models, but many of the tactile features which had imbued the early cars with such character were consigned to the annals of history: vinyl replaced leather on the seats, machine pressed steel replaced the hand-crafted camphor wood used for the fascia, and the intricate rear lights were replaced with chunkier standardized items from the parts bin. Despite these cost cutting measures, the second generation 117 nonetheless retains the integrity of the Giugiaro design and thus much of what made the original car so special. For the third generation of the 117, in 1977, the purity of the original was further bastardised with the addition of rectangular head lights and bulky plastic bumpers in an effort to make the already 10 year old design feel a little more contemporary. Remarkably however, notwithstanding these fussy additions and GM's best efforts to the contrary, the 117 remained an attractive vehicle for the entirety of its 13 year and 86,000 unit production run.

The 1975 second generation 117XC seen here (in blue) ironically lacks the electronic fuel injection of the XE model which made the 117 so innovative. Instead the XC was powered by a 1800cc SOHC engine with twin carburettors.