Flex Remakes Toyota Land Cruisers of the ’90s in ’80s Fashion

• Established in 1967, Flex Automotive has a sequence of fifty dealerships throughout Japan, taking trendy Toyotas and giving them retro seems to be. Now the corporate is coming stateside.
  
• Launching in San Diego, Flex will provide Nineties and 2000s Toyota Land Cruisers backdated to appear to be the FJ60 of the Eighties. There can even be a brand new U.S.-only providing based mostly on the Tacoma pickup.
• The creations are referred to as “Renocas,” an interesting mix of up-to-date underpinnings and nostalgia.

No person does nostalgia fairly just like the Japanese. At first, it was Nissan with its quirky little Pike Manufacturing unit vehicles. Then it was Japanese dealerships retaining the unique Rover Mini on sale till 2000. Oddball coachbuilder Mitsuoka presently has a full order checklist for its Buddy, a Toyota RAV4 gussied up like a Eighties K5 Blazer. Now, a little bit of that mix of outdated and new is headed to this facet of the Pacific.

Based within the late Nineteen Sixties, Flex Automotive now runs a big chain of dealerships in Japan, every one specializing in both the Toyota Land Cruiser or the Toyota Hiace (a minivan not offered right here). These are boutique outlets, the place prospects are available and spec their Toyota fastidiously, creating one thing that appears outdated however drives new.

You may obliterate the day’s productiveness with the company’s online car configurator. It is limitless enjoyable, though, sadly, the likes of the friendly-looking Euro Field aren’t obtainable within the U.S. However the Land Cruiser choices will likely be.

Flex is opening up its first U.S. dealership in San Diego this winter, the place it will likely be completely located to half tech employees from their money. What may higher swimsuit a 20-year-old with a six-figure wage than a weekend journey machine that appears like a Eighties Land Cruiser, however is actually brand-new beneath?

The conversions—referred to as Renoca for “automotive renovation”—are high-quality affairs, utilizing metal quite than fiberglass. Flex’s Surprise evokes the small print of the Eighties Land Cruiser fashions based mostly on a Nineties platform, whereas its 106 applies that very same ethos to a 1999 to 2007 Land Cruiser. The centerpiece for each is the entrance fascia, with its easy grille and spherical headlights.

The corporate has additionally introduced an upcoming Tacoma-based providing, which will likely be its first U.S.-only car. No particulars but, however based mostly on Flex’s established recipe, count on the weather of Marty McFly’s black Toyota pickup utilized to a extra trendy truck.

Toyota pulled the Land Cruiser from the U.S. market, with the final run being the 2021 mannequin yr. Costs for used ones are via the roof already, which makes Flex’s boutique providing effectively timed. Pricing has but to be confirmed, but it surely needs to be within the vary of $20,000 plus the price of a donor automotive. It is not fairly the Singer of Land Cruisers, however it’s a actually cool option to get the brand-new golden-era Toyota truck of your goals.

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