Toyota prepares to host 2018 Classic Car Festival

The Toyota Automobile Museum will host the 2018 Classic Car Festival at Meiji Jingu Gaien Park in Shinjuku, Tokyo, on November 17. The goal of the car festival is to nurture and promote automobile culture, as well as to encourage interaction among car fans; this year marks the event’s 12th edition.

Most of the events will take place in front of the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery. A rich variety of activities are planned, including exhibitions and driving demonstrations, and the now customary crosstown parade featuring approximately 100 privately owned classic cars.

The theme of this year’s exhibition is “Japanese Vintage Year 1989.” In the latter half of the 1980s, Japan was in the midst of the asset price bubble, an era in which every automaker developed a succession of new technologies, and which saw memorable cars launched in a variety of genres, from luxury sedans to personal coupes and sports cars.

This year’s festival is the last of the Heisei era, with the Japanese calendar entering a new era from 2019. For this reason, it will focus on cars launched in 1989, the first year of Heisei, which is widely regarded to be a vintage year for Japanese cars. With the cooperation of various automakers, these cars will be introduced at the festival exhibition.

The Toyota Automobile Museum’s philosophy is twofold: first, to transcend boundaries between manufacturers and brands and, together with all car fans, pay respect to automobile heritage; second, to promote Japanese automotive culture, in anticipation of a future that features both cars and people. The museum hosts a variety of indoor activities and a number of events, including the Classic Car Festival, in order to communicate this philosophy throughout the world.