Sabukaru Tokyo Cars - A Series by Sabukaru 002: Kei Hashimoto
#sabucars is a series featuring some of our favorite cars in Tokyo together with their owners. For the 2nd edition of Tokyo Cars, we asked Car Service [@_carservice] founder, PULP [@pulp.jp] creative director and YouthQuake [@youthquake_] member Kei Hashimoto [@_hsmt] to tell us about his ride.
On a cold, sunny autumn day, Kei stopped by Namikibashi, a bridge located in Shibuya near his office. Rays of the afternoon sunlight reflected off of his 1998 Nissan Gloria, which he has been driving for three years now. The car was produced from 1959 to 2004 and came in a 2/4 door hardtop, 4 door sedan, and as seen above, a station wagon. It was known to be the sister-model of the popular Nissan Cedric [sabucars coming soon], and a rival of the similar-class Toyota Crown.
The car was often utilized in the corporate world as taxis, police cars, or driver's school cars - the Gloria was built to last. Kei purchased his Gloria in 2018, hoping to get a year or two out of it, but he is now on his third year with 250,000+ km on it. Regarding customizations, other than the car being slightly lowered, one thing that stands out is the wheel caps. Rather than using the stock Gloria wheel caps, Kei purchased a set from a Nissan Laurel, a popular car amongst car enthusiasts, adding a unique twist to it, while still keeping the vintage Gloria look intact.
When asked about his love for vintage, Kei answered that it's not the fact that it's vintage, it's simply the look and feel of the car. He is an avid fan of 80s and 90s designs, not just when it comes to cars, but culture in general. He states that cars are like your partner, something you need in your life. As a child, his father would buy him toy cars, sparking his interest in cars even before clothing.
As Car Service grows from the car-content Instagram page it used to be to a leading brand in the Tokyo youth scene, you might assume Kei would let go of his classic Gloria to go for a newer whip. But no, if you thought that you don't understand Kei yet; he has no plans to switch his ride until he gets the very last meter out of it.
