"For starters, despite its population, Japan is very small geographically, and even smaller when it comes to usable land to drive upon (which explains their advanced public transportation systems). Roadways are compact; so are their common automobiles. In other words, merging a behemoth '59 Cadillac into typical everyday traffic can be cumbersome, at best. On top of that, gasoline prices over there make ours seem insignificant. Furthermore, annual registrations are charged on the "weight" of vehicles, so that same Caddy can run in upwards of a few thousand dollars a year just to keep it on the road. Compound that with the fact that garage space in any metropolitan area is beyond a luxury, and you pose some pretty tough obstacles for anyone wanting to become an avid hobbyist"