Car culture, as they say, is universal. And just as the US has a large number of folks willing to drop four figures on a Civic gauge cluster just because it has the word “Spoon” on it—because, you know… authentic—there are plenty of folks in Japan ready to drop stacks of yen on a malaise-era Lincoln because… authentic?
Anyway, during one quiet winter night back in 2016 I was walking around Kotoni when I suddenly heard the unmistakable bass line of War’s “Lowrider.” As I turn to see where the sound is coming from, I see this late-70s Lincoln Continental coupe dragging its ass (in a good way), launch the camera app in my iPhone6 as quickly as my numb fingers would let me, and managed to get a grainy shot of it as it turned right onto the main drag. Sure, the soundtrack was a little too on-the-nose, but just the sight of this Yank tank, playing this song, in BFE Japan, somehow managed to make for a magical moment.
