Dorifutography

Designed by Naoki Sakai, the retro, boxy Nissan Rasheen (1994–2000) was an urban 4WD crossover built on the trusty Nissan Sunny chassis. The name "Rasheen" comes from the Japanese word "rashimban", meaning "compass". While it arrived just after Nissan's iconic "Pike Factory" era, it carried the exact same nostalgic spirit, as it was based off the Cold War-era 1966 Wartburg 353 Station Wagon Those original Pike cars pulled heavily from vintage European icons—the Be-1 channels the original Austin Mini , the Pao borrows heavily from rugged classics like the Renault 4 and Citroën 2CV , the S-Cargo van is a direct nod to the Citroën 2CV Fourgonnette , and the sleek Figaro takes cues from 1950s microcars like the Autobianchi Bianchina . The Rasheen was actually a pioneer for the crossover (CUV) class, which is super popular nowadays. The Rasheen started out with a simple lineup (the base Type I, mid-spec Type II, and top-tier Type III, which ...

So last week on the drive home, we spotted a Honda Fit “She’s” out in the wild! At first, I assumed that cute little pink badge was just some tacky aftermarket sticker someone bought off Temu, but it turns out it’s 100% real. Honda dropped this special edition back in 2012 for the Japanese market, specifically aiming it at women. Under the hood, it was just a standard 1.3-liter Fit with its classic, hyper-practical "Magic Seats," but it came loaded with cosmetic tweaks like an exclusive pink paint job, heart badges, and pink interior stitching. They even threw in "skincare" tech, like 99% UV-blocking glass and a special AC system built to keep your skin moisturized. Even though it was actually designed by an all-female Honda team, the whole concept got slapped with heavy global backlash for playing into lazy gender stereotypes, and the trim was killed off pretty quickly. As wild as that sounds, automotive history is actually packed with female-led projects—some amaz...

Long before the "Zoom-Zoom" ethos and the striking Kodo design language captured the automotive world, Mazda’s foundational small car was the Familia. Spanning nearly four decades across nine generations, the Familia laid the groundwork for what would eventually morph into the internationally acclaimed Mazda 3 in the 21st century. This is the complete story of Mazda's definitive compact car line: from experimental concepts and screaming rotary engines to rally-bred monsters and sleek, upscale hatchbacks. The Birth of a Lineage: Pre-Production and the First Generation The Prelude: The Mazda 700 Concept Car (1961) Before the Familia could run, a visionary blueprint paved the way at the 1961 Tokyo Motor Show. Mazda debuted the Mazda 700 Concept , a tiny, forward-thinking prototype designed to gauge public interest in a practical four-door family vehicle. Powered by a minuscule, rear-mounted 700cc engine, it proved that Mazda had the engineering foresight to transition from t...