Life-to-Go Car Goals 😂: A JDM Guy's Bucket List
In business, we talk about year-to-go goals — what needs to be achieved before fiscal year end.
A friend of mine took that idea and flipped it into something bigger:
Life-to-Go goals.
Not annual targets.
Not practical milestones.
But the real bucket list.
That got me thinking — not just about life in general, but specifically about cars.
If I’m honest, cars have always been one of the biggest parts of my identity. So what are my life-to-go car goals? What cars do I want to own — or at least drive once — before I’m done?
My Car Story (So You Know Where I’m Coming From)
Unless it’s a family car, all my cars have to be manual transmission. Full stop.
I’ve always leaned JDM — that 90s Japanese engineering era just hits different.
Here’s my ownership history:
Hondas:
’89 CRX
’92 Civic
’94 Accord Coupe
’95 Integra
’98 Prelude
Nissans:
’92 Infiniti G20
’04 Nissan Maxima
’17 Nissan 370Z (current)
My brother is a huge enthusiast too, so I’ve had the chance to drive a few others — Toyota Celica, Nissan GT-R, Toyota GR86, BMW M3 — just to name a few.
But owning is different from driving. And that’s where Life-to-Go goals come in.
Here are three.
OG Acura NSX
90s Acura NSX - yeah with the pop up headlights
Yes — purposely the original.
Not the newer hybrid one.
Because it never came in manual.
The OG NSX represents something bigger than just a car. It was Japan’s statement to the world — that it could compete with Ferrari and Porsche and not blink.
The practical side of me sees it as an investment. They’re rare in Canada now, and prices keep climbing.
But the emotional side?
That low roofline.
Mid-engine chassis.
Pop-up headlights.
It’s peak 90s engineering confidence. And honestly… it still looks better than most cars on the road today.
Owning one wouldn’t just be about performance. It would be about owning a piece of an era.
2. Dodge Challenger Hellcat
2018 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Widebody - God Damn it’s a BEAST!
This one is completely out of left field for me.
I’m a manual JDM guy.
This is loud American muscle excess.
One of my best friends owns a Challenger Scat Pack in manual — 485hp — and that thing already feels insane.
The Hellcat? 700+ horsepower.
I don’t even know what that feels like.
And maybe that’s the point.
There’s something unapologetic about the modern Challenger. It looks like a 70s muscle car that refused to evolve. Long hood. Wide stance. Zero subtlety.
It makes no logical sense, especially my preference for JDM.
But I feel like everyone’s gotta try an American muscle car some day.
3. Mazda RX-7 (FC or FD)
A Real Life version of Ryosuke’s FC RX7 from Initial D Anime
If you grew up watching Initial D, you already understand.
For a lot of us 90s / early 2000s kids, Initial D wasn’t just anime — it was the gateway drug into car culture.
The FC and FD RX-7 became icons because of that show.
But even without the anime influence, the FD especially is one of the most beautiful Japanese cars ever made. Clean. Sleek. Timeless.
The problem in Canada? Rust. Winters were not kind to these cars.
FD prices have skyrocketed. Clean FC Turbo models are rare and climbing too. Financially, the FC might be more realistic.
But imagine finding a white FC Turbo and building it into a Ryosuke-inspired version.
That would hit differently.
Priorities, Priorities 😂
There are dozens of other cars I’d love to own or drive.
But Life-to-Go goals aren’t about listing everything. They’re about priorities.
Maybe I’ll never own all three.
Maybe I’ll only get to drive one.
But that’s the point.
Life-to-Go goals aren’t about practicality.
They’re about identity.
So now I’m curious —
What’s on your Life-to-Go car list?
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