Tomica city cars: 2002 Honda Fit, 1983 Nissan Pulsar EX-A, and Isuzu Elf High-Roof

Tomica can make a variety of city cars, ranging from compact hatchbacks, sporty four-seat econocars, and even trucks like panel vans.  Here are a few of those unique city vehicle offerings.

2002 Honda Fit

The final saga of the Tomica Fit ends with the first-generation model that started it all.  Introduced in 2001 it was a big sales success for Honda and outsold the Corolla that same year.  The styling was unique and more bug-like with headlights that feature color-matching reflector frames to the exterior paint and a versatile interior thanks to a relocated fuel tank and wheels pushed out to the corners to allow the magic seating position that allows the Fit to accept more cargo than you can imagine.  The U.S. entry was late in 2006 and was replaced by a few years as the second-generation was starting up.  The dashboard layout has a sporty 3-spoke steering wheel, tri-pod gauges, and simple control layout.  The engine is a 1.5L SOHC I-4 that produces 110 horsepower through a five-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmission.  So far the Fit has been successful for Honda and still continues to be even in its third generation.

The most affordable Tomica Fit that I could find for this generation is the white version with City Parking on the doors; Not the most exciting, but it’ll do for now.  The front has V-sharp headlights in chrome with V-shaped grille and larger lower grille in the front bumper.  The sides show off a typical 5-door look with a taller stance compared to competitors, while the rear has taillights that curve around the hatchback and differ in designs depending on models (Japan has signal and reverse lamps on top, while U.S. and other markets have round units mounted horizontally in the center of the lamps).  As in the other Fit models the rear hatch opens but does not allow much space thanks to the hinges.  The base shows off the engine and transmission up front and even a brief shot of the centrally-mounted fuel tank.  Inside the interior has seating for five and a detailed steering wheel, but like every earlier Tomica before 2005 or so there is no dashboard so it looks rather odd up front without it.

1983 Nissan Pulsar EX-A

Back then Nissan was looking for a way to spice up the bland Sunny line with a more sportier coupe to appeal to younger buyers and the Pulsar EX-A was it.  The sports coupe has a long hood and short rear deck for a front-wheel drive car with hidden headlights and an upright rear-end with trunklid spoiler.  The interior offered seating for four with a dashboard layout that can have optional digital gauges and a rather wide center stack.  The engine is a 1.5L SOHC I-4 that produced an estimated 95 horsepower through a five-speed manual transmission.  The second-generation got even wilder as the car became a swiss army knife of combinations in the back.  The rear hatch area can be configured to be a hatch, a wagon, a coupe, or a targa model depending on different hatch configurations.  Either way sales did not improve so the Pulsar EXA was replaced by the NX in the 1990’s.

This red sports coupe is in demand and commands high prices on the secondary market, so I was glad to get this one at a great price.  The red with lower black trim that has Pulsar EXA gives this coupe a sporty edge, joined by a front-end that has pop-up headlights, grille slots in between, and a lower bumper with larger grille and signal lights.  The sides show off a coupe profile with a more upright roof that includes a sunroof, while the rear has a trunklid spoiler, square taillights and outer signal/reverse lamps, and a license plate.  The base shows off the front engine and transmission with the exhaust leading out to the rear where the rear suspension is surprisingly independent.  The doors open to an interior that has seating for four in tan with detailed shifter and boot and two-spoke steering wheel, and as usual there’s no dashboard.  The handing of this car is pretty good and nimble for an econo sports coupe, one of the traits of this Nissan Pulsar EXA.

Isuzu Elf High-Roof

Here’s a vehicle that will need some explaining as you might not heard the name you are familiar with the bodystyle, and it’s called the Isuzu Elf.  The Elf has been through countless generations and decades servicing not only Japan but other parts of the world where it is known as different names (in the U.S. it’s called the NPR).  Tomica has a large array of Elf models that start mostly with the cab-over-engine design and the rest of the vehicle in the back can have countless bodies ranging from box truck to fire engine.  Every so often a unique variation appears and this is the high-roof van.  Aside from the chassis and a few exterior trim pieces the high-roof van looks nothing like the cab-over chassis models.  The ladder frame holds a rear-wheel drive layout with front and rear leaf springs and a I-4 diesel motor, likely in the 2.0L range, that can produce horsepower ranging from 65 to 85 with higher torque numbers through a three or four-speed manual transmission.

This orange van is special to Tomica as it has the Tomy racing team as a sticker sprawled across the sides of the van and up top is a cage where two spare tires reside.  This is a racing support panel van and so far this casting has stayed put on this deco for a while.  The front has rectangular frames for the round headlights on a tall hood with a lower grille that incorporates the signal lights.  The sides show off a large panel van look with diagonal hood cut and large gray doors.  Those doors are a feature of the van as they can slide back for the open position on both sides; the downside is that the simple mechanism is not well concealed so a large gray panel takes over almost half the panel side.  At the rear are two doors with a central locking pole and access step, and take a look at those early two-piece Tomica wheels.  The metal base underneath shows off the drivetrain and spare tire at the rear, while the interior shows off the two front seats and the steering wheel; again there is no dashboard and Tomica has covered off the cargo area in the back.  Still the winning formula, aside from a unique step van look, is the sliding doors on the sides and the Tomy racing team labels.