1978 Himeisei Approach Joyful Human
Back in Japan, Himeisei, a manufacturer known for their Inline 5 engines (gives you a hint about when I’m gonna flesh this company out), was developing what would become a precursor to their legendary/overrated (your pick) 90s sports coupes.
The Approach boasted independent suspension on all four wheels, and a range of Inline 4 and Inline 5 engines. Offered in both a coupe and convertible variants, it proved popular, mostly thanks to covering many of the cheaper sports-oriented car markets.
You might be asking, why is this Japanese thing in a Vermillion thread? Well, you see, Himeisei actually got quite interlinked with Vermillion back in the 70s. Himeisei wanted to expand into the US. Vermillion struggled after the '73 Oil Crisis, and only functioned somewhat well because of the sales of the Igni and their commercial vehicles. They needed some of the small engines, some of the small cars.
The business partnership was inevitable. The two companies bought some minority shares of each other in 1976, and Vermillion began importing the Approach into the US in 1979. Of course, some changes were made. The car’s styling was changed slightly, to fit the US regulations, and a Vermillion Starpower V6 (derived from the RT V8) became one of the engine options, mostly because the marketing department needed something that was American-designed.
Here’s the end result:
1979 Vermillion Arsene V6 LX
…
The USDM version was a Vermillion, yes.
They’ve used the Arsene nameplate, yes.
The Vermillion fans don’t like to talk about this, no.