Some of Japan's top automakers, with a reputation for quality performance wrapped in often bland design, are turning to the country's pop culture to give them the "J-factor" and help set them apart in a world of growing look-alikes.
Designers of Nissan Motor's GT-R supercar, for example, borrowed from the popular "Gundam" sci-fi anime franchise to give the pug-nosed $100,000 model a mechanical, robot-like appearance, with a squared-off rear and round tail lamps.
"Take a look at the car's window and roof line. It doesn't flow smoothly from front to rear, it's bent. We wanted to express the awkward but cool, powerful shape of the Japanese anime robot," global design chief Shiro Nakamura said.