It’s annoying that some of the coolest cars in the world aren’t available in the U.S. For car enthusiasts in America, that can feel extremely disappointing. You find a car you absolutely love, only to discover you can’t own or drive it for decades, all because it wasn’t made here. This is all because of the 25-year import rule: a law that makes you wait a full 25 years before you can bring certain vehicles into the country. It doesn’t matter when the car was announced or went on sale; what matters is the exact production date of the specific vehicle. Exceptions to this rule are rare and typically apply only to race cars built exclusively for track use or vehicles owned by diplomats temporarily stationed in the U.S. for about a year.
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For Honda enthusiasts, however, the car market is about to get more exciting. In 2025, several iconic models will finally be eligible for import. This means you won’t have to admire these cars from a distance anymore. You’ll soon be able to own and drive them here.
So, if you’re planning to bring in any car, especially a Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) vehicle, in January 2025, the most important thing you need to do is make sure the vehicle you’re interested in was built no later than January 2000. To make things easier, we’ve done the grunt work rounding up some Honda models that will be ready for import. We’ll cover what makes these cars legendary and, more importantly, whether they’re still worth the hype all these years later.
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