His car is an Alfa Romeo SZ and his motorcycle is a Bimota Tesi 1D.

Both of these are Italian made and are limited production models.

The Alfa Romeo SZ is a sports car made for two people which has a 3000cc V6 engine with only 1027 cars made. 

You wish you had one.

The Alfa Romeo 75 Milano 4-door sedan has the same materials as the F1known as the "Carrozzeria Zagato" and the feeling one gets when one sees its body has caused it to be labelled "Il Mostro" or "The monster" in Italian.

The price of a new one would cost about 12,000,000 yen or $120,000 in 1993 ($100,000 today) which rivals Ms. Takeuchi's Porsche 911 Carrera 2, introduced in 1989. (Or as its better known, "Por-Por.")

However, unlike the Porsche, the cost of a used SZ is, in 1994 terms, about 7,000,000 yen or $70,000. (So if you wait a while it becomes cheaper. Porsches usually don't reduce much in value.)

This SZ's highest speed is 230 kph (143 mph) and has a high power engine. Its fuel consumption is about 9 kilometers per liter which is common. [21 mpg.]

Still, to rush from the New Tokyo International Airport to Azabu in order to bring Ami back, during that episode of R, he must have used a lot of gas.

Bimota Tesi 1D. Looks like a toy.

The bike that Motoki's sister Unazuki was riding on (in that episode where Usagi misunderstood why Mamoru was driving her around) is the Bimota Tesi 1D, which is even rarer than the SZ. Its apparently pretty popular in Japan, which is surprising for what is technically an import. If you put "Bimota Tesi 1D" into Google you'll come up with a lot of pages in Japanese.

This results in some hilarious Engrish though:

It is the machine which made its sensational debut with the IFMA show held in Germany in 1990.
this characteristic hub steering system is the machine which made the world know the high technical power of the small maker Bimota of Italy
cowl less was also made because that the complicated internal structure
will be hidden in cowl did not have undue importance.
It painted with pure white and Italian red.
Merit that's right direction red is a Bright red.
Pure white used TS-26 of Tamiya.
Italian red used TS-8 of Tamiya.

That guy is the next E.E. Cummings.

The makers of the engine in this bike are Honda, Yamaha, and the Italian company Ducati. Each one created a different portion of the bike.

This is a feature common among European car makers and various fascinating motorcycles have resulted from it.

Its been said that the Bimota is "especially ingenius and evokes an emotion of being 'high class' when seen."

The Tesi that Mamoru was riding was Italian made using a Ducati engine which has a steering- gear system known as "half steering"- if you see it you'll understand that its different from other models.

The cost of a new version 400cc displacement model is about $2,750,000 yen or $27,500 in 1993 terms.

Mamoru transformed into Tuxedo Kamen while riding on the bike but the Tesi is just a one-seater. How did Unazuki and Usagi fit?

The capsule hotel is where most westerners think Japanese people live.

Mamoru, as it would be expected, lives alone. But even the worst apartments in the Azabu area, though, have a width of 1 LDK.

An LDK is a term used in Japanese real estate. You can read more about it here.

"It stands for Living, Dining and Kitchen area, and is proceeded by the number of rooms. Some examples are: 

1K = one room apartment with kitchen 
1DK = one room apartment with dining and kitchen area 
1LDK = one room apartment with a living, dining and kitchen area

In addition, most apartments come with a bathroom, a toilet room and an entrance area (genkan) where the shoes are taken off."

We do not think that Mamoru  gets a monthly parking spot as part of his apartment lease.

Even if we consider the parking lots available in Azabu-Juuban to its fullest extent and check to the best of our ability, the parking cost for one month is still 100,000 yen or $1,000 per month for parking- in addition to apartment rent.

For that matter you also have to consider automobile insurance for whatever strange incidents might occur that aren't covered by the warranty, and this is about 60,000 yen per year. ($6,000.)

Staff member Bruce Clark notes:

"If the Chiba family had more then one car, and the Alfa Romeo 75 Milano of Mamoru's was old enough, it could be an inheritance from his family. 

Takeuchi-sensei was realistic in having manga Mamoru take the bus everywhere. 

I ran out of relevant pictures so here's some random stuff. I think "completely uninterested Mamoru" should get it on with "slutty Rei."

In Azabu it would cost $12,000 a year to garage the car (in addition to the cost of apartment rent), IF you were lucky enough to find a place to garage your car. Plus another $6,000 a year for mandatory insurance. 

Then there is yearly tax and the registration every two years.

They put the parking rental in at the monthly amount, because, as in apartment leases, a person can always arrange for a longer period of time, but car insurance is for one year. 

Registration is every two years: ~Y120,000+

Tax is every year: ~Y40,000+

Special thanks to Bruce for the following:

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If you think you pay a lot for your car: 

There are basically two types of cars in Japan -- jouyousha (乗用車) and kie (軽カー). Jouyousha are: larger cars, 4WD's, trucks, etc. (What most of us call automobiles at home. The street racers in Initial D all drive jouyousha),. These have white license plates.  Kei (meaning 'light' [weight]) cars, trucks and vans have smaller engines, smaller bodies, and yellow license plates. Unless someone is giving you a jouyousha for free, kei is the way to go. 

Why? 

* Shaken (registration): For larger cars registration can be double or triple what it is for a kei (usually around 120,000 yen for two years).  (Car dealer will take care of this for you.) (100 yen = ~US$1.00)  

* Zeikin (tax): An automobile tax has to be paid to the local government every year, and the rate is set by the make and model of your car. Most jouyousha run about 40,000 yen a year. A kei will cost about 4,300 yen a year. (You'll get the bill from the gov't.) 

Some people shouldn't be allowed to use MS Paint. Or the internet. Or to live.

* Shakoshomei (Proof of a Parking Space): While most prefectures in Japan require proof of a parking place for all automobiles, regardless of size, Nara still only requires proof for jouyousha. 

* Hokken (Insurance): Kei's, being cheaper to begin with are a lot cheaper to insure. 

A Japanese person who wishes to get a driver's license is required to attend a driving school and learn how to drive. All driver's are taught how to drive a standard transmission. Driving schools are plentiful and the cost of the course is in the ballpark of 200,000 to 400,000 yen. A very high price when you consider the low cost of a driving course in our home countries. But even still, with all those people taking professional courses they still are very poor drivers. 


How do I get a car? 

Like everything in Japan, getting a car is never as simple as picking one out, putting your money down, and driving your new honey home. Many people go past some used car dealers, see some good looking cars, (some for just $500) and wonder if they're really that cheap! Well, they are. But there's more to what you see. The real costs come afterward. 

Before you can call that car yours, you'll have to get a parking space for it, pay the taxes on it, get insurance, and then there's the mandatory periodic maintenance check. 

Still gung-ho? Or is that adrenaline rush of roaring down the street waning a bit? 

First ask yourself WHY you want a car, and if you really need it. Where you live in Japan is a big factor -- if you live in the mountains, or some small town, or you'll be constantly needing to transport a lot of stuff, it might not be a bad idea. Plus, you won't be a slave to train and bus schedules, which stop before midnight. And the fact that Japan has some of the most beautiful mountains in the world! 

On the other hand, if you live in a big city, the costs can be very discouraging -- in fact, they're meant to be. Traffic jams 30 miles long aren't unusual, gasoline prices are 3X that of the US, cities are clogged with cars, and the freeways are anything but free. 

Tuxedo Midget strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies, and ants!

Let's look at what's involved in that car purchase -- 

The parking space 

You must have a registered parking space and submit certification of such (shako shoumeisho) to the police. The rental of the space varies -- from a couple thousand yen/month in the sticks to up to $1000/month in the glitzy areas of Tokyo. To get a parking space, some are found through real estate agents, others are rented directly from the owners. If it's from the fudousan, except for the guarantor most of the other terms for apartment-hunting apply. 

Paying taxes 

When you buy the car, you'll need to pay some pretty hefty taxes. The exact amount also varies, but the heavier/bigger the car, the more you'll pay. Passenger cars with "33" in the upper right corner of the license plate (including nearly all US cars) are the highest. The "Kei" cars with an engine of 660cc have a yellow plate and are lowest. You'll also have to pay an annual tax on the car every May. Kei cars are less than JPY10,000, and the largest can be as high as JPY72,000. 

Insurance 

There are 2 insurance programs -- one is the mandatory insurance (kyousei
hoken) which just covers the car, and the optional insurance (jibaisekihoken) covers collateral injuries/damages you may get/cause. You can decide the extras -- theft, vandalism, disaster damage, lost wages, etc. 

Getting it would be a good idea -- if the guy driving that Mercedes you just broadsided decides to have a heart-attack, you'd be in trouble. 

The costs vary according to your age, if your family also drives it, how many citations you may have had, if the car has an airbag, etc. 

Shaken 

Many people come to Japan and are very surprised that all the cars are clean, well-maintained, and always running well. 

The sensitive Japan "experts" will tell you that it's because Japanese take such pride in their work, have such dignity to drive cars that look like new, etc. All of which are true. But the real reason is different -- and you'll pay dearly for it. 

Cars more than 3 years old have to have a mandatory maintenance check (shaken) every other year, broken or not. Cars more than 10 years old need the check every year. The costs again vary according to the size of the car, but basically you'll be paying JPY120,000-160,000 or so for a smaller car, and more for a larger one or if there is anything the grease-monkeys can possibly fix. Also, when the car is more than 10 years old, it has an official value of ZERO and you may actually have to PAY someone to take it off your hands! After that it'll be either scrapped or sold to dealers in Asia. 

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Whew, that's a lot. Next time we'll take a look at Mamo-chan's Tuxedo collection.

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