>>7690741inb4 rice nerd
TL:DR We wouldn't have had the fun imports, like you mentioned without it.
Not my post, but... Don't knock the grandfather of Japanese import. I doubt any of the cars you listed would have happened if Toyota hadn't broken into the US sports cars market with the 67' 2000GT, and with such a force as to be legendary. There are many reasons why those cars are worth 1.5m+. Many understand the most important one was that it breathed life into Japanese manufactures in a time when it was madness to think they could compete in an imported market.
"The 2000GT revolutionized the automotive world's view of Japan"
The story of this car is interesting; take a gander at the Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_2000GT 