ya it takes big bucks to import cars here...some people were doin that with the skylines and it was outrageous how much it cost

That was the first thing that came to mind. I found a link to a company that exports Japanese cars, the prices actually didn't seem that bad.

http://www.batfa.com/newvehicles.html

i believe theres also a lot more to it than just having it shipped here..ive heard there is a big money process to get it all legal in this country as well.

yeah any car coming in has to meet california emissions and you have to pay to have it modified