Author Archives: Kevin San
25 YEAR CLUB: Mitsubishi GTO
If you had to rank the social pecking order of JDM performance cars, then the Skyline GT-R would be the king. No matter what marque you favor, it’s hard to argue against the decades of motorsport glory and performance folklore … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the most insane luxury feature on a JNC?
Japan’s culture had always put a high priority on service, but along with new technologies came novel ways for automakers to provide some truly crazy luxury experiences for their customers. Therefore we ask: What’s the most insane luxury feature? Heaps … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the worst example of badge engineering?
Badge engineering. It’s one of the dirty little schemes of the auto industry that continuously surprises us, not by the Mitsubishi parts when you thought you were buying a Dodge, but because it continues to fool the average consumer. What’s … Continue reading
FUTURE NOSTALGIC: Toyota Alphard, king of VIP vans
No, you haven’t traveled into the future. The Toyota Alphard isn’t nostalgic yet, but to ignore them would mean turning a blind eye to a huge part of Japan’s car culture. Custom minivans are serious business in Japan and the … Continue reading
Happy Halloween from JNC!
To all JNCers resurrecting creaky, decrepit, faded, and just plain old cars, we wish you a Happy Halloween.
KIDNEY, ANYONE? 1965 Nissan President
From 1965, if you wanted the very pimpest and plushest the Nissan empire had to offer, then you’d go to your friendly neighbourhood dealer and plunk down a not-trivial six million yen for a President. The Royal Family may have rolled … Continue reading
Documentary: Sayonara Speed Tribes!
Ever since we started JNC, the sub-culture of the bosozoku biker gangs of Japan has always been a fascinating subject. The bosozoku were always a feeder-class as thugs for the mafia, but as we reported many moons ago, their outlaw traditions have … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2012 Skyline Nationals, Part 02 – Australia’s Insane 1980s Nissan Touring Cars
Despite the fact that various generations of Godzilla were the headliners at the 2012 Skyline Nationals, many of Nissan‘s 1980s Group A and Group C touring cars drew just as much attention displayed at the car show and in action at the track day … Continue reading
Posted in events, motorsports, nissan
Tagged 200sx, 240z, 260z, 280z, 910, australia, Bathurst, bluebird, christine gibson, datsun, events, fj20, fred gibson, george fury, group c, mark skaife, nissan, prince, pulsar, pulsar exa, s12, s30, silvia, Skyline Nationals, Wakefield Park
14 Comments
EVENTS: 2012 Skyline Nationals, Part 01 – Australia’s Love Affair with Godzilla
The fourth event of its kind and the largest Nissan Skyline gathering in Australia, the 2012 Skyline Nationals in Goulburn brought together enthusiasts of all kinds of Skylines imaginable, from an immaculate original Prince S54 GT-B to the Australian-built R31 Silhouette and the high-powered R34 GT-R.
Posted in events, nissan
Tagged australia, Bathurst, dr30, enkei, fj20, george fury, Glenn Seton, group a, group c, gt-r, GTS-R, Jim Richards, nissan, Peter Jackson, Pintara, prince, r30, r31, r32, rb20, s54, skyline, Skyline Nationals, SVD, Wakefield Park, Winfield
15 Comments
QotW: What’s the coolest kei car?
Seeing some excellent examples of kei jidosha on the way back from Nagano last week got our brains churning. These uniquely Japanese micro machines are what put the island nation on the road and have been around for over 50 … Continue reading
Posted in kei, Question of the Week
Tagged cherry, datsun, dome, honda, kei, minicars, nissan, QotW, Question of the Week, vamos, Zero
29 Comments
Friday Video: Kamikaze Road V
And now for something completely different, one of the many home-grown videos of Japan’s car culture from the age of VHS. This one’s called Kamikaze Road V, and shows of the somewhat unrefined side of 1980s bosozoku style, when people … Continue reading
Posted in Friday Video, nissan, toyota
Tagged bosozoku, datsun, gurachan, Kamikaze Road, nissan, shakotan, toyota
10 Comments
Neo-86 jumpstarts Japan’s waning car culture
Even up until the mid-2000s Japan was swarming with sleek, souped up performance machines that would give any JDM nut seizures of joy. A stroll down any major street was like tracking a pre-race establishing shot from Tokyo Drift. The … Continue reading
Posted in Friday Video, toyota
Tagged ae86, corolla, fr-s, Friday Video, gt 86, hachiroku, keiichi tsuchiya, levin, scion, sprinter, touge, toyota, toyota 86, trueno
8 Comments
The Vintage Japanese “OK” Hand Logo Explained
Few things in life are cooler than vintage racing liveries. The colors, the typefaces, and the long-extinct corporate logos (of often just-as-extinct corporations) capture a moment in time that can never be replicated again. Add to that the rawness of … Continue reading
Friday Video: Pentax Commercial Starring Honda N360 and Japan’s 1960s GT Legends
Check out this commercial for Pentax Cameras, which has many things making it awesome. Let’s see: chick is cute drives a mod looking rally-modified Honda N360 Toyota 2000GT Mazda Cosmo Sports Nissan Fairlady Z Toyota S40 Crown police car vintage … Continue reading
JCCA Classic Car Festival at Tsukuba
The month of July finds Japan sliding into the midst of a lazy Summer, but it also marks one of the big track events for the JCCA (Japan Classic Car Association). Open to both Japanese and foreign classic cars, there … Continue reading
Posted in events
9 Comments
The Sonorous Sounds of the Mazda RX-7 Group B Rally Car
The Group B Mazda RX-7‘s brief claim to fame was a podium finish at the 1985 Acropolis Rally amidst a field of AWD monsters like the Audi Quattro. But Mazda threw its weight behind its Group A 323 and Group … Continue reading
Nissan Skyline R30 at the Bathurst 1000
After watching the video above on Retro-Classics, Ben asked me about the connection between this DR30 Nissan Skyline and its role in Australian racing history.
Posted in motorsports, nissan
Tagged all-japan, bathurst 1000, dr30, glen seton, group a, nissan, r30, skyline
4 Comments
Still Cheaper Than The Real Thing: Platinum Tomica Nissan Fairlady Z432
The 1970 Nissan Fairlady Z432 is a beguiling blend combination of the twin-cam S20 six (shared with the hakosuka 2000GT-R) and sexy S30 Fairlady Z looks, making it a blue-chip Japanese collector car of the highest order. And now Jeweler Ginza … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, minicars, nissan, Toys
Tagged 240z, datsun, fairlady, fairlady z, ginza tanaka, nissan, platinum, s30, s30 z, tomica
12 Comments
