Category Archives: Features
50 YEAR CLUB: How Honda’s CVCC beat its rivals and made the Civic a household name
Fifty years ago today, at the Akasaka Prince Hotel in Tokyo, Honda revealed the CVCC engine to the world. The engine was still over a year off from mass production in a road car, but Honda was eager to get … Continue reading
The Daihatsu HiJet has won Good Design’s lifetime achievement award
The Daihatsu HiJet, perhaps the most ubiquitous of all the many kei trucks in Japan, has won Good Design’s “Long Life” award. It’s one of Japan’s highest honors in the field of industrial design, recognizing graphics, products, and architecture that … Continue reading
100 YEAR CLUB: Mazda, Part 03
Among automotive journalists, including many of us here at JNC, Mazda has long occupied a special place in our hearts. To this day, their cars just tick for us. Why? As we near the end of the year that marks … Continue reading
50 YEAR CLUB: The Toyota Celica, a pivotal player in Japan’s car culture
Fifty years ago this day, on December 1 1970, the first Toyota Celica went on sale in Japan. It proved to be a groundbreaking car, the first of Japan’s production “specialty cars”, fashionable personal coupes based on a sedan chassis. … Continue reading
The Prince Skyline Sport is an unsung legend of Japan’s motoring history
During the 1960s the upper echelon of car buyers were at a crossroads. For the previous 80 years of automotive history, if you wanted the best car money could buy you would get a car bodied by the great coachbuilders … Continue reading
After 54 years, Mazda Bongo production ends with a whimper
After half a century in production, the Mazda Bongo has reached the end of the road. For most North American readers this is probably not a big deal, as the Bongo looks like any number of nondescript one-box vans from … Continue reading
50 YEAR CLUB: Tomica
Fifty years ago today, car culture in Japan was forever changed with the introduction of Tomica, the country’s first authentic diecast miniature cars in the 3-inch range. Launched on August 18, 1970, they quickly became the most popular diecast toys … Continue reading
100 YEAR CLUB: Mazda, Part 02
Mazda turned 100 years old earlier this year, and to mark this very special occasion we went in search of what makes this small Hiroshima carmaker so unique. In the previous installment of our retrospective, we examined Mazda’s origin story … Continue reading
The Lexus GS could have been so much more, but it was the right car for the time
Now that we know the Lexus GS is not long for this world, it’s time to reflect on what it meant. In the US it was seen mostly as a middle-tier luxury sedan, a competent but unassuming rebadged Japanese Toyota … Continue reading
100 YEAR CLUB: Mazda, Part 01
Exactly 100 years ago today, on January 30, 1920, Toyo Cork Kogyo was founded. This company, whose name translates to Oriental Cork Industries, would go on to build cars under the name Mazda. Thus, today marks the 100th anniversary of … Continue reading
25 YEAR CLUB: Third-Generation Acura Integra
Regardless of income, gender, creed or species, when asked what the greatest front-wheel-drive car of all time is, the answer is almost unanimously the DC2 Integra, specifically the Type R. However, the Integra story is more than its race-ified trim … Continue reading
50 YEAR CLUB: Nissan Fairlady Z / Datsun 240Z
Fifty years ago today at The Pierre hotel in New York City, the automotive world was forever changed when Nissan unveiled the Datsun 240Z. The occasion was the car’s international press launch, where Western journalists got to see the game-changing … Continue reading
Watch some classic Acura sports cars get abused for a mediocre ad
For its last several generation cycles, Acura has been trying to find a brand identity. The cancellation of the Integra/RSX, the long hiatus of the NSX, and the adoption of various corporate grilles haven’t done it any favors. More recently, … Continue reading
BACK ROADS: Mitsubishi Debonair
If asked to conjure the most opulent Japanese cars ever built, the first that come to mind is probably the Toyota Century. A Nissan President may come in a close second, or maybe even a Gloria Turbo Brougham VIP Super … Continue reading
50 YEAR CLUB: Nissan Skyline GT-R
Fifty years ago today, on February 21, 1969, Nissan unleashed three letters unto the world that would change automotive history forever: GT-R. For a sub-model that’s encapsulated the dreams of so many, including those far beyond its intended reach, surprisingly … Continue reading
25 YEAR CLUB: JZA80 Toyota Supra
In the pantheon of Japanese cars, none is more synonymous with brute power than the Toyota Supra Twin Turbo. A legend in its own time, it is one of those rare cars whose status as classic was cemented long before … Continue reading
Yurt it up with a Datsun 620 King Cab camper
We just learned about a new Japanese magazine that we are now obsessed with. Outdoor Aso-Kuru, which roughly translates to “vehicles for playing outdoors” is all about cars and trucks that have been modified for camping, and the photo that … Continue reading
50 YEAR CLUB: Hot Wheels celebrates half a century of toy cars
Fifty years ago today, the world was introduced to what just might be the most influential cars ever made. The automotive world was forever changed on May 18, 1968 when Mattel introduced the Hot Wheels brand of toy cars to … Continue reading
50 YEAR CLUB: Toyota HiLux
Fifty years ago Toyota introduced what would become the most enduring workhorse the world has ever seen. Though ambitious in name, the HiLux — a portmanteau of the words “high” and “luxury” — was anything but. Utilitarian and austere, it was … Continue reading