Tag Archives: corona mark II

A brief history of JCW, Japan’s first carwash company

We recently came across a news item about a new system in Japan that washes coronavirus off of your clothes and shoes. You walk through a metal frame while nozzles spray chemicals all over you, in droplets too small to … Continue reading

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SHOWA SNAP: Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo, 1974

The Shibuya Crossing, also known as the Shibuya Scramble, is the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world. It’s the intersection Sean’s Evo, Han’s Veilside RX-7, and the Drift King’s Z (digitally) slid through in Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, and … Continue reading

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Toyota has ended 51 years of Mark II, Mark X production

On December 23, Toyota held a farewell ceremony for the beloved Mark II and Mark X sedan. The final example, a white Mark X 250G, rolled off the line at Toyota’s second-oldest plant, the Motomachi factory in Aichi Prefecture, as … Continue reading

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NEWS: Lexus’ Nori Green Pearl is the new best color

Normally we don’t really report on a new car unless there’s some link to a past model, like a revived beloved nameplate, or some throwback design touches. There’s not much that’s retro about the new Lexus LC 500 Inspiration Series, … Continue reading

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NEWS: It’s the end of the road for the Toyota Mark X

All good things must come to an end, and today we must bid farewell to yet another steadfast nameplate of Japan’s automotive landscape. On the very same day that Mitsubishi announced the end of the Pajero, Toyota announced, after 11 … Continue reading

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SHOWA SNAP: Have a refreshing Corona Mark II

In 1973, several Coronas lined what could have been a Tokyo dealership. With limited real-estate, urban Japanese dealers often have just a few cars on hand to test drive, but not a massive lot full of inventory. Here, a row … Continue reading

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SHOWA SNAP: Fastbacks abound in 1975

Every time you see a new crossover ambling down the street, clogging your view, remember what life could have been. In this 1975 Japanese street scene, fastbacks are everywhere. In the car park to the right there’s a Corona Mark … Continue reading

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Kidney, Anyone?: 1973 Toyota Corona Mark II Ute

Usually we don’t feature JDM cars on our Kidney, Anyone? series because that’s a rabbit hole that could easily overwhelm the site. When we do, it has to be a very special car, something worthy of all the kidneys in … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 04 — Shakotan Sleds

We’ve shown you the JDM rarities, competition machines and museum pieces of JCCS, but we know what you really came here for — Nihon sleds slammed on some vintage barrels. It’s the quintessential Japanese modified car look, and there was plenty of it on … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Kiryu Classic Car Festival, Part 02 — The Parade

By any standard the Kiryu Classic Car Festival is a memorable and diverse gathering of kyusha with no shortage of charm. Even better, however, is that after the car show part of the event concluded, the cars go for a parade through the streets … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: Chubu and Kinki, Part 01

After a longer than usual break between our tours, we decided to take a full week off and continue our Western Coast explorations through the Chubu and Kinki regions. As we embarked, the outer bands of a seasonal typhoon loomed over Japan. … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2016 All-Toyotafest, Part 02 — Straight Sixes

As engines go, the Toyota straight-six is one of the best conceived by humankind. Smooth as Suntory whiskey, as long-lived as a mountain, and capable of stupid amounts of horsepower in later iterations, they are a triumph of automotive engineering. It’s no wonder the … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2016 New Year Meeting, Part 04 — The Streets

In the last two installments of our 2016 New Year Meeting coverage, we prowled the parking area to find as much diversity in marques and models as there were in customization styles. In our final installment of the 2016 New Year … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2016 New Year Meeting, Part 01

The New Year Meeting is Tokyo’s premiere classic car show and it takes place at the end of January. You’ll likely never see a gathering of J-tin so diverse anywhere else, and the magic begins with a line of cars at the … Continue reading

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MUSEUMS: LA’s shrine to the automobile reopens with (slightly) more Japanese representation

Los Angeles has three major institutions on what the tour guides call Museum Row: one for art, one for natural history, and one entirely devoted to cars. The Petersen Automotive Museum is the Temple of the Car in what is considered the car culture … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 20th All-Toyotafest, Part 01

Twenty years. That’s how long the annual Toyotafest has been taking place, making it one of the longest running import-only car shows in SoCal. It’s easy to see why. Toyota is the world’s largest automaker and has accrued many loyal fans along … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2014 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 01 — Debut Builds

With the Japanese Classic Car Show now officially 10 years old, it has become an event where people will wait to debut a build they’ve been working on in secrecy for years. Here are some of the best examples of cars … Continue reading

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SHOP LIFE: Standards, Part 01

Standards is a little known shop hiding up in Gifu Prefecture. We would have never been aware of had it not been for some internet digging by a friend in a desperate bid to find some rare Mazda Carol 360 … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival & Parade, Part 02

When Toyota holds a car show in the middle of Tokyo’s equivalent of Central Park, people notice. In Part 01 of our Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival coverage we had the rare opportunity to see the best of Japan’s historic … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival & Parade, Part 01

We’re extremely lucky to attend as many J-tin filled shows as we do, so it might sound like a first world problem when we say there’s always one teensy issue: The cars are stationary. That’s why when the Toyota Automobile … Continue reading

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