Tag Archives: crown

VIDEO: Classic car commercials in Australia would be unthinkable in the US

When Ricky told me to check out the Shannons video about the Isuzu Car Club of Australia gathering, I did. But the thing that absolutely blew my mind wasn’t even an Isuzu. It was this classic car insurance ad, which … Continue reading

Posted in cm | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

EVENTS: 2018 New Year Meeting, Part 05 — Odds and Ends

One of the best parts about the largest classic car show in Tokyo is the random stuff you find for sale. We’ve covered the cars and trucks, so let’s take a look at the miscellany to be discovered in various corners of … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

EVENTS: 2018 New Year Meeting, Part 02 — Sixties Sedans

In Part 01 of our New Year Meeting coverage we concentrated on sports cars and coupes from the 1960s. However, there were many fine four-doors from that era as well, and as the two-doors rise in price the once neglected sedans are gaining … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Tokyo Auto Salon: Maybe it’s time to stop calling Toyota boring

Modern Toyota often gets a bad rap for not indulging enough in its fun side. At the Tokyo Auto Salon, Japan’s carnival of car customization and tuning, the Big T reminded us that few other Japanese automakers willing to commit this level of far-out … Continue reading

Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Tokyo Motor Show: The State of Cars in Japan

By now you have seen plenty of car magazine and social media channels declare the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show as being a disappointment. Leading up to the show, there were whispers of some tasty production cars being revealed: a Fairlady Z … Continue reading

Posted in Tokyo Motor Show | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

VIDEO: The traffic to Tokyo Disneyland in 1985 was JNC heaven

Were you lucky enough to have a four-day Independence Day weekend? In Japan, one of the biggest tourism holidays is Golden Week, which takes place in the spring. So here, for your viewing pleasure, is a home video of what seems … Continue reading

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

EVENTS: All-Toyotafest 2017, Part 06 — Straight Sixes

With the passing of time, we are seeing more and more cars pass into 25-year classic status from what is perhaps the most epic era of Toyota history — that of the inline six-cylinder engine. From early Land Cruisers and Crowns … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Shanghai Motor Show: China’s long history with Toyota

China is not a place you would immediately think of when Japanese nostalgic cars are mentioned. The country was largely closed off from imports until the 1980s, and wounds both psychological and physical, caused by Japanese actions during World War II, were not … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

VIDEO: Australia, a RWD Toyota paradise

Imagine a world just like ours, except that RWD Toyotas are everywhere, people still refer to their cars as “good ol’ girl,” and the “Oh What a Feeling!” jump at the end of Toyota ads never went away. The dream of the 80s … Continue reading

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

EVENTS: New Year Meeting 2017, Part 04 — Aichi Steel

After visiting the New Year Meeting’s swap meet and club display we ventured into the main car show area, where Isuzu and Hino were the featured marques this year. While that may have satisfied the approximately four Isuzu and Hino fans out there, here’s something … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

50 YEAR CLUB: Fuji Speedway

In a year of momentous anniversaries for Japanese automotive institutions, one stands above all others in shaping the cars we love. Fuji Speedway, which opened in 1966 and turned 50 this year, has been the birthplace of countless legends, whether … Continue reading

Posted in 50 Year Club | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

MINICARS: All the Japanese cars in the 2017 Hot Wheels mainline

Mattel has released the complete 2017 Hot Wheels mainline list, and it includes plenty of things for collectors of Japanese cars to get excited about. Old castings make a return, while new ones continue the trend. Here’s a complete rundown on … Continue reading

Posted in minicars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 Classic Japan show in Australia

One of our favourite nostalgic car shows in any country is Classic Japan, which is held in Melbourne, Australia in December every year. Melbourne is 1000 km away from JNC‘s Australian HQ in Sydney, so it’s also an opportunity to … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival, Part 02

In Part 01 of our coverage of Tokyo’s Classic Car Festival at Meiji Jingu Gaien Park, I had just finished rolling up my tongue back into my mouth from which it had dropped, Tex Avery style, due to the cars brought out … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival, Part 01

During the end of November, Tokyo was gray, hammered by a never-ending barrage of snow. Two weeks earlier there had a bone-shaking earthquake. Luckily, last Saturday welcomed us with a clear blue sky and a crisp, dry late-November day. The 26th marked … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

GRAND TOURING: Isumi Matsuri

If there’s one thing that gets carriage-loads of people enthused, it’s trains — especially in Japan, where everyone loves trains. So, combining a wide range of Showa Era kyusha with a summer matsuri (festival) and organizing it at the most famous … Continue reading

Posted in Grand Touring | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

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

Posted in Grand Touring | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

SHOP LIFE: A visit to Mooneyes Area 1

When recent travels took us to Yokohama, our resident illustrator and Japan native San Mamiya suggested that we meet up and go to Mooneyes Area 1. It had been a few years since we’d visited the Japanese headquarters of Mooneyes, and there’s always … Continue reading

Posted in Shop Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

EVENTS: Nostalgic2Days 2016, Part 02 — Tuning Houses

For our second installment of the 2016 Nostalgic 2 Days event coverage, we’ll take a look at some of Japan’s kyusha tuning houses, beginning with our friends at Star Road. The Tokyo-based specialists of classic Skylines and Fairlady Zs typically holds court … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

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

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments