Tag Archives: s800

Japanese Classic Car Show 2021, Part 01

To close out 2021, a year where things were finally opening up again, we’re going back to the Japanese Classic Car Show. After a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic, JCCS was back in full form. Perhaps trying to … Continue reading

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How Hondas from the S800 to the NSX have inspired our greatest living supercar builder

Gordon Murray, perhaps the world’s greatest living supercar builder, came out with a new car this week, the GMA T.50. This isn’t typical JNC fare, but we are very much admirers of Murray’s car-building philosophy. Murray’s notions of ideal car … Continue reading

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SEMA 2019: Honda had the best booth of the show, and there was even a Chevy in it

There used to be tons of Japanese manufacturers at SEMA. One by one, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Mazda, and Lexus have all pulled out. And in a year that marked the 50th anniversary of Nissan’s two most beloved models and the second … Continue reading

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SEMA SPOTLIGHT: Daniel Wu’s show-stopping Honda S800

Even with countless companies spending big bucks, it’s hard to find anything truly stunning at SEMA anymore. The race to outdo each other and grab eyeballs, has resulted in some high-dollar builds, but when everything is extreme, nothing is. It’s … Continue reading

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EVENTS: The Final New Year Meeting, Part 01

It is with a heavy heart that we bring you this report on 2019’s New Year Meeting, held on the fourth weekend of January, for it is also the very last New Year Meeting. period. Twelve years ago, JNC became … Continue reading

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MARKETWATCH: Tokyo Auto Salon auction recap

The high-end collector car auction world has been dominated for years by a handful of North American and European firms that cater to a demanding clientele. Firms like RM Sotheby’s, Gooding & Company, and Barrett-Jackson have become household names among … Continue reading

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? 1968 Honda S800 Racing

Honda’s most famous early international motorsports exploits center around its Grand Prix victories in the 1960s. However, Honda also campaigned its S-series roadster in Europe, earning it a devoted following in certain countries on the Old Continent, particularly France and … Continue reading

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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

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EVENTS: Automobile Council 2016

In an already packed calendar, a new event has appeared on the Japanese auto show roster. Recently, Tokyo hosted the inaugural Automobile Council, an affair whose stated goal was “Encouraging car culture to blossom in Japan.” That’s a noble aim if there ever was one, … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Two F1 drivers in a Honda S800

In a series of new ads by Mobil 1, McLaren-Honda Formula One drivers Jensen Button and Fernando Alonso take a road trip across the world. Though the banter is groan-inducing, the good thing is that the pair takes the trip in a … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Live tour of the American Honda Collection

On Thursday Ben and I were in Torrance at the American Honda Collection working on an upcoming story. Before we left, though, we experimented with the newfangled Facebook Live feature and did a walkthrough of the private museum. Here’s the … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Gems from the Honda Collection Hall in action

Do you have several hours to waste? If not, don’t click any further. Since the beginning of the year, Honda has been uploading videos of cars from the Honda Collection Hall at Twin Ring Motegi and taking them for spirited spins … Continue reading

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GRAND TOURING: A Miura Hanto Sunday Drive

For most, the term “Sunday drive” means a leisurely excursion, to no place in particular, just a way to exercise the family car. In Japan, it can include a number of things — blissfully empty touge, kohi (coffee) and kuruma (car) … Continue reading

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NIHON LIFE: How to park your car in Japan, Part 02

Sure, owning your own kyuusha in Japan sounds like a lot of fun, but where do you put it? In Part 01 of our damning exposé on the topic of parking an automobile in Japan, we illustrated what was legal and illegal, and did a … Continue reading

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NIHON LIFE: How to park your car in Japan, Part 01

Finding public or street parking in Japan’s major cities is sometimes chotto muzukashii — a Japanese saying for “a little difficult,” said through clenched teeth with a trailing “iiiii…” it essentially means, with typical Japanese subtlety, impossible. So there is naturally … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Jenson Button drives Honda S800 in Johnnie Walker ad

Formula One driver Jenson Button stars in a new Johnnie Walker Red Label campaign called “Joy will Take you Further.” Button is a long-time Honda pilot and is currently part of the McLaren-Honda team, so it makes sense that he’s also driving a sexy little Honda S800 … Continue reading

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NIHON LIFE: Bidding Sayonara to the Hotel Okura

It has no engine, no wheels, and never won any races, but the Hotel Okura is an icon of the Showa Era. Since opening its doors in May 1962, it has hosted every US president since Richard Nixon. In 1976, JVC … Continue reading

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NIHON LIFE: Summer Evening on the Wangan

The O-Bon is an annual festival that honors the souls of one’s ancestors. Many Tokyoites head to their hometowns to visit the graves of their forebearers, leaving the city strangely free of its dreaded logjam traffic. In other words, it’s the perfect … Continue reading

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NIHON LIFE: Commuting above-ground

Living in Tokyo’s 23-ku has many benefits, and detractions too I suppose. However, one of my great pleasures is the early morning commute across town. Many years ago I decided to ditch the usual meek-gray-mouse-crammed-onto-the-Ginza Line experience for a motorcycle. 

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EVENTS: Akio Toyoda shows up at Cars & Coffee Tokyo

At a recent Cars & Coffee event in Tokyo, the usual proceedings were disrupted when a formation of Lexus supercars arrived on the scene. Emerging from the fleet was the most famous man in Japan’s auto industry: Akio Toyoda, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Corp, … Continue reading

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