Tag Archives: suzuki

VIDEO: Watch Monster Tajima crush this New Zealand Hillclimb

Monster Tajima’s Suzuki Escudo is a legendary hillclimb machine. In this Option video circa 1998, the crew follows Tajima on his quest to win the New Zealand Gold Rush in Queenstown. Of course, that in itself is worth watching the … Continue reading

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BIKES: Suzuki releases retro-styled Katana

Many Japanese motorcycle makers are coming out with retro-styled bikes these days. Kawasaki and Honda have made modern versions of the Z1 and CBX respectively, and now Suzuki has joined the fray. However, whereas Kawasaki and Honda referenced bikes of … 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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EVENTS: 2019 Osaka Auto Messe

Everyone knows the Tokyo Auto Salon, the massive annual car show where the big brands and tuning houses of Japan’s automotive aftermarket goes all-out to show its wares. But, there’s an equally big show that’s not quite as well known, … Continue reading

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Happy Valentine’s Day from JNC

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, here’s a collection of red cars for your viewing pleasure. The theme is the early days of Japan’s post-war auto industry. Can you name them all? Happy Valentine’s Day from JNC!

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Tokyo Auto Salon: Suzuki Land Cruiser? Toyota Jimny?

The Suzuki Jimny is one of the coolest SUVs to debut in recent years. With its true body-on-frame construction, transfer case, and low-range, it’s mor of a true off-roader than most of the bigger, tough-looking crossovers on the market today. … Continue reading

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NEWS: Suzuki reveals retro-styled Jimny Pickup

Suzuki has revealed some of its concepts for the upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon, and the most intriguing one is a new take on the just-released Jimny that came out earlier this year. Based on the flared-fender, 1.o-liter version, the retro-look … Continue reading

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BIKES: Japan establishes Motorcycle Hall of Fame

The Motorcycle Federation of Japan has established a national Motorcycle Hall of Fame. For its inaugural year, it has inducted two important figures in two-wheel racing into its ranks. The inductees were announced Saturday, December 15, at an award ceremony … Continue reading

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SEMA 2018: The winner of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour will be made into a toy car

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Hot Wheels went on a 15-city tour of the USA this year, in search of one car they would make into an actual toy car. At each stop, the gang from Mattel held a car … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 11 — Bikes

Two-wheeled conveyances are an integral part of Japan’s motoring culture, much more so than they are in America. Go to any city in the land of the rising sun and you’ll see hundreds of motorcycles buzzing around — as transportation, … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 05 — Trucks

Trucks are the unsung heroes of the JNC world. While many of us would love to have a Skyline or Supra, the truth is that these rigs did just as much to earn credibility and loyal customers for our favorite … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Automotive Invitational

It has been a banner year for Nihon steel at Monterey Car Week. The annual series of ultra-prestigious automotive events have traditionally excluded Japanese cars, but 2018 saw, for example, Nissan become the first carmaker from Japan to be honored … Continue reading

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JNC LIBRARY: Sam Mitani’s The Prototype is a thriller with Japanese cars at its center

In the world of spy thrillers, full of CIA agents, gunfights, and global power balance-changing secrets that cannot fall into the wrong hands, there typically aren’t a lot of Japanese cars mentioned. However, when the author is former International Editor … Continue reading

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We went off-roading with a cadre of Japanese nostalgic trucks

The mountains to the north of Los Angeles are home to some of the best driving roads in America. I had covered Angeles Crest, Glendora Mountain Road, and Mulholland Drive many times. But it was always in a light, rear-wheel-drive … Continue reading

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MINICARS: A beginner’s guide to JNC Legos, Part 02

With the popularity of Legos showing no signs of slowing, it’s a good time to get into building custom JNCs out of these little Danish bricks. In Part 01 of our beginner’s guide, we took a look at some highly … Continue reading

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MINICARS: A beginner’s guide to JNC Legos, Part 01

The popularity of Legos had exploded in recent years, leading to many fans going beyond off-the-shelf kits and building their own custom creations. We’ve posted about Legos before, starting from back in 2013, and while the Lego renaissance was already underway … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Radwood NorCal 2018, the Greatest Hits

Among the many examples of 80s and 90s Japanese cars that populated Radwood NorCal this year, there were a few that really stood out to us. We hesitate to call them the best; except for the actual “Best Of” voted … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Radwood NorCal 2018

The Radwood phenomenon is spreading faster than hairspray-induced polyester fire. The celebration of 80s and 90s autodom is now on its fourth show in just two years, and the organizers tell us it was the biggest one yet. We attended … Continue reading

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KEI HERO: The Suzuki Cappuccino is to the Miata what the Miata is to all other cars

Kei cars are an important and inescapable aspect of life in the Land of the Rising Sun. Some are important because they were a landmark of technology, and others because they were the first of their kind, and still others because they were … Continue reading

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NEWS: First official images of 4th-gen Suzuki Jimny released

Suzuki has finally released official images of the fourth-generation Suzuki Jimny, the first update to the mini-SUV in 20 years. They confirm much of what we’ve already seen from spy shots, that the trucklet sports charmingly retro design and real off-roader … Continue reading

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