Author Archives: Ben

Donate $100 for a chance to own Victor Laury’s 1970 Datsun Fairlady Roadster

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Ben

Our friend and beloved member of California’s nostalgic car community Victor Laury is relinquishing is collection of beautiful Datsuns. Sadly, Vic suffered a stroke a while back and as a result he will no longer be able to drive his cherished … Continue reading →

16 Comments

MINICARS: Hot Wheels Subaru BRAT & A60 Toyota Supra leaked

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Ben

At a current bid of $8,100 is yesterday’s Kidney Car a bit too rich for your blood? Perhaps then a Hot Wheels Subaru BRAT would be kinder to your wallet. Though slated for later this year, renderings have been leaked … Continue reading →

21 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? 44,000-mile 1979 Subaru BRAT

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Ben

Here in SoCal, the one marque of nostalgic we rarely see is Subaru. There just wasn’t much need for 4WD passenger vehicles in the perpetually sunny climes of Los Angeles. Subaru BRATs occasionally show up in junkyards — and judging … Continue reading →

25 Comments

Question of the Week: What nostalgic race car would you have driven?

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Ben

Okay, so you’ve invented that time machine. Oddly, it can only serve one purpose — to put you in the cockpit of any classic Japanese motorsports machine. What nostalgic race car would you have driven? The JNC staff (except Kev) … Continue reading →

52 Comments

Friday Video: Mr. Bean goes for a ride in Nissan’s Zama Warehouse

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Ben

Now that Nissan CEO Mr. Bean has revived the Datsun brand, it’s probably appropriate that he visit the Zama warehouse, where the company’s legendary collection of 400-plus classic and racing vehicles are stored. 

17 Comments

Cataloguer: S130 Nissan Fairlady Z

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Ben

The S130 Fairlady Z is by no means an ugly car. In fact it was once considered the must-have car of its time. Yet nowadays it gets little to no love from the Z-car crowd, whose legion of newcomers much prefer the lighter, … Continue reading →

33 Comments

Question of the Week: What is the ugliest Japanese car?

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Ben

Without even reading the title, you can probably guess what this week’s QotW is just by photo alone. What is the ugliest Japanese car? Sorry Kev, but I’m going to have to make an executive decision on this one. The … Continue reading →

38 Comments

Friday Video: Beg for the sweet release of death after listening to the Z-Zuke song

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Ben

Drop the song title “Z-Zuke” into a translator and you get “pickled Z.” While it is true that in Japanese zuke means “pickled” as delicious in tsukemono, this little ditty is not about making a jar of preserved vegetables from your … Continue reading →

23 Comments

Shakotan: Zokusha Patrol Car will make you want to get pulled over

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Ben

What in holy hell is going on here? A zokusha a police car? It’s topsy-turvy, man. Like cats playing with dogs! Shouldn’t the lowered, widened rides of the OG Japanese bad boys be the very antithesis of law-and-order establishment enforcers from one … Continue reading →

13 Comments

Toyota revamps development process to build bolder cars

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Ben

More good news comes pouring from the C-level offices of our beloved automakers. The latest word from Japan is that Toyota has given its product development techniques a makeover so that they’ll result in less boring cars. It appears that … Continue reading →

10 Comments