Author Archives: Dan

EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 04

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Dan

We’ll let Patrick Ng‘s gorgeous TE27 kick off the fourth and final installment of our 17th Annual All-Toyotafest coverage. This tasty mango began life as a 1973 SR-5, an ultra-rare US-spec version of the Corolla Levin, with metal flares and all straight from the factory but … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 03

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Dan

We start the 17th Annual All-Toyotafest coverage with a perennial fave, Jorge Aguilera‘s Fuji-reminiscent green 18R-G turbo Celica. Note the fender mirrors, which are not green but gunmetal carefully matched to the accompanying Wats. 

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EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 02

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Dan

Part 02 of our 2012 All-Toyotafest coverage starts off with a pair of our favorite neoclassic Celicas. Moises Rivera (white) and Jesse Ortiz‘s (blue 1JZ-swapped) wedge-shaped A60s are the very definition of 1980s knife’s edge styling, and the US-spec GT-S flares … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 01

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Dan

The 2012 All-Toyotafest was abuzz with the excitement generated by the neo-hachiroku. After a decade and a half of supposedly sporty front-wheel-drive offerings, the lightweight FR Toyota is back with a vengeance. For throngs of Toyotaku in attendance it was cause … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Datsun Roadster Classic of Solvang 2012

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Dan

Dragging a non-car nut spouse to a car show is a hairy proposition, usually resulting in paying back a day spent gawking at old metal with some proper romance. That’s why we recommend killing two birds with one stone by … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: AE86 Nights 5th Anniversary

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Dan

SoCal may have its drawbacks, but there aren’t many places where you can put the call out for a hachiroku party and have over 100 cars show up. AE86 Nights has been doing this almost every Saturday night since April of 2007, … Continue reading →

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Ring in the first day of spring with nostalgics and sakura

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Dan

Not only is today the first day of spring, but it’s also the opening of the 100th National Cherry Blossom Festival. A century ago the mayor of Tokyo gifted 3,000 sakura trees to our nation’s capital as a sign of … Continue reading →

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2012 Hot Wheels X JNC Mazda RX-7, now in blue

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Dan

If you’re a die-hard diecast collector and know where to look, these beans have already been spilled. Otherwise, here’s your first look at the brand new 2012 Hot Wheels Mazda RX-7! We just got these samples fresh off the assembly line and, … Continue reading →

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Rotaries and racing go together like wine and cheese

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Dan

At the beginning of each motorsports season Mazdaspeed gathers the press together to talk about their plans for the upcoming season and introduce some of the luckiest young men in the world, their new sponsored drivers. This year the event … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2012 New Year Meeting

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Dan

This year’s New Year Meeting was a bit less exciting as a large number of cars were repeats from previous shows, but hey, it’s Japan and there’s tons of vintage steel.  

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