Author Archives: Kev

KIDNEY, ANYONE? 1965 Nissan President

From 1965, if you wanted the very pimpest and plushest the Nissan empire had to offer, then you’d go to your friendly neighbourhood dealer and plunk down a not-trivial six million yen for a President. The Royal Family may have rolled … Continue reading

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Documentary: Sayonara Speed Tribes!

Ever since we started JNC, the sub-culture of the bosozoku biker gangs of Japan has always been a fascinating subject. The bosozoku were always a feeder-class as thugs for the mafia, but as we reported many moons ago, their outlaw traditions have … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2012 Skyline Nationals, Part 02 – Australia’s Insane 1980s Nissan Touring Cars

Despite the fact that various generations of Godzilla were the headliners at the 2012 Skyline Nationals, many of Nissan‘s 1980s Group A and Group C touring cars drew just as much attention displayed at the car show and in action at the track day … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2012 Skyline Nationals, Part 01 – Australia’s Love Affair with Godzilla

The fourth event of its kind and the largest Nissan Skyline gathering in Australia, the 2012 Skyline Nationals in Goulburn brought together enthusiasts of all kinds of Skylines imaginable, from an immaculate original Prince S54 GT-B to the Australian-built R31 Silhouette and the high-powered R34 GT-R.

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QotW: What’s the coolest kei car?

Seeing some excellent examples of kei jidosha on the way back from Nagano last week got our brains churning. These uniquely Japanese micro machines are what put the island nation on the road and have been around for over 50 … Continue reading

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Friday Video: Kamikaze Road V

And now for something completely different, one of the many home-grown videos of Japan’s car culture from the age of VHS. This one’s called Kamikaze Road V, and shows of the somewhat unrefined side of 1980s bosozoku style, when people … Continue reading

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Question of the Week: What is the most overrated nostalgic car?

We’ve asked what the most underrated nostalgic was, but we neglected to find its flip side.  Thus we ask you this week. What is the most overrated nostalgic car? The one car which we had high expectations for — because of … Continue reading

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Question of the Week: What is Japan’s proudest marque?

The winner of last week’s QotW, “What 1987 car will be the next classic?” by a slim margin is Isaac with his short-but-simple answer, “’87 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II.” They were criticized in-period for looking too much like a Porsche 944, but … Continue reading

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Neo-86 jumpstarts Japan’s waning car culture

Even up until the mid-2000s Japan was swarming with sleek, souped up performance machines that would give any JDM nut seizures of joy. A stroll down any major street was like tracking a pre-race establishing shot from Tokyo Drift. The … Continue reading

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The Vintage Japanese “OK” Hand Logo Explained

Few things in life are cooler than vintage racing liveries. The colors, the typefaces, and the long-extinct corporate logos (of often just-as-extinct corporations) capture a moment in time that can never be replicated again. Add to that the rawness of … Continue reading

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