It looks as if a group dedicated to classic JDM has been started recently at the online car community, though there doesn’t appear to be too much action in the group forum yet.  Still, with 145 members, the group is off to a choice start! If you own your own slice of CarDomain with your classic JDM nestled in your profile’s garage, get on over there and join the group.

It was only a few short weeks ago that we featured Samurai Motor Club, a new Japanese clothing label with old school hot rod influences, but with a JDM twist.

So it’s a surprise that there is yet another new label, Neighborhood which also has the same hot rod influence (and more importantly, the same cool flash movie on their site!).  The store is said to open on August 17, so it’ll be interesting to see what they have to offer…especially since (unlike Samurai Motor Club) these guys have overseas vendors!

From 1972 to 1977, Mazda’s entry into the Japanese Kei Car market was the Chantez. Unlike the kei-cars of the 80s onwards, the 70s Keis were nothing special technologically, and the Chantez was no different. Whereas 80s Keis had 4 (or 5) valves per cylinder, twin cams, fuel injection and turbos to compensate for their dinky 660cc capacity, the 72 Chantez debuted with a 360cc 2-stroke V2….now I’m not really sure how much power the stock Chantez put out but it’s safe to assume that it was not a lot.

But the thing that attracted Ama-san (from famed rotary workshop RE- Amemiya) was that the Chantez, for all its shopping car mediocrity…was rear wheel drive. And there was just enough room between the shock towers for a 12A rotary….

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Motoring J Style might have been the most publicized nostalgic car event of the weekend, but it wasn’t the only one. The Puget Sound Toyota Owners Club held their third annual Toyota Festival on Sunday, July 29.  The event welcomes Toyotas both new and old, like this bosozoku 1JZ-powered Corona Mark II wagon, as well as their Lexus and Scion badged cousins.  Check out this Flickr album for pics of the gathering.

Thanks to the Classic Toyota Town Group for the tip.

More than being a top idea for an event, touted as the first car show to focus specifically and exclusively on Japanese cars (mostly classic), the Motoring J-Style event stands out as a brilliant example of just how prevalent the classic Japanese car movement is becoming here in the west. The inaugural outing came and went this weekend, and by all reports, it was one unreal day.

You can check out some reviews and photos at the following links!

Japanese Nostalgic Car
Auto Otaku (photos here)

The inaugural Motoring J Style has come and gone. We’ll have a full gallery up in our Events section soon, but here’s a small preview.

Spotted on the 101 just outside of San Francisco, the big brother of the random third-gen Celica from earlier today. Specimens like the Celica are rare enough on the east coast, but smooth, cleanly modded rides like this Supra - also rendered in beautiful, simple white - are like an Ogopogo sighting. The Mk II Supra has always been one of our favorites, for exuding just the right balance of 1980s rakish sportiness and angular Japanese boxiness, and for looking like nothing else on the road. And, rather than attempt to hide it’s bumpers and door guards in body-colored plastic, this one wears its black trim as proudly as Cindy Crawford’s mole.  Slam one on classic JDM rims and you’ve got a breathtaker.  We salute you, unidentified Supra driver.