Whoa. We were at SevenStock (and its celebration of Mazda’s victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona) today when we heard the news. Actor/salad dressing mogul/race car driver Paul Newman passed away last night after a long bout with cancer. In the 70s and early 80s, he raced Datsuns in the SCCA Trans-Am and IMSA series, and has competed in everything from the Baja 1000 to the 24 Hours of Daytona. He became so close to the Nissan brand that he even starred in a series of commercials for them and had a limited edition R30 Skyline named after him. We are deeply saddened by this loss. As a tribute, here are some of Newman’s Skyline commercials from Japan.
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I used to live in El Paso, Texas, which is located precisely in the middle of nowhere. The only interesting things within a 500-mile radius are 1.) the site of the first atom bomb explosion in White Sands National Park and 2.) Roswell, New Mexico, where locals believe a UFO landed in 1947. Perhaps these strange nearby happenings stem from the fact that El Paso is the nexus of the universe.
How else can you explain the presence of both Datsun Drive and Toyota Road, which just happen to intersect with each other? And not too far away, Yamaha Drive and Yamaha Road exist for motorcycle fans. It would probably be a great place for a nostalgic car meet if you didn’t have to drive through 500 miles of empty desert to get there, and if the neighborhood didn’t have houses that looked like secret meth labs. How about you JNCers out there, any interesting street names in your neck of the woods?
We now go to the next event, synchronized electronic spoiler activation. Here comes the Japanese team, a quartet of Nissan Skyline GTS sports coupes. Good formation, terrific execution. Interesting musical selection, though. Judges give this one an 8.75.
More T-shirts featuring old Japanese cars are popping up all over the place. Normally they’re all the popular models from Nissan and Toyota, leaving kei car fans a bit left out. But thanks to JNCer xemoto, here’s one of a Honda N600! It’s part of a series that also features a Subaru 360, BRE Datsun 510 leading an Alfa Romeo, and a whole host of other European microcars.
Just a quick reminder for JNCers near Victoria, Australia. The Nissan Datsun Sports Owners Club is having their 40th Anniversary event at Sandown Raceway this Saturday, September 27. Check this post for more details or visit the NDSOC website.
Listen up, Mazdafarians! It’s time once again for SevenStock, the yearly gathering for rotary heads at Mazda USA headquarters in Irvine, CA. Doors open at 9am this Saturday, September 27. This is the 11th SevenStock and fans will not be disappointed. See the official flyer or the SevenStock website for more details.
Purists may balk, but like it or not, Top Gear USA is coming. One of the hosts was revealed to be Adam Carolla, a comic who built his career on making jokes about STDs and hosting shows whose main feature was girls jumping on trampolines. We’re not sure how well this bodes for the Top Gear franchise, but at least we now know that at least two Top Gear hosts own Datsuns.
Carolla owns a BRE replica 510, a race-modified Fairlady Roadster, and his latest acquisition, a ‘72 Bob Sharp 610, as reported by Motor Trend. The article also mentions the rest of Carolla’s collection, which consists mostly of high-dollar Euro exotica, and discusses his hatred for his Mazda pickup and why a 200,000-mile ‘85 Toyota Supra was the worst car he’s ever owned.
W-W-W-Welcome baaack to WJNC, bringin’ you the best nostalgic tunes and old school jams! Hope you’re enjoying your Fridaaaay! Put on your dancing shoes and crank up the volume, because coming up next we have back-to-back tracks from the Crazy Ken Band! Here’s “Bellet 1600GT”:
Thanks to JNCer JT191 for tipping us off to these videos of the Crazy Ken Band, a Japanese music ensemble that completely rocks the house when signing about old cars. The video above is a live performance of “Bellet 1600GT,” named after Isuzu’s 60s coupe. Their jazzy beats and funky rhythms make us wish Isuzu actually sold the car here in the US so we could jam to this while cruising around in one. Although, we don’t have threads that look nearly fly enough. (more…)
Another great ad from 60s Japan, this time for the Datsun Bluebird Coupe. While the song is not as catchy and seemingly of a different era as the Maruzen Oil ad, it gets the point across: “Big power, dynamic power, after your heart!”
