If Tuesday’s Subaru-on-Subaru action left you wanting more nostalgic car chase excitement, you’re in luck. Most Japanese films had a manufacturer sponsor that supplied them with cars, so all the main cars – and sometimes even the chase fodder – were usually of the same brand. But 1979’s No Grave for Us featured a multi-marque mix of J-tin doing what they do best!

In this scene our baddie absconds with a bag full of ill-gotten yen in a RT80 Toyota Corona, only to have our hero (played by total badass Yusaku Matsuda) hunt him down in a beautiful Mazda Savanna RX-3. Throw in a Nissan President for good measure and you have one awesome pursuit.

What’s more, the footage seems much more raw. When you can see suspensions bouncing up and down like paddleballs you know these cars are being driven hard.

Achtung! Ze Germans are getting in on the cash for clunkers program as well. The government is giving people who trade in an old car for scrap up to 2500 euros. In the first two days of the program’s existence, 420,000 people called in. Mein Gott! And lest you think there’s no J-tin in the land of BMWs and Benzes, think again.

[Autoblog]

This weekend the folks at Dime Quarterly are holding another one of their great barbecue food drives! Bring some canned grub to donate and check out some old cars. The event takes place Jan 31 at Doheny State Beach. That’s right, everybody… SoCal nostalgists can go to the beach in January! Details here.

We thought we’d seen all the clean California Celicas at JCCS and Toyotafest, but here’s an amazing 1977 Liftback that only has 22,800 miles on the clock. Apparently it came from a Texas dealership showroom last year and, according to the seller, still smells like a new car. That’s 1977 molecules wafting into your nostrils, folks! The only downside is the automatic transmission, but you probably wouldn’t really drive it anyway, right? More pics after the jump. (more…)

How unbelievably cool is it that RS Watanabe actually aired TV commercials back in the day? Of course, they’re so expensive we’d never slap them on a rally-going 910 Bluebird and sandblast them to smithereens. You could always go with some Black Racing lookalikes, which is what drifters used to do because they too found Wats too pricey. But the pure simplicity of this ad makes us want to go out and get some nice, black 8-spokes, stat. There’s no music at all, and only the briefest of voiceovers at the very end. Racing Service… Watanabe!

[Banpei]

Our friends at Import Bible have released another Series 2 shirt that is sure to appeal to nostalgists. The front says “OG” in big red letters and on the back, a closeup of a hakosuka grille. Killer! You can buy them here.

Oh, snap! Sound Classics has responded to our post titled “Goertz Myths Will Never Die” in which we took issue with the supposed designer of the Toyota 2000GT. Nissan/Datsun fans, you’ll want to stick around for this too.

The question that started it all goes like this:

Question: This auto company contracted Yamaha and stylist Albrecht von Goertz in 1963 to create a two seat sports car. (1 pt)

Answer: Although Toyota eventually built the 2000GT, it was Nissan which originally contracted Yamaha and stylist Albrecht Goertz in 1963 to create a two seat sports car. Backing out after the initial prototype, Yamaha approached Toyota.

Sound Classics stands by their statements and says their quiz was “worded very carefully.” Well, okay. So they don’t say “Goertz created the 2000GT!” but it sure does lead the average reader to believe so. Their wording really, really makes it seem like Toyota eventually built the car Nissan backed out of.

The real designer, Satoru Nozaki, isn’t mentioned at all. (more…)

So it’s Tuesday morning. You aren’t really gonna do work, are you? We know you’d rather stick it to Tha Man and watch a clip from the 1978 movie Double Clutch, featuring two vintage Subarus duking it out!

We have no idea what the rest of the movie is about, but in this clip the bad guy makes his escape in a rally-inspired Subaru Leone RX. Our hero is forced to jump into a four door Leone and give chase. When the pursuit veers off road, the director even gets a close up shot of him shifting into 4WD mode. How’s that for product placement?

Other things to notice: the groovetastic 70s soundtrack, a Nissan Cherry X-1R in the background, and the wakaba mark on the hero’s car. Well, what are you waiting for? Hit play and sit back for six minutes of pure Subie car chase action!

Thanks to Kostamojen for the tip!

Here’s a random web banner ad we came across the other day. It’s Honda USA’s 50th anniversary and it looks like they’re starting to promote it. We’ve got our party hats on. Don’t harsh our buzz, Honda!

Speedhunters has some great coverage of the “V” 4 and Rotary Nationals down in New Zealand. Peep the blower on this RX-4. It could swallow a pair of low-flying geese! All it needs is switch activation supercharging and it’ll be ready to chase down those post-apocalyptic biker gangs in no time. Check their posts here and here.