Since our post earlier this week was pretty popular, we thought we’d round out the week with some more old school SA22C RX-7 love. Here’s a couple of vids.

This first vid is from Japanese video car magazine Video Option. It starts out with Ama-san from Tokyo rotary tuner RE-Amemiya building up an SA22C (shame there’s not more of that buildup phase) and then we skip ahead to Tsukuba Circuit where it’s put through its paces by Shinichi Yamaji (who I believe raced GT300 for RE-Amemiya at the time), posting a very respectable 1:05, a good time for a mildly tuned FD. If this doesn’t make you want one, I don’t know what will!

More video after the jump.

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What surprises us more than an Austrian actor auctioning off his collection of Japanese cars, is the fact that there was an Austrian actor with a collection of Japanese cars to begin with.

We aren’t familiar with Roland Düringer but after seeing his car collection, we wish we were. Apparently he’s quite the comedic celebrity in his homeland, and a motorsport enthusiast as well. His stable includes an enviable herd of J-tin, including an S60 Crown, Corollas from ‘75 and ‘79, a Celica liftback, Mitsubishi Sapporo and a Honda S800 Coupe. He also has newer fare like a Toyota Will VI, Nissan Cube and Nissan Figaro.

So why is Düringer selling off his cars? Well, it’s for a good cause – to help a young man recently paralyzed in a moped accident so he can get his car modified to accommodate his handicap. Hats off to you, Mr. Düringer!

More pics of Düringer’s collection after the jump. (more…)

There are more events for you east coasters this weekend! Take the midnight train to Georgia and meet up with Zero Garage, our favorite band of Peach State bandits at Road Atlanta! They will be repping J-tin at the Mitty, so be sure to check it out. Go to Import Atlanta for details.

[Image: Puregroove.org]

Holy moly! The Carpocalypse has claimed another victim, but this time it’s not an automaker.

Remember back in November when Sport Compact Car folded? Well now its parent company, Source Interlink, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As of yet there’s no word on how this will affect their other titles, which range from Motor Trend and Automobile to Hot Rod and Super Street.

It’s a tough climate for everyone, and the company’s ad sales were down 20% compared to this same quarter in 2008. The company has claimed a debt of $1.9 billion and assets of $2.4 billion. Side note: those numbers make our jaws drop here at JNC headquarters, where we subsist solely on a diet of Cup Noodle and Giga Pudding. We will keep you posted as news unfolds.

[Bloomberg via Autoblog]

Here’s another event for you east coasters. The Maryland Z Club will be hosting a gathering of Datsuns and Nissans at Frederick Nissan in Frederick, MD. They are a great group of guys and are very supportive of the old school movement. The show will be this Sunday, May 3. For more info go to the Maryland Z Club website.

One of the cars that seems to have been a little left out by the whole J-nostalgic movement is the SA22C RX-7 (or FB as you’d know it in the States).  It seems to straddle the 70s era of fender mirrors and chrome and the 80s period where everything seemed to have turbos, fuel injection and digital dashes.  In its driving qualities it’s a lot closer to the old school than it is to the 80s FC RX-7, while its styling and amenities are more in line with the later era.  So to me, they’ve always had tons of appeal, and it’s only a matter of time before people start to take notice and values rise.  The fact that they were built in serious numbers makes them a much more practical resto proposition than an RX-3 too.  But while everybody wants a period-look RX-3 or RX-2 with flares and dished Watanabes, I’ve always thought that in Japan the SA22C is a little unfairly ignored.

So it was great to find an awesome enthusiast site for the marque at 22C Works.com. It’s an excellent community of SA22 junkies in Japan and just check out their awesome photo galleries. The site also has a big section on modification and upgrade tips, and a great resource for vintage car commercials here.  Let’s hope that we’ll start to see more SA22Cs in the nostalgic style.

Well as all you japanophiles know, Japanese TV really exists in its own parallel universe. So it shouldn’t surprise that even kids shows in Japan will have you scratching your head as to what the heck is going on.  But in the case of a particular episode of Hirake! Ponkiki, this is weirdness on a good level!  Watch in amazement as the furry green giant-headed Gachapin dons an oversize helmet and puts an S2000 and Integra through their paces at Twin Ring Motegi.

…and try not to laugh out loud at the 2:05 min mark!

Before attending Nos2Days, we had no idea that the F31 Nissan Leopard enjoyed such a strong following. But once Seibu Keisatsu ended in its run in 1984, there was a cop show void that needed to be filled. Enter Abunai Deka, an 80s buddy cop series that started in 1986, featuring the then-new Nissan Leopard (later imported to the US as the Infiniti M30). If car chases with Toyota Mark IIs and shootouts at marinas set to an over-synthesized post-disco soundtrack don’t make you want to break out the Nagel prints, we don’t know what will.

One of the oldest and most well loved series of racing games is Need for Speed.  And like all the latest generation driving games, the next NFS game, Need for Speed SHIFT, promises even more amazing graphics and immersive gameplay.  NFS piqued our interest recently when it released news of the KPGC10’s inclusion in the next game. I think maybe the taillight placement isn’t quite right but who’s complaining?

Watch the trailer after the jump and salivate at the opportunity to drive a hakosuka in a properly immersive driving sim (and crash it without having to worry about where the parts are going to come from).

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Don’t feel left out by SoCal’s Datsun Weekend, east coasters. The Old School Toyota Club of Bridgeport, CT is having a swap meet on Sunday, April 26. So while the Solvang Roadster Classic and Z Car West Coast Nationals are in full swing this Saturday and Sunday, you can be hunting for parts to go on your nostalgic. For more information check this thread in the JNC forum. Photos from last year’s swap meet can be found here.