We’ve had a streak of poorly customized Z-Cars recently, but here’s a radically modified one that still turns out to be pretty durned cool. Anyone that liked the original Transformers remembers Prowl, Autobot Military Strategist, Optimus Prime’s second-in-command, and all-around badass. His alternate form was not only a Datsun Fairlady Z, but a hard-core highway patrol version in a Japanese police paint scheme. (more…)

Sorry, Zedheads. This is in fact the second horribly customized Datsun Z-car we’re bringing you in as many days. It’s not like we’re trying to find hideous nostalgic cars, they just have a habit of popping up, but at least yesterday’s X-wing Z was virtual. Today’s, however, is much too real.

It was sent in by JNCer Crazy Backyard Builder, who alerted us to the fact that the 1978 movie Corvette Summer didn’t just destroy a perfectly good Corvette Stingray and Firebird, but a Datsun as well.

And here it is. If the glitter of a 1970s Las Vegas casino doesn’t blind you, the gleam coming off its metal flake paint and chrome mirrors certainly will. Its ability to practically blend itself into such an environment like a chameleon doesn’t exactly say “tasteful mods.” Well, at least most of the original lines have been kept and, unlike that poor Corvette, there does not appear to be a anything on it modeled after an Aztec headdress. So there’s that.

Look, we love Corvettes. In fact, the C3 Stingray was our favorite car when growing up. This may surprise some JNCers, but the truth is we love all kinds of cars. That’s why it’s kind of a bummer when muscle car snobs immediately shout “ricer!” any time they see a Japanese car used for something more than A-to-B transportation. It’s happened to us, and if you’re reading this site, it’s probably happened to you. Well, today we’ll supply you with all the comeback ammo you’ll ever need. (more…)

One of the funniest thing about today’s highly recommended episode of BBC Top Gear was the fact that throughout the epic cross-Japan race that pitted Jeremy Clarkson in a Nissan GT-R against James May and Richard Hammond in a bullet train, Hamster kept calling it a Datsun. (more…)

For months JNCer Datsunfreak has been tempting us with updates about how his very own Datsun 510 was recruited to star in a movie. At last, the shooting has taken place and now he’s spilling the beans. His writeup on the experience is a very entertaining read, and an excellent behind-the-scenes peek at how a car is prepared for filming. Cleaning all the dirt off so you can spray on fake dirt? That’s showbiz, baby!

And while “it’s a wrap” here in the US, the film crew heads to Australia next for more shooting, where Aussie JNCer SX-510 will be waiting for them with a matching 510, in LHD no less. It’ll be interesting to see if we can tell the difference between the two cars in the final product.

The movie is called Mao’s Last Dancer and is based on a true story. It doesn’t come out until 2010, but you can be sure we’ll post a reminder here when it opens so all you JNCers can go see Datsunfreak’s car (and a bunch of other actors and stuff) on the big screen. Congrats, DF!

From the Disco Ain’t Dead Bureau comes this video clip from devout reader SR-Fairlady Z. It’s part of a 1979 made-for-TV movie called Death Car on the Freeway in which a guy who looks like someone Chris Hansen might confront on Dateline: To Catch a Predator uses a van to run innocent motorists off the road.

We’ll overlook its obvious flaws - such as how a Datsun 240Z is unable to outrun a 1977 Dodge Tradesman - because of the rockin’ 70s soundtrack and the fact that any nostalgic car, especially one in manual shift, has the power to make the woman driving it instantly ten times as hot. Instructional video after the jump. (more…)

Forget Knight Rider, forget Speed Racer, forget Seibu Keisatsu. This could quite possibly be the best show ever to hit the airwaves, and it’s a soap opera. NHK is launching a new drama series called Top Sales, about a car saleswoman making her way up the ladder in the male-dominated world of auto retail, and it takes place in Japan in the 70s. Like, OMG.

The plot follows a woman named Hisako Makino (played by Yui Natsukawa and loosely based on author Fumiko Hayashi) who loses her job at a textile company. She runs into her childhood friend Takao (Kippei Shiina), a salesman at a company called Omiyake Motors, who convinces her to take a job with him. His chauvinist manager disapproves at first, but Takao convinces him to hire her. Drama, possible romance, and a tale of women’s empowerment ensues. Eventually, Hisako climbs the corporate latter to the top, becoming president of the company. The year is 1974, one year after the Oil Crisis, and the show’s producers have painstakingly recreated all the fashions, music and household items in vogue at the time for the sets.

But who cares about all that? There main point here is that the show appears to contain plenty of old Japanese iron in the background, which you can see in this gallery and on the show’s official site. This is one soap opera we’ll gladly endure. Please, please, please let there be a subtitled version unleashed into the internet. The first episode aired April 12.

[Source: Auto-Otaku via Autoblog]