They say that the goose-step, ridiculous and inefficient as it may seem, became the march of choice for dictatorships around the world specifically because of its silly appearance. After all, only a terrifying madman could force thousands of able-bodied soldiers to walk that absurdly in precise formation. It’s a method of instilling both awe and fear simultaneously.

That pretty much sums up the feeling we get when we see this horde of bosozoku cars. Cantilevered lip spoilers, double-wide fender flares and yard-long exhaust pipes look insane when parked, no doubt. But get caught in a swarm of them wreaking havoc on the expressway and suddenly it all begins to make sense, even when a dude dressed head-to-toe in a tiger costume rides a convertible’s door sill as his mohawked associate maniacally twirls a baseball bat in the air. It makes one wonder, are they’re launching a siege on Bartertown or something? It’s probably best not to ask questions and just get the hell out of their way.

One more completely deranged pic after the jump. (more…)

At this rate, your JNC editors are going to run out of kidneys by Wednesday. Not only have we seen a 1427-mile Mazda RX-4 and a 33,000-mile ‘79 Honda Civic, now there’s a 1985 Mazda RX-7 with only 2450 miles on eBay. What’s going on here? Is the Great Depression Part Deux forcing owners to release these specimens into the free market?

According to the seller, who also happens to be the original owner, this creamy white RX-7 has a chocolate brown interior topped with a dash of orange pinstripe. Delicious. It has always been garaged, and driven around the block every month to keep things fresh. If you do the math, that’s an average of 9 miles per month.

At the time of this writing, the bidding is up to $1525. But the owner will part with what has been a fixture in his life for the past 23 years for a mere BuyItNow of $15,000. Seeing as how the last new RX-7 cost over $40K and this one is new for all intents and purposes, $15K is a bargain. Follow the jump for more pics.

Thanks to pqjim for the tip!

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Hey Mazdafarians, we just got this in from Kiwi Bureau: photos from last weekend’s Mazda Rotary Summerdrags in New Zealand. Yes, while we’re huddled by the fireplace for warmth in the dead of winter, Nee Zeelanders are enjoying nice warm summer weather, because the Earth is round, or something like that.

Thanks for the pics, Madaz!

If the story accompanying this auction is to be believed, this could be the lowest mileage Mazda RX-4 in the country. It appears that the prospective customer, way back when this baby was new in 1976, got into a bit of a kerfuffle with the dealer. He refused to fork over the balance, thinking the dealer was cheating him out of something larger and two more doors. The dealer insisted that the man had agreed to buy it already. In limbo, the car sat in the dealer’s storage until, as the listing subtly puts it, “THEN HE DIED!” Unquote.

A doctor purchased it in the subsequent estate sale and registered it for the first time in 1999. And now this car, whose velour has yet to be crushed, can be yours for an opening bid of $9,500, while the BuyItNow reveals what the seller’s heart truly desires - $18,500. Wow. For that price, you get full documentation, of which there is not much due to the low mileage, and a cheesy red bow. What do you guys think, is it worth it?

Click through for more pics. (more…)

Mazda has announced last night that it is breaking up with corporate partner Ford. Until now, Ford owned a 33.4 percent of Mazda’s stock, giving it control over the company under Japanese law. But now it’s selling off 20 percent, worth approximately $540 million, to raise desperately needed cash.

The alliance began back in 1979, when Mazda spent much of the decade developing the fuel-thirsty rotary engine, even after the 1973 oil crisis. Ford purchased a 27 percent stake then and slowly increased its share during the 80s and early 90s. Together, they shared many platforms such as the Mazda MX-6/Ford Probe, 323/Escort and 6/Fusion. The two companies have said they will continue to save costs by working together on more platforms in the future.

This news follows GM’s announcement yesterday that it would sell its remaining 3.02 percent stake in Suzuki.

[AP]

Back in the day (waaaay back in the day…) when concept cars weren’t about hokey technology to save the planet, motor show specials were a lot more fun.

A case in point is the Mazda RX-500, which was unveiled at the 1970 Tokyo Motor Show. A futuristic, mid engined rotary concept, it was a proper working prototype with some tasty mechanicals. The engine was touted as being a production 12A, presumably because the 12A engine was having its debut in the Capella that year. However the engine bay of the RX-500 remained resolutely shut during the show…

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It’s All Hallows Eve, the time during which ancient Gaels believed that the worlds of the living and the dead merged for one night. Treats for all those bringing back a long forgotten nostalgic from the dead, and nothing but tricks to those who would send them to the crusher.

We’re not sure what the story is with this two-tone Were-Mazda RX-4, but beware! Apparently it can keep it’s lycan form even when there’s no full moon out. You can see more awesome photos of it and much more thanks to puregroove, who gave us another post about the recent Nostalgic Street Fighters show in Georgia.

Have a safe and happy Halloween, JNCers!