Each year the Japanese Automotive Hall of Fame inducts a selection of historic cars. Past examples have included iconic sports cars like the Toyota 2000GT and S30 Nissan Fairlady Z, or race cars like the Honda RA272 and Mazda 787B. For 2025, the inductees were quite a bit more obscure. We missed this story when the inductees were announced in November, but though these vehicles aren’t on the tips of most tongues they’re still worth a mention.
Happy New Year from JNC
The Japanese tradition for New Year is hatsuhinode, or first sunrise. It means getting up early to view the year’s first daybreak, representing hope, aspiration, and renewal. Many who observe the tradition travel up a mountain, to the coast, or some other vista point fo a clear and spiritual view. Sounds like the perfect excuse for an unencumbered drive and a time for vowing to get that project started. Happy New Year from JNC!
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It’s been a long journey since the first Japanese Classic Car Show
As we round out the year let’s reflect on one of the biggest milestones of 2025. This one has nothing to do with the founding of a company or the debut of a model. This year was the 20th anniversary of the Japanese Classic Car Show, an event that has completely changed how the world views automobiles from Japan. It’s almost hard to remember what the landscape was like 20 years ago, but it wasn’t great for J-tin.
QotW: What’s your new year’s resolution for 2026?
It’s that time of year again. As one journey through the calendar ends and another begins, we are confronted with the unrelenting march of time. What will you accomplish in the next 365 days? Personally, I am finally going to build my dream garage, something I’ve been waiting decades for. My wife and I found our forever home a while back, and it’s time to create a space that will hold my cars and all the parts and automobilia that accumulate as a result. I’ll write periodic updates and solicit ideas. Sometimes the mere act of putting a goal in writing will help shepherd it along.
What’s your new year’s resolution for 2026?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What will you gift your car next?“. Continue reading
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Happy Boxing Day from JNC
It’s Boxing Day in many parts of the world today, so we at JNC want to wish everyone who celebrates that holiday a happy one. What better way to commemorate the occasion than with a classic boxer-engined Subaru? The one pictured here is the 1986 XT that Subaru of America restored back in 2011 in all its wedge-shaped glory. Happy Boxing Day, everyone!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from JNC
Seasons greetings from all of us at JNC! As we roll into the holiday season. We hope you get to spend time with cherished loved ones, both human and vehicular. If you’re traveling, may your roads be smooth and salt-free, and above all, please stay safe. And if you’re really really good, JDM Santa Claus will bring you the unobtainium part or rare toy that you’ve been searching for. Cheers!
Nissan Automotive College students create a Skyline Silhouette and retro mash-ups for 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon
It’s almost time for the Tokyo Auto Salon, and that means students from Japan’s technical colleges are getting their projects ready for the show. Nissan Automobile Technical College usually turns out some fairly wild stuff, and this year is no exception. For 2026 they’ve created three retro-flavored rides, starting with an R30 Skyline sedan built to resemble a Group 5 race car. Continue reading
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QotW: What will you gift your car next?
It’s the season of giving to your loved ones, but no one said those loved ones had to be human. Cars require love and attention as well, and sometimes getting them a much-needed part or devoting some garage time will bring joy to both rider and steed.
What will you gift your car next?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s a telltale sign of a bad driver?“. Continue reading
Suzuki applies for trademark to revive 1971 VanVan as modern e-bike
Suzuki has filed for a trademark application for the e-VanVan, an electric mini-bik inspired by the 1971 VanVan 90. Whimsically named for the sound of a revving two-stroke, the original was one of the motorcycles that defined Japan’s leisure bike boom of the late 60s and early 70s. Now there’s something of a retro bike renaissance in Japan, so it only makes sense that the VanVan is revived for the modern age. Continue reading
The first Mitsubishi Pajero to win the Paris-Dakar Rally has been restored
In 1985 Mitsubishi finished the seventh running of the Paris-Dakar Rally with a pair of Pajeros in a 1-2 sweep, becoming the first Japanese carmaker to win the event. The first place Pajero was immediately shipped to Mitsubishi’s collection in Japan and stored there. Now, 40 years later, this history-making truck has been restored. Continue reading
Dead Kennedys lead singer has surprisingly good opinions on the Toyota Celica Convertible he’s auctioning
Punk legend Jello Biafra, frontman for the Dead Kennedys, is auctioning off his 1989 Toyota Celica GT convertible. The foundational punk band was known for their satirical lyrics and skewering of the cultural and political establishments, and the Celica is somehow simultaneously not at all fitting and also wholly appropriate. We’ll come right out and say it — the car looks like crap — but Biafra swears by it and actually has some pretty good takes on it. Continue reading
Honda launches Heritage Works program for parts and restoration
Honda heads, rejoice! Honda has announced a new reproduction parts program for their sports cars. And yes, the newly christened Honda Heritage Works is going global and will include Acuras as well. With an estimated 70 percent of first-gen Japan-market NSXes still registered there, it’s natural for Honda to start with its flagship. However, it will expand to other models in the future. Continue reading
QotW: What’s a telltale sign of a bad driver?
As car enthusiasts we have a fairly decent idea of how to handle our vehicles and how they function. Sadly, that isn’t the case for the majority of the car-owning public. Yet nearly everyone in America is allowed to captain a 4000-pound slab of steel with not much screening. Sharing the road with them can be absolutely terrifying, or at the very least rage-inducing. Whether it’s squatting in the left lane or having side mirrors aimed at the door handles, there are clues that you might be traveling with a less-than-stellar wheelman.
What’s a telltale sign of a bad driver?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “If you could travel to one moment in time, when would it be and what would you do?“. Continue reading
A brief history of Street Fighter‘s car-smashing bonus stages
The trailer for the live action Street Fighter movie is out, and some fans are pretty stoked that one famous scene made the cut. Based on the Capcom video game franchise, the upcoming movie includes Street Fighter II‘s bonus stage where a player can destroy a car for extra points. The model of the 16-bit car was never stated but it was clearly based on the Lexus LS400, and the movie recreates that scene with a real UCF10. Continue reading
Posted in Friday Video, Video Games
Tagged celsior, crown, lexus, Lexus LS, mitsubishi, pajero, toyota
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Honda launched the Prelude with a Japanese curry cafe
To herald the long-awaited return of the Prelude in Japan, Honda opened a pop-up curry cafe. If you’ve never had the pleasure of downing a plate of proper Japanese curry you’re seriously missing out, but what is the association between curry and a hybrid coupe, one may justifiably wonder. Well, Honda wanted to appeal to a younger demographic and figured a tomato-based spiced pork stew was the key to unlocking the youth vote. Continue reading
A 1978 Subaru BRAT goes Down Undah for Gymkhana antics
The latest video in the Gymkhana stunt series takes a 1978 Subaru BRAT to Australia. The heavily modified BRAT — or should we say Brumby, going by its Aussie name — is piloted by rally driver Travis Pastrana and is subjected to the regular Hoonigan video buffet of death defying stunts. It’s definitely a spectacle, and probably the most on screen action a ’78 BRAT has seen since Kidd Video. Continue reading
Toyota has filed a GR MR2 trademark application with Japan’s patent office
Last week it was discovered that Toyota has applied for trademarks for the GR MR2 and GR MR-S names. There have been rumors of an MR2 revival swirling around for a couple of years, and Toyota has shown off a sports car with a mid-engined profile, but that concept was said to be electric. Naturally the discovery is fueling another round of speculation about the possibility of a Mister Two resurrection. Continue reading
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QotW: If you could travel to one moment in time, when would it be and what would you do?
Let’s say you got your hands on a flux capacitor and had the nuclear scientist know-how of Doc Brown to attach it to any vehicle you want. You know the rest — hit 88 mph, get instantly zapped into the time of your choosing, and let the antics commence. The obvious choice would be to get that sports almanac, but let’s say for the purposes of this question that whatever you do has to be automotive related.
If you could travel to one moment in time, when would it be and what would you do?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which movie scene forever seared a Japanese car into your brain?“. Continue reading
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Boring no more: Toyota unveils 2000GT, Lexus LFA successors
In a one-two punch that will reverberate though the ages, Toyota pulled the curtains off of two flagship supercars today. The birth of a Japanese supercar doesn’t come along very often, and in fact there have only been five since Toyota launched the original one, the 2000GT, in 1967. It didn’t make another one until 2010 with the Lexus LFA. Today, it debuted successors to both. During the unveiling, Toyota execs made it clear that these cars only exist because they were deeply dissatisfied with their own brand. Continue reading
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Tagged akio toyoda, GR GT, hiromu naruse, lexus, lfa, Simon Humphries, toyota
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Pininfarina’s take on the Honda NSX has been fully revealed
There are two legendary Italian design houses penning modern interpretations of the Honda NSX right now, and one has been fully revealed. The Tensei, meaning “rebirth” in Japanese, is a carbon fiber-bodied reimagining by Pininfarina, a studio that has birthed some of the most beautiful supercars of all time. Continue reading
