Tag Archives: ae86
An Initial D and MF Ghost Casio watch is here to keep time on your touge runs
Expensive motorsports-themed watches are nothing new, but typically they involve a Formula 1 team or some kind of luxury brand tie-in. Now there’s a watch — ahem, timepiece — for the lone wolf mountain racer in a humble Toyota. The … Continue reading
Toyota GR Corolla joins the family — Rate This Ad
The Toyota GR Corolla is hitting the showrooms soon, so it’s time for some new ads. For Americans, the 300-horsepower AWD hot hatch is probably the most anticipated Toyota in decades, especially if you count only the cars fully developed … Continue reading
In its 26th year, Toyotafest is still going strong — a brief history of TORC, the Toyota Owners and Restorers Club
We’ve been attending Toyotafest every year since JNC started in 2006, and it’s consistently one of our favorite events. Last year was the 25th Toyotafest, which means the show itself is now old enough to wear historic plates, buy collector … Continue reading
Rate This Ad: Multi-generational Toyota family
Normally “national sales events” ads are pretty boring. You have the latest models zipping along a city street while APR financing options are recited at Micro Machine Man speed. For this summer’s Toyotathon, however, Toyota is pulling out the classics … Continue reading
Initial D taxis are here to take you around Takumi’s hometown
The city of Shibukawa, Gunma is promoting itself as the home town of Initial D protagonist Takumi Fujiwara. The real-life town is where all the action of the series began, and even now, 27 years after its debut, fans of … Continue reading
This huge Toyota AE86 model will cost $1,600 and take two years to complete
The Toyota AE86 is finally getting immortalized in a highly detailed 1:8-scale model kit. Specifically, it’s a weekly subscription kit by DeAgostini in which parts will be mailed to the subscriber every seven days for over two years. At the … Continue reading
Alive Hoon, the first movie about pro drifting, has a trailer and behind-the-scenes video
It’s been over 20 years since the D1GP, the first professional drifting league, was born. So it’s a bit surprising that, in all this time, there hasn’t been a feature film about the sport (no, Tokyo Drift doesn’t count). But, … Continue reading
VIDEO: Drifting in America has come a long way since 1998
Drifting was still a little-known underground activity in the United States back in 1998. However, that didn’t stop some of Japan’s most famous drift racers and judges from visiting southern California to see what the nascent scene was all about. … Continue reading
Toyota rolls out FJ40 Land Cruiser heritage parts, expands Supra, AE86, and 2000GT selection in major update
Toyota has just announced a significant expansion of new items for its Gazoo Racing Heritage Parts program. Most cover the FJ40 Land Cruiser and, surprisingly, the A70 Supra. However, the AE86, A80 Supra, and 2000GT also get some love. The … Continue reading
Toyota AE86 meets 2022 GR86 in stunning Initial D-inspired commercials
We promise we are not turning into an Initial D blog, but this was too cool not to share. We’ve not been shy about crapping on Toyota’s terrible ads before. So consider us flabbergasted that the same company, just before … Continue reading
Toyota Corolla celebrates 50 millionth sold with manga series
This year marked a milestone for the unassuming Toyota Corolla. The bestselling nameplate in history sold over 50 million units. In Japan, Toyota celebrated by releasing a trio of special edition cars and a series of Corolla-oriented comic strips that … Continue reading
Rays releases new wheels for 80s cars, celebrates anniversary of another classic
Rays has launched two new wheels that may be of interest to JNCers. One is new wheel specifically geared towards 80s cars. The other is an anniversary model for a take on a 90s classic, but sized for cars from … Continue reading
Toyota will begin making new parts for the AE86 again as the Hachiroku joins the Heritage Parts Program
Toyota announced on November 1 that it will begin remaking parts for the AE86 Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno. The beloved Hachiroku is the latest car to be added to the Toyota Gazoo Racing Heritage Parts Program. What’s more, Toyota … Continue reading
There is now a Takumi motor oil for Initial D fans
Since its debut about a decade ago, Japan’s Takumi motor oil has had nothing to do with Initial D. If Sears had been Japanese, its in-house line of tools would have been named Takumi, because though Takumi is a popular … Continue reading
Happy 8/6 Day from JNC
Cars that were once plentiful for under $1,000 are now worth big bucks. For those that have them, congrats. For those that don’t, hopefully you’ll get the chance to drive one someday. Happy 8/6 Day from JNC!
2021 All-Toyotafest, Part 01 — Starlet, Corolla, Celica, MR2
After a year and a half of no major car shows, it was good to be back. The 2021 Toyotafest picked back up right where 2019 left off, although a few changes had to be made due to the pandemic. … Continue reading
Toyota’s Megaweb shows off some actual Toyotas
Like the Toyota Automobile Museum, the History Garage of Toyota’s Megaweb showroom in Odaiba, Tokyo is a celebration of all things automotive. Recently, we’ve seen them restore a couple of Nissans, an R32 Skyline GT-R and 510 Bluebird Coupé. Now, … Continue reading
Toyota Corolla AE86 sells for $40,000 even with light rust
There are times when a car is found in a state that is neither creampuff nor derelict. It does not beg to be preserved, adding mileage to its already six-figure odometer doesn’t feel like abuse, and parking lot door dings … Continue reading