Tag Archives: bellett

EVENTS: New Year Meeting 2017, Part 03 — Isuzu and Hino take center stage

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Ben Hsu

Each year the Japanese Classic Car Association celebrates a different featured marque at the New Year Meeting. Cars belonging to the featured marque are gathered for a concours d’elegance competition with awards voted on by judges from various Japanese automotive publications. However, … Continue reading →

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MINICARS: New Japanese classics in Tomica line, sort of

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Ricky Silverio

Japanese diecast manufacturer Tomica is about to release its first Japanese classics into their main line since, well, since most similar classics were still new cars. The cars in question are an Isuzu 117 and Bellett, but there’s a catch. Both … Continue reading →

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100 YEAR CLUB: Isuzu Motors

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Ben Hsu

What’s Japan’s oldest automaker? Like most questions, the answer isn’t necessarily a simple one, but there’s one thing that we can guarantee. It’s not Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, or any of the marques you might expect. One candidate, however, is Isuzu, … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2016 Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival, Part 02

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Brandon Kelley

In Part 01 of our coverage of Tokyo’s Classic Car Festival at Meiji Jingu Gaien Park, I had just finished rolling up my tongue back into my mouth from which it had dropped, Tex Avery style, due to the cars brought out … Continue reading →

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GRAND TOURING: Isumi Matsuri

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Skorj

If there’s one thing that gets carriage-loads of people enthused, it’s trains — especially in Japan, where everyone loves trains. So, combining a wide range of Showa Era kyusha with a summer matsuri (festival) and organizing it at the most famous … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Okutama Sunday Meeting

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Skorj

A short time ago, we were invited to attend the monthly Okutama-ko Sunday kyusha meeting. Loosely organized by the well-known Isuzu shop Eagle Sports, it always attracts a wide range of cars. This weekend was special though, as GT-B driving … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Nostalgic2Days 2016, Part 01

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Skorj

At this year’s Nostalgic 2 Days show, we were on assignment to meet a very specific person, a towering figure from the golden age of Japan’s automotive history. Before our appointment — which will be covered in the next installment — … Continue reading →

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THE SPOT: Behold the bonkers trippiness of these Yellow Hat commercials

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Ben Hsu

Yellow Hat is a nationwide Japanese chain of auto service stores whose ad agency has clearly huffed one exhaust molecule too many. The completely Mr Sparkle-ized ads exist ostensibly to notify you of Yellow Hat’s tire and battery services, but the execution … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Showa Car Preservation Meeting

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Ken Lee

The Old Car Club of Tokyo recently held it’s 3rd annual Showa no Kurma wo Mamoru Tsudoi or “Preserving cars made in the Showa Era” meeting. This is a gathering for cars made during the Showa Era, which ended in 1989 according to the … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2015 New Year Meeting, Part 03 — Bone Stock Beauties

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Ben Hsu

Japan has been the source of some truly extreme car cultures. Sadly, a “custom car” was the type of vehicle deemed most unseemly by Japanese women in a recent survey. No matter. Despite a western eye that cherry picks the only the most severe … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2015 New Year Meeting, Part 01 – Sixties Sports

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Hiroshi Yoshida

The Japanese Classic Car Association is one of the nation’s largest organizations for old car enthusiasts. Each year, the New Year Meeting show draws thousands. This year’s event took place on Sunday, January 26 from 9-4 in the Aomi Parking Area … Continue reading →

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JNC RADIO: Sing along to the The Auto Show Song

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Ben Hsu

Originally released in 1964, “The Auto Show Song” was composed by famed Japanese songwriter Tetsuro Hoshino and performed by action movie star/singer Akira Kobayashi (there are a lot of crossover entertainers in Japan). It was an old standard of the Showa Era, and sounded … Continue reading →

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ART CORNER: Rocket Craft’s stuffed cars are the cutest thing ever

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Dan Hsu

The problem with cars is that they’re made of metal. That means rust, skinned knuckles, and, most importantly, an inability to be cuddly. A shop called Rocket Craft has solved that last one for us by creating a series of stuffed cars, which are totally … Continue reading →

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GARAGE LIFE: A visit with Isuzu Sports Eagle

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Guest Writer

We first met Koji Okane, owner of Isuzu Sports Eagle, in 2009 at the inaugural Nos2Days show. A gracious guy, he invited us to his shop but our time in Japan was too short. We could think of no one … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2013 Nostalgic2Days, Part 01

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Guest Writer

The latest dispatch from guest writer David Lovett of Classic Car Nagoya covers Part 01 of the annual Nos2Days event, where we first encountered CCN years ago. —Ben There’s one show every year I absolutely refuse to miss. Nostalgic 2 Days happens every year … Continue reading →

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GRAND TOURING: Driving the Chubu Touge, Part 02

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Skorj

In Part 01 of our Chubu grand tour, we escaped Tokyo by expressway northwest into the mountains. Our return trip took us on roads less traveled, over some of Japan’s most famous winding passes known as touge. We had made … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Classic Japan 2012, Part 04: Never Seen in the USA

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Guest Writer

Part 04 of Adam Laws’ Classic Japan 2012 coverage from Melbourne, Australia covers a whole bunch of J-tin that is rarely spotted in the USA. —Dan In Australia the Mazda range in the 70s included both the RX-3 and its … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Announcing Melbourne’s Classic Japan 2012

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Dan Hsu

Today we have a guest post from Adam Laws of the Toyota Car Club of Australia (Victoria), organizer of a 200-plus car show in Melbourne. Check out his announcement and, below that, some photos of unique Aussie nostalgics from last … Continue reading →

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Shaken preparation at Sports Car Service of Yokohama

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Nestled in the sleepy, semi-rural outskirts of Yokohama is Sports Car Service, specializing in the repair and maintenance of nostalgic cars. Recently a friend needed to get an old rotary prepped for shaken, Japan’s roadworthiness inspection, and we tagged along to … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2012 Fuji Jamboree, Part 02

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Ben Hsu

In Part 01 of our 2012 Fuji Jamboree coverage we focused on machines that took to the Speedway. Blood red hakosuka with Okamoto logos? You know those black Wats are ready to cut loose on Fuji’s tarmac. However, as every … Continue reading →

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