Tag Archives: bellett

EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Automotive Invitational

Posted on September 11, 2018 by Ben Hsu

It has been a banner year for Nihon steel at Monterey Car Week. The annual series of ultra-prestigious automotive events have traditionally excluded Japanese cars, but 2018 saw, for example, Nissan become the first carmaker from Japan to be honored … Continue reading →

13 Comments

VIDEO: The world’s biggest classic Isuzu meet isn’t in Japan

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Ricky Silverio

It is noted somewhere in this video that the Isuzu Car Club of Australia is one of the country’s smallest car clubs, but also one of the oldest. This year it celebrates its 50th anniversary and, despite its size, dwarfs … Continue reading →

3 Comments

EVENTS: 2018 New Year Meeting, Part 02 — Sixties Sedans

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Ricky Silverio

In Part 01 of our New Year Meeting coverage we concentrated on sports cars and coupes from the 1960s. However, there were many fine four-doors from that era as well, and as the two-doors rise in price the once neglected sedans are gaining … Continue reading →

6 Comments

EVENTS: 2018 New Year Meeting, Part 01 — Sixties Specials

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Ben Hsu

The New Year Meeting is the oldest classic car event in Japan, held annually at the end of January, closer to the lunar new year than the Gregorian one. Having started in 1977, this year marked the 42nd time it was held. This … Continue reading →

9 Comments

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 →

10 Comments

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 →

13 Comments

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 →

15 Comments

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 →

6 Comments

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 →

24 Comments

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 →

13 Comments

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 →

14 Comments

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 →

24 Comments

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 →

14 Comments

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 →

5 Comments

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 →

9 Comments

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 →

1 Comment

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 →

13 Comments

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 →

26 Comments

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 →

18 Comments

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 →

11 Comments