Tag Archives: fd3s

RIP Junichi Tanaka, founder of Jun Auto Mechanic, 1943-2019

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Ben Hsu

One of the powerhouses of Japan’s tuning world has passed. It was announced yesterday that Junichi Tanaka, founder of Jun Auto Mechanic, died the morning of March 5, 2019 due to complications from cancer. He was 76 years old. The … Continue reading →

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SEMA 2018: A mega-gallery of SEMA J-tin

Posted on November 6, 2018 by Ben Hsu

It can be hard separating the wheat from the chaff at SEMA. There is so much going on that the pressure to build ever-wilder cars in order to stand out can result in some technically impressive but aesthetically questionable choices. … Continue reading →

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VIDEO: Watch a MotoGP champ ride through the history of Japanese motoring

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Ben Hsu

Over the weekend MotoGP rider Marc Marquez was in Japan winning his fifth world championship. Before that, the star 25-year-old motorcycle racer made a promotional video for Redbull Racing that takes viewers through the history of Japanese motoring.

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EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 10 — Bubble Era

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Ben Hsu

For 2018, the Japanese Classic Car Show expanded eligibility to cars up to 1995. That means for the first time, a flood of Bubble Era greats were able to attend. Welcome to a JCCS full of pop-up headlights, T-tops, and … Continue reading →

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Sam Mitani put Tuner Era dream machines into the mainstream

Posted on September 12, 2018 by Ben Hsu

If you grew up in the pre-internet age, “buff books” like Road & Track were your bible. Magazines of its ilk were the only reliable sources of automotive news, but they were mostly concerned about cars that came fresh off … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Nisei Week Car Show, 2018

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Ben Hsu

The annual Nisei Festival in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles is a celebration of Japanese American culture. Nisei means “second generation” in Japanese, but with its 84 years since the inaugural festival, the event has already been passed … Continue reading →

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? 7k-mile FD3S Mazda RX-7

Posted on August 7, 2018 by Ben Hsu

An amazing specimen of a third-gen Mazda RX-7 is currently being offered for sale on Craigslist. According to the ad, its interior still emanates that new car leather smell, because it has just 6,593 original miles on the clock. 

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EVENTS: Petersen Museum Cruise-in, Part 01

Posted on July 26, 2018 by Ben Hsu

Last weekend the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles hosted their annual cruise-in for Japanese cars. J-tin of all eras and styles flocked to the museum’s parking structure at the corner of Fairfax and Wilshire Boulevards on a sweltering LA … Continue reading →

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Japan Post celebrates 40th anniversary of Mazda RX-7 with exclusive rotary goods

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Ben Hsu

Japan’s post offices have unleashed a slew of Mazda RX-7 themed merch to mark the 40th anniversary of the iconic Hiroshima sports car. The goods celebrate all three generations of the RX-7, as well as the rotary engine. The only … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Radwood NorCal 2018, the Greatest Hits

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Ben Hsu

Among the many examples of 80s and 90s Japanese cars that populated Radwood NorCal this year, there were a few that really stood out to us. We hesitate to call them the best; except for the actual “Best Of” voted … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Radwood NorCal 2018

Posted on July 19, 2018 by Ben Hsu

The Radwood phenomenon is spreading faster than hairspray-induced polyester fire. The celebration of 80s and 90s autodom is now on its fourth show in just two years, and the organizers tell us it was the biggest one yet. We attended … Continue reading →

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VIDEO: Mazda UK celebrates 40 years of the RX-7

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Ben Hsu

2018 marks 40 years since the debut of the original Mazda RX-7. According to Mazda UK, Mazda has sold 2 million rotary-engined cars, with 850,000 of them being RX-7s. To honor the occasion, they’ve produced a video bringing together three … Continue reading →

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MINICARS: Tomica Limited Vintage made an FD3S Mazda RX-7 and it looks amazing

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Ben Hsu

We haven’t written about Tomica Limited Vintage in a while, but the collectors’ offshoot of Japan’s most popular diecast cars has been quietly churning out excellent 1:64-scale models of classics for a while. The latest, however, is sure to make … Continue reading →

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ART CORNER: Japanese artist recreates Initial D touge scenes with amazing model cars

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Ben Hsu

It’s an iconic scene from the pages of Initial D — Takumi Fujiwara’s AE86 touge-battling Keisuke Takahashi’s FD RX-7, drifting through a hairpin. A Japanese artist known as Shinga on Twitter has recreated the moment, but as much as the finished product looks … Continue reading →

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Tokyo Auto Salon: RE Amemiya’s personal Cosmo Sport

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Ricky Silverio

For Mazda fans the name RE Amemiya need no introduction. Isami Amemiya founded his rotary tuning house in 1974, and has been responsible for the world’s most insane modified Mazdas since. Ama-san has been sending these mad creations, usually FC or FD RX-7s, … Continue reading →

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VIDEO: This stunning Mazda collection goes beyond rotaries

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Ben Hsu

When you hear Mazda collector, typically that means a fleet of rotaries or Miatas. Danny Irvine has one of the most impressive Mazda collections around, precisely because it goes beyond RX-7s and Cosmos. In fact, his stable includes everything from K360 … Continue reading →

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QotW: What’s your favorite JNC underdog story?

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Ben Hsu

Unless you emerged from a coma this morning you know that the underdog Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl last night. It was a fantastic close game down to the final minutes. Of course, JNCs often had their own underdog stories and a … Continue reading →

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RIP Kenichi Yamamoto, Father of the Mazda Rotary Engine, 1922-2017

Posted on December 26, 2017 by Dave Yuan

Kenichi Yamamoto, who famously led Mazda’s “47 Ronin” team that brought the rotary engine into reality, passed away on December 20, 2017. His family made public his passing to the Japanese press on Christmas Day. Yamamoto was 95. A bona fide legend in … Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Radwood 2 – Electric Boogaloo

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Ben Hsu

From the moment co-organizer Art Cervantes told us the name of the event, we knew it would be incredible. Radwood. It was a car show exclusively for 80s and 90s machines. Like Goodwood but, you know, rad. 

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SEMA 2017: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Ben Hsu

As the largest trade event for custom cars in the US, possibly the world, SEMA can serve as a showcase for innovation and creativity, sometimes giving a spotlight for bloody knuckled backyard builds to shine. The flip side, though, is that SEMA’s high profile pressures talented craftsmen into pouring cash into cars whose sole purpose … Continue reading →

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