QotW: Drive, Sell, or Garage? JNC Unobtainium Edition

Welcome to our version of Bang, Marry, Kill — Drive, Sell, Garage. You have three cars, and you must assign one action to each of the three cars. Which do you daily drive, knowing that it will require some mods and experience the most wear and tear; which do you sell, because you like it the least; and which do you garage and pass down to your grandchildren or donate to a museum? For the first installment, we give you three examples of JNC unobtainium, you decide their fates, and be sure to tell us why.

Drive, Sell, or Garage: Toyota 2000GT, Hakosuka Skyline GT-R, and Mazda Cosmo Sport.

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s the most fitting match of car and place?

When we asked what setting would fit best with a JNC, the responses were pretty amusing. From the impossible to image leisure suit wearing stud of the 70’s to Brian ripping up PCH in an MKIV with parts over-nighted from Japan.

Bart gets a nod for also providing a visual to keep this QotW grounded to the ground…

This week, Mike in Long Beach takes honors for his Honda Accord LX standing tall with the big boys and getting all the attention much like how Honda did when told they couldn’t make it in the US. (Little tip, never tell Soichiro Honda he can’t do something.)

Every October around 8000 muscle cars, antiques, and collectible cars invade the Mississippi Gulf Coast for Cruisin’ the Coast. My favorite place for my 1979 Honda Accord LX hatchback is between a tricked out C2 Corvette and a low-boy hot rod on Main Street in Gulfport on the first day of the week long event, where my little Honda gets more attention than anything nearby. I’ve heard “Oh, I had one of those in high school,” or “My uncle had one of those and he said it was the best car he ever owned,” or “Honey, if your Dad and I hadn’t rode out to Lover’s Lane in his little Honda you might not be here..” The mind reels at just how that last described event could possibly relate to the back seat of a 1G Accord. Maybe they folded that backseat down.

Omedetou! Your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop.

JNC Decal smash

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22 Responses to QotW: Drive, Sell, or Garage? JNC Unobtainium Edition

  1. Jim Simspson says:

    Since I have a Cosmo 110S and a 1975 Skyline both of which I love, they only issue for me is not having the where with all to have a Toyota 2000 to go with them… possibly my favorite car, having owned numerous Ferrari’s, Maserati’s, Lamborghini’s and a host of other interesting cars this is the one that has been for many years out of reach.

  2. Derrick Stikeleather says:

    Drive the Hako – That greenhouse probably has better visibility than the other two. And let’s face it, they are probably all great drivers so it comes down to comfort.

    Sell the Cosmo – I’m a full blown rotary nut, but while I think the Cosmo is a fabulously interesting vehicle, I just don’t have the desire to own one.

    Garage the 2000 – This one hurts… I’d rather drive it, but since we don’t have any other choice here, that is the answer. Maybe in my mind I can see that “garage” doesn’t actually mean 100% of the time? Maybe we get to take it out and play with it every now and then? Let’s hope so. No car should be garaged forever, in my opinion. They are cars, and should be used as such.

  3. Eric P says:

    Not to sound like a square but watch that language… But any ways. Drive the Hako cuz I wanna show off that Godzilla, sell the cosmo, it’s sexy but not much of a Mazda lover, and garage the 2000gt.simply cause I can just sit there for hours staring at those curves.

  4. dbdr says:

    Drive the Cosmo, because it’s my favourite of them. Sell the Skyline, because I’m not a big fan of the GT-R versions. Garage the 2000GT, because I’d rather drive the Cosmo.

  5. Yuri says:

    Drive, Drive, and Drive.
    Because based on the 7 JNC’s I own (4 of them MA70/71 Supras, I may have a problem), selling is not in my vocabulary, and any car I garage ends up sitting for so long it no longer drives. So the most humane thing for everyone involved is to simply drive them.
    Plus I’ve heard if you own a Hakosuka and don’t drive it, Yakuza come to your house.

  6. Nigel says:

    Drive the Hako (parts are easier and the car is fun to drive).
    Keep the Cosmo (because Ultraman).
    Sell the 2000GT, (to get a nice 240 and swich between the 240 and Hako).

  7. Lupus says:

    Drive – Hako. No brainer. It’s simple, sturdy, with a lot of aftermarket support and tons of plausibilities to use it and adjust it to me personal taste.

    Garage – Cosmo. I adore Mazda for beeing always swimming up the river, not marching with the crowd. Cosmo was cosmic back in it’s days, and still is. A true Jetson machine. But it requires a calm hand/foot, i suoposse. Servicing a modern age rotary isn’t easy, not to mention such an antique.

    Sell – 2000GT. Even thru i’m revolving for all my life around Toyota Corp. machines, i would sell a given 2000GT. First of all, it’s worth the most on the market of all the Holy Trio. Second – it looks to me the least japanese of the thre. To much european flavor.

  8. speedie says:

    Silly rabbit, cars are for driving. I would drive each of them, skip garaging, and sell them to make room for three more exciting experiences. I have been fortunate to own many great driver’s cars and I don’t regret selling any of them. I mean if I only have room for three and I garage one, then I miss the opportunity to own and drive something else. What would I do if a nice Supra MKIV, NSX, S2000, SVX, EVO, WRX STi, FD RX-7, 3000GT VR4, Starion/Conquest, 300ZX Twin-Turbo, or other great car that hits my fancy of the moment were to fall into my world of possible purchase?

    Two years ago I purchased a showroom condition 2010 RX-8 R3 with just 24K miles. One could argue that as the last rotary car ever produced it should be garaged. If I did that then I would have missed out on the 2,000 mile trip I took with my son, who learned to drive a manual so he could drive with me, to the DGRR meet where I got to drive the Tail of the Dragon. I also would have missed out on the 2,500 mile trip we did to Road Atlanta this year for the Mitty to watch my friends race their vintage Datsuns. The car now has just over 35K miles and I know I will sell it someday, but I also know the memories my son and I shared will last long after the car is gone. That is why they are called “nostalgic” cars after all.

  9. madveks says:

    Drive-2000 GT. not many out there.
    Sell- Hakosuka. too many out there
    Garage-Cosmo because apex seals

  10. Banpei says:

    Each of the cars you mention need to be driven, garaged and sold…

    First of all it would be a terrible shame not to drive these cars. Cars are meant to be driven and enjoyed, especially enthusiast performance cars like these three.

    Second of all they need to be garaged and cherished. There are only a few of them left, so we need to be careful not to lose this heritage. It might happen that during an enjoyable drive in your 2000GT something may happen to it, for example a tree will drop on top of it… Even the hakosuka had become so rare that it would be a terrible shame if that would happen

    Third of all they need to be sold off. For the same reason I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving any of these cars. What if you get into an accident? What if you blow the diff to pieces? What if you overrev any of these engines and break it beyond repair? Eventhough any of these three cars would be high on my list to own, I would immediately sell them off…

    Finally: any of these three choices are impossible to do at the same time. You can’t keep a car garaged, pampered and cherished and drive the hell out of it at the same time. The same accounts for selling: you simply can’t drive a car you sold. 😉

    So that leaves me with the decision to do the opposite of what any save person would do: drive the 2000GT, garage the GT-R and sell the Cosmo

  11. Tom Westmacott says:

    Ok, first one’s easy; Toyota 2000GT. I’d love to drive this car, push the widely praised chassis over some country roads and wring out *that* engine. I’d love to roll up at an event and emerge from one of the most beautiful cars of all time. I’d love to, but I couldn’t – I’m only an inch shorter than Sean Connery, whose vertical incompatibility with this finest of Toyotas famously led to the creation of the convertible variant. So the 2000GT would go straight into my garage, just as soon as I’ve knocked a window into the wall so I can admire its beautiful lines from my living-room sofa.

    Having got the Toyota safely tucked away, the next decision is obvious; I should sell the lovely Cosmo Sport. Daily driving a rotary is already a bit silly, what with the engine needing attention all the time, but at least with a 13B car it’s merely a matter of spending all your money. The Cosmo runs the original 10A engine, a sandwich of unobtainable parts. It’s obvious that it *will* need work, and when it does, where are you going to get the bits from to fix it?

    Meanwhile, the Hakosuka would make a fine daily driver, with a back seat, a trunk, and the ability to source repair panels from less illustrious sibilings if the worst was to happen.

    Well, that’s what I *should* do. But I wouldn’t. I would drive the Cosmo, with its light weight and delicate balance, and hang the consequences. So the estimable Hako goes for auction, and the Cosmo comes into the shop. Onto the shelf goes the historic 10A motor and four-speed box; in goes a bridgeported 12A and a close-ratio five-speed, plus the biggest Koyo rad I can squeeze in, with the L10B model’s later larger grille if my car was an early model. And now to see if I can wangle my way into any historic racing events…

  12. エーイダン says:

    Drive the Hakosuka, Garage the Cosmo and as much as it pains me to say, sell the 2000GT to a more worthy owner. I myself will never be the owner the Toyota deserves. The Hako would be my baby, the Cosmo would be garaged and I would author a plaque for it, like those in museums for the cosmo. The Hako I wouldn’t dare drive in the winter or anytime before June or after mid-September. The Hako would be the equivalent to a hit of amped-up Rockstar drink with a hit of JP Weiser, but for the soul. I wouldn’t drive it much, but I’d certainly take it to a car park and watch the crowd, turn it into a mobile museum exhibit, with me as the tour guide. Tell people why the car was so significant, show a few pictures from the ’70s, give people a walk-around and let people sit in those seats, provided their hands were clean and they weren’t eating or drinking anything. If I actually had that car, I would want to take it once, just once…on a trip to Japan, I’d Drive it along the Fuji Touge, like the car from the Hot Wheels Road Trippin’ series Hakosuka, then take it to Suzuka and try to set a lap time in it. After that, I would want the Skyline to be driven only to those places where I would be able to share it, let people see the legend, in the metal before them, to see a piece of living history.

  13. j_c says:

    Sell the 2000GT
    Garage the Hako (then sell just before JDM prices peak)
    Drive the Cosmo and have enough cash for all the gas used

    A couple years ago I saw a modified Cosmo Sport on ebay with a 13B and RX-7 4 pot brakes totally ready for a track day. That’s what I’d do.

  14. Saii says:

    Sell the 2000GT, because its worth the most. Drive the C10 GTR, everyone will know what you have and want it. Garage the Cosmo, its rarer and slower than the GTR, so keep that one nice.

  15. sedanlover says:

    Wowzers! That’s some trio of cars to chose from. Ok, here goes.

    Drive the Skyline
    (because the 2000GT is worth more)

    Garage the 2000GT
    (because it’s worth more than the Skyline)

    Sell the Cosmo
    (because it should go to a more deserving Mazdafarian + the sale of the Cosmo could fund more garage space/security for the 2000GT… and possibly help keep the Skyline on the road)

    Regardless, if I was the owner of these cars, I’d want to share share share. Yes, the 2000GT will be garaged, but it doesn’t mean you can’t take it to shows and post a bunch of photos and videos about your ownership online. Also, the Skyline is pretty rare in Australia too, so you’d want as many people to get around it as possible. Lastly, selling the Cosmo could be quite fun – treat it like a property auction and have “open days” and such and really get the word out there.

    Great topic! I enjoyed fantasizing about this for a few minutes.

  16. Bryan Pichardo says:

    Drive Hako, Garage 2000GT sell Cosmo

  17. Mike in Long Beach says:

    Lots of posters already have it right.

    Drive the Drive the Hakosuka because it would be fun to drive and probably the easiest to maintain mechanically and cosmetically.

    Sell the 2000GT because the proceeds would be a little life-changing for us.

    That leaves the Cosmo, which I consider a styling masterpiece right up there with the Toyota. I would not have a problem garaging it because I LOVE showing visitors whatever cool car I currently have in my garage.

  18. Rob says:

    Dream you garage it!! Nightmare if you sell it!! Fantasizing that you drive it!!! ?????

  19. Ant says:

    Drive – 2000GT. Probably the least wise decision given its value, but the alternative would be not driving one of Japan’s greatest, most beautiful cars – and that’d be even more of a crime than not driving the others.

    Sell – Hako. Pains me to do this as I’d love to own one of these, but given keeping this would mean selling one of the other two, it’s just not possible.

    Garage – Cosmo. The only one of these trio I’ve actually driven. Another it would pain me not to drive, but I suspect the Cosmo’s relative fragility means the garage is the best place for it – and its investment potential is fairly secure anyway.

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