As much as we aspire to live the JNC life, we can’t always do so. Sometimes we must drive a car that’s newer, not made of Nihon steel or perhaps not even a car at all.
What vehicle to do you cheat on your JNC with?
What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What does your family think of your JNC?”
We had great answers this week, like Banpei‘s travails with his Carina, Justin‘s struggles with his Corolla wagon and Cressida, Byron Chiu‘s tale of turning the tides and getting his parents into JNCs, and Steve‘s story of R32 love. However, the winner this week was Jerome and his fight to convince his mom that his Toyota Tercel is roadworthy:
They don’t take it seriously.
My daily driver is a 1980 Toyota Tercel Liftback Deluxe. It runs way better than their modern cars but they still think it’s a toy more than a car. When I tell my mother I’m going to another city, even if it’s not far away, she ask me “Do you want to take mine? I don’t need it today.”
Yeah thanks mom but my Tercel actually have the abillity to move people from one place to another!
It’s fun to see how simple such an old car is but how scared other people may be when I ask them to drive it. Just like it can’t be driven without particular attention and it’s extremely complicated!
They will probably change their mind when the bills for electrical failure will exceed the cost of their cars!
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
Hi JNC,
I am very fortunate to drive my JNC daily. My Gf and I have moved in together and luckily she drives an AE92 Toyota, so I wont consider it cheating… more like my JNC’s cousin offering me a ride.
And everyone is happy.
I’m a Toyota boy. I grew up with mostly all Toyotas, Scions, or a Lexus vehicle. The car I cheat on my JNC with is a 2002 Lexus IS300…However, this is the story of how having a car to cheat on your JNC with may backfire once you even touch your Nostalgic.
Very recently (quite literally 3 weeks ago), I got my very first taste of a JNC. A fairly new car to become a JNC. A 1990 Toyota Celica GT, the coupe variant, not the hatch. The car was sitting for 6 years before I acquired it from my uncle, so it definitely needed some attention. Anyway, the story starts 2 weeks ago. The car was sitting outside my uncle’s house ready to be towed. About two hours after waiting, the tow truck finally came and picked up my car with my IS facing the rear end of the Celica the whole time as if it was watching. The car was dropped off later that night at my friend’s shop and so I headed on home in my IS. I got home and took a nice rest. The next morning, I woke up and started my IS only to see that the oil light had come on. I checked the dipstick and sure enough, it had run low on oil. Now, I thought nothing of it and had the oil changed. Here’s where the problems get slightly worse. As I was putting the hood back down, the little thing that holds the hood rod had snapped and the hood was a pain to shut; that’s the first time it had happened…The next day, the problems had gotten worse. The front right tire had flattened to the point that it was un-drivable. I sighed as I jacked up the car and removed the wheel to replace it with the spare. The day afterwards, I had planned to take the wheel to the tire shop only to find out that the IS300’s battery had died. Luckily, I had my mom’s Sequoia to drive to both AutoZone and the tire shop to get my battery jumped AND my tire fixed. About a week later, my friend had called me and told me my Celica was up and running smooth. The Celica was dropped off at my home and suddenly, the Lexus problems had stopped. I had already gotten everything replaced so everything on the Lexus was in tip top shape again. I went for a drive in the Lexus to refresh myself and it was running smooth as usual. It’s as if the Lexus was jealous and by breaking it was probably saying, “Fine, if you want to give that piece of junk more attention than me, I’m just not going to work.” But since my 90’s sports car arrived home, both the it and the Lexus have had no problems and seemed to have gotten along well, haha. Quite a funny story if you ask me!
🙂
Obviously I drive a modern Honda Civic daily… But it is not a daily at all, more a weekend-family-mover-and-grocery-getter. I actually cheat on both my JNC and daily with a bicycle. Why is that?
Well I’m a freelancer working remote for other companies, so I used to have my own office inside our house. But with a new baby coming in September I had to rent myself an office. The office is only 5 minutes away from home and it takes longer to drive there. As it is in the city center parking is paid, which makes it less attractive to come by car. So every morning I bring my son to school by bike, then ride to the office on my cross framed Azor:
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8215/8326438589_e108871420_b.jpg
Given that my job involves driving hundreds of different cars I’m surprised my Eunos hasn’t slapped me in the face and driven off to find someone more faithful months ago.
A three-day fling with a Morgan 3-wheeler was definitely worth it, though…
I enjoy flogging around in my gf’s ’06 Dodge Durango. Its our utilitarian beater and boy has it served us well. I typically own and daily drive 2-seaters coming from the MR2 world so having all the space for bikes, stuff and people is just nice. Being high above the road and having that V8 powoahh are also nice features. Just dont’ tell my 86 MR2 that I enjoy driving cars other than her Her jealous nature will never get over it.
Efficient, reliable, super rare, hated by critics, and sporting a body like nothing seen on anything else, my 2015 Honda CR-Z is basically a modern S10 200SX.
IMO it’s one of the most JNC’ish of modern vehicles, just because nothing else really has the oddball factor in common with so many obscure 70’s and early 80’s JNC’s.
A sporty hybrid manual? I doubt you’ll see anything like it again.
I don’t think my AE86 or S30 mind, as it keeps them from the rigors and destruction of daily driving, safe at home until they can drive places that they’d actually want to go to.
Nice to hear some positivity on the CR-Z – everywhere you look on the internet there’s someone saying it wasn’t any good. Always disagreed – drove one for a week and loved it.
ae86 wannabe trackstar first off.
04 Toyota Sequoia with 3 inch lift and 33″ tires is my daily mistress. This bulky but well rounded bitch has me very happy for the most. she can be a thirsty biitch, so for that i have 10 Versa she gets used when i feel like a tight wad.
As to non JNC cars, the most non JNC is my Ford F250 which is used to trailer JNC cars here and there. The other non JNC cars are either the NSX, or one of my S2000 CR’s, one day even these will qualify for JNC status.
Public Transit. Parts are expensive!!
I’ve always loved AMCs. Ramblers in particular. Back when I had my 1983 Corolla Wagon, I was getting a bit fed up. It had constant issues due to the poor quality of the swap that had been done and I was at my wits end with the car.
I saw a 1964 AMC Rambler Station Wagon – flathead i6, 3 on the tree – come up for sale on my (semi) local craigslist. I had been planning on selling the Corolla and looking for a Cressida Wagon, however the search for a x3 Cressida Wagon was turning up fruitless and the rambler was the right price. I sold my Corolla and bought the Rambler. It was a great car, tons of fun, however there was a slight problem.
The x3 Cressida wagon that just turn up on CL in Seattle. I basically emptied my bank account and drove down to Seattle that week and bought the car. Imported it to Canada and decided that it was far more practical than a ’64 Rambler. (which then decided to strip out it’s rear hub)
Long story short: I broke up with my Corolla over an older woman. Had a short affair with a Rambler then moved on to my 1979 Cressida Wagon.
When not driving my 1967 Datsun RL411, I use my newer Infiniti 1997 J30T! I like the way Nissan Corporate finds a way to incorporate the then current Sport Car [dare I say Fair Lady?] engine into a 4 door sedan! My 30 year separation between the 411 and the J30 series bears testimony to their sucess in this swap logic! And my appreciation of their efforts! In retrospect, I am guessing that the Infiniti J30 series now qualifies for the “JNC” classification, so this just might be a dual JNC posting! My oldest and newest Datsun / Nissan cars bear a genetic similarity.
I cheat on my JNC with a van. Specifically, two vans. On my feet.
Damn, Daniel.
LOL!!! DAYMMM Daniel!
I’m in the lucky position where my NB Roadster is my daily, I only work a mile away from where I live so the car only gets used for fun.
Having said that, I used to daily a 2000 Skoda Felicia and it was a terrible, hateful thing. I had the exhaust fall off on the motorway, resulting in me trailing it with sparks flying everywhere, the gear linkage collapse forcing me to get a new one imported from the Czech Republic and the thermostat fail, which saw it boiling coolant after 5 minutes.
All of that made me appreciate the Roadster even more, which just provides hours of fun and enjoyment without (whisper it) any problems so far. Not bad for a car which is now legally old enough to drink!
2000 Subaru Outback. Vehicle plate states that it was actually made during the turn of 1999! It is a manual transmission base model with optional winter and tweeter kit; these packages added front wiper heaters, heated front cloth seats (yes!), and A-pillar tweeters.
I bought it with only 94.5k miles–very low in the northeast–and the broski is now at the turn of 122k miles. We’ve been everywhere without worry. In addition to going all over New Jersey, the Outback has been to Michigan, twice, and Rhode Island. I always take the car camping and will eventually build an elevated, collapsible bed for it.
If anything, I cheat on the Outback LOL. It is such a loyal, humble car. I even taught three people to drive stick-shift in it. But on weekends, I sneak away into the garage to pull out in the Z31 for some noise, fast thrill, style, and mechanical bitching.
2000 Toyota Celica GT-S. Almost the only car I’ve owned that isn’t (at least now) 25 years old. 6-speed manual w/ 2zz-ge. Great car for daily driving (although I currently work from home and don’t daily drive), has given me basically zero issues other than routine maintenance in the 87k miles I’ve put on it (bought at 89k, currently sits at 176k). Handles great, redlines at ˜8k, and I can get close to 40mpg (well, not when hitting 8k rpm, but when driving sensibly).
I cheat on my JNCs (one runs, 1988 pickup, and one does not, 1979 Celica) with… a new, future JNC, every 5 years or so. I currently DD a 2016 FRS. My last DD was a 2011 Yaris but it was rear-ended and totaled “forcing” 😉 me to buy the FRS. I have two more future JNCs which will become eligible in 2024 and 2026. I keep all my cars so eventually they all turn into JNCs but I dunno if I will be around long enough to see my FRS become one (in 2038!).
I got a 9th gen 2015 Honda Civic that I drive daily to work. Also got a 2013 Toyota Hilux if I wanna haul some heavy duty stuff.
I used to cheat on my 240Z with my Z32, but then that was upgraded to “Nostalgic Status” when it turned 25. Now I just don’t cheat.
Kawasaki Ninja 250 is my two wheeled mistress. She is the best $900 craigslist deal I have ever gotten. Gets me anywhere with 70mpg (50 mpg when I feel aggressive) in the Bay Area. Also way more reliable than her old JNC counterparts.
I’m not sure if I feel safer getting in a wreck though. I mean the S130 only has one airbag and the s30 has a nice big wheel to impale with. Then again, I would rather wreck the little Ninja than any Datsun or classic. Bones heal, JNC steel won’t ;(
My ’87 AW11 is my daily now, so the only car I can cheat on it with is my ’64 Morris Mini Cooper.
That being said, affairs can be somewhat love/hate…
The MR2 is fairly sedate (TRD springs, Koni shocks, 14″ watanabes, that’s about it for mods) but the Mini is the more focused – half cage, 45mm Weber, LCB extractors, RC40 exhaust, riding on 10×6 minator wheels shod with Yoko A032R rubber.
Suspension is stiff and bouncy, thanks to rubber cone suspension instead of springs, the seats are fixed back Cobra Classics, with the engine bay contents hidden by just a sheetmetal firewall sitting about 2 feet away.
Noise is constant, shouting a conversation to the passenger is just possible at idle or during gear changes, but pointless at all other times. Also makes a radio pointless too. The smell of petrol is a constant companion too, along with the scent of grease and hot metal that comes with all classic British cars.
Ultimately though, it’s perfect for those times when I get sick of the low slung MR2, the low ground clearance, slightly stiff ride and loud 4A-GE – a ride in the mini for a couple of hours resets the backside benchmark for “go-kart handling”, “bone-jarring” and “ear-bleeding”; and afterwards the MR2 feels like a bearable, comfortable daily driver once again, happy to comfort me with it’s velour embrace…
Outside of being a vintage Isuzu enthusiast (1965 Isuzu Wasp, 1966 Isuzu Bellett 1500, 1968 Isuzu Bellett 1500, 1969 Isuzu Florian, 1972 Isuzu Unicab, 1973 Isuzu Bellett GTR, 1976 Buick Opel by Isuzu, 1978 Holden Gemini), I’m also a Holden guy (Australian, yes).
My daily is a 2004 Holden SS Sandman by HBD that I bought new; it’s essentially an LS1 Pontiac GTO, but a ute, except with a smooth sedan-delivery conversion; only around 260 sold new by Holden so it’s a rarity.
My wife’s daily is a 2009 Holden Caprice that was sent to Singapore for use by the Australian consulate; it’s 100% Australian-spec which is a shame, as it would be rad to be really weird, but it’s the 6.0 litre LS2 and can motivate like nothing else we own, so it’s a keeper. It’s a similar spec to the PPV Caprices sold in the USA (except it has a nicer bumper).
I don’t mind Holdens or our local Fords; what I dislike is boring, common cars so even though the Holden ute and the Caprice are pretty common here, we’ve got the weird, unusual versions of common cars!
Daily a Z32 that’ll turn 25 at the end of this year, I don’t know if that counts?
I don’t cheat on my JNC’s, I daily a 1989 Toyota pickup (4×4 22re 5speed) and my retired daily is a 1990 Toyota Celica GT4 A-Spec… Which I still drive alot…
My work car is a 2016 Civic Turbo which I love, my wife drives a tricked out 2014 Frontier, and I have two lovely vehicles from 1987. A Firebird (sorry everyone), and a rust free ’87 Hardbody ( which I consider to be my JNC since I sold my Z).