Tag Archives: compagno

For the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Daihatsu followed the torch from Greece to Japan

The last time Tokyo hosted the Olympics, Japan had yet to prove itself as a global force in the automotive realm. The country’s budding carmakers was eager to seize the opportunity that the 1964 Summer Games presented, to introduce the … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

MOTORSPORT: 1967 Daihatsu P-5 race car restored

These days Daihatsu is doing brisk business manufacturing an endless variety of kei cars as a Toyota subsidiary. It doesn’t have any presence to speak of in the world of motorsports today, but in the wild west of 1960s Japan, … Continue reading

Posted in motorsport | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day from JNC

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, here’s a collection of red cars for your viewing pleasure. The theme is the early days of Japan’s post-war auto industry. Can you name them all? Happy Valentine’s Day from JNC!

Posted in Holidays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Tokyo Motor Show: Daihatsu brought the wrong Compagno

Daihatsu’s booth at the Tokyo Motor Show was the only one that had any sort of nostalgia factor. They even brought out a classic Midget and classic Compagno to sit prominently on stage beside the concepts they inspired. Unfortunately for the latter, … Continue reading

Posted in Tokyo Motor Show | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Tokyo Motor Show: Daihatsu saves the day

The Tokyo Motor Show was largely disappointing this year, mainly caused by high expectations. There was no Gran Turismo reunion of Supras, Zs, and Evos. In fact, Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi all highlighted some sort of electric crossover van thingy. It was … Continue reading

Posted in Tokyo Motor Show | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

NEWS: Daihatsu’s retro concepts for the Tokyo Motor Show

This year’s Tokyo Motor Show might see the revival of some legendary models — Supra, Z, S2000, Evo — but it might be Daihatsu that takes the cake for the most charming heritage concepts this year. The compact car specialist has revealed a … Continue reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival, Part 02

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

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

GRAND TOURING: Kanto

Since the opening of the Yamate Tunnel, provided traffic is light of course, traversing Tokyo to join the out-going expressways has become a lot easier. In ten or fifteen minutes, you can join the Joban for a quick run out … Continue reading

Posted in Grand Touring, honda, isuzu, nissan, Prince, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

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

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

Posted in datsun, events, isuzu, mazda, nissan, prince, Prince, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

EVENTS: 2012 Nagoya Classic Car Meeting

The latest dispatch from guest writer David Lovett of Classic Car Nagoya covers the annual Nagoya Classic Car Meeting held by the shop. Here’s his first-hand account. —Ben  Every year in November Classic Car Nagoya rents out the Toyota Stadium parking lot for a day to … Continue reading

Posted in events, honda, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Garage Life: Classic Car Nagoya Diary

Today’s guest writer David Lovett lives in Japan and works at Classic Car Nagoya. Here is a dispatch about what it’s like to be employed at what most of us would consider the ultimate dream job. Enjoy. —Ben Just about … Continue reading

Posted in mitsubishi, nissan, prince, Shop Life, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 52 Comments

Saitama Air-Cooled Yard

Students of automotive design and history advise us that the death of the rear-engine air-cooled car was dictated by a number of changing fashions and requirements. Pollution and noise requirements ensured two-strokes, with their oil-burning lubrication systems, were phased out … Continue reading

Posted in honda, mazda, mitsubishi, subaru, suzuki | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

MSN UK picks Top 50 Japanese Cars

MSN UK Picks Top 50 Japanese Cars: So another media outlet tackles the question of the top Japanese cars of all time. Since it was a British outlet, we’ll go with the 1965 Daihatsu Compagno, which was apparently the first … Continue reading

Posted in datsun, honda, isuzu, mazda, media, mitsubishi, nissan, subaru, suzuki, toyota | Tagged , | 4 Comments