Tag Archives: gemini

Isuzu once made a J-body with a ceramic diesel hybrid engine for the Tokyo Motor Show

Every Earth Day we highlight a hybrid or alternative fuel concept car from Japan’s past. Back in 1985, long before the Prius was a twinkle in Toyota’s eye, Isuzu revealed a hybrid compact sedan at the Tokyo Motor Show. The … Continue reading

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VIDEO: The Gemini was Isuzu’s most popular passenger car

Introduced in 1974, the Isuzu Gemini was known by many names around the world. Depending on the country, it was sold as a Chevy, Buick, Opel, Holden, Vauxhall, Daewoo, Saehan, and probably a few more. In Japan, though, it was … Continue reading

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Check out Isuzu City, the mind-blowing miniature town that is Japan’s largest diorama

Goodbye forever, readers. We at JNC have decided to move to a place in Japan where there are plenty of nostalgic cars, clean streets, and barely any traffic. It’s Isuzu City, population 3,300, located inside the Isuzu Plaza museum in … Continue reading

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GALLERIES: A virtual tour of Japan’s impressive Isuzu museum

Isuzu Plaza, the official Isuzu museum was opened in 2017 in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, next to one of the company’s oldest factories. It’s currently closed through April 30 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but thanks to Isuzu you can still … Continue reading

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JNC LIBRARY: A must-have book for the Isuzu aficionado

If you’re a hard-core enthusiast, or even just a casual fan, of Isuzus, the the new book A History of Isuzu Passenger Cars by Setsuo Toma should be in your library. As the title implies, it spans the entire run … Continue reading

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EVENTS: The Final New Year Meeting, Part 01

It is with a heavy heart that we bring you this report on 2019’s New Year Meeting, held on the fourth weekend of January, for it is also the very last New Year Meeting. period. Twelve years ago, JNC became … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 04 — Subaru and Isuzu

One of the clues that JCCS 2018 was history’s biggest was the presence of Isuzus and Subarus. Not a lot, granted, but in past years we would have said there were a lot if even one car of either marque … Continue reading

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

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

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EVENTS: New Year Meeting 2017, Part 08 — Leaving in Style

The New Year Meeting is an magical festival of vehicular awesomeness, but what happens when the party’s over? Most owners drive their cars home, but sometimes you want to ship your precious cargo. With many areas of Japan more crowded … Continue reading

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EVENTS: New Year Meeting 2017, Part 03 — Isuzu and Hino take center stage

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

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100 YEAR CLUB: Isuzu Motors

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

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GRAND TOURING: Isumi Matsuri

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

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EVENTS: 2016 New Year Meeting, Part 02 — The Parking Area

In Part 02 of our New Year Meeting coverage, we delve into the parking area to unearth gems as good as anything inside the show. Some of them aren’t able to make it simply because of the age cutoff, others perhaps … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Club-level race at Nakayama circuit in 1985

This video of a club-level race at Nakayama Circuit in 1985 has got everything: AW11, Gemini, Bluebird, R30, SA22, multiple generations of Truenos and Levins, and the smooth jazz of a Gran Turismo menu screen. Watch the video below.

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EVENTS: 2015 New Year Meeting, Part 08 — Parking Area Finds

Closing out our coverage of the 2015 New Year Meeting, we make a quick run through the show’s parking area. Thanks to the Japanese protocol of backing into their parking spaces, we were able to get full views of spectators’ rides to the show unobstructed … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2015 New Year Meeting, Part 02: Sports Coupes and Sports Sedans

In Part 01 of our New Year Meeting coverage, we looked at the early days of Japan’s infatuation with sizzling Sixties sports cars. In Part 02, we look at the Disco Decade’s explosion of new sports coupes and sports sedans. 

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EVENTS: 2014 Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival, Part 01

Unlike last year‘s clear blue skies and balmy weather, this year’s Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival was held on a cool, wet Saturday. The annual event, put on by the Toyota Automobile museum, welcomes all marques and takes place in a … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival & Parade, Part 02

When Toyota holds a car show in the middle of Tokyo’s equivalent of Central Park, people notice. In Part 01 of our Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival coverage we had the rare opportunity to see the best of Japan’s historic … Continue reading

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GARAGE LIFE: A visit with Isuzu Sports Eagle

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

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Friday Video: Seizure-inducing onslaught of vintage photos is an Isuzu ad, surprisingly

Out of all the Japanese automakers we’d vote Isuzu, hands down, as the marque least likely scour the attic for a heritage hyping infodump of family photos in the name of advertising. Sure we’ve seen history-laden campaigns from the likes … Continue reading

Posted in cm, isuzu, trucks | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments