Tag Archives: long beach grand prix

Ex-race car driver and Japan National Diet member Junko Mihara just had her car stolen

Japan is a famously safe nation, but car thefts have been on the rise. Among the most popular targets are high-end Toyotas like the Alphard, Land Cruiser, and Lexus LX. The thefts have even struck some of the highest-ranking people … Continue reading

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Acura revives Long Beach Blue heritage color on the new NSX

Acura is continuing to bring back what it calls heritage colors on the new NSX for 2021. Long Beach Blue Pearl is one of the rarest paint colors offered on the first-generation NSX. Though it was offered for four years, … Continue reading

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VIDEO: If you love Toyota Celicas, look away from this Pro/Celebrity race

For three decades, Toyota sponsored an annual automotive carnage-fest known as the Pro/Celebrity Race. It gathered a bunch of drivers, some who were actual professional racers and some who were movie and television… well, stars, might be too strong a … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: Mazda still carries the IMSA torch

Mazda has been a dominant force in IMSA since the original 1979 RX-7 won its class at the 24 Hours of Daytona in its debut year. As our resident vintage racer Glenn Chiou mentioned in his recent piece, much of … Continue reading

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? Toyota Celica All-Trac Pace Car

To publicize the release of the turbocharged, AWD Celica All-Trac, Toyota and TRD USA built a pace car to lead the Long Beach Grand Prix. With race goodies like a roll cage, fuel cell and adjustable coilovers, was converted to circuit duty … Continue reading

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We drive the new Toyota Pro/Celebrity TRD Scion FR-S, despite being neither Pro nor Celebrity

Since 1977, Toyota has been putting celebrities with varying degrees of track experience into race-prepped cars and unleashing them onto the streets of Long Beach. The carnage that unfolds is, thankfully, limited primarily to the sheetmetal of two dozen freshly … Continue reading

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Question of the Week: What 1987 car is the next classic?

It’s 2012 and that means another new model year has made it into the ranks of “classic.” The rolling 25 year cutoff for vehicles eligible for historic license plates and classic car insurance is now at the year of Iran-Contra, … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2011 Japanese Classic Car Show Part 07, Race & Historic Cars

In Part 07 of our 2011 JCCS coverage we’ll look at some race cars that, unlike the Mazda 787 from Part 01, are within the reach of the common man. This isn’t to say they are any less impressive. They’re … Continue reading

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