Tag Archives: t80

Cruise through the streets of Tokyo circa 1970

Seeing old cars is one thing, but how about an entire city-full of what are today rare classics? A portable video camera would have been very expensive back in 1970, but luckily someone had the foresight to get one and … Continue reading

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RIP Syd Mead, 1933 — 2019

On December 30, 2019, Syd Mead passed away at the age of 86. The legendary concept artist almost single-handedly shaped our visions of tomorrow, having designed the futures seen in films such as Blade Runner, Alien, Tron, and the Star … Continue reading

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Japanese Classic Car Show 2019, Part 09: Trucks, Vans, and Wagons

We have arrived at what could be our favorite part of JCCS, the vans, trucks, SUVs, and wagons. And now, in addition to seeing amazing US-market builds of such cars, their Japan-market counterparts are flooding in. No longer are the … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2019 All-Toyotafest, Part 03 — Classics that Started It All

It’s hard to believe, but this year’s Toyotafest was the 24th of annual shows held by the Toyota Owners and Restorers Club. It’s been almost a quarter century since the first one took place, and at that first one all … Continue reading

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SHOWA SNAP: Have a refreshing Corona Mark II

In 1973, several Coronas lined what could have been a Tokyo dealership. With limited real-estate, urban Japanese dealers often have just a few cars on hand to test drive, but not a massive lot full of inventory. Here, a row … Continue reading

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VIDEO: How Toyota revolutionized mass production

Toyota is not only one of the most respected and efficient carmakers in the world, but one of the most respected and efficient manufacturers of anything, period. Companies from Boeing to Intel have adopted Toyota’s Just In Time manufacturing technique, … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Nisei Week Car Show, 2018

The annual Nisei Festival in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles is a celebration of Japanese American culture. Nisei means “second generation” in Japanese, but with its 84 years since the inaugural festival, the event has already been passed … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 04 — Shakotan Sleds

We’ve shown you the JDM rarities, competition machines and museum pieces of JCCS, but we know what you really came here for — Nihon sleds slammed on some vintage barrels. It’s the quintessential Japanese modified car look, and there was plenty of it on … Continue reading

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EVENTS: All-Toyotafest 2017, Part 03 — Fun to Drive

“Fun to Drive” was the tagline of Toyota Japan for much of the 1980s, and it was absolutely true. Toyota once had a whole portfolio of stylish, slingable cars that were also — and this is a key component of fun … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2017 All-Toyotafest 2017, Part 01 — New Digs

Like RAV4 sales numbers, the number of cars at Toyotafest is ever-expanding. Now in its 22nd year, the country’s most comprehensive Toyota, Lexus and Scion car show has outgrown its home at the Queen Mary. This year, organizers from the Toyota Owners and Restorers Club … Continue reading

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VIDEO: A Datsun 240Z is the hero car in this 1979 chase movie

1970s Los Angeles was an automotive paradise. Not only did you have a diverse mix of Detroit land yachts, European compacts and heaps of Japanese runabouts, but its freeways ran long and wide. Back then, before the 405 was one giant parking lot, … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2016 All-Toyotafest, Part 01 — A preview of what’s to come

Now in its 21st year, the All-Toyotafest has become quite possibly the most popular Japanese car show in southern California. How popular? Online registration for the 2016 gathering — all 450 spots — sold out just eight hours after going … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2015 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 06 — Road & Race

The last installment of our JCCS coverage was a homage to bone stock beauts, but a huge contributor to the popularity of Japanese cars has always been their tunability. Here are the JCCS cars that were built for street and circuit, not preservation. 

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EVENTS: Petersen Museum Japanese Car Cruise-In

There are many things to hate about Los Angeles, but its car culture isn’t one of them. As the trendsetting capital of the custom automobile, it holds the motorcar in such high regard that there’s a shrine to it located smack … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 20th All-Toyotafest, Part 01

Twenty years. That’s how long the annual Toyotafest has been taking place, making it one of the longest running import-only car shows in SoCal. It’s easy to see why. Toyota is the world’s largest automaker and has accrued many loyal fans along … Continue reading

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CLASSIC CM: 1972 was a very good year, for Toyota

No matter your stage in life, the 1972 Toyota lineup has a car for you. Heading up to makeout point? You’ll get to first base at least in an E20 Corolla. Looking for a more sophisticated woman? The A20 Celica is your steed. … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2014 Japanese Classic Car Show
Part 07 — Taking Stock

As we near the end of our 2014 Japanese Classic Car Show coverage, we delve into the crux of what it means to have a classic car show.  Here are some of the rarest and best preserved Japanese nostalgic cars you’ll see … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2014 All-Toyotafest, Part 03 — Practicals

We’ve seen the high-end luxocruisers that gave Toyota its reputation of apocalypse-grade reliability and the long-forgotten sports coupes Akio Toyoda hopes will rekindle passions for his great-grandfather’s company, but Part 03 of our Toyotafest coverage is about the everyday cars and trucks that made the ToMoCo kingdom possible. 

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EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 01

The 2012 All-Toyotafest was abuzz with the excitement generated by the neo-hachiroku. After a decade and a half of supposedly sporty front-wheel-drive offerings, the lightweight FR Toyota is back with a vengeance. For throngs of Toyotaku in attendance it was cause … Continue reading

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Somebody Buy this 1971 Toyota Corona RT90 Coupe for $1200!

Listen up, Toyotaku. There’s an extremely rare RT90 Toyota Corona coupe for sale in Fresno. The Corona is kind of Toyota’s red-headed stepchild, having continued on with a leaf sprung rear long after the rest of the line from Corolla … Continue reading

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