Tag Archives: vip

The Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins trailer gets Japanese cars right

Hollywood movies often get car scenes wrong, but especially when the setting is in Japan. Typically they just sprinkle in some a Nissan Figaro in the background or set up a parking garage drift in Los Angeles that stands in … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2019 Osaka Auto Messe

Everyone knows the Tokyo Auto Salon, the massive annual car show where the big brands and tuning houses of Japan’s automotive aftermarket goes all-out to show its wares. But, there’s an equally big show that’s not quite as well known, … 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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MINICARS: A beginner’s guide to JNC Legos, Part 03

In the final installment of our beginner’s guide to Lego JNCs, we are going to focus on the prevailing style of builds in Japan. In Part 01 we admired highly complex creations comprised of hundreds of pieces where the sky’s the … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Petersen Museum Cruise-in, Part 02

The Petersen Museum in Los Angeles puts on many events throughout the year, each with a theme ranging from hot rods to Porsches. Recently, they hosted their annual cruise-in for Japanese cars, inviting Nihon Steel both old and new to … Continue reading

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Tokyo Auto Salon: A woman-run tuning house’s ultra-Japanese custom creations

The car world is still, unfortunately, very male dominated, with few woman-run shops anywhere on the planet. At the Tokyo Auto Salon this year, however, one of the most striking booths was that of L-Tide, a woman-led shop located in western Tokyo, and its … Continue reading

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NIHON LIFE: Stumbling across random car shops in Tokyo

It’s easy to get lost in Tokyo. The streets aren’t laid out in a grid and often have no signs on them, or if they do, they’re in Japanese. As a car otaku, the problem is compounded because rather than looking at … Continue reading

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QotW: Which vintage barrel is the definitive “universal” JNC wheel?

There are some wheels, either stock or aftermarket, that just look good. They can be fitted to a good number of JNCs and universally improve the look, like the classic gunmetal or black Wat. You can slap those on anything … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2014 All-Toyotafest, Part 01— Luxe & GT

Hanging like a cloud over the festivities of the 19th annual All-Toyotafest this year was the news that had been leaked to the press a week prior: Toyota USA was moving its headquarters, which had been a southern California fixture … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2014 Nostalgic2Days, Part 04

We start our final installment of our 2014 Nos2Days coverage with a beautiful butaketsu Laurel by Red Megaphone. The Nissan restoration shop is known primarily for its Skylines, but this white C130 hardtop showed that there’s more than hakosukas and kenmeris … Continue reading

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BUBBLE ERA EXCESS: 1984 Nissan Gloria Turbo Brougham VIP Super Selection Ⅱ

Since we’re talking about the greatest interiors this week here’s a rarely mentioned cabin that gives Mitsubishi’s plaid and Subaru’s bizarro asymmetry a run for their money. Behold the Bubble Era excess of the 1984 Nissan Gloria Turbo Brougham VIP … Continue reading

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? 1965 Nissan President

From 1965, if you wanted the very pimpest and plushest the Nissan empire had to offer, then you’d go to your friendly neighbourhood dealer and plunk down a not-trivial six million yen for a President. The Royal Family may have rolled … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 04

We’ll let Patrick Ng‘s gorgeous TE27 kick off the fourth and final installment of our 17th Annual All-Toyotafest coverage. This tasty mango began life as a 1973 SR-5, an ultra-rare US-spec version of the Corolla Levin, with metal flares and all straight from the factory but … Continue reading

Posted in events, toyota, trucks, vip, wagons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 03

We start the 17th Annual All-Toyotafest coverage with a perennial fave, Jorge Aguilera‘s Fuji-reminiscent green 18R-G turbo Celica. Note the fender mirrors, which are not green but gunmetal carefully matched to the accompanying Wats. 

Posted in events, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

EVENTS: AE86 Nights 5th Anniversary

SoCal may have its drawbacks, but there aren’t many places where you can put the call out for a hachiroku party and have over 100 cars show up. AE86 Nights has been doing this almost every Saturday night since April of 2007, … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Toyotafest 2011 Part 02

Welcome to Part 02 of our Toyotafest 2011 coverage. As Michio Kaku would say, let’s jump right in and take a look at some of more extreme cars that were at the show. This TE51 Corolla has exchanged hands a … Continue reading

Posted in bosozoku, events, toyota, wagons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

VIP S120 Toyota Crown Royal Saloon

Mid-80s Toyotas are rather unappreciated, but subtle expression is the key to customizing an S120 Crown. And you thought the Cressida was boxy… [Image: ezbbs.net]

Posted in toyota, vip | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

SEMA 2009: Nostalgics from Subaru and Honda

The floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center is much sparser than it has been in recent years, but SEMA 2009 is still several times the size of some Central American nations. We were heartened to see more and more … Continue reading

Posted in events, honda, subaru | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments