Everybody loves Hot Wheels, but it’s for some reason still rare for an automaker to fully embrace the little toys that create thousands of loyal customers for them. Recently, of all places, Honda Japan set up a homage to Mattel’s diecast cars at their Tokyo headquarters, displaying life-sized classics alongside their 1/64-scale counterparts. Continue reading
Watch Lewis Hamilton drive Senna’s winning McLaren MP4/5 in the rain
Earlier this month fans at a rainy Brazilian Grand Prix were treated a rare event. The McLaren-Honda MP4/5 of hometown hero Ayrton Senna took to the track with V10 engine wailing. It was the very car in which Senna, arguably the greatest F1 driver of his era, won his second world championship. This time around, it was Lewis Hamilton, greatest driver of the modern age, behind the wheel. Continue reading
QotW: What’s your favorite feat of civil engineering?
Cars wouldn’t be any fun if there were no roads to drive them on. Today, November 18, is Civil Engineering Day in Japan, and it honors those who built the highways, bridges, and tunnels that help us get where we’re going. It was 145 years ago today, in 1879, that the roots of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers was founded. Japan has many incredible civil engineering projects, like the undersea tunnel that connects Honshu to Hokkaido, the Umihotaru rest area in the middle of Tokyo Bay (above), or the building in Osaka with a whole ass expressway going through the middle of it. But your answer doesn’t have to be from Japan. Just tell us a structure that kind of makes you go “wow” whenever you see it, a testament to what humanity can achieve when we put our collective minds to it.
What’s your favorite feat of civil engineering?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which marque would you never recommend?“. Continue reading
Posted in Question of the Week
8 Comments
Is Japan making fun of us by decorating their USDM-style cars with plastic bags and other garbage?
If you ever been to Japan you’ll notice that their cars, even the regular commuter ones, tend to be much cleaner than their US counterparts. Part of it is the strict roadworthiness inspections they have to undergo, but owners also take more pride in ownership. Ironically, lately some Japanese enthusiasts have purposefully spread a bunch of seemingly random garbage in their cars to make them look more American. Continue reading
Honda celebrates 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty with limited edition Super Cub
The Honda Super Cub and Hello Kitty have a lot in common. Both are Japanese icons, both were among the first in their respective markets to catch fire with non-Japanese audiences, and both have logged sales numbers that would stagger Warren Buffet. Now these two deceptively cute juggernauts have joined forces to celebrate Hello Kitty’s 50th birthday. Continue reading
Mazda exec says Iconic SP ‘not just an empty show car’
While the prospect of a Toyota-Mazda partnership sounds promising, the car they built together had lost some of that Mazda soul. Toyota needs to let Mazda Mazda, especially if cars like the Iconic SP are what they come up with. Mazda execs recently affirmed their intention to build it. Continue reading
2025 CX-50 Hybrid: What happens when Toyota and Mazda join forces
We’ve long wondered what would happen when Mazda and Toyota finally teamed up. Mazda, the enthusiasts’ choice that carries the torch for true drivers outgunned in a cruel market of crossovers and electrification, and Toyota, the juggernaut which for years turned reliable if dull transport into a mountain of cash. When Toyota bought 5 percent of Mazda in 2015, it was interested in shedding its stodgy image with sporty offerings. Could they work together using Mazda’s passion and Toyota’s scale to make something magical? The Mazda CX-50 Hybrid is their first collab and here’s how it went. Continue reading
QotW: Which marque would you never recommend?
Earlier this year we asked which marque you most often recommend. We presume that, as car enthusiasts, friends and family will ask you about what car they should buy. But what about the cars they shouldn’t buy? What are the lemons, money pits, brands that normies think are cool but are actually lame? We want to hear which cars you warn people to stay far away from, and why.
Which marque would you never recommend?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which JNC has the best-looking rear?“. Continue reading
Posted in Question of the Week
17 Comments
Motorcycle racing pioneer, father of Prius, and more inducted into Japan Automotive Hall of Fame
The Japan Automotive Hall of Fame has selected its 2024 inductees. In addition to four vehicles of historical importance to Japan’s automotive history, the JAHoF has also selected five individuals whose work in the field are considered significant contributions to the industry. In addition, the JAHoF’s panel of journalists, engineers, and researchers have selected new vehicles for their Car of the Year awards. Continue reading
Japan Automotive Hall of Fame inducts Toyota 2000GT, Subaru Legacy and more
The Japan Automotive Hall of Fame has announced its inductees for 2024. Every year the non-profit organization adds four “Historical Heritage Cars” to its list of vehicles that it believes are important milestones in Japan’s automotive industry. The cars are voted on by a panel of judges consist of journalists, engineers, professors, researchers and members of various engineering groups in Japan. Here are their latest picks. Continue reading
Posted in News
Tagged 2000gt, alto, japan automotive hall of fame, legacy, motorcycles, subaru, suzuki, toyota
Leave a comment
Official Toyota anime probably not hinting at next-gen Celica, MR2 and Supra
In February Toyota debuted a new anime series, Grip, that was all about fun cars like the GR Corolla, 86 and Supra battling against a world of boring, autonomous cars. The second season is out now, and people have been noticing clues pointing to an exciting slate of five future performance cars not-so-subtly hidden in a frame. Is Toyota trying to tell us something with viral marketing, or did the animators just take some creative liberty? Continue reading
Toyota Celica GT-Four reimagined in Castrol-colored, AWD, turbo GR86
After many years of dormancy Toyota’s famed Castrol livery saw revivals this year, but on non-Toyota cars, oddly enough. Well, here’s the colorway once again, this time on a proper Toyota. Not only that, but the GR86 wearing the livery is as close to a modern Celica GT-Four as you can get, complete with turbo engine and all-wheel-drive. Continue reading
Posted in Next Version
Tagged celica, GR86, motorsports, rally, st185, st205, toyota, wrc
4 Comments
QotW: Which JNC has the best-looking rear?
Today, November 4, is Butt Day in Japan. Now as you pick your brains up out of the gutter you should know that the holiday comes from the popular children’s character Detective Butt, who is a crime solver with a rump for a head. The official description from Toei Animation states, “While he may look like a butt, he is a great detective with excellent deduction.” As with many special occasions, the day comes from the fact that 11 can be read as ii (11) oshiri (04), which means, “nice butt”. It also happens to be Det. Butt’s birthday. What were we talking about? Oh yeah, cars. In all the time we spend gazing upon them, the angle we view them the most from is the rear. In real life the side view is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it blur. Front view? Maybe at a car show. On roads, in traffic, in parking lots, the primary perspective is the rear. So it’s fairly important for car designers to spend time on a good looking posterior. The question this week is simple:
Which JNC has the best-looking rear?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your favorite animated JNC?“. Continue reading
Toyota built a retro ‘4Runner TRD Surf’ with two doors and removable roof
The newest Toyota 4Runner debuted with real off-road chops and retro styling, in many ways bettering even its big brother Land Cruiser. Now Toyota has reached even further into the 4Runner’s heritage and created an homage to the OG first-gen. The concept even cuts the number of doors down to two and chops the roof off. The Toyota 4Runner TRD Surf is about as close as one can get to the one that started it all. Continue reading
Happy Halloween from JNC
If you are (un)lucky enough to have this Toyota Crown Comfort appear when you hail a cab in Japan, fear not. It’s not a death cab, but a promotional taxi by the Lucky Taxi company in Nagasaki Prefecture. Each year they dress up a car like this for the month of October. The skeleton in the passenger seat is named Fukuichi, after Lucky Taxi’s founder, Fukuichi Fukuda. Fukuda has a saying that those of us who have given their life to our automobiles can understand, and which takes on a somewhat ominous meaning on All Hallows’ Eve: “It all started with cars, and it all ends with cars.” Happy Halloween from JNC!
Toyota Chaser is perfect pursuit vehicle in ‘Lonesome Hitman’
We’ve featured many classic car chases from Japanese film and cinema, but there has never been one with a car so fitting. In 1989’s Lonesome Hitman, the pursuing car is, in fact, a Toyota Chaser. With a name like that, it’s surprising they haven’t been in more movies. In this case, it’s running down a W116 Mercedes sedan as bullets fly. Continue reading
Next-gen GR Supra will reportedly be all-Toyota, with gasoline-hybrid power
Rumors about the next-generation Toyota Supra are swirling again. It’s good news for the purists this time around the rumor mill, because it’s saying the car will be an all-Toyota effort. Furthermore, it was believed that the GR Supra would be electrified. Now sources from Japan are saying it’s still going to burn gasoline. Continue reading
QotW: What’s your favorite animated JNC?
October 28 is International Animation Day, and what better day could there be to ask about your favorite animated cars? We’ve always had a soft spot for a certain white FC RX-7. Among the legendary Takahashi brothers, the older Ryosuke was the smarter and more stone cold racer than the younger and more emotional Keisuke. Yet Ryosuke was the one with the “lesser” RX-7. That didn’t stop his FC, the White Comet of Akagi, from being more formidable an opponent than Keisuke’s FD though. When watching Initial D for the first time that was an unexpected and welcome twist that drew us into the story even more.
What’s your favorite animated JNC?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “How do you clean old stains from floormats and carpets?“. Continue reading
Peep the glorious diversity of cars on a Kobe street in 1972
A lot of Showa Era photos have the usual suspects when it comes to traffic. You got your Toyota Crowns, your Nissan Cedrics, maybe a Fuso or two. This scene published by the City of Kobe, though, has an incredible lineup of cars that aren’t your typical sightings. Sure, there’s a 510 Bluebird and barikan taxis in the mix, but seeing a Honda TN360, a Mazda Familia Van, or a T60 Crona Mark II all in close proximity is rare. Look in the back and there’s a Toyota Carina or an L40 Suzuki Carry in there. The longer you stare at the photo the more you discover. May your weekend be as rich as the variety of cars in this photo.
A Honda T360 helps you build a vending machine empire in Honcho video game
Honcho is a new video game that is ostensibly about resource management, but in fact maintaining a Honda T360 seems like a major part of the draw. The game takes place in 1980s Japan, and appropriate cars of the era appear as background traffic while you drive your kei truck around town. With cheerful graphics and a humorous tone, maybe this can be your next time killer. Continue reading
