Monthly Archives: December 2009

RX-7 Redux? Rumors of Rotary Sports Return

If the Toyota FT-86 and Nissan Silvia are returning, why not make it triple? In a great end-of-year present, the grapevine has brought us news that the Mazda RX-7 will return in 2011 or 2012 (sources differ). Power will remain … Continue reading

Posted in mazda | Tagged , | 7 Comments

JNC Reader Visits "Vintage" Vintage Car Dealership

Nakazoto is a JNC reader who lives in Nagoya, Japan. He’s graciously posted two of his visits to a local classic car dealership called, simply, Vintage. Check out his photos here and here.

Posted in japan | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Wednesday Wall: JNC Project Hako KGC10 Skyline

Tired of the last Wednesday Wall yet? We don’t know how you could possibly be, but this might be the only car capable of out-cooling the Lexus LFA and Toyota 2000GT: JNC Project Hako. Kev’s ’71 Nissan Skyline KGC10 terrorizes … Continue reading

Posted in nissan, project hako, Wednesday Wall | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Classic CM: Mitsubishi Galant Lambda & Sigma Eterna

We’re always looking for Mitsubishi-related posts for the all-important job of keeping both Matt and the triple diamond mafia happy. To be honest, there isn’t much to this late-70s commercial for the Galant Sigma Eterna and Galant Lambda Eterna. But … Continue reading

Posted in cm, mitsubishi | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

TOM'S Racing Motorsports History

Here’s a cool video showing the history of TOM’S Racing. The Toyota-authorized tuning house was founded in 1974 by Nobuhide Tachi and Kiyoshi Oiwa (TOM’S stands for Tachi & Oiwa Motor Sports). There’s some excellent footage of their Chaser and … Continue reading

Posted in motorsports, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Merry Christmas from Japanese Nostalgic Car

May Santa fill your stockings full of old school parts and rare accessories. Or, if you’ve been especially good, perhaps a new ride in your driveway with a big red bow on it. Merry Christmas, everyone! From all of us … Continue reading

Posted in jnc | Tagged | 24 Comments

Five J-Tin Winter Storage Tips

With a snowstorm of biblical proportions terrorizing the east coast, we thought it might be a good time for some winter storage tips. JNC reader Dustin (aka ohcanada_00 of Giga Pudding fame) works for the car care experts at Griot’s … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Fuji Speedway Frozen in Time, 1977-80

The action that took place at Fuji Speedway in the 70s is the stuff of legend. Back then it was known as FISCO (Fuji International Speedway Co., Ltd.) and was host to epic battles in Group 5, Touring Sedan, and … Continue reading

Posted in datsun, mazda, motorsports, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Friday Video: Winners and Sinners and a Massive J-Tin Pileup

Here’s another one of those wacky Hong Kong movies involving ridiculously implausible car chases and copious amounts of J-tin genocide. Although main players in this car chase from 1983’s Winners and Sinners are a Triumph Spitfire versus, uh, Jackie Chan … Continue reading

Posted in datsun, honda, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Vintage JDM Brochures Galore

We hope you have some time to kill because Kyuusha Maniacs is a Japanese blog with tons of JDM brochure scans going back to the 1950s. We stole this pic of from a 1971 Toyota Crown Sedan and Hardtop brochure, … Continue reading

Posted in catalogs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Oldschool JDM Tuner Challenge

Here’s a nice vid from Best Motoring, way back in the early 90s. It’s a tuner-car challenge around Maze circuit in Niigata prefecture. Surprisingly there are quite a few older cars in the mix, including a few FB/SA22 RX7s and … Continue reading

Posted in Video | 7 Comments

TE27 Levin & Trueno: A Pair of Ripe Mangos

Here’s a good shot illustrating the differences between the TE27 Toyota Corolla Levin (back) and Sprinter Trueno. You never see the two parked side by side here in the US. The mechanically identical cars have only superficial visual differences, most … Continue reading

Posted in japan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Classic CM: Honda Prelude's Tach Within a Speedometer

The Honda Prelude made its debut in 1978 to compete with sport coupes like the Toyota Celica and Nissan Silvia. Honda would use the flagship model as a test bed for experimental concepts and innovative firsts. Take, for example, the … Continue reading

Posted in cm, honda | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Rumored 2011 Nissan Silvia Styled After Foria Concept

Nissan is not about to sit idly by and let the Toyota FT-86 and Honda CR-Z steal all the retro car resurrection glory. Rumor has it that Nissan will bring back the Nissan Silvia come 2011 or 2012. There’s been … Continue reading

Posted in nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

OneDay OldCar Festival Shikoku 2009

Right. So that evil Mazda RX-3 we posted yesterday? It’s just met its match. This Toyota Mark II devours souls for breakfast. Take heed not to confuse the name of the car with the name of the wheel. Peer into … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Event Horizon for the Weekend of Dec 11, 2009

If you know of or would like to publicize an event, send us a tip at feedback(at)japanesenostalgiccar.com This week: Saturday, December 12 / Grapevine, Texas: Texas Toyota Car Show Saturday, December 12 / Atlanta, Georgia: Garage Zero Holiday Open House … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

1978 Mazda RX-3 Savanna of Undiluted Evil

We don’t really have much to say about this menace to all that is innocent and pure, except that it’s hewn from brimstone and the nightmares of children. Imagine this ’78 Mazda RX-3 appearing in your rear view on a … Continue reading

Posted in mazda | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

"Crazy Nobe" Wakatsuki, First Datsun Importer, Dies at 81

As we all know, Nissan officially came to the US in 1960. But you’ve probably seen a small number of Datsuns built before then lurking around in barns and collections. Where did they come from? The answer is a man … Continue reading

Posted in datsun, nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Learning Japanese: "Tateguro" Nissan Gloria A30

Welcome to a new series on the JNC Blog. In Learning Japanese, we’ll introduce nicknames for Japanese cars and delve into their etymology. We started informally with the erimaki Mitsubishi Mirage, but now it’s official. Let’s kick off with the … Continue reading

Posted in Learning Japanese, nissan | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Last Monthly Torrance/South Bay Meet of 2009

The boys with the Datsun wagons held the final South Bay meet of 2009 last Friday and despite the chilly (for SoCal) temperatures we rolled in to join the festivities. We saw the Mazda R100 above at SevenStock earlier this … Continue reading

Posted in events, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments