Monthly Archives: January 2012

“Black Gold” JNC Inkan now available

Have you been scouring the pegs of your local mega box retailer? We’ve gotten reports that Mattel’s 1:64 Mazda RX-7 is out! So in honor of our collab with Hot Wheels, we’ve created a special “Black Gold” edition of our iconic … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon

Every year more and more vintage Japanese steel forges its way into the Tokyo Auto Salon. But as Japan’s equivalent of the SEMA show, the theme favors “custom” over “classic”.

Posted in events, honda, mazda, nissan, subaru, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Friday Video: Dekotora Chase!

The 1996 film Super-Woman was not in fact about an ultra-strong female hero, but a cashier who uncovers shady dealings at a rival supermarket chain. The Japanese love of abbreviation strikes again! The movie would be altogether unremarkable except for a … Continue reading

Posted in toyota, Video Games | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? Carroll Shelby’s Toyota 2000GT #00001 for $1.7 million

Let’s face it. The Japanese offerings at the recent Barrett-Jackson auction were pretty middling. Z-cars and FJ40s restored to new reaches for the definition of “stock” aren’t going to wow anyone who’s been hanging out at JCCS. Well, what do you … Continue reading

Posted in toyota | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments

Custer could have made his last stand in comfort with the Plymouth Arrow “Tepee”

Despite their notable absence from JCCS, on the streets, and in the collective memory of the American public, the Plymouth Arrow was actually quite a popular car. And you could have easily been the big man on campsite with this … Continue reading

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Your gallery of Superdeformed Nostalgics is here

In case you were wondering where you could get your favorite nostalgic drawn in superdeformed anime style, your prayers have been answered. This unnamed master of Choro-Q style illustrations is a master of the form. Peep the gallery and video … Continue reading

Posted in honda, isuzu, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, prince, subaru, suzuki, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Early Japanese classics among top emerging collectibles says Hagerty

With all the automotive madness whipped up by the Arizona auctions week, let’s take a look at how it affects the nostalgic car scene. First, collector car insurance company Hagerty issued a press release identifying three “segments represent[ing] a group … Continue reading

Posted in honda, kei, nissan, subaru, toyota, wagons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Cedric-Corolla switcheroo pulls off 300 million yen heist

The biggest robbery in Japanese history took place on December 10, 1968. On that day, duralumin cases with the year-end bonuses for an entire Tokyo Shibaura Electric (now Toshiba) factory was to be delivered by the Kokobunji branch of the … Continue reading

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The Story of Ronald Reagan’s Subaru BRAT

Here’s proof that Subies aren’t all driven by tree-hugging bleeding hearts. At least one was driven by a tax-slashing, commie-hating Reagan-style capitalist — Ronald Reagan himself. We mentioned the Gipper’s Subaru BRAT a couple of years ago, but now Benjamin Preston of Petersen’s 4Wheel … Continue reading

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Hondas for Guys & Girls

Continuing on the theme of youthful, frolicking couples in nostalgic automotive ads, here’s a 1960s Honda print ad featuring products for “Guys & Girls” — a Honda N360 and E300 portable generator for camping families, and a Monkey Z50M on which you can … Continue reading

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The Story of Diane Krey, the “Mary” behind the Kenmeri Skyline

The C10 hakosuka GT-R made “Skyline” a legend among Japanese gearheads, but the C110 kenmeri made it a household name. Its popularity was due in no small part to the now re-famous Ken & Mary television commercials that gave the fourth-gen Skyline its nickname and … Continue reading

Posted in cm, nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Friday Video: Mitsubishi Colt Targa in Armor of God

Twenty-five years ago the film Armour of God broke the following things: Hong Kong’s box office records, a tree in Yugoslavia, and, in a stunt gone awry, Jackie Chan‘s skull. Chan was rushed to the hospital to remove a fragment … Continue reading

Posted in mitsubishi, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Animated Hondas from new “Blue Skies for our Children” ad campaign

Honda’s new ad campaign features some animated classics and a Watchmen-like generational mirror. The only question that remains is why, when the son gets to the EG, doesn’t slam it while riding around in baseball hat cocked at a 45 … Continue reading

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JNC Project Hako and Kev’s Sexy Aussie Accent

Listen to those sonorous vowels flow from the maw of JNC Aussie editor Kevin San as he talks to Hoon TV about his world-famous Project Hako.

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Scion FR-S Drifter and First 86 Program

Toyota made two announcements today regarding the US-badged neo-hachiroku. Firstly, ToMoCo expects sales to be so piping hot that they built a website just to give the enthusiasts a chance to be one of the initial (no pun intended) 86 … Continue reading

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Kidney, Anyone? Frame-off Restored 1981 Toyota Hilux Trekker

A die-hard Toyota truck nut (not to be confused with the plural) in Southern Pines, North Carolina has conducted a frame-off restoration of a 1981 Toyota Hilux Trekker. These ur-4Runners started out as a half-built Hilux pickups, which were then … Continue reading

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

Friday Video: Liberty Walk’s Boso Roots

We first caught up with JDM tuning house Liberty Walk a couple of years ago at SEMA when we saw their catalog for the mini-hako. Sadly, it wasn’t on hand because LB was there to promote their main business of … Continue reading

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Kidney, Anyone? Toyota Celica TA64 Group 4 Rally Car

Even if you were a mere fetus in the mid-80s, you must know by know of the legendary Group B rally cars — machines like the Audi Quattro, Ford RS200 and Peugeot 205 Turbo — that kicked off the AWD … Continue reading

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Aoshima Gurachan Collection Nissan Fairlady 240ZG

Yesterday we showed you some Aoshima 1/6 models of vintage Japanese racing barrels. On the opposite end of the scale scale Aoshima offers these bosozoku sleds from the 1/64 Gurachan Collection. The series has been out for a while, but … Continue reading

Posted in minicars, nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Aoshima’s “The Wheel” 1/6-Scale Vintage Barrel Model Kit

Welcome to 2012! As we await our Mayan apocalypse let’s enjoy what time we have by enjoying some holiday goodies received at the JNC office. Reason #3,811 of why Japan is great is because you can not only buy a … Continue reading

Posted in minicars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments