Monthly Archives: October 2019

MINICARS: Hot Wheels S13 Nissan Silvia prototype

The hits keep on coming from our friends at Hot Wheels. Having successfully gotten a couple of iconic 90s Hondas into the 2020 lineup, it’s now time for another Nissan. While Skyline GT-Rs were nice, this car was emblematic of … Continue reading

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2019 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 05 — Toyota fans save the day

Before Toyota moved to Texas, their displays were always a centerpiece of JCCS. A massive enclosed trailer would bring a truck-full of the Toyota USA Museum’s rolling treasures to the show. Now, with the company’s headquarters several states away and, … Continue reading

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MINICARS: There’s a Hot Wheels EG Honda Civic coming too

The Hot Wheels Honda hits just keep on coming. The latest diecast incarnation of a quintessential 90s Honda is the EG Civic hatch, a tuner favorite and yet another Japanese icon that was incredibly difficult to come by in miniature … Continue reading

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2019 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 04 — For Nissan, it’s the fans that make the marque

For Nissan, it was supposed to be a huge year. 2019 marked the 50th birthday of not only two nameplates iconic for Nissan, but for the automotive kingdom as a whole, the GT-R and the Z. However, Nissan is also … Continue reading

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MINICARS: At long last, a fifth-gen Honda Prelude is coming to Hot Wheels

The fifth-generation Honda Prelude was a phenomenal car, but until now it was nearly impossible to find one in diecast form. It wasn’t a popular car in Japan and thus doesn’t really exist in diecast form there, and when it … Continue reading

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2019 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 03 — Zoom Zoom

The Mazda booth is always a classy affair at JCCS, and this year they brought a who’s who of classics and late model cars from their North American collection. Right off the bat was one of the first Mazda RX-7s … Continue reading

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MINICARS: Get humming with NISMO-tune Hot Wheels R33, R34 Skyline GT-Rs

Those of you who stopped by our booth at the 2019 JCCS may have caught a glimpse of some upcoming Hot Wheels. Here’s the deets on two of the most eye-catching models, an R33 and R34 Skyline GT-Rs in NISMO … Continue reading

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QotW: What’s your best advice for a JNC road trip?

Driving an old car for any distance can be a challenge. It’s not like hopping into a late model Camry with a cup of coffee and a bag of beef jerky and pointing that Toyota logo where you want to … Continue reading

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Toyota has sold its 10 millionth Land Cruiser, celebrates in Japan and Europe but not US

Toyota is celebrating the sale of its 10 millionth worldwide sale of the venerable Land Cruiser. The longest serving nameplate not only in the Toyota lineup, but among all Japanese marques, it has taken 68 years for the go-anywhere truck … Continue reading

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2019 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 02 — JDM, yo

This year marked the 15th anniversary for America’s premier gathering of Nihon steel. To put that in perspective, at the first JCCS in 2005, the newest Japanese cars allowed for import under America’s 25-year import ban were built in 1980. … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: A new historic racing group for Datsun 510s and other compact sedans of the 60s and 70s to race this Saturday

This weekend, October 4-6 2019, Classic Sport Racing Group (CSRG)’s Charity Challenge will feature an exhibition of historic sedan racing through its John Morton Cup Series, named after Datsun racing legend John Morton himself. Joining the cars of the John … Continue reading

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Watch some classic Acura sports cars get abused for a mediocre ad

For its last several generation cycles, Acura has been trying to find a brand identity. The cancellation of the Integra/RSX, the long hiatus of the NSX, and the adoption of various corporate grilles haven’t done it any favors. More recently, … Continue reading

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Suzuki’s retro concept revives the dream of the Pulsar EXA

Suzuki has released images of its upcoming concepts for the Tokyo Motor Show, and they are pretty much bonkers. The most interesting one to JNCers will no doubt be the WakuSpo Concept, a small retro car that picks up where … Continue reading

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2019 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 01 — USDM Rare

Even in the 15th year of the wonderful and ever-growing Japanese Classic Car Show in Long Beach, California, after so many iterations, there are still new things for the casual Japanese car enthusiast to discover. The phyla of Japanese cars … Continue reading

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