Monthly Archives: September 2021
TUNE UP: Dua Lipa drives a pink Mazda Cosmo Sport in “Levitating” music video
Unless you’re talking about a Land Cruiser or Datsun 240Z, classic Japanese cars don’t often cross over to American pop culture. Surprisingly, though, in the music video for the song “Levitating” by Dua Lipa, which is done in an anime … Continue reading
Happy 929 Day from JNC
The pre-facelift second-generation Mazda Luce is probably one of the most underappreciated 1970s Japanese designs. Called the 929 when equipped with a piston engine and the RX-4 under rotary power, it struck just the right balance of elegance and menace. … Continue reading
BIKES: Kawasaki revives the 1976 Z650 with retro Z650RS
Kawasaki has introduced a stunning new retro bike inspired by the 1976 Z650. The new Z650RS follows two other throwback bikes that Kawasaki has introduced in recent years, the Z900RS and Z900RS Cafe. The addition of the Z650RS lets those … Continue reading
There is now a Takumi motor oil for Initial D fans
Since its debut about a decade ago, Japan’s Takumi motor oil has had nothing to do with Initial D. If Sears had been Japanese, its in-house line of tools would have been named Takumi, because though Takumi is a popular … Continue reading
QotW: What’s your favorite Nissan color?
Nissan’s recent revival of Midnight Purple and Millennium Jade sparked an internal debate here at JNC about what the best R34 Skyline colors were. Even on that one model, there were so many great ones — do you pick one … Continue reading
MINICARS: Here’s the cars from the upcoming Hot Wheels Toyota series
We got an extraordinarily positive response about the Hot Wheels FJ60 Toyota Land Cruiser yesterday. As you can see from the packaging, it’s part of an all-Toyota premium series. We promised there would be some new castings in it, and … Continue reading
Posted in minicars
Tagged 2000gt, A80, fj60, hilux, hot wheels, kp61, land cruiser, starlet, supra, toyota
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MINICARS: Hot Wheels x JNC Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60
We are stoked to show you the latest Hot Wheels to wear the JNC inkan. In fact, it’s got quite a few more similarities than just the sticker with our own real-life shop truck, a 1986 Toyota Land Cruiser The … Continue reading
History’s greatest Toyota trucks converge in new commercial
Toyota ads have been pretty lame for a while now but if they asked us how to make one, their latest new ad is exactly how we’d do it. The Big Three have been leaning into their heritage for decades … Continue reading
Posted in cm
Tagged 4runner, back to the future, hilux, J40, land cruiser, N60, toyota, tundra
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After 53 years, Honda announces the end of air-cooled inline-four bikes
After over half a century, Honda will end production of its iconic air-cooled inline-four motorcycles. It’s a lineage that began with the seminal Honda CB750 Four, a bike that reshaped the motorcycling universe when it debuted in 1969. The announcement … Continue reading
Happy Bus Day from JNC
Do you dream of a 1980s Nissan that is rear-wheel-drive, is powered a turbocharged and intercooled straight-six engine putting out 325 horses, and has a one of those super-evocative model names that could have only emerged from the Bubble Era? … Continue reading
QotW: What JNC doesn’t get enough respect?
Today is Respect for the Aged day in Japan, a reminder to show some appreciation for your elders. It’s not always easy to keep in mind when the youngins are faster and flashier than their predecessors. However, there are cars … Continue reading
Range Rover promo video shows James Bond’s Toyota Land Cruiser destroying Range Rovers
Normally when a car company strikes a product placement deal in a major blockbuster, provides cars to the production team, then posts a video to social media in which the cars getting destroyed, it typically doesn’t show the hero in … Continue reading
The 2023 Nissan Z’s designers talk about their inspiration and challenges
Redefining an icon with over 50 years of history behind it was always going to be a difficult task. However, in an interview published by Nissan, the two designers responsible for the new Nissan Z talk about what it was … Continue reading
Nissan’s 300ZX “Toys” commercial had a sequel where GI Joe rescues Barbie with a Pathfinder
Last week we asked what your favorite car commercials were. In any list like that, the 1996 Nissan spot “Toys” was bound to show up. In it, a GI Joe-esque action figure comes to life, drives a Nissan 300ZX remote … Continue reading
There will be no 2022 Nissan GT-R in America as history repeats with Millennium Jade
When Nissan revealed the special edition GT-R T-spec yesterday, we noticed a strange discrepancy between the US and Japan versions. The US T-specs are officially labeled as 2021 models, while in Japan it’s called a 2022 model. We reached out … Continue reading
Nissan celebrates its 60th anniversary in Mexico
Last Friday Nissan Mexico celebrated their 60th anniversary. Nissan opened its doors to our southern neighbors on September 10, 1961 and laid the groundwork for a rather significant operation. Five years later, they had opened a factory in Cuernavaca, their … Continue reading
QotW: What modifications on cars make you cringe most?
Let’s face it, there have been a lot of bad car modifications over the years. Whether it was a misguided attempt at recreating a race style, a goofy trend that took on a life of its own, or just an … Continue reading
Nissan re-imagines the original Silvia as an electric coupe
Nissan has released an illustration re-interpreting the original Silvia as an electric coupe. The rendering comes from the imagination of Matthew Weaver, vice president of Nissan Design Europe. Weaver was asked to come up with an electric car based on … Continue reading
