Monthly Archives: June 2024
Nissan Pulsar GTI-R, the company’s final WRC rally car, has been restored
Nissan has restored a Pulsar GTI-R Group A rally car from its own collection. The project was undertaken by a group of all-volunteer Nissan employees, about 115 in all, who worked on the WRC car during off hours. After spending … Continue reading
Toyota Celica GT-Four tribute stuffs GR Corolla drivetrain into GR86
Toyota has commissioned an interesting project for this fall’s SEMA Show. It plans to create a tribute to the famed Celica GT-Four rally cars by Frankenstein-ing two existing performance cars together. A GR86 will provide the coupe body, while a … Continue reading
Posted in News
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Flying Mitsubishi police cars chase a Mazda Grand Familia in one of Japan’s worst cop shows
The wild success of Seibu Keisatsu spawned a lot of similar cop shows. In Novemberr 1980 one short-lived series titled Hashire Nekketsukeiji (translated literally as “Run, Spirited Detective!”) followed the same format: police in the big city, hard luck stories, … Continue reading
Posted in Film/TV
Tagged Eterna Lambda, Eterna Sigma, Galant Lambda, galant sigma, Grand Familia, mazda, mitsubishi, rx-3
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The FC Mazda RX-7 Convertible was the Miata before the Miata
When the Mazda Miata debuted in 1989 it was heralded as a rebirth of the once-common British-style roadster. But Mazda may have already been attempting to resurrect that segment before the MX-5’s arrival. The FC Mazda RX-7 Convertible was described … Continue reading
QotW: Which historic auto industry figure would you visit if you could time travel?
A recently published Japanese novel tells the a sci-fi story of what would happen if Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda traveled back in time to meet his grandfather Kiichiro Toyoda, the man who founded Toyota Motor Co. If time travel were … Continue reading
Kamen Rider’s Ridoron had mandibles and a top speed of 932 mph — Guess the Tokusatsu Car!
Y’all thought you were so smart figuring out that Inazuman’s Raijingo was an Isuzu Bellett based on the shape of the windshield frame? Good luck guessing what car lies beneath the Ridoron, the vehicle from 1988’s 47-episode Kamen Rider Black … Continue reading
‘Toyota’s Child’ is a novel in which Akio Toyoda time travels to meet his grandfather
A new book about Akio Toyoda has been published in Japan, but it’s not your typical biography. Eri Yoshikawa’s Toyota no Ko, which translates to “Toyota’s Child”, is a science fiction novel in which the current Toyota chairman travels back … Continue reading
QotW: What was it like driving the least powerful car you’ve ever been in?
True car enthusiasts know it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast. But what about a really slow car? Maybe just getting home without a catastrophic event makes an everyday drive a thrill ride. Anyway, we don’t care about … Continue reading
The 1987 Mazda 323 was good, but not enough
The turbocharged 1986 Mazda 626 GT debuted to rave reviews but how was its little brother, the 323? In 1987 Motorweek tested North America’s version of the BF Mazda Familia in both hatchback and wagon body styles. Mazda’s successor to … Continue reading
Akio Toyoda is so badass he flipped a GR Yaris rally car
When Chairman Akio Toyoda spoke recently at the opening of Toyota’s new R&D center, he did it standing before a wrecked GR Yaris rally car. It was one he overturned himself while hot-shoeing it at the newly built Shimoyama Technical … Continue reading
Kaiketsu Zubat’s nuclear-engined Zubacar — Guess the Tokusatsu Car
The 1977 series Kaiketsu Zubat is unusual in the tokusatsu genre in that it didn’t involve superheros, aliens, or monsters. The star was just a regular dude named Ken Hayakawa whose best friend gets murdered in the very first episode. … Continue reading
Kujira Crown gets painfully shot up and crashed in ‘Alice in Borderland’ car chase with Nissan President
The fourth-generation Toyota Crown is a rare car, even in Japan, which makes its destruction particularly agonizing to watch. In a car chase from the Netflix Japan series Alice in Borderland, a gunman in a 250 Nissan President gives chase … Continue reading
Posted in Film/TV
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QotW: What’s your favorite car-themed T-shirt?
Today, June 10, it T-shirt Day in Japan. The date was chosen because it coincides with the start of the humid summer season, where a T-shirt can bring much relief in Japan’s sweltering climate. But T-shirts are much more than … Continue reading
This 1986 Mazda 626 GT review is surprisingly similar to that of modern Mazdas
It’s almost eerie, but Motorweek‘s review of the 1986 626 GT could be describing a modern Mazda. Take out the prices and horsepower figures and you can basically copy/paste the parts about how it handles and feels into any Mazda … Continue reading
Classic Japanese cars shot up in ‘Hunt’ movie’s recreation of 1980s Tokyo
One of the central action setpieces in the 2022 movie Hunt is a bloody shootout on the streets of 1980s Tokyo. It features several vintage Japanese cars that become machine gun fodder, but the scene wasn’t filmed in Tokyo at … Continue reading
Inazuman’s Raijingo flew at Mach 3 and had a mouth — Guess the Tokusatsu Car
The 1973 series Inazuman featured one of the most memorable cars in tokusatsu history. Called the Raijingo, the convertible sports car had a reptilian mouth from which it could fire missiles. But perhaps more impressively, it could transform into a … Continue reading
Get 33% off your Toyotafest admission with this coupon code
The 2024 All-Toyotafest will is this Saturday, June 8. General admission is $15, but be sure to use coupon code JNCFAN to get $5 off. Also, please stop by the JNC booth to meet former international editor of Road & … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the best ‘Gran Turismo’ setup?
Last week’s Gran Turismo 7 update brought back a lot of memories. Some of us have played the latest and greatest, but the last GT game I really played religiously was Gran Turismo 4, simply due to the sheer number … Continue reading
