Author Archives: Ben Hsu
VIDEO: Restoration of the first US-market Honda begins
Last year we showed you one of the most significant Honda automobiles in the world. Many spectators at JCCS walked right by the decrepit Honda N600, not realizing that it was serial number N600-1000001. That makes it the first Honda automobile built … Continue reading
NEWS: Toyota 86 to get facelift with new name
In addition to a new (yet old) name, the lightweight sport coupe formerly known as the Scion FR-S will get a facelift when it transitions to the Toyota marque this fall. Meet the 2017 Toyota 86.
NEWS: The Scion FR-S is now the Toyota 86, may get more variants
When we first reported that Scion was no more we also told you that all its models would be transitioned to the Toyota brand. We reported that when that happened, the Scion FR-S would be called the Toyota FR-S, even though that … Continue reading
VIDEO: James May goes to Japan
In the latest episode of James May’s Cars of the People, the former Top Gear host travels to Japan and drives some JNCs. Specifically, he gets behind the wheel of a Mazda Familia (aka 323) hatchback in its hometown of Hiroshima, … Continue reading
VIDEO: Jay Leno drives the Fugu Z
Watch two car cultures collide as Jay Leno and Sung Kang (along with his “legit Asian” buddies) discuss the award-winning Fugu Z. The car may not be everyone’s cup of matcha — one of the builders has an interesting definition of … Continue reading
VIDEO: The most high-tech Japanese sports car of the 90s
What was the most high-tech Japanese sports car of the 90s? Quite possibly the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4, with its all-wheel-drive, twin-turbos and active aero. Today they seem to be taking a back seat to cars like the NSX, RX-7 and Supra … Continue reading
QotW: What’s your most heartwarming JNC story?
Somehow, old cars inspire tales of friendship, camaraderie, and bringing out the best in your fellow humans. Case in point: this weekend we learned about an entire country that banded together to help one owner restore a Toyota Corolla that had … Continue reading
VIDEO: A nation of car enthusiasts helps restore a tsunami-destroyed 1971 Corolla
Five years ago, waves from the devastating tsunami that struck Japan’s eastern coast swept Masayuki Watanabe’s 1971 Toyota Corolla from its garage. Today, he got that car back.
VIDEO: Check out this Honda Head’s massive collection
In a video titled Honda Kokoro (Honda Heart), a collector welcomes viewers into his incredible collection of Honda memorabilia. If the wall of valve covers didn’t clue you in already, it is a collection of epic proportions, from bikes to Hot Wheels, generators to Honda-branded … Continue reading
VIDEO: A key part of Japanese industry now lost
Here’s a video, perhaps in the same grade-school documentary series as the one about Japanese industry in the 1970s. It has no cars, but you can still learn a thing or two. In particular, there’s a scene showing a family-owned sewing business (6:19 in the video … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2016 New Year Meeting, Part 03 — This is Japan
A life-size Gundam robot towers above the trees. Giant windowless shopping centers operate like small cities. In this snapshot of a hyper-futuristic metropolis floating on a man-made island in Tokyo Bay, tradition comes in the form of a parking lot teeming … Continue reading
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Tagged 510, a10, a20, bluebird, bosozoku, c10, c110, carina, celica, chaser, cherry, cosmo, cresta, crown, daruma, datsun, e10, EVA, Fukuoka Style, Gundam, gurachan, gx71, Hakosuka, honda, kaido racer, kenmeri, life, Luce Legato, mark II, mazda, new year meeting, rx-5, skyline, ssr, toyota, x70
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VIDEO: Watch loads of JNC goodness in this documentary about Japan in the 1970s
The video you’re about to watch is what American schoolchildren were taught about Japan in the 1970s. Throughout it all, there are brilliant scenes of Showa Era Japanese streets and the cars that populate them.
QotW: What’s your best tale of JNC indestructibility?
One of the greatest things about owning a JNCs is its reliability. Think that’s boring? Well, while macchine nostalgico Italiano owners are leaking vital fluids, Deutsch nostalgischen auto owners are trying to figure out why you need to remove the transmission to change a bulb, … Continue reading
EVENTS: The Mazda Ice Academy explains why Mazdas are so darn fun to drive
The Mazda Ice Academy’s main reason for existence was to show off the Hiroshima automaker’s newfangled all-wheel-drive system. That was good, as we’d marveled before at how they managed to give a mid-size crossover better handling than many actual cars. We wanted … Continue reading
DESIGN: Nissan VP reveals challenges of designing with DNA
We recently had the chance to glimpse into the the mind of someone who spends every day thinking and making decisions about the cars we buy, drive, and love. Taro Ueda is Vice-President of Design at Nissan Design America, the automaker’s … Continue reading
VIDEO: Watch the R32 Skyline GT-R lap the Nürburgring
Nowadays, for any performance car worth their salt, a Nürburgring lap is a spec sheet staple, right there under horsepower, torque, and 0-60 time. But the Nissan Skyline GT-R was doing it before it was cool. Way before. Back in 1989, … Continue reading
