Author Archives: Ben Hsu
VIDEO: Watch Motorweek review the AE86, AW11, and S13
This is the greatest thing ever to hit the internet. MotorWeek, one of the top three automotive TV shows from Owings Mills, Maryland, just put up some “retro reviews.” They review the AE86, S13, and AW11 when new, a good decade before anyone in … Continue reading
RIP Ken Takakura, 1931-2014
Ken Takakura, one of Japan’s most famous actors, has passed away at the age of 83. Known as the Japanese Clint Eastwood, he portrayed many tough guy roles, from noble ex-cons to hard boiled detectives to chivalrous gangsters, but you might know him … Continue reading
Posted in Video Games
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GALLERIES: The American Honda Collection, Part 01 – Small Beginnings
Soichiro Honda was born on November 17, 1906 in a small Shizuoka Prefecture village. If you had told his parents, a blacksmith and a weaver, that one day their son would put the family name on a worldwide automotive empire responsible for some of … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the greatest nostalgic Honda?
Today is Soichiro Honda’s birthday. Though Honda-san passed away in 1991, many of the last cars he saw go into production are quickly passing the 25-year threshold into classic-dom. We can’t think of a more appropriate time to ask: What’s the greatest nostalgic Honda? The … Continue reading
25 YEAR CLUB: The Infiniti Q45 is officially a Japanese Nostalgic Car
Flipping through the channels on your massive cathode-ray television in the fall of 1989, you probably came across a mysterious commercial for a yet unknown brand of new automobile. Only instead of the actual car, the spots cast your living … Continue reading
PRODUCT GUIDE: SSR Mk III Neo
If there’s one thing SEMA has no shortage of is new wheels. Most of them are so hideous you instinctively cover the eyes of any nearby children but once in a while there’s a new school barrel we can get … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the greatest Japanese nostalgic wagon?
The Venn diagram of JNC readers and wagon lovers has a pretty big overlap, and it’s easy to see why. Both types of cars are practical, a lost art among automakers today, and Japan is one of the few places … Continue reading
RIP Aritsune Tokudaiji, 1939-2014
Noted Japanese automotive journalist Aritsune Tokudaiji has passed away a week shy of his 75th birthday. In the early days of Japanese motorsports, the Tokyo native drove for the Toyota factory team. Upon retiring in 1969, he went on to co-found … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2014 SEMA, Part 02 — Bosozoku style comes to America
If there was one thing we learned from SEMA this year, it is that you must widebody all the things. From Beetles to Benzes, everything is being massively flared, often with bolt-on over-fenders, ducktail spoilers and turaichi shakotan stances. Bosozoku style has finally come to America.
Posted in events
Tagged 240sx, 370z, Akira Nakai, bosozoku, c110, fd3s, fit, FRS, gt-r, honda, Kei Miura, kenmeri, lexus, Lexus RC, liberty walk, mazda, nissan, r35, Rauh Welt Begriff, Rocket Bunny, rx-7, s14, scion, sema, silvia, skyline, wataru kato, z34
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EVENTS: 2014 SEMA Show, Part 01
Toyota’s SEMA presence this year was all about the Baja 1000. Ivan “Ironman” Stewart and his perfect hair were hanging around at the booth along with a ground pounding Toyota truck in the old tricolor racing livery.
NEWS: The first ND Mazda MX-5 race car is here
Mazda relentlessly brags about how it’s the most raced marque in America. Now it’s apparently gunning for the world. Today at SEMA, alongside the world’s first Miata race car — built from one of the Chicago Auto Show display models — … Continue reading
QotW: What JNC tuning trend needs to stop now?
We’re headed to the SEMA show this week, and you know what that means. Insane amounts of customized cars, the latest auto fashions, and thousands of people shaking their heads muttering “money does not equal taste.” What JNC tuning trend needs … Continue reading
25 YEARS of LEXUS, Part 01: The Lexus LS 400 is officially a Japanese nostalgic car
In honor of yet another landmark vehicle turning 25, let’s all raise a champagne glass to Lexus, Japan’s most luxurious marque. Now, set that glass down atop a pyramid of other glasses stacked on the hood of a dyno-strapped LS … Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? Mint 30k-mile Mitsubishi Cordia Turbo
The last Kidney Car we posted was a rare, 1980s turbocharged Mitsubishi. Here’s another one, the Starion’s less well-known sibling. This 1985 Mitsubishi Cordia Turbo is currently offered for sale in Raleigh, North Carolina and with just 30,328 miles on the … Continue reading
ART CORNER: Skylines, Truenos and Robots by Matt Spangler
We love it when JNCs pop up in unexpected places, especially when they’re obscure models never sold in the US. Last year, a hakosuka Skyline showed up in Adventure Time. More recently, we received an email from a friend that … Continue reading
Posted in Art Corner
Tagged 240z, ae86, Art Corner, c10, corolla, datsun, fairlady roadster, Hakosuka, levin, Matt Spangler, nissan, robots, s30, skyline, sprinter, te27, toyota, trueno
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EVENTS: 2014 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 10 — Parking Area
Welcome to the final installment of our 2014 Japanese Classic Car Show coverage, a short one in which we scoured the parking area for J-tin whose owners had gone off to spectate. We begin with a clean Z20 Soarer and X80 Cressida, parked in tandem like an … Continue reading
QotW: Which non-sports, non-luxe JNC is destined to be a classic?
Identifying cars like the GT-R or LFA as future classics is like predicting you’ll see a crash in a Russian dashcam video. It’s obvious, and you don’t get a cookie. It’s much harder to recognize a run-of-the-mill model that will achieve greatness. Therefore, we ask: Which … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2014 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 09 — Editors’ Picks
Each year as part of our Japanese Classic Car Show coverage, we pick our favorites to highlight. We had six members of the JNC team at the show this year, plus one car that we voted on collectively to give the JNC Award. Here’s what we chose.
Posted in events
Tagged 510, bluebird, bosozoku, c110, datsun, Editor's Choice, galant gto, honda, hot wheels, japanese classic car show, jccs, jimny, jun imai, kenmeri, LJ80, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, prelude, rx-4, Ryu Asada, skyline, suzuki
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Toyota celebrates 50 years in Canada
Toyota is officially celebrating 50 years in Canada. Established in 1964, the story is similar to that of Toyota USA. From humble beginnings — just 755 cars sold in its first year — the company has grown at an amazing … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2014 Japanese Classic Car Show Part 08 — Motorcycles
Though sleds of chrome and Nihon steel will always be at the heart of JCCS, in 2011 organizers began accepting vintage Japanese motorcycles as well. It’s fitting, anyway, as two-wheeled vehicles are still hugely popular in Japan, and is how much of the Japanese motoring … Continue reading
