Author Archives: Ben Hsu
EVENTS: 2013 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 04 – Rolling Stock
Purists will be pleased. This year’s JCCS had significantly more bone stock cars on display than any previous show. And they weren’t of the standard variety of, say, a 2000GT or Datsun 312, though those were well represented. We’re talking … Continue reading
Posted in events, honda, isuzu, mazda, nissan, toyota, trucks
Tagged 200sx, 240z, 510, a70, accord, b110, b2000, bluebird, civic, cressida, crx, datsun, datsun 1200, datsun 320, Datsun 520, datsun 521, datsun roadster, fb, fc, hilux, honda, impulse, isuzu, mazda, nissan, piazza, rx-7, s110, s30, sb1, silvia, sunny, supra, toyota, trucks, wagon, x30, x60
25 Comments
VIDEO: Dare to be Different in a Datsun 240Z
Listen to the rumble of Dave Scholz’s Rebello-built Datsun 240Z as he drives around Los Angeles in this gorgeous video by Petrolicious. Dave says his goal was to build a Z that someone would have driven from Yokohama to Fuji … Continue reading
QotW: What’s your favorite JNC tuning style?
From bone stock to bosozoku, there’s a wide range styles for nostalgic cars. Crazed pimp van, Mooneyes hot rod, Fuji racer, high-society VIP, Resto-mod, nisei cruiser, rally racer, it’s a blank canvas out there. What’s your favorite JNC tuning style? … Continue reading
Posted in Question of the Week
Tagged carol, fronte, kei, mazda, QotW, Question of the Week, suzuki
33 Comments
EVENTS: 2013 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 02 – Diversity
The sheer size of this year’s Japanese Classic Car Show was unprecedented. Organizers Koji and Terry Yamaguchi told us that registration filled up in just a matter of weeks and that there were over 100 people on the waiting list, … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2013 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 01 – Debuts and Historic Cars
With the Japanese Classic Car Show closing in on a decade, the theme of its 9th holding could be summed up in one word: More. More cars, more rarity, more stock survivors, more booths, more people, and more staggering Nihon … Continue reading
VIDEO: Babyface and Scarface E70 Corollas
Manabu Mitsumori loves drifting, but he also loves the 1970s. That’s why he got rid of his JZX100 Chaser and now drives two classic Corollas instead. Both E70s, one is a clean restomod two-door hardtop called Babyface, while the other’s … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the best 1960s JNC for vintage racing?
So the secret is out. This is the subject of our teaser pics last week and the car our friends at JDM Legends built and brought to JCCS. We were honored to have this replica of the legendary Prince Skyline … Continue reading
JCCS PREVIEW: Set-up day
Set-up for the 9th annual JCCS has mostly finished. If you’re not here tomorrow for the show you’re missing out. See you on the flip side! Photo by Jason Kusagaya.
JCCS PREVIEW: JNC “KAIDO” Shirt
As long time readers know, it’s tradition for us to debut a new shirt at each JCCS. This year we’re paying homage to the rich car culture of Japan with the JNC Kaido shirt.
EVENTS: Japanese Classic Car Show this Saturday
There are only five days to go until the 9th annual Japanese Classic Car Show. The exhibition at Queen Mary Park in Long Beach, California has been hugely influential event since its inception in 2005, a driving force in the … Continue reading
Posted in events
12 Comments
QotW: How would you like to see the JNC scene evolve?
This coming weekend will be the ninth Japanese Classic Car Show. In those nine years, awareness of vintage Nihon steel has grown in leaps and bounds. They are acknowledged by mainstream media that used to willfully dismiss them, values of … Continue reading
NEWS: New Datsun wagon and pickup coming soon, and the mistake everyone makes about the new Datsun
Last month we were invited to Nissan’s global product showcase. After the Zama classics and Juke-R, the car we were most eager to see was the new Datsun Go. he first new model to wear the revered Datsun name in decades. Since … Continue reading
PROFILES: Tom Knudsen, Nihon Classics Ambassador
“Japanese cars will never be classics.” That was a sentiment commonly expressed by traditional collectors when we founded JNC in 2006. Despite huge strides in recognition made since then, there are people who still think so. Tom Knudsen is not … Continue reading
NEWS: Eiji Toyoda, the man who built Toyota, 1913-2013
Eiji Toyoda, the man who led Toyota from its formative years to a worldwide manufacturing empire, has passed away at the age of 100 years and five days. His career at Toyota spans the time from the Toyoda AA to … Continue reading
JNC Forum is live again.
Over the weekend the JNC forum experienced a catastrophic database crash equivalent to a con-rod through the block. For four days we worked with our webhost to trouble shoot the problem. At one point we thought we had lost … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
10 Comments
MOTORSPORT: Nissan to restore 1971 Safari Rally winning Datsun 240Z
Deep within the corporate juggernaut of Nissan Motor Company there’s a team of 60 old school petrolheads. Many of them have been around for decades, bearing witness to the racing programs of the automaker’s most famous race cars. Next up … Continue reading
Posted in motorsports, nissan
Tagged 240z, datsun, motorsport, nissan, rally, safari rally
9 Comments
QotW: Which JNC should remain stock?
Look, we know it’s fun to take a 2,200-pound car that doesn’t require any smog checks and shoehorn into it the biggest engine you can find. However, one day these cars are going to be rare (some would say they … Continue reading
NEWS: Nissan 360, Part 03 – Driving Insane Stuff
Thus far our Nissan 360 coverage has focused on your rare but predictable classic and race cars. However, the global Nissan empire is built on stuff sold in reaches of the world you can’t even find on a map. So every four … Continue reading
NEWS: Nissan 360, Part 02 – 80 Years of Cars
In December Nissan will turn 80 years old, and in light of that milestone this year’s multi-day Nissan 360 press event was all about heritage. Part 01 of our coverage spotlighted the company’s rich motorsports lineage, including some race cars never before seen on … Continue reading
Posted in News, nissan
Tagged 240z, 510, bluebird, concepts, csp311, datsun, Datsun Type 14, EXTREM, Fairlady 1200, fairlady z, Friend-ME, Hypermini, kei, moco, nissan, Nissan 360, Resonance, silvia, SPL213, tama
5 Comments
NEWS: Mazda Furai destroyed by fire while in Top Gear custody
The Mazda Furai is (correction: was) one of the greatest concept cars ever built. After debuting in 2007 it was everywhere. Then it was nowhere, making zero public appearances when the car’s very reason for existence was to make public … Continue reading
