Author Archives: Ben Hsu
EVENTS: Vintage Auto Salon, Part 02 – Light, Quick, Agile
Despite holding three shows in one year’s time, including one just three months ago, the variety of cars that come out of NorCal’s woodwork for Historic J events never disappoints. In Part 02 (Here’s Part 01 if you missed it) … Continue reading
EVENTS: Vintage Auto Salon, Part 01 – JDM Machines
Vintage Auto Salon is the third show of its kind held by Historic J, the team that’s quickly becoming the de facto force for nostalgics in the Bay Area. Though co-founders James Vorasane and Ivan Jarmillo are both Americans, their events … Continue reading
Posted in events, nissan, toyota
Tagged 240z, c10, celica, corolla, csp311, daruma, datsun, fairlady z, gc10, Hakosuka, historic J, levin, mango, nissan, r30, rocky auto, s30, silvia, skyline, sports 800, ta22, te27, toyota, Vintage Auto Salon, Yoshiya Watanabe
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NEWS: So apparently Felix Wankel was a big fat Nazi
Today, August 13, is Felix Wankel‘s birthday. Mazdafarians might know him as the father of the rotary engine. Until now, much of his history had been either unexplored or glossed over. On the official Mazda website, they describe him only … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the greatest Japanese nostalgic van?
We just finished a 1,500 mile road trip with a Toyota Sienna SE (more on this later), which we are ready to crown as the greatest minivan ever made. The only problem: it’ll be 2036 before it’s officially nostalgic. Not … Continue reading
NOSTALGIC LIFE: Towing anything, anywhere, anytime.
Oh, the machinery we would put in the JNC dream garage. You cannot even imagine. The rarest twin-cam Toyotas, ex-works Nissan racers, immaculate rotaries, obscure kei cars. It would be downright pornographic, I tell you. No matter what though, our fantasy fleet always has … Continue reading
QotW: What’s your fondest hachiroku memory?
Tomorrow, August 6, is 86 Day and cities on both sides of the Pacific are gearing up for a celebration of the last FR Corolla. It’s perhaps a special one this year, as the Initial D story has come to … Continue reading
Posted in Question of the Week
Tagged ae86, corolla, levin, QotW, Question of the Week, sprinter, toyota, trueno
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JNC GARAGE: Ben’s 1980 Toyota Celica Supra
On Monday Toyota UK posted a history of the Supra. This led at least one major media outlet to wonder aloud whether it had anything to do with rumors of the nameplate’s revival. Sadly, that same major media outlet led … Continue reading
NEWS: After 18 years of touge battles, this is how Initial D ends
The final chapter of the long running manga Initial D was released yesterday in Japan. After 18 years of publication the hugely influential story that introduced touge battles and the glory of RWD Japanese cars to a whole generation of … Continue reading
NEWS: Final chapter of Initial D to be published Monday
Eighteen years after a tofu delivery Toyota AE86 drifted onto the scene, author Shuichi Shigeno has announced that the hugely popular Initial D manga will come to an end on July 29, 2013. Since 1995, the tale of a teenager with a … Continue reading
Posted in toyota, Video Games
Tagged ae86, corolla, Initial D, levin, Shuichi Shigeno, sprinter, toyota, trueno
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MINICARS: Kyosho X DMC Limited Edition “Panda” Toyota 86
A while back our friends at DaBox Model Cars decided to make a limited edition car based on Japan’s car of the moment, the Toyota 86. They were looking for a tribute to the original AE86 on which it was … Continue reading
VIDEO: “I am bad till I die. Is there anything wrong with that?”
We in the west might think of bosozoku culture as part of “true” Japanese car culture where its extreme style and foreignness is unlikely to ever fully make the cross over to the west. The truth is, most true Japanese … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the greatest open top JNC?
It’s summertime, and what better way to enjoy the sun than to take a drive with the top down? Japanese cars come in all shapes and sizes, but one body style Nihon tends to lay off of is the convertible. … Continue reading
The return of Intelligent Sport” and a introducing a new member of the JNC family
By the time Nobuaki Katayama began work on the original Lexus IS, he was already a rock star within Toyota. He’d chief engineered all-time greats like the Lexus SC and JZA80 Supra and, in his younger days, worked on the … Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? 20,000-mile 1981 Toyota Century
If a Crown is just too common and a 2000GT too small for your old school flossin’ needs, here’s your chance to destroy all comers with a 1981 Toyota Century. The ultimate Japanese VIP sled is now for sale on … Continue reading
NEWS: The 2014 Datsun GO is here
Nissan is now a three-marque company. The revived Datsun brand was launched in Gurgoan, India today to much fanfare at a theater called the Kingdom of Dreams. The new car, christened the Datsun GO, took its name from the DAT GO, Nissan’s … Continue reading
