Author Archives: Ben Hsu

MINICARS: Hot Wheels Subaru BRAT & A60 Toyota Supra leaked

At a current bid of $8,100 is yesterday’s Kidney Car a bit too rich for your blood? Perhaps then a Hot Wheels Subaru BRAT would be kinder to your wallet. Though slated for later this year, renderings have been leaked … Continue reading

Posted in minicars, subaru, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? 44,000-mile 1979 Subaru BRAT

Here in SoCal, the one marque of nostalgic we rarely see is Subaru. There just wasn’t much need for 4WD passenger vehicles in the perpetually sunny climes of Los Angeles. Subaru BRATs occasionally show up in junkyards — and judging … Continue reading

Posted in for sale, subaru | Tagged , , , | 26 Comments

Question of the Week: What nostalgic race car would you have driven?

Okay, so you’ve invented that time machine. Oddly, it can only serve one purpose — to put you in the cockpit of any classic Japanese motorsports machine. What nostalgic race car would you have driven? The JNC staff (except Kev) … Continue reading

Posted in motorsports, nissan, Question of the Week | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 52 Comments

Friday Video: Mr. Bean goes for a ride in Nissan’s Zama Warehouse

Now that Nissan CEO Mr. Bean has revived the Datsun brand, it’s probably appropriate that he visit the Zama warehouse, where the company’s legendary collection of 400-plus classic and racing vehicles are stored. 

Posted in Friday Video, nissan | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

Cataloguer: S130 Nissan Fairlady Z

The S130 Fairlady Z is by no means an ugly car. In fact it was once considered the must-have car of its time. Yet nowadays it gets little to no love from the Z-car crowd, whose legion of newcomers much prefer the lighter, … Continue reading

Posted in Cataloguer, nissan | 33 Comments

Question of the Week: What is the ugliest Japanese car?

Without even reading the title, you can probably guess what this week’s QotW is just by photo alone. What is the ugliest Japanese car? Sorry Kev, but I’m going to have to make an executive decision on this one. The … Continue reading

Posted in mazda, nissan, Question of the Week, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 38 Comments

Friday Video: Beg for the sweet release of death after listening to the Z-Zuke song

Drop the song title “Z-Zuke” into a translator and you get “pickled Z.” While it is true that in Japanese zuke means “pickled” as delicious in tsukemono, this little ditty is not about making a jar of preserved vegetables from your … Continue reading

Posted in Friday Video, nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Shakotan: Zokusha Patrol Car will make you want to get pulled over

What in holy hell is going on here? A zokusha a police car? It’s topsy-turvy, man. Like cats playing with dogs! Shouldn’t the lowered, widened rides of the OG Japanese bad boys be the very antithesis of law-and-order establishment enforcers from one … Continue reading

Posted in bosozoku, nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Toyota revamps development process to build bolder cars

More good news comes pouring from the C-level offices of our beloved automakers. The latest word from Japan is that Toyota has given its product development techniques a makeover so that they’ll result in less boring cars. It appears that … Continue reading

Posted in toyota | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Question of the Week: What is the most beautiful Japanese car?

This week’s QotW is one that anyone can answer, as it requires no knowledge of history, obscure Japanese trivia, or even an ability to differentiate between a sparkplug and a lug nut. All it takes is a pair of eyes. … Continue reading

Posted in honda, mazda, nissan, Question of the Week | Tagged , , , , , | 59 Comments

Friday Video: Seizure-inducing onslaught of vintage photos is an Isuzu ad, surprisingly

Out of all the Japanese automakers we’d vote Isuzu, hands down, as the marque least likely scour the attic for a heritage hyping infodump of family photos in the name of advertising. Sure we’ve seen history-laden campaigns from the likes … Continue reading

Posted in cm, isuzu, trucks | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Shakotan: You know your car is low when…

Actually, the road-mopping tsurikawa is laying flat with the help of a carabiner, but  the point is nevertheless made. This super slammed A40 Celica honestly couldn’t be any lower without that rear diffuser getting caught on a manhole cover, but is this … Continue reading

Posted in bosozoku, toyota | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Tomica R30 Skyline Super Silhouette is among the most detailed 1/64 cars ever

Since Tomica‘s sponsorship of Masahiro Hasemi‘s actual Group 5 R30 Skyline Super Silhouette back in the early 80s, the insanely be-winged racer has been replicated in countless forms. The latest iteration will be released this May in Tomytec‘s Tomica Limited Vintage Neo lineup and — … Continue reading

Posted in minicars, motorsports, nissan | 8 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? 18,000-mile 1973 Datsun 510

Actually, it’ll take more than a kidney to get your grubby little paws on this sub-18,000-mile 1973 Datsun 510, because it’s not even for sale. Despite many inquiries, it’s stayed in the same family for 40 years and three generations. … Continue reading

Posted in for sale, nissan | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

EVENTS: Eagle Rock Datsun-Nippon Swap Meet

Laugh all you want at our super-strict smog tests, but at the end of the day SoCal has at least one redeeming trait — enough nostalgics to hold a regular swap meet. Here’s what you missed from the recent Eagle … Continue reading

Posted in events, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota, wagons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? Tuned 1974 Mazda RX-4

It’s not a limited edition, nor does it have  a slew of rare options, but we at JNC have a soft spot for the 2nd-gen Luce. They’re just rare in general and although much maligned when new, 38 years later … Continue reading

Posted in for sale, mazda | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Question of the Week: What 1987 car is the next classic?

It’s 2012 and that means another new model year has made it into the ranks of “classic.” The rolling 25 year cutoff for vehicles eligible for historic license plates and classic car insurance is now at the year of Iran-Contra, … Continue reading

Posted in Question of the Week, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

Friday Video: Gene Hackman, Toyota Celica racer

The most famous celebrity driver raced under Nissan’s white-red-blue colors, but their main rival had an Oscar-winner of their own flying the red-orange-yellow. Yes, Nissan may have had Newman, but Toyota had Hackman. After competing in the SCCA Formula Ford series … Continue reading

Posted in motorsports, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

California bill may exempt pre-1981 cars from smog testing

Car nuts in states which are not California may envy our perpetual sunshine and plentiful kyuusha stocks, but when it comes to our emissions laws they just point and laugh. Most states have a rolling cutoff for cars of a … Continue reading

Posted in laws | Tagged , , | 37 Comments

It’s official, the Datsun brand will be resurrected

After a long rumor parade, it’s finally happening. Early this morning Nissan CEO Mr. Bean officially announced the return of the Datsun brand. Sadly, for Nissan nuts, modern Datsun badges will likely be rebadged Dacias rather than retro 510s. The … Continue reading

Posted in nissan | Tagged , | 25 Comments