Author Archives: Ben Hsu
Five Axis Design developing Retro Series Scion FR-S
Five Axis Design is well known for creating stunning aero kits and drool-inducing concept cars for Scion, Toyota and Lexus vehicles. But in the midst of all the SEMA-style glam, if you looked closely there were always clues that an old school heart … Continue reading
Posted in toyota
13 Comments
Question of the Week: What Japanese car was the biggest manga star?
You knew it was coming. After last week’s QotW about the best Nihon car movie star, we now grill you about the Japanese art form known manga and its in-motion equivalent. What Japanese car is the biggest manga/anime star? Being the hachi-head … Continue reading
Posted in minicars, Question of the Week, toyota
Tagged Fast and the Furious, Initial D, Question of the Week, Shakotan Boogie, soarer, sports 800, toyota, z10
21 Comments
MINICARS: Hot Wheels’ mid-engined Honda CR-X
In 1981 Hot Wheels debuted the Hot Ones, a line of diecast cars with an articulating suspension and thin axles for a smooth, frictionless ride across your tabletop. Mattel has been busy re-launching many of the iconic cars from this series, as well … Continue reading
Posted in honda, manga, minicars
Tagged ballade, cr-x, crx, diecast, honda, hot ones, hot wheels, Keiichiro Shinmura, king, manga, minicars, ultra hots
7 Comments
Question of the Week: What Japanese car was the biggest movie star?
Not counting the Fast and Furious franchise, cars of Japanese origin don’t usually feature too prominently in Hollywood productions. But that makes their rare appearances all the more special, which brings us to this week’s question: What Japanese car was … Continue reading
Posted in honda, Question of the Week, toyota
Tagged a20, acura, celica, civic, daruma, honda, nsx, Question of the Week, toyota
74 Comments
Kidney, Anyone? 22,000-mile 1974 Toyota Celica ST
In Ashland, Kentucky right now there sits a gorgeous 22,000-mile daruma waiting for a new owner. The 1974 Toyota Celica ST is as mint as mint can be and swathed in a period brownish-green. Everything is original except for the Cragar wheels, but … Continue reading
MINICARS: Hot Wheels bosozoku-style Mad Manga
Holy effing crap. If you had told us a year ago that one day Hot Wheels, the most red-blooded American toy there is, would have a takeyari-equipped bubble-flared shark-nosed zokusha in its lineup, we would have called you baka. And … Continue reading
Donate $100 for a chance to own Victor Laury’s 1970 Datsun Fairlady Roadster
Our friend and beloved member of California’s nostalgic car community Victor Laury is relinquishing is collection of beautiful Datsuns. Sadly, Vic suffered a stroke a while back and as a result he will no longer be able to drive his cherished … Continue reading
Posted in for sale, nissan
Tagged datsun, fairlady, fairlady roadster, for sale, nissan, sports 2000, srl311, Victor Laury
21 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 echo, gt-r, Hakosuka, kpgc10, mitsuoka, motorsports, nissan, Question of the Week, skyline, toyota
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.
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 1500 sports, 1600 sports, 2000 sports, autech, choro-q, crown, datsun, enfini, fairlady, fairlady roadster, fd3s, mazda, minicars, ms75, nissan, Question of the Week, rx-7, s60, stelvio, toyota, zagato
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
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
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
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 honda, mazda, nissan, prince, Question of the Week, soichiro honda
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
