Author Archives: Ben Hsu
Hot Wheels Datsun Bluebird 510 is “Faster Than Ever”
Are you tired of seeing yellow 510s and a billion different Mustang variations at your local Hot Wheels rack? Soon this mean red and black Datsun Bluebird 510 will be showing up at your local toy store in the “Faster Than … Continue reading
Friday Video (sort of): S40 Crown in Reborn Toyota campaign promising “Fun to Drive, Again”
Toyota has launched a mysterious website called Reborn-Toyota for the Japanese market. The sparse page has nothing but a slideshow depicting actor “Beat” Takeshi Kitano and singer Takuya Kimura dressed as 16th century daimyo warriors looking gangster behind the wheel of a piano black S40 … Continue reading
Posted in cm, toyota
Tagged beat takeshi, cm, crown, hideyoshi toyotomi, ms41, nobunaga oda, reborn, s40, shuto, takeshi kitano, takuya kimura, toyota
7 Comments
Kidney, Anyone? Vintage TE27 Toyota Corolla Levin Rally Car
Here’s something we wish we saw more of in the States — a vintage Japanese race car with well-documented motorsports provenance. According to the auction, this TE27 Toyota Corolla Levin is one of three imported to New Zealand in 1973 to … Continue reading
Bosozoku Toyota 2000GT answers the question no one asked
The Toyota 2000GT was a little too early for the golden age of the Fuji GC series, and for that we are thankful. But in an alternate universe here’s what a gurachan MF10 might look like.
Posted in minicars, toyota
Tagged 2000gt, bosozoku, gurachan, longchamp xr-4, longchamps, mf10, toyota
21 Comments
Behold the bridge of the USS Mazda Cosmo
This is the interior of a third-generation Mazda Cosmo. The first generation 1967-72 Cosmo Sport had space-age styling on the outside. Then Mazda brought back the Cosmo name in 1975 for the Mazda RX-5, and the only thing spacey about … Continue reading
Friday Video: Japanese Demolition Derby Circa 1976
We have absolutely no idea where this video is from, what is going in it, and why it is happening. All we can say is that it’s from approximately 1976 and shows the senseless wreckage of many rare vintage Japanese … Continue reading
Rumors of Datsun comeback comes back
It seems like every few months now a new article is published claiming the return of the Datsun brand. It’s the same old story. It would be Nissan’s bargain-price brand, likely for developing markets, and not in the US. The last … Continue reading
Vintage Toyota Land Cruisers are in advertisements everywhere
There’s an adage that says once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, three times is a trend. If that’s the case, then old Toyota Land Cruisers are about to become fashion icons. Just in the last month alone, we’ve … Continue reading
Kidney, Anyone? 22,000-mile 1989 Toyota MR2 SC
Where have cars like this gone? Back when Jean-Luc Picard was captain of the Enterprise, the only thing that could make Toyota’s lightweight midship runabout even more fun was taking its high-revving 4A-GE — the same one found in the legendary … Continue reading
Kidney, Anyone? 1977 Datsun F10 Wagon
Another garage-stored east coast car comes out of hiding, this time in Rhode Island. Ladies and gentlemen, may we present to you this cherry Datsun Cherry. That’s the Japanese market name for the 1977 Datsun F10, the diminutive front-wheel-drive coupe … Continue reading
Friday Video: Intersection pimps CR-Z, but first-gen Honda Prelude is all class
The French arm of Intersection, the half-automotive half-fashion magazine, recently pimped an unsuspecting Honda CR-Z. Is a gloss beige sport hybrid with orange tires laughably ridiculous, or so avant garde that our uncultured pea-brains can’t comprehend it?
Vintage Racing: SCCA GT4 TE27 Toyota Corolla
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s Isuzu, here are some more vintage racing snaps. A couple of weeks ago at JCCS, we met a dude from T. Creations Paint Designs of Pasadena. He had collected some photos of this car, the … Continue reading
Posted in motorsports, toyota
Tagged corolla, levin, sprinter, sr5, te27, toyota, trueno
16 Comments
Wednesday Wall: Isuzu Bellett Rally Car, 1965
We realize there was a dearth of Isuzu-related material at JCCS, so here’s a big bad wolf just cold storming through the woods of Australia, circa 1965. We found it whilst skimming Teh Internets on the site of Bruce Upton, … Continue reading
Tomica Limited Vintage Toyota Crown CM Collection
Toyotaku will want to keep their eyes peeled on October 5, when Tomica will release the limited edition Toyota Crown CM Collection. The set, created in conjunction with media company Avex, will contain a 1:64 scale Tomica Limited Vintage RS41 Toyopet Crown … Continue reading
Posted in cm, minicars, toyota
Tagged cm, crown, rs41, tomica, tomica limited vintage, toyota
8 Comments
RIP, Fred Jordan, Datsun Heritage Museum Founder
We interrupt our 2011 JCCS coverage to bring you some sad news. Fred Jordan, founder of the Datsun Heritage Museum, has passed away. UPDATE.
JNC “Best of the Best” Shirts Now Available
Our “Best of the Best” shirts, featuring the top late-Sixties GT cars in racing livery, were a big hit at JCCS. We’ve made more of the sizes that sold out at the show, and they are available now in the … Continue reading
Posted in mazda, nissan, nostalgic wear, toyota
Tagged 110s, 2000gt, 240z, 240zg, 260z, 280z, cosmo, cosmo sport, datsun, fairlady z, fuji 24hr, fuji speedway, garuchan, grand champion, haruhito yanagida, marathon de la route, mazda, nissan, s30, toyota, yanagida z
5 Comments
EVENTS: 2011 Japanese Classic Car Show Part 01, Best of the Best
We’ll get to the cars that we normals can afford in a minute, but first let us dream a little. The 2011 JCCS completely elevated the bar, bringing together several ultra-rare, six-figure machines that few Western eyes have gazed upon … Continue reading
Friday Video: Lexus LFA laps Nürburgring in 7:14:64
It’s official — Aichi’s first supercar since the 2000GT has made it into the Nürburgring’s record books with a time of 7:14:64. Watch Toyota test driver/racer/AE86 enthusiast Akira Iida fling the Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition around the Green Hell during … Continue reading
JCCS 2011 Preview: JNC Best of the Best T-Shirt
It’s become sort of a tradition for us at JNC to debut a new T-shirt design at each JCCS show. This year, JNC‘s designer and Project Z owner Yee Chan came up with something really special, what he calls “Best … Continue reading
Posted in jnc, mazda, nissan, nostalgic wear, toyota
Tagged 110s, 2000gt, 240z, 240zg, 260z, 280z, bridgestone, carroll shelby, cosmo, cosmo sport, datsun, denso, fairlady z, fuji, g-nose, garuchan, grand champion, haruhito yanagida, marathon de la route, mazda, mf10, mitsubishi, ngk, nissan, s30, toyota, yanagida z
10 Comments
JCCS 2011 PREVIEW: Debut of Enkei’s Classic Series Apache II
Another debut that will take place this weekend at JCCS is that of the reborn Enkei Apache II. This will be the third wheel in Enkei’s Classic Series line of revived vintage designs, hot on the heels of the Enkei 92 … Continue reading
Posted in wheels
17 Comments
