Author Archives: Ben Hsu
Get Ready for Toyotafest This Weekend!
This almost goes without saying, but the biggest Toyota-themed party in North America is going down this Saturday. And sponsors Cabe Toyota has announced that they will be having a blow-out sale at Toyotafest.
1972 Mitsubishi-Built Dodge Colt Wagon Road Test
The modern JNCer may have a few bones to pick with Car & Track host Bud Lindemann. Not only does he say that all Japanese cars look as if they came from the same drawing board (excepting the Datsun 240Z), … Continue reading
Friday Video: Nissan Cedrics vs S30 Fairlady Z
Last week we were surprised that we’d never featured a hakosuka in a Friday Video car chase. Even more surprising is the lack of S30s in Seibu Keisatsu pursuits. Although we’ve seen a couple here and there, you’d think there … Continue reading
Posted in Friday Video, nissan, Video Games
Tagged 230, 240z, 260z, 280z, 330, b110, c10, car chase, cedric, datsun, datsun 280z, fairlady z, gloria, Hakosuka, japanese cop show, nissan, s30, seibu keisatsu, skyline, sunny
4 Comments
The History of Racing Mate and a New JNC Decal
It’s hard to believe, but for as long as JNC has been around we’ve only ever made one sticker. We need to rectify that situation stat, so the yotsuba above will soon be joining the red and white inkan. For … Continue reading
Posted in nostalgic gear
Tagged corona, crown, gloria, honda, japan gp, japan grand prix, jnc, monza, n360, n600, nissan, phantom oil, prince, racing mate, rs40, rt20, s40, skyline, soukichi shikiba, suzuka, tag heuer, tetsu ikusawa, tiara, tojiro ukiya, toyota, yotsuba
13 Comments
Acura Celebrates 25th Anniversary
A quarter century ago, the first Japanese luxury brand made its debut. Honda decided that if they wanted so sell high-end cars they’d have to do it with a different marque altogether, and dreamed up Acura. And yet, despite the … Continue reading
Choro-Q Zero to Re-Launch with Vintage Lineup
Walk into the toy section of any Japanese department store back in 2005 and you’d see shelves stocked aplenty with Choro-Q. Older JNCers may recognize these small pullback toys as Penny Racers when they were sold in the US in … Continue reading
Best Motoring & Hot Version Era Comes to a Close
The renowned Japanese automotive video series Best Motoring and its spinoff publication Hot Version have been canceled. According to its publisher 2&4 Motoring, the parent company Kodansha could not justify its continued existence citing declining sales figures for the past … Continue reading
Posted in japan, media
Tagged best motoring, hot version, juichi wakisaka, keiichi tsuchiya, kodansha, manabu ori
14 Comments
Friday Video: Hakosuka vs Cedric in Seibu Keisatsu
We just got done watching the North American premiere of Fast Five in Los Angeles, and yes, there is a hakosuka in it. No, it’s not this airborne one with the rally lights and giant roof rack. It’s hard to … Continue reading
Posted in nissan, Video Games
Tagged 330, c10, car chase, cedric, datsun, fast five, Hakosuka, japanese cop show, nissan, seibu keisatsu, skyline
4 Comments
Restored TS B310 Sunny Preparing for Battle
Yesterday’s post about the Tomei exhaust manifold reminded us of the Restored KB310 Sunny sharing the paddocks at Fuji Speedway with a Porsche. However, whereas the latter is revered in classic car circles the world round, the Datsun is appreciated … Continue reading
Posted in motorsports, nissan
Tagged b310, datsun, fuji speedway, nissan, restored, sunny, ts cup
1 Comment
Tomei Racing Exhaust Manifold for B310 Sunny
In recent years vintage races inspired by the old TS Cup series has surged in popularity. Ever the popular choice, the Datsun Sunny has been a formidable opponent, both then and now, and it’s about to get a bit more … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 1200, b310, datsun, exhaust, fuji, headers, manifold, nissan, sunny, tomei, tomei powered, touring sedan, ts cup
7 Comments
Checking Godzilla for Radiation
Apparently Japanese automakers have had to put their customers’ minds at ease, by conducting radiation tests on cars built since the Tohoku quake and tsunami for radiation. At Nissan’s Oppama plant, which is 225 miles southwest of the damaged Fukushima … Continue reading
Liquid Hydrogen Powered KB210 Nissan Sunny
Was the Tama Truck‘s source of energy not alternative enough for ya? Check out this little number. With a name like Sunny you might expect an enviro-friendly power source — and you’d be right, but it ain’t solar. This 1974 Datsun … Continue reading
Posted in nissan
Tagged b210, datsun, fuel cell, hydrogen, kb210, nissan, seed rally, sunny
9 Comments
EARTH DAY: 1947 Tama E4S-47-1 Electric Car
Right after WW2, petrol was scarce in Japan. The Tachikawa Aircraft Company responded to this shortage by developing the car you see here, the Tama E4S-47-1, in 1947. The fully-electric car had a top speed of 35 kph (22 mph), … Continue reading
Posted in nissan
Tagged datsun, Earth Day, electric car, gt-r, nissan, prince, skyline, tama
10 Comments
Meet Your New AE86: Scion FR-S Concept Announced
Yes, it’s a Scion, but who cares? It could be called a Toyopet and it’d still be downright sexy. Hot. A stunna. Unveiled in New York today, the Scion FR-S Concept is infinitely sleeker and more purposeful than the Toyota … Continue reading
JNC Forum is Freshly Resto-Modded
The JNC Forum has been stripped down, blasted, and completely rebuilt from the ground up with a modern drivetrain. This should get rid of the pesky database timeouts and various other annoyances with the old site. We may have a … Continue reading
Nissan 610 Bluebird-U on SSR Star Sharks
Sharknose on Sharks. It’s Shark Day on JNC! Actually it’s not, but we don’t post enough 610s so here’s a bad-arse sedan for all you sameburu freaks.
Friday Video: Mazda Story – The Challengers
Mazda released a video this week called “The Mazda Story – The Challengers”, which is all about Hiroshima pride. You can see glimpses of the Genbaku Dome (the only building to survive the A-bomb) and glimpses of the Mazda Museum. … Continue reading
Datsun 510, the Second Most Popular Car in Forza 3
The Datsun 510, beloved economy/race/nostalgic/tuner car, is the second most popular chariot for virtual racers in Forza Motorsports 3. Slotting just under the million-dollar Bugatti Veyron and ahead of a slew of Ferraris, Alfas and Porsches, the good ‘ol 510 has … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, nissan, Video Games
Tagged 510, bluebird, datsun, forza, forza 3, forza motorsports 3, nissan
8 Comments
Kidney, Anyone? Mitsubishi Fuso AR470 Bus Scale Model for $17,741
Yesterday we showed you model car on the small side. Today we look at a model bus that’s anything but, especially when it comes to price. This Mitsubishi Fuso AR470 recently sold on YJA for over ¥1.5 million, or $17,742!
