Author Archives: Ben Hsu
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!
MINICARS: The World’s Smallest Car is a Toyota AA
We’ve talked about minicars here before, but this nano-sized Toyota AA takes it to a whole ‘nother level. Built by Denso to demonstrate its ultra-precise machining and semiconductor capabilities, this micro-model of Toyota’s first car, the 1936 AA, is 1/1000 … Continue reading
EVENTS: Nos2Days 2011, Part 03
Nos2Days is filled with wondrous machinery, but one of the mind-blowing cars on display was the legendary Dome Zero. Conceived during the supercar boom, the mid-engine marvel had the power-to-weight ratio of a Porsche of the era and was supposed … Continue reading
Friday Video: Toyota Corona Mark II vs Mitsubishi Galant GTO & Canter Tow Truck Toyota in G-Men ’75
This week’s video is from G-Men ’75, about a special task force within the Tokyo Metropolitan Police force. It was sponsored by Toyota, which explains why the MX20 Corona Mark II has to come to the rescue of the poor … Continue reading
Posted in mitsubishi, toyota, Video Games
Tagged canter, car chase, corona, g-men, galant, gto, japanese cop show, mark II, mitsubishi, mx20, toyota, x20
4 Comments
EVENTS: Nos2Days 2011, Part 01
News came out today that in the wake of the Tohoku tsunami, Japan’s new car sales have returned to what they were in 1968. Too bad the cars themselves have not! But if they did, the marketplace would resemble the … Continue reading
Toyota Sports 800 2U Camshaft by JUN Auto Mechanic
We weren’t surprised to find news of a new aftermarket part for a nostalgic car sitting in our inbox today. We were surprised that the nostalgic car in question is the Toyota Sports 800. So for all you yotahachi and … Continue reading
Posted in Aftermarket, toyota
Tagged cam, camshaft, jun, jun auto mechanic, publica, sports 800, toyota, up15, yotahachi
4 Comments
A Gallery of Mitsubishi’s Dakar Rally Cars
Last Friday Mitsubishi released a teaser for the next Lancer Evo on Facebook. Alas, it was just the Triple Diamond Mafia rubbing cruel April Fools salt into the wounds of jilted fans of the last sporty Mitsu. The company may … Continue reading
Friday Video: Zero-4 Fighter Trailer
Add another title to Japan’s long tradition of guerrilla-shot movies about street racing. Zero-4 Fighter is all about late night drags in the metric system, where 400 meters is the interval by which you live your life. The presence of … Continue reading
Posted in Video Games
Tagged datsun, fairlady z, mazda, nissan, rx-7, skyline, supra, toyota, zero-4 fighter
6 Comments
Kidney, Anyone? One-Owner 1967 Toyota 2000GT #88
So yeah. This is going to take more than a kidney, but there’s a one-owner 1967 Toyota 2000GT for sale. Not only that, but this one of 62 sold in the US is a yakuza special because it’s Number 88, … Continue reading
Posted in for sale, toyota
12 Comments
Pre-Digital Camera Kobe Kyuusha Meeting
We here at JNC love photos taken in pre-digital days. Clearly it’s not the photo quality, it’s that these authentic time-warp photos probably lived in some Japanese bloke’s personal photo album until one fateful day when it met with a … Continue reading
Toyo Kyogo Instructional Video on the Mazda Rotary Engine
What starts out like an episode of Schoolhouse Rock is actually a 1960s Toyo Kyogo video about the Mazda rotary engine. We get a lesson in the operation of the Wankel, and its advantages over its piston counterpart. Best of … Continue reading
Narusawa Village Showa Version 2 Gallery
Reason number 4,197 why Japan is awesome. No matter how miniscule the meet, wicked metal still shows up. Here’s a small gathering called Showa Version 2 that took place at the base of Mt. Fuji last November.
Posted in mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota, trucks, wagons
Tagged 240rs, 720, a114a, aa175, aa63, ae86, b110, b122, b210, b211, b310, bs110, c230, camry, celica, corolla, corona, cressida, cresta, crown, datsun, galant, gazelle, gc110, gf31, gx71, hayashi, kb110, ke75v, kenmeri, kgc110, khc231, khgc10, kp61, lancer, laurel, leopard, levin, liftback, mark II, mazda, mesh, mitsubishi, MkII, MkIII, ms112, mx73, nissan, pf30, pickup, ra25, ra55, reverse mesh, rx-7, s110, sa22, sa22c, sanitora, savanna, silvia, skyline, sprinter, ssr, starlet, sunny, toyota, truck, trueno, tt106v, un521, van, vanette, vb310, wagon, work equip, yayoi, yonmeri
13 Comments
