Author Archives: Ben Hsu
I Wanna Glide Down Over Mulholland
In the 80s, Los Angeles’ Mulholland Drive was the site of some epic street racing. As these videos on Jalopnik show, its winding canyon path was the perfect setting for cat-mouse chases. Datsun 510s and S30 Zs battling it out … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, nissan, Nuts and Bolts, streetracing
Tagged 240z, 510, bluebird, datsun, fairlady z, mulholland drive, s30, street racing
1 Comment
The Mazda Family Tree, 1960-Present
In honor of Mazda’s 90th Anniversary, here’s the complete genealogy of every Mazda from 1960 to present day. Three-wheeled pickups from the early days are absent, but those were commercial vehicles. This family tree contains all the passenger cars, stretching … Continue reading
Friday Video: Freeway Speedway
It’s kind of hard to believe we’ve gone this long without any mention of the Freeway Speedway series. The six films followed a young driver making his way in the illegal Shutoku battle scene of the 80s and 90s. At … Continue reading
Posted in mazda, nissan, toyota, Video Games
Tagged 280zx, 300zx, celica, corolla, datsun, dr30, fairlady z, freeway speedway, gt-r, mazda, nissan, r30, r32, rx-7, s130, shuto, shutoku battle, skyline, supra, tokyo speedway, toyota, wangan
13 Comments
EVENTS: Nos2Days 2010
We’re getting all sorts of goodies from Nippon this week. Our Japanese operative, known only as “Turbo,” snapped these photos last weekend at Nos2Days, the two-day car show put on by Japan’s OG classic car mag, Nostalgic Hero. Onto the … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, events, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, prince, toyota
Tagged 240z, 252i, 510, bluebird, c10, c230, cressida, cresta, crown, crown pickup, datsun, dr30, fairlady z, gx61, gx71, Hakosuka, kei, laurel, le mans, mark II, mazda, mitsubishi, mitsubishi 360, mitsubishi 360 van, mooneyes, mx73, nissan, nos2days, nos2days 2010, police car, prince, rs watanabe, rx-7, s30, skyline, skyway, sports 800, toyota, utilitas, wagon, watanabe
13 Comments
Kidney, Anyone? 1971 Honda 1300 Coupe 9
You know that work of art we posted a couple of weeks ago? Here’s what it looks like on the outside. The Honda 1300 Coupe 9 was Old Soichiro’s front-wheeled, air-cooled, quad-carbed answer to the Toyota Corona and Nissan Bluebird, … Continue reading
Counterfeit JNC Stickers Now Available!
Look what April Fools Santa Claus brought us yesterday. Could there be a more appropriate gift for the occasion? An operative in Indonesia managed to track down some counterfeit JNC stickers for us. The JNC staff is already calling dibs … Continue reading
Friday Video: Lotus Europa vs. Nissan Fairlady Z Police Car
The platypus-looking Lotus Europa is exactly the kind of oddball foreign car that the Japanese go nuts over. We’ve never see one in the flesh in the US, but we’ve seen several in Nippon. Is that weird? Anyway, here’s two … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, nissan, Video Games
Tagged 240z, car chase, circuit wolf, datsun, europa, fairlady z, hakone, japan, japanese, lotus, nissan, police car, s30
9 Comments
Project Hakosuka Crashes!
We’re at a total loss for words right now, and needless to say Kev is just about devastated. Let this be a lesson: if you’re going to let your friends drive your baby, make sure they know how to handle … Continue reading
Kidney, Anyone? 1976 IMSA GTU Champion Datsun 240Z
Not just a kidney, but you’ll probably need to part with a retina and a lung or two. For $285,000 you get a slice of motorsports history — the Datsun 240Z that straight up won the IMSA GT/U 2.5-liter championship in 1976. Along … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, for sale, motorsports, nissan
Tagged 240z, brad frisselle, bre, datsun, dave kent, daytona, fairlady z, gtu, imsa, john knepp, john morton, mac tilton, mazda, nissan, rx-7, s30
10 Comments
NUMMI: General Motors’ Wasted Golden Opportunity
Remember when everyone and their cousin was driving an AE82 Toyota Corolla/Chevy Nova? They were coming from Fremont, California’s NUMMI, birthing ground of more than 8 million cars, and it will build its last one tomorrow. Twenty-six years ago, Toyota … Continue reading
Posted in toyota
Tagged chevrolet, chevy, corolla, general motors, gm, nova, nummi, this american life, toyota
6 Comments
Activision Enduro Datsun 280ZX Pace Car Contest
Hey, remember Enduro? Neither do we. But apparently it was the freakin’ Forza Motorsport of 1983, made for the Atari system. There was a contest where you could win a Datsun 280ZX Turbo pace car in the vein of the … Continue reading
Posted in cm, datsun, nissan, Video Games
Tagged 280zx, activision, caesar's palace grand prix, campaign, contest, datsun, enduro, fairlady z, las vegas grand prix, nissan, pace car, race for riches, s130
18 Comments
No More Quarter Pounders: Replace Those Panels
The quarter panel is probably the most daunting section of body to replace on a car. But it doesn’t have to be that way. RatDat has a great how-to write up that makes it seem, well, slightly less daunting.
Friday Video: 1973 Mustang vs Motorcycle
Well now that we know the 1973 Ford Mustang was a real cop car in Japan, here’s a cop show chase involving one.
Posted in Video Games
Tagged abunai deka, car chase, ford, japanese cop show, mustang, police car
4 Comments
Datsun 610 and My Adidas Do the Illest Things
How fresh is this? A new Adidas commercial prominently features a Datsun 610 Coupe, fender mirrors and all, beside a bird dancing in pajamas. We’ve been documenting the appearance of J-tin in advertisements for a while now because, well, it’s … Continue reading
The First Sporting Skyline
You know what, we really don’t see enough pre-hakosuka Skylines either. Here’s a Prince Skyline 2000 GT from the New Year Meeting. Would you believe these were raced against the Porsche 904? Though it swept 2nd through 6th at the … Continue reading
Hondas at the Gate: A JDM Civic pace car with a grid full of vintage Hondas illustrates Jalopnik‘s model bloat theory.
Yellow Torpedo: New Year Meeting Hino Contessa
We rarely get to post a photo of a Hino Contessa, but here’s a slick little rear-engined torpedo found at the 2010 New Year Meeting. Obligatory black Wats and a dab of drop. [Minkara]
