Author Archives: Ben Hsu
Ghostly 1972 Nissan Calendar Lives On
For a nation as tightly packed as Japan, there’s a surprising number of abandoned buildings. In many cases, they remain in tact for decades — no wrecking balls, no fleet of Komatsus to build a new skyscraper, just items left … Continue reading
Datsun 510, Bob Bondurant Approved: If you attended Bob Bondurant’s School of High Performance Driving in 1973, you would have been put behind the wheel of a Datsun 510 with “minor modifications.” [Jalopnik]
Thai Fighters: Retro Car Meet in Bangkok
The Retro Car syndicate of Thailand has routinely given us some of the raddest nostalgics outside of Japan. Not only are there apparently massive amounts of J-tin in that country, there’s a deep appreciation of the JDM modification aesthetic as … Continue reading
An Afternoon at TA Auto: Check out this amazing story on Speedhunters, where they visit Chiba’s TA Auto, an S30 Z specialist. They even meet one of the members of the original S30 Fairlady Z design team! Hat tip to … Continue reading
Friday Video: Sigma Slaughterhouse
Another typical Guerilla Group 8 storyline, in which tons of Mitsubishi Sigmas get led to senseless slaughter before Watari-san saves the day by dispatching nearly all the baddies from a helicopter. Come on Daimon, pass the ball once in a … Continue reading
Posted in mitsubishi, Video Games
Tagged guerilla group 8, guerrila: tokyo police group 8, japanese cop show, mitsubishi, sigma
1 Comment
Nostalgic Japanese Police Cars
Here’s a collection of photos of nostalgic Japanese police cars strung together by an amateur, unidirectional Ken Burns. Some are equipped with high-power engine options and transmission pairings not available on civilian versions of the same model. Sadly, Japanese patrol … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, honda, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, suzuki, toyota
Tagged 240z, 280zx, 300zx, 911, accord, alto, bmw, capella, cedric, civic, corolla, corona mark II, cosmo, cressida, crown, datsun, dyna, e30, e70, fairlady z, gloria, honda, japanese police cars, legato, luce, mark II, mazda, mitsubishi, montero, nissan, pajero, patrol car, police car, porsche, rx-4, rx-5, s130, s30 z, skyline, suzuki, toyopet, toyota, z31
7 Comments
Mazdas at Fuji Speedway, October 10, 1972
This video comes courtesy of oldschool.co.nz via Retro-Classics. It’s from the heyday of the Fuji touring car championships and is unique in that the narration is in English! No more picking handfuls of syllables out of rapid-fire Japanese commentary that … Continue reading
Bless Your Car, JDM Style
Some Japanese believe that if you have your car blessed by a Buddhist priest, you will avoid accidents, tickets, and possibly even bird droppings. Kawasaki-Daishi is one of the temples that has a parking lot for this exact purpose. The … Continue reading
Suzuki Mario Bros.: Those Koopa Troopas don’t stand a chance when Mario and Luigi are behind the wheel of Suzuki Carry. The kei truck feasts on turtle soup tonight. [Reddit via Jalopnik]
Posted in kei, suzuki, trucks
Tagged carry, kei, mario, super mario bros., suzuki, trucks
3 Comments
No Rotors Here: Mazda 616 Coupe
It’s March in SoCal. That means the weather is warming and meets are ramping up. We rolled down to Cypress, California (home of Mitsubishi North America HQ) in the ol’ JNC wagon on Sunday to check it out. It was … Continue reading
Honda Love Cub 50 Bikes On Sale
You know the BMW Art Cars, Chicago’s Cows on Parade and Washington DC’s Pandamania, right? In 2008 the venerable Honda Super Cub had its 50th birthday, and to celebrate Honda gave 60 of these best-selling bikes — one for each … Continue reading
Reader Build: Mitsubishi 360 Van
Congrats to JNC reader Nakazoto for getting his 1967 Mitsubishi 360 Van project featured on both Jalopnik and Speedhunters in the same week! David lives in Nagoya, Japan and came across this kei commercial vehicle rotting away in a field. … Continue reading
Friday Video: Detective Story Corolla Crash
What is it about criminal masterminds? Even in Japan, they can’t just kill off the hero with a point-blank gunshot to the head. Instead they string him up to elaborate yet escape-able death traps, such as this runaway Toyota that … Continue reading
Posted in toyota, Video Games
Tagged corolla, corolla e30, detective story, japanese cop show, ke30, toyota, yusaku matsuda
1 Comment
1976 Mitsubishi Galant GTO Brochure, in English
Mitsubishi announced today that they were all but killing off their Ralliart division due to the global economic slump. In honor of that once great performance arm, let’s take a look at the triple diamond mafia’s flagship nostalgic, the Galant … Continue reading
Posted in catalogs, mitsubishi
Tagged brochure, catalog, colt, dynawedge, galant, gto, mitsubishi
7 Comments
Honda Releases "CR-X – A Nod to Legend" Video
It’s really amazing how Japanese automakers are suddenly all about their heritage. When the JNC Blog started two years ago, we basically bitched non-stop about how they were sitting on an untapped gold mine of good will. Though we would … Continue reading
No Pistons, No AWD: Mazda RX-7 Rally Car
The first-gen Mazda RX-7 has competed in many forms of motorsport, from IMSA enduros to drag racing to touring car challenges. Here it is on dirt, with gratuitous helicopter tracking shots. Video after the jump. Hat tip to Andrew P.
If a Tree Falls on a Nissan…: Today’s zen koan comes from Australia, where, as Kev informs us, there are indeed trees. And sometimes they upend themselves on some poor sheila’s newly restored Datsun 610. Zoe Michalski had just purchased … Continue reading
Father & Son: AE86 and Toyota FT-86
At long last, Toyota is bringing out the nostalgic guns. Accompanying the Toyota FT-86 Concept‘s arrival at the Geneva Motor Show last week comes these official images. Unless you’re steeped in Toyota history you might have missed the significance of … Continue reading
Posted in toyota
Tagged 2010 geneva motor show, ae86, corolla, ft-86, geneva motor show, hachiroku, levin, project 086a, sprinter, toyota, trueno
18 Comments
Friday Video: Mitsubishi Starion vs Toyota Crown
Poor Sgt. Daimon. It seems that no matter what TV series he’s in, he is always called upon to dispatch a ridiculously over-armed bad guy with a single shot worthy of Vasily Zaytsev, after which he must solemnly watch their … Continue reading
Posted in mitsubishi, toyota, Video Games
Tagged amg, crown, debonair, galant, guerilla group 8, japanese cop show, mitsubishi, seibu keisatsu, starion, tetsyua watari, tokyo police, toyota, vr-4
5 Comments
South Australia's All Japan Day
The license plate on this Datsun 1600 says it all. If you have a penchant for Simmons wheels, oddball two-door wagons, and rear window blinds, then head to the JNC forums for photos from South Australia’s All Japan Day. Ta … Continue reading
