Author Archives: Ben Hsu
JNC Reader Visits "Vintage" Vintage Car Dealership
Nakazoto is a JNC reader who lives in Nagoya, Japan. He’s graciously posted two of his visits to a local classic car dealership called, simply, Vintage. Check out his photos here and here.
Wednesday Wall: JNC Project Hako KGC10 Skyline
Tired of the last Wednesday Wall yet? We don’t know how you could possibly be, but this might be the only car capable of out-cooling the Lexus LFA and Toyota 2000GT: JNC Project Hako. Kev’s ’71 Nissan Skyline KGC10 terrorizes … Continue reading
Classic CM: Mitsubishi Galant Lambda & Sigma Eterna
We’re always looking for Mitsubishi-related posts for the all-important job of keeping both Matt and the triple diamond mafia happy. To be honest, there isn’t much to this late-70s commercial for the Galant Sigma Eterna and Galant Lambda Eterna. But … Continue reading
Merry Christmas from Japanese Nostalgic Car
May Santa fill your stockings full of old school parts and rare accessories. Or, if you’ve been especially good, perhaps a new ride in your driveway with a big red bow on it. Merry Christmas, everyone! From all of us … Continue reading
Five J-Tin Winter Storage Tips
With a snowstorm of biblical proportions terrorizing the east coast, we thought it might be a good time for some winter storage tips. JNC reader Dustin (aka ohcanada_00 of Giga Pudding fame) works for the car care experts at Griot’s … Continue reading
Fuji Speedway Frozen in Time, 1977-80
The action that took place at Fuji Speedway in the 70s is the stuff of legend. Back then it was known as FISCO (Fuji International Speedway Co., Ltd.) and was host to epic battles in Group 5, Touring Sedan, and … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, mazda, motorsports, nissan, toyota
Tagged 240z, 240zg, apache, b110, b310, celica, corolla, corolla levin, datsun, datsun 1200, enkei, fairlady z, familia, fisco, fuji speedway, gr5, grand champion, group 5, gurachan, le mans, mazda, mazda 251, mazda 252, nissan, r100, racing forg, rx-3, rx-7, sprinter, sprinter trueno, sunny, sunny excellent, te27, te47, tomei, toyota
8 Comments
Friday Video: Winners and Sinners and a Massive J-Tin Pileup
Here’s another one of those wacky Hong Kong movies involving ridiculously implausible car chases and copious amounts of J-tin genocide. Although main players in this car chase from 1983’s Winners and Sinners are a Triumph Spitfire versus, uh, Jackie Chan … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, honda, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota
Tagged celica, corolla, datsun, galant, honda 145, jackie chan, lancer, mazda, mazda 808, mitsubishi, nissan, starlet, toyota, violet, winners and sinners
19 Comments
TE27 Levin & Trueno: A Pair of Ripe Mangos
Here’s a good shot illustrating the differences between the TE27 Toyota Corolla Levin (back) and Sprinter Trueno. You never see the two parked side by side here in the US. The mechanically identical cars have only superficial visual differences, most … Continue reading
Classic CM: Honda Prelude's Tach Within a Speedometer
The Honda Prelude made its debut in 1978 to compete with sport coupes like the Toyota Celica and Nissan Silvia. Honda would use the flagship model as a test bed for experimental concepts and innovative firsts. Take, for example, the … Continue reading
Rumored 2011 Nissan Silvia Styled After Foria Concept
Nissan is not about to sit idly by and let the Toyota FT-86 and Honda CR-Z steal all the retro car resurrection glory. Rumor has it that Nissan will bring back the Nissan Silvia come 2011 or 2012. There’s been … Continue reading
Posted in nissan
Tagged 2011 nissan silvia, 2012 nissan silvia, 240sx, concept, csp311, datsun, foria, nissan, silvia, tokyo motor show, tokyo motor show 2005
21 Comments
1978 Mazda RX-3 Savanna of Undiluted Evil
We don’t really have much to say about this menace to all that is innocent and pure, except that it’s hewn from brimstone and the nightmares of children. Imagine this ’78 Mazda RX-3 appearing in your rear view on a … Continue reading
"Crazy Nobe" Wakatsuki, First Datsun Importer, Dies at 81
As we all know, Nissan officially came to the US in 1960. But you’ve probably seen a small number of Datsuns built before then lurking around in barns and collections. Where did they come from? The answer is a man … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, nissan
Tagged bluebird, datsun, mr k, nissan, nobe wakatsuki, nobushige wakatsuki, woolverton motors, yutaka katayama
11 Comments
Learning Japanese: "Tateguro" Nissan Gloria A30
Welcome to a new series on the JNC Blog. In Learning Japanese, we’ll introduce nicknames for Japanese cars and delve into their etymology. We started informally with the erimaki Mitsubishi Mirage, but now it’s official. Let’s kick off with the … Continue reading
Posted in Learning Japanese, nissan
Tagged gloria, gloria a30, learning japanese, nissan, tateguro, tateme
9 Comments
Last Monthly Torrance/South Bay Meet of 2009
The boys with the Datsun wagons held the final South Bay meet of 2009 last Friday and despite the chilly (for SoCal) temperatures we rolled in to join the festivities. We saw the Mazda R100 above at SevenStock earlier this … Continue reading
Posted in events, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota
Tagged datsun, honda, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, south bay meet, toyota
4 Comments
Classic Japanese Show & Shine, Brisbane, Australia
A couple of months ago our friends in the southern hemisphere held their own gathering of nostalgics. And because everything is topsy-turvy down there, they occupied an entirely different circle in the J-tin Venn diagram. Look at the photo above. … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, isuzu, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota
Tagged b110, bellet, cedric, cedric 1900, compagno spider, daihatsu, datsun, datsun 1200, isuzu, mazda, nissan, prince motors, prince skyline, rx-2, rx-3, skyline, sunny
3 Comments
Friday Video: A Toyota Celica's Mad Mission
I rented the Hong Kong action-comedy Mad Mission II from the local video store back in the 80s. This was when I lived in Texas and it was the first Hong Kong movie I’d ever seen, lured by the VHS … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, nissan, Video Games
Tagged b210, celica, datsun, mad mission, sunny, toyota
10 Comments
Long-Lost Toyoda AA Discovered in Russia?
We love a good mystery, and Russian JNC reader Nitzer may have stumbled onto the mother of them all. Perhaps you can help determine if this is the Bigfoot of Toyotas or a man in a hairy suit. A gentleman … Continue reading
