Author Archives: Ben Hsu
1600-Plus Mazda MX-5 Roadsters Celebrate 20th Anniversary
More than 1600 MX-5 Roadsters swarmed Mazda‘s hometown of Hiroshima, Japan on September, 20 for what has to be a new world record in single-model gatherings. After all, the MX-5 already holds the Guinness record for best selling two-seater droptop … Continue reading
Posted in japan, mazda
Tagged hiroshima, mazda, mazda roadster, miata, miata 20th anniversary, miyoshi proving grounds, mx-5
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NHTSA List of Every Cash for Clunkers Car
The NHTSA has released a list of all 690,114 cars traded in in the Cash for Clunkers program. Keep in mind that the list is unverified and based on dealer reports. Most of the cars we know and love have … Continue reading
Mizuno Works, For All Your Kyushakai Needs
Need a gurachan spoiler and some wicked fender flares for your kenmeri Skyline? Swing by Saitama’s Mizuno Works, a shop specializing in bosozoku style bombers.
EVENTS: SevenStock XII, Part One
SoCal’s biggest rotary gathering took place on Saturday, at Mazda USA’s Irvine, California headquarters. Dan snapped enough photos that we’re splitting them into MotorMavens-style two-post coverage rather than our old massive image dump format. Let’s get to it, shall we? … Continue reading
Friday Video: Kyushakai Drifters
There’s been a recent spate of videos in which cars built with old school bosozoku style take on the decidedly new art of professional drifting. Take a gander at the exquisite airbrushed paint job, for example, captured at Ebisu by … Continue reading
Posted in toyota
Tagged bosozoku, drifting, garuchan, kyushakai, shakotan, soarer z20, toyota, toyota chaser, toyota mark ii, toyota soarer
6 Comments
Kidney, Anyone? One-Owner 1972 Datsun 510
The neverending assault on our internal organs just keeps on coming this week. This Vancouver, BC ’72 Datsun 510 (see Craigslist ad here) has had one owner, a 77-year-old man who is now looking to pass his baby onto a … Continue reading
Mr. K's 100th Birthday Party at the Datsun Heritage Museum
As we mentioned last week, the Datsun Heritage Museum observed Mr. K’s 100th birthday on September 19. A Datsun-only car show was held in Katayama-san’s honor, and here are the photos. Lest we be found guilty of portraying Zs and … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, events, museums, nissan
Tagged bluebird, bluebird p312, datsun, datsun 1200, datsun 1600 sports, datsun 320, datsun 510, datsun 620, datsun b210, datsun heritage museum, datsun nl320, datsun pickup, datsun roadster, fairlady roadster, mr k, nissan, nissan sunny, sunny b210, yutaka katayama
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Mazda RX-3 Savannas Take to the Circuit
Here are some actual gurachan – as in Grand Champion, not gurachan-style – Mazda RX-3 Savanna race cars from the mid- to late-70s. In this photo driver Naoki Nagasaka hits the 1978 Fuji GC and Super Touring series. Note the … Continue reading
Posted in mazda
Tagged fuji, grand champion, gurachan, mazda, mazda rx-3, rx-3, rx-3 savanna, suzuka
10 Comments
Kidney, Anyone? 1972 Toyota Corona Mark II
This baby blue beaut of a Toyota Corona Mark II is the mintiest we’ve ever spotted. The odometer reads 16,041 miles and the condition seems to corroborate that story. The door jambs could be licked. The trunk mat is as … Continue reading
Friday Video: Nissan Bluebird 610 vs Mazda Luce
From the Japanese TV series Detective Story comes this comical car chase involving Nissan Bluebird 610 and a Mazda Luce sedans. This is the same program that gave us the Mazda Cosmo AP vs Dump Trucks chase we posted a … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, mazda, nissan, Video Games
Tagged bluebird, bluebird 610, datsun, datsun 610, detective story, luce, mazda, nissan, rx-4
4 Comments
Nostalgics in 1/64 Scale
When even mainstream media sources like USA Today are talking about nostalgics, you know our beloved J-tin is finally getting some props. Here’s another barometer: diecast cars.
Posted in minicars, nissan, toyota
Tagged 510, bluebird, datsun 510, diecast, fj40, hot wheels, land cruiser, matchbox, nissan, toyota
15 Comments
"Nissan: Passion and Beauty of Function" Exhibit at Hiratsuka Museum of Art
Nissan will soon sponsor an exhibit called “Car Design History – NISSAN Passion and Beauty of Function” at the Hiratsuka Museum of Art. The exhibit will follow the history of automotive design in Japan. Original sketches and clay models from … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, museum, nissan
Tagged datsun, datsun 113, fairlady z, hiratsuka museum of art, nissan, nissan: passion and beauty of function, s30 z, skyline, skyline c10, sunny, sunny b10
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Happy 100th Birthday to Mr. K!
Yutaka “Mr. K” Katayama, president of Nissan USA during the heyday of the Datsun brand, turns 100 today! Mr. K was dispatched to the US in 1960 to handle the west coast operations of a little known startup marque from … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, events, museum, nissan
Tagged datsun heritage museum, mr k, yutaka katayama
6 Comments
USA Today Picks Top 10 Japanese Collector Cars
Last Friday USA Today picked their Top 10 Japanese cars that they think will become collectible in the future. The piece echoes what we’ve been preaching all along, that these cars capture the nostalgic feelings of twenty- and thirty-somethings and … Continue reading
Datsun 240Z Spews Rodent Dog Food Stash
Oh, those wacky chipmunks… [Jalopnik]
Posted in datsun, nissan
11 Comments
Friday Video: Seibu Keisatsu, Behind the Scenes
Heh heh, whoops! I guess the Monday holiday threw us off. Here’s your belated Friday Videos, a pair of behind the scenes looks at the making of Seibu Keisatsu. These videos have embedding disabled, so clicky click on the screenshots … Continue reading
Posted in seibu keisatsu, Video Games
Tagged bus, datsun, nissan, seibu keisatsu, skyline
3 Comments
Kidney, Anyone? 1974 Datsun 610 with KA Power
Bring a Trailer is on a roll this week. This is the cleanest 610 build we’ve ever seen, swapped with a modern KA24DE from a 240SX and amenities like projector beam headlights. In truth, we wanted to profile Aaron’s car … Continue reading
Bosozoku Style Fo' Lyfe
Remember that Shako Hako we posted a while back? Reader Zeb found the source of the pic, which revealed a whole gallery of bosozoku style machines from way back in the day. How far back? Before the age of digital … Continue reading
Nostalgics Galore at Japan Meet Norway
Is there anything that looks more UFO-ey than the rump end of a kujira Crown wagon? This goon and other nostalgics gathered yesterday, 9/9/09, for Japan Meet Norway. It comes hot on the heels of Swiss and Finnish J-tin congregations, … Continue reading
