Author Archives: Ben Hsu

The Nostalgics of Gran Turismo PSP and Forza Motorsport 3

Just a brief intermission before continuing with the JCCS barrage. Recently, both Gran Turismo for PSP and Forza Motorsport 3 racing sim franchises have announced the master lineups. Here are all the cars that may be relevant to the interests … Continue reading →

Posted in Video Games | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

EVENTS: JCCS 2009 Part Five: The Mod Squad

As John is fond of saying, “Anyone can restore a car. It takes a real man to cut it up.” In Part Four of our week-long JCCS blitz we highlighted some of the faithful restorations that even Sherlock Holmes probably … Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, events, honda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Mad Max Datsun 240Z

MotorMavens has posted up a feature on one of our favorite cars from the recent Japanese Classic Car Show, the Mad Max Z. We gave you a little taste of it in Part One of our JCCS coverage, but here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, nissan | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

EVENTS: JCCS 2009 Part Four: Rolling Stock

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Friday Video to bring you more Japanese Classic Car Show sweetness. We love the fact that, like muscle cars, J-tin is ripe for modification. But sometimes it’s nice to see a faithfully restored example or … Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, events, honda, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

EVENTS: JCCS 2009 Part Three: The Exotics

One of the surprising things about JCCS this year was the sheer volume of Nissan Skylines. Partly, this is because there are now shops in the US dedicated to the importation and restoration of these wondrous machines. One such shop … Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, events, mazda, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

EVENTS: JCCS 2009 Part Two: Wagons Ho!

Continuing with our JCCS 2009 coverage, here are the cars from my personal favorite category — the wagons! This restored orange Datsun 510 was gorgeous, and aside from the re-upholstered interior it looks like it could have driven off the … Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, events, honda, kei, mazda, nissan, toyota, wagons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Toyota FT-86 and AE86 Drift Through GT5

The Gran Turismo series has apparently been working so closely with automakers that every time a concept is revealed, a supplemental GT5 driving video accompanies it. Here, they’ve even included some brief scenes of the newly announced Toyota FT-86 Concept … Continue reading →

Posted in toyota | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Hachiroku Returns: Toyota FT-86 Concept at the Tokyo Motor Show

Toyota has just announced the FT-86 Concept for the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show this October. It’s been two years in the making, and there were several times when the whole thing was thought to be rumor, but Akio Toyoda has … Continue reading →

Posted in toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 41 Comments

EVENTS: JCCS 2009 Part One: Kyuusha Kulture

Before daylight broke on Saturday morning Dan, John and I were already packing up the ol’ JNC wagon. It was an ungodly early hour, even for John, who was still on Texas time. As we hit “The 5,” as Californians … Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, mazda, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , | 24 Comments

EVENTS: Japanese Classic Car Show 2009 Preview

We are tired and overheated from running at redline all day at the JCCS. But we are happy to report that the 2009 Japanese Classic Car Show was the best one yet, with plenty of old school goodness to blow … Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, events, honda, jccs, mazda, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Friday Video: Crayon Shin-Chan’s Massive Nostalgia Tribute

There’s a fantastic discussion going on in the JNC forums right now about J-tin appearances in anime. We never knew there were so many animated nostalgics and are blown away by what readers have uncovered. One of the hidden gems … Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, mazda, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

EVENTS: SevenStock XII, Part Two

Welcome to the second and final installment of our SevenStock XII coverage (Click here for Part 1). It was hotter than the the ninth level of Hell that day and easy to see why southern California was on fire for … Continue reading →

Posted in events, mazda, suzuki | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

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 , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Honda EV-N: Retro-Electric at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show

Moments ago, Honda revealed the cars it plans to display at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show this October. And looky here – a new concept paying homage to the N-series! Details on the EV-N Concept remain sparse, though more will … Continue reading →

Posted in honda, Next Version | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

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 →

Posted in laws | Tagged , | 15 Comments

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.

Posted in bosozoku, datsun, japan, nissan, toyota, tuning shop | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

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 →

Posted in events, mazda | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , | 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 →

Posted in datsun, for sale, nissan | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments