Author Archives: Ben Hsu
Famous Toyota and Mazda Racers, JNC Issue 3 Sneak Peek
Time to check in with our friends at Speedhunters, who have had the fortune to see the famous yellow and green Toyota 2000GT land speed record car in person. If you’ve read Lifelong Pursuit, our profile about Shunichi Kasai’s Toyota … Continue reading
Posted in mazda, motorsports, toyota
Tagged imsa gtu mazda, mazda, mazda rx-7, mazda rx7, rx-7, rx7, toyota 2000gt, toyota 2000gt land speed record, yatabe, yatabe 2000gt
8 Comments
Honda Builds 20M Cars in North America
On November 1, 1982, the first Japanese car built in America rolled off the assembly lines in Marysville, Ohio. The manufacturer was Honda, and the car was a gray Accord sedan wearing the license plate “USA 001”. Today, Honda has … Continue reading
A Very Brief History of Green Hondas
Honda’s new Insight hybrid went on sale in Japan earlier today, accompanied by a minisite covering the history of their ecologically-minded vehicles. Starting with the Super Cub motorcycle’s OHC four-stroke motor in 1958. The first car is the kei-class N360 … Continue reading
Posted in honda
Tagged honda, honda civic cvcc, honda insight, honda n360, honda n600, honda super cub
2 Comments
Mitsubishi Ends Dakar Participation
Another day, another cutback. As the worst ecomonic climate in decades hits the auto industry and everything connected to it, Mitsubishi announced today that they are ending participation of the Dakar Rally citing exactly that reason. It’s a shame, too, … Continue reading
Posted in mitsubishi, motorsports, rally
5 Comments
A Visit to Daisuke Shoten
Our buddy over at Nori Yaro posted on a visit to Daisuke Shoten, a shop specializing in mad bosozoku style cars. It sits in a field of grass as tall as your shoulders and the only sign signifying its existence … Continue reading
Posted in bosozoku, tuning shop
8 Comments
Honda: The Power of Dreams Animated Film
It’sa me, Soichiro! Honda: The Power of Dreams is a new Italian animated short film about the life of Soichiro Honda, founder of the motorcycle and car company that bears his name. It become obvious when his sketches come to … Continue reading
Posted in honda, JNC Theater, Video Games
Tagged honda, honda animation, honda short film, honda: the power of dreams, soichiro honda
6 Comments
Sayonara, Isuzu
Well, it’s February. That means Isuzu’s passenger car division has quietly exited, stage left, from the US auto market as we reported would happen year ago. The end of an era! Our brief time with Isuzu began in the 70s … Continue reading
Posted in cm, isuzu
Tagged isuzu, isuzu gemini, isuzu impulse, isuzu trooper, joe isuzu, opel gemini
8 Comments
Grandma Hoon in a Datsun Bluebird
Australia’s fastest grandma, Barbara Colllier, age 70, co-pilots a Datsun Bluebird with her grandson John, age 14. He needed a certified passenger to compete at Toowoomba’s Charlton Speedway but his grandfather Jack failed a mandatory medical exam. That’s when Barbara … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, motorsports, nissan
1 Comment
All Datsun Beach BBQ & Food Drive
The folks from Dime Quarterly put on a great gathering today for all Datsun and J-tin fans at Doheny Beach today. They provided excellent barbecue and collected food for the San Diego Food Bank. Click here for more photos from … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, events, nissan
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Car Chase Combat: Toyota Corona vs. Mazda RX-3
If Tuesday’s Subaru-on-Subaru action left you wanting more nostalgic car chase excitement, you’re in luck. Most Japanese films had a manufacturer sponsor that supplied them with cars, so all the main cars – and sometimes even the chase fodder – … Continue reading
Posted in mazda, toyota, Video Games
15 Comments
Cash For Clunkers, German Edition
Achtung! Ze Germans are getting in on the cash for clunkers program as well. The government is giving people who trade in an old car for scrap up to 2500 euros. In the first two days of the program’s existence, … Continue reading
Posted in laws
5 Comments
All Datsun Beach BBQ and Food Drive
This weekend the folks at Dime Quarterly are holding another one of their great barbecue food drives! Bring some canned grub to donate and check out some old cars. The event takes place Jan 31 at Doheny State Beach. That’s … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, events, nissan
4 Comments
Kidney, Anyone? 22,800-mile Celica Liftback
We thought we’d seen all the clean California Celicas at JCCS and Toyotafest, but here’s an amazing 1977 Liftback that only has 22,800 miles on the clock. Apparently it came from a Texas dealership showroom last year and, according to … Continue reading
Posted in for sale, toyota
5 Comments
RS Watanabe TV Commercial
How unbelievably cool is it that RS Watanabe actually aired TV commercials back in the day? Of course, they’re so expensive we’d never slap them on a rally-going 910 Bluebird and sandblast them to smithereens. You could always go with … Continue reading
OG Shirt from Import Bible
Our friends at Import Bible have released another Series 2 shirt that is sure to appeal to nostalgists. The front says “OG” in big red letters and on the back, a closeup of a hakosuka grille. Killer! You can buy … Continue reading
Posted in nissan, nostalgic gear
5 Comments
Goertz Myths Will Never Die, Part II
Oh, snap! Sound Classics has responded to our post titled “Goertz Myths Will Never Die” in which we took issue with the supposed designer of the Toyota 2000GT. Nissan/Datsun fans, you’ll want to stick around for this too. The question … Continue reading
Random Honda 50 Years Ad
Here’s a random web banner ad we came across the other day. It’s Honda USA’s 50th anniversary and it looks like they’re starting to promote it. We’ve got our party hats on. Don’t harsh our buzz, Honda!
Posted in honda
4 Comments
