Author Archives: Ben Hsu

BRE 510 Does 0-600% in One eBay Sale

A while back, this Datsun 510 sold on eBay for $13,000, a steep price for what appeared to be a BRE-themed Datsun 510 replica. Only, it wasn’t a replica. According to the seller, it’s a one-of-a-kind prototype for a Datsun … Continue reading

Posted in datsun, for sale, nissan, racing | 5 Comments

1981 Isuzu I-Mark Diesel on Ebay

We don’t often have a lot of Isuzu news here, but the least-loved Japanese marque had some nice designs before completely falling out of the passenger car market altogether. The I-Mark was one of the first cars in the US … Continue reading

Posted in for sale, isuzu | 13 Comments

Motoring J Style to Honor BRE Reunion

This recent article on Winding Road is a good read on the background of Martin Swig, a well-known California car collector. What it doesn’t mention though, is that Swig, along with his son David, in 2007 founded Motoring J Style, … Continue reading

Posted in datsun, events, nissan, racing | Leave a comment

NHK Top Sales, Nostalgic Rival to BBC Top Gear

Forget Knight Rider, forget Speed Racer, forget Seibu Keisatsu. This could quite possibly be the best show ever to hit the airwaves, and it’s a soap opera. NHK is launching a new drama series called Top Sales, about a car … Continue reading

Posted in japan, Video Games | 4 Comments

Land Cruisers You Can Wear

Someone over at this T-shirt site must love Land Cruisers because they have at least 3 shirts dedicated to the old Toyota workhorse. Our favorite one is this one pictured, even though we’re not really sure what it says. The … Continue reading

Posted in nostalgic gear, toyota, trucks | 3 Comments

Random House III: M Yokota Collection

You may remember the M. Yokota Collection, which has been mentioned on our blog before. Essentially, a super rich old dude built a museum around a massive collection of his diverse interests, one of which happens to be old Japanese … Continue reading

Posted in japan, museum | 1 Comment

JNC Superdeformed Launch Contest

To celebrate our recent magazine launch, we’re giving away a few little trinkets that we picked up from our trip to Japan. Nothing special, just a few super deformed pullback cars that fly across your kitchen floor like a startled … Continue reading

Posted in jnc, minicar | Leave a comment

Jimny Cricket! Suzuki LJ20 on Ebay

In these days of skyrocketing gas prices where you have to take out a mortgage just to fill up your Escalade, how about a 4×4 with two-speed transfer case that gets 50mpg? If you don’t mind putting up with a … Continue reading

Posted in for sale, suzuki, trucks | 5 Comments

Datsun 510 Futures Looking Bullish

First it appeared on album covers, now there’s a casting call from Hollywood. Is the Datsun 510 the next big thing? It seems that whenever a classic Japanese car is called for, the 510 is becoming quite the sizzling ticket. … Continue reading

Posted in datsun, nissan, Video Games | Leave a comment

JNC Magazine Shipping Now

We’re posting this random photo of a vintage Japanese mail truck based on the Honda Step Van because JNC magazine has finished printing and will be mailed out tomorrow! They’re coming straight from the printer so we haven’t even seen … Continue reading

Posted in jnc | 10 Comments

Mazda Rotary Endurance Racers, Then and Now

In 1968, Mazda took the world’s first ever rotary-powered race car, its brand new Cosmo Sports, racing at one of Europe’s toughest enduros, the Marathon de la Route 84 Hours at Germany’s Nürburgring. It finished fourth, behind a pair of … Continue reading

Posted in mazda, racing | 2 Comments

Hot Rod Datsun

We’ve seen Toyota and Mazda-powered hot rods, but here’s a totally bitchin’ speedster pushing Datsun power. A 260Z inline 6 to be exact, and it’s even made to resemble a Miller/Offy from back in the day. Blasphemy to some, perhaps, … Continue reading

Posted in datsun, Spotlight | 4 Comments

Rotaries Are Blinding Us with Science

On April 27th, the National Science Museum in Japan will be holding a special exhibition celebrating 40 years of Mazda’s rotary engine. The exhibit, called “Showa Rotary Engine Vehicles,” will look at the history and future of rotary engines. The … Continue reading

Posted in japan, mazda | Leave a comment

Ice Cold Sapporos

It’s hard to believe that in all the talk about Sapporos in our forums, no one has ever mentioned this site, msapporo.com, where you can find entire brochures and owners manuals scanned, posted and categorized for your viewing pleasure. Fans … Continue reading

Posted in catalogs, mitsubishi | Leave a comment

Toyota-Subaru RWD Confirmed

It’s true, it’s all true! Soylent Green is people, the apes were on Earth all along, and the Toyota-Subaru joint rear wheel drive coupe is real. Last week, Toyota upped its stake in Subaru parent company Fuji Heavy Industries from … Continue reading

Posted in subaru, toyota | 17 Comments

Starlet Baja Racing, Presence of Popeye Inexplicable

The title really says it all.

Posted in cm, toyota | 4 Comments

More Subaru Goodies

Hot on the tails of yesterday’s Subie surprise, Subaru Japan dealerships have just announced a “customer appreciation day” campaign taking place this weekend, April 12-13. Just stroll on in and enter a drawing for either a 360 mouse or a … Continue reading

Posted in japan, subaru | Leave a comment

Subaru 360 Mouse

Our JDM friend and Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear Super Exceed 24-Valve V6 3000 with Crystal Lite Roof helmsman was in town for a few days and he brought us this rad present. It’s a surprisingly comfortable USB optical mouse in … Continue reading

Posted in nostalgic gear, subaru | 4 Comments

Vintage Racing Hart and Bilbo Ads

Just came across these vintage JDM wheel ads from Racing Hart and your favorite JDM wheel named after a Tolkien character, Bilbo. Follow the jump to see more ads.

Posted in wheels | 3 Comments

JNC Magazine Sneak Peek

We’ve added a brief rundown of the first issue’s table of contents, which you can see here.

Posted in jnc | 2 Comments