Author Archives: Ben Hsu
Nissan's Real Life Dream Garage
Remember those 90s Nissan commercials starring Mr. K as a magical Willy Wonka-like figure holding the golden ticket to an automotive wonderland? For young car nuts like us, those ads expressed, in full cinematic color, the entirety of what was … Continue reading
Posted in datsun, japan, museum, nissan
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System of a Crown
At the Tokyo Motor Show, which is going on right now, Toyota is showing off a Crown Hybrid Concept. That name should sound familiar to you – it’s all we’ve been talking about for months, the very descendant of that … Continue reading
Posted in cm, toyota
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High Mile Club
If you’ve got a classic that’s been on the road for a while, some car companies want to hear from you. Honda recently launched its Mile Makers Club, which welcomes any dream-powered machines above 100,000 miles. Strangely, the near-million mile … Continue reading
Posted in honda, toyota, trucks
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Racing Sim
Will Wright is the designer of the hugely popular life simulator video game, The Sims, in which you can command your virtual characters to eat, sleep, defecate and even play other video games, but the one thing they can’t seem … Continue reading
Posted in mazda, streetracing, Video Games
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Forbes' Greatest Japanese Cars
Way back when (and by when we mean 2001), it was the dawn of a fresh millennium, our new president Dubya had yet to make a mess of the country, and the nation was still riding high on the dotcom … Continue reading
Posted in media
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More on Toyota's 50th
We’re back from SEMA week, and as you all know, Toyota celebrated its 50th anniversary during that time. Our previous post was made minutes before rushing over to the Toyota display at the Vegas Convention Center for the press release … Continue reading
Posted in media, toyota
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25 Years of US Built Hondas
More anniversaries! Twenty-five years ago this day, the first Japanese branded car built on US soil rolled off the conveyor belts wearing the license plate “USA 001.” Although Honda had been cranking out motorcycles in America since 1979, that gray … Continue reading
Posted in honda, manufacturing
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Happy Anniversary, Toyota
Today is a momentous occasion. Exactly half a century ago, on Halloween Day, an upstart Japanese company set up shop in Hollywood, California with the intent of selling cars in the US. A task of such ambition had never been … Continue reading
SEMA or Bust
We are headed to Sin City for three gigantic convention halls full of cars, cars, cars. From lowriders to towering 4x4s, it’s the trade show that has it all. Well, except for a strong presence of vintage Japanese. There’s usually … Continue reading
Posted in jnc
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The Hills are Alive, with J-Tin
Move over, Governator, there’s a new force out of Austria to be reckoned with, and that force is Japan-Oldies.at. Like the name says, it’s a German-language forum for lovers of old Japanese cars, and it’s run by Rainer, aka Mr_Daihatsu … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Vans, They Are A-Rockin'
There’s a new magazine in town, if your town happens to be in Japan. It’s called Street Van & Wagon, and we know painfully little about it. We can see that it’s about longbacked cars from the 60s – 80s, … Continue reading
Posted in japan, wagons
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Return of Nissan's Own GT-R
Unless you’ve spent the last two years being probed in an alien mothership, you know of the triumphant return of Nissan’s GT-R, which (finally!) debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show this week. But at the recent Motorsport Japan 2007 festival, … Continue reading
Posted in japan, nissan, racing, toyota
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October Skyline
The car Gran Turismo players have been waiting for was unveiled a couple of hours ago via live webcast and the bras are off! Not that that kind, although we’d probably be tossing ours onto the stage if we wore … Continue reading
Posted in nissan
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More Retro at the ToMoShow
By the time you read this, the Tokyo Motor Show will be in full swing, with concepts revealed by the minute. Unfortunately, our Cressida can’t drive on water (yet?) so we’ll have to admire the festivities from afar. That said, … Continue reading
Looming Issue
Although we’ve been harping about Toyota USA’s upcoming 50th birthday, this year is actually Toyota Motor Corporation’s 70th anniversary, established as a spinoff of Toyoda Automatic Loom in 1937. There’s a new book coming out in November called How Toyota … Continue reading
Posted in manufacturing, media, toyota
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Honda S2000 Type-S Debuts
Last Month we posted on a the Honda S2000 Type-S, which looked suspiciously like the US-market Honda S2000 CR that was unveiled in New York. Now the production version of the Type-S has gone on sale, and there are a … Continue reading
Posted in honda
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Awesome Blossom
The 2007 Tokyo Motor Show is about to kick off in a matter of days now, and concept photos have been hitting teh internets like a celebrity sex tape. We’ve already noted the Honda CR-Z concept that may portend a … Continue reading
Posted in Auto Shows, japan, Motorcycles, retro
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CNN Money on Toyota
The onslaught of media attention to Japanese classics continues towards crescendo. This time around, it’s CNN Money with their slideshow recalling significant Toyotas from the past half century. Toyota otaku will surely be able to find a few mistakes in … Continue reading
Posted in media, toyota
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More Seibu Keisatsu
Just another bunch of clips from Seibu Keisatsu.
Posted in Video Games
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