Author Archives: Ben Hsu
QotW: What’s your favorite Japanese luxury car?
On June 28, 1995 the governments of the US and Japan reached a historic trade agreement regarding the auto industry. The US was seeking to balance out the trade deficit, and Japan agreed to build more cars in the US … Continue reading
Rent your own island villa complete with FJ40 Land Cruiser
Remember that Allstate Insurance ad where the guy drives his little Defender all over town, revealed at the end to be entirely situated on a tiny island that you could drive across and back before your tea kettle boiled? Well, … Continue reading
Nissan imagines Datsun 240Z Safari Rally tribute from Juke
The Safari Rally kicks off today in Nairobi, Kenya, marking the 50th anniversary of when Nissan won the tortuous desert race overall in a Datsun 240Z. To commemorate the occasion, Nissan Europe has created a tribute to the iconic black-on-red … Continue reading
Mitsubishi on why there won’t be a Lancer Evo, even though shareholders requested it
Mitsubishi made its first newsworthy announcement in years in May when it said it would revive Ralliart, its motorsports brand for all things rally. On June 23 at Mitsubishi Motors’ annual shareholders meeting, CEO Takao Kato got a bit more … Continue reading
QotW: What’s your favorite Japanese race car?
This week marks the 30th anniversary of Mazda’s historic victory at Le Mans. Fairy tale doesn’t properly describe it, as fairy tales are usually pat and tidy. For Mazda, it wasn’t just the race itself but everything that led up … Continue reading
A Toyota Land Cruiser J80 has sold for $136,000
It was bound to happen. An 80-series Land Cruiser has followed the likes of the 2000GT and A80 Supra deep into six-figure territory by recently selling for $136,000. Of course, there are extenuating circumstances, with the main one being that … Continue reading
The Nissan Skyline is not dead, according to Nissan executive’s strongly worded statement
Over the weekend a minor panic ensued among Nissan fans and car enthusiasts when the Nikkei Shimbun newspaper reported that Nissan was discontinuing the Skyline. The Fuga and Cima would go along with it, the article stated. Reasons cited included … Continue reading
VIDEO: The Mitsubishi Montero Sport was a nice truck
With Land Cruiser pricing getting into nosebleed territory, 4×4 fans have moved onto Lexus GXes, Monteros, and even the occasional Trooper, driving all their prices up. So far, the Mitsubishi Montero Sport seems to have evaded their gaze. Debuting at … Continue reading
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QotW: What’s the biggest hurdle to keeping your JNC nice?
It’s a myth that southern California is really good to cars. Sure, due to the desert climate old cars don’t rust (unless you live near the beach), but you can always fix rust if you’re determined enough a welder. What … Continue reading
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Nissan previews 70th anniversary of Patrol with some really bad CG
The Nissan Patrol turns 70 this year, and Nissan has released a new video previewing some kind of occasion to mark the milestone. It’s a worthy goal, as the Patrol enjoys a huge following on par with that of the … Continue reading
QotW: What tuning house demo car do you want to own?
We recently learned that the Jun Auto Mechanic Honda Civic is up for sale. Tuning houses are small outfits, especially in Japan, and it’s basically impossible for them to keep everything they’ve built. Many once-revered demo cars plastered on the … Continue reading
QotW: What JNC concept deserves to be found or restored?
Mazda recently went through great lengths to restore the MX-81 concept, paying respects to the first car to bear the “MX” designation. As you can see, it needed significant reconditioning to bring it back to its former glory as it … Continue reading
The City wasn’t the first Honda with a bike-in-car concept
If you utter the words Honda City to any enthusiast of Japanese cars, the first thing their brains will map to is the foldable Motocompo bike that lived in its trunk. Although it’s the most recognized execution of the bike-in-car … Continue reading
MINICARS: The Kaido House Datsun 510 begins Jun Imai’s next chapter
Jun Imai is a pivotal figure in the diecast world, having transformed the most “hot rod” of diecast brands into a leader in Japanese minicars. For that he became a star in the collectible car world, and ever since he … Continue reading
