Author Archives: Ben Hsu
GALLERIES: The Honda Collection Hall’s “Civic World” exhibit
The Honda Collection Hall in Japan is currently holding a special exhibit called “Civic World” that spans every generation of the ubiquitous everycar. The 17-car display includes both bone stock and race cars, covering five decades of Civics since the … Continue reading
Toyota shows one-off Heritage Edition Supra Sport Roof
Officially revealed this morning, Toyota has brought back a feature of the legendary A80 Supra: the Sport Roof. The removable roof panel was a Supra trademark, having been a feature of both A70 and A80 generations (so in Japan, where … Continue reading
QotW: What are you asking Japanese Santa Claus for this year?
After a grueling year, the year-end holidays are hopefully a time when we can all wind down and relax. It’s also a time for hope, and a time when we traditionally ask what you’d request from a magical man who … Continue reading
Dedicated enthusiasts have restored an 1966 Isuzu city bus
According to a recent post on the official Isuzu blog, one of the company’s 1966 BXD30 city buses has been restored to its original glory. The bus had served various organizations for over 50 years, and was only decommissioned in … Continue reading
MINICARS: The Hot Wheels FC Mazda RX-7 will be recolored in white
The Hot Wheels Mazda RX-7 FC3S was already one of our favorite new castings of the year, but the next recolor really cements it in our list of all-time greats. As revealed by the Hot Wheels Dream Team of Mattel’s … Continue reading
QotW: Which car should receive the factory restoration treatment next?
We recently learned that Nissan is offering an unparalleled nut-and-bolt restoration program for the Skyline GT-R. The ¥45 million ($433,000 USD) restoration ain’t cheap, but it’s far more thorough than the 240Z restoration program from the 1990s, and everything is … Continue reading
VIDEO: A bunch of kaido racers accidentally caught on video circa 1987
The Tomei Expressway stretches from Nagoya to Tokyo, and recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. It’s a beautiful stretch of road, and when heading east you can see the flat outskirts give way to the tall buildings of the capital city. … Continue reading
Posted in Video
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TUNE UP: J Cole’s “Fire Squad” video features the sweet sound of AE86s revving and drifting
Rapper J Cole’s triple-platinum album 2014 Forest Hills Drive came out six years ago, but a previously unseen music video for the track “Fire Squad” was just released. It prominently features a pair of drifting Toyota AE86 coupes sending up … Continue reading
The legendary Toyota plant that built the AE86, Mark II, and Century is now closed
On December 7 Toyota held a closing ceremony for its Higashi Fuji plant. Today, all production lines will be shut down and the factory closed for good. The 53-year-old facility has produced some of Toyota’s most iconic models, including the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged ae86, century, chaser, corolla levin, cressida, cresta, Crown Comfort, Isis, JPN Taxi, lexus sc, mark II, origin, Porte, soarer, sports 800, toyota, x30, x60
6 Comments
The Nissan Skyline wins Japan Naming Award despite controversy about name origins
Naming a car can be difficult. Just ask the folks who came up with the Mitsubishi Pajero or the Buick Lacrosse (both of which turned out to mean wanker in other languages). There are also the unintentionally funny ones given … Continue reading
VIDEO: Was the Camry really that boring?
The Toyota Camry often gets a bad rap for being boring, but it’s really not a bad car. That is especially true when talking about the XV10 chassis, sold in the US from 1991-96, and we’re not even talking about … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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NISMO launches bare-metal, balanced-chassis, nut-and-bolt restoration program for Nissan Skyline GT-R
NISMO has announced an unprecedented restoration program for the renowned Nissan Skyline GT-R. It will soon be possible to take a car down to bare metal, balance the chassis, and rebuild its mechanical and electrical components and come back with … Continue reading
VIDEO: Fun facts about classic Mazdas, depending on your definition of fun
Mazda UK has released a series of videos issuing “fun facts” about classic Mazdas. To be honest, it’s a bit of a stretch to call these facts “fun” unless you find scintillating tidbits such as “Mazda first used the 929 … Continue reading
VIDEO: The hand-built 117 Coupé was easier for the Isuzu Museum to restore than a lowly pickup
The most heralded passenger car from Isuzu’s portfolio of classics is the 117 Coupé.Marketed as a flagship luxury GT, it was very much an image car intended to put Isuzu on the map against the Toyotas and Princes of 1960s … Continue reading
MOTORSPORT: The Raybrig NSX finished its final race in a jaw-dropping blaze of glory
For nearly 25 years, the Raybrig NSX has been a fixture in the Japan Grand Touring Championships. In the heyday of JGTC, the striking blue racing machine was one of the most recognizable on the track. Over the weekend, however, … Continue reading
Posted in motorsport
Tagged acura, honda, Jenson Button, JGTC, kunimitsu takahashi, nsx, SuperGT
6 Comments
50 YEAR CLUB: The Toyota Celica, a pivotal player in Japan’s car culture
Fifty years ago this day, on December 1 1970, the first Toyota Celica went on sale in Japan. It proved to be a groundbreaking car, the first of Japan’s production “specialty cars”, fashionable personal coupes based on a sedan chassis. … Continue reading
Posted in 50 Year Club
Tagged a10, a20, carina, celica, fuji speedway, tokyo motor show, toyota
18 Comments
MINICARS: How to turn a Hot Wheels Nissan Skyline into a kaido racer
There’s a whole subculture of customized Hot Wheels and, as it happens, an ever-growing list of Japanese castings. That gives ample opportunity to create something cool from Japan’s rich car culture, like this Kenmeri Skyline kaido racer. It’s hard to … Continue reading
VIDEO: Nissan Z Proto designers talk about what inspired them
The Nissan Z Proto’s design leads, Executive Design Director Satoru Tai and Senior VP of Global Design Alfonso Albaisa, both have a strong love for Z-cars and worked on past Z generations. Tai said he in fact wanted to be … Continue reading
Posted in Video
Tagged Alfonso Albaisa, fairlady z, nissan, s130, s30 z, Satoru Tai, Z Proto, z32, z33, z34, Z35
9 Comments
VIDEO: The Isuzu Rodeo was cheap but cool
If you were a teenager in the late 80s or early 90s, wanting an Isuzu more than anything in the world was not an odd thing. Dealerships were lined with sleek Impulses and colorful Amigos. The coolest kid in my high … Continue reading
