Author Archives: Ben Hsu
Watch all six episodes of Honda’s history as told by manga
Honda has re-released its full six-part cartoon history video series, told with manga panels. The series is based on the m the Shogakukan manga series about company founder Soichiro Honda. Though Honda has released the videos piecemeal before, the old … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged beat, Dream, formula 1, honda, Honda S-Series, manga, ra271, ra272, soichiro honda, super cub, t360, Takeo Fujisawa, Yoshio Nakamura
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Check out Isuzu City, the mind-blowing miniature town that is Japan’s largest diorama
Goodbye forever, readers. We at JNC have decided to move to a place in Japan where there are plenty of nostalgic cars, clean streets, and barely any traffic. It’s Isuzu City, population 3,300, located inside the Isuzu Plaza museum in … Continue reading
QotW: Do you have any fond memories of the Lexus GS?
We learned Friday that Lexus has killed off the GS name. It had been rumored for a while, and at the same time models like the ES are getting big enough to step on the GS’s toes. Plus, there’s that … Continue reading
The Lexus GS is no more.
Lexus has announced it is ending the GS nameplate. The Grand Sedan is no more. Sales for the luxury sedan have been slow as people move towards crossovers instead. It also spells doom for the wonderful 467-horsepower, naturally aspirated, V8-powered … Continue reading
ART CORNER: Here’s some classic Mazdas you can build out of paper
Carmakers have been coming up with creative ways to keep us occupied during the time of corona. The latest is Mazda’s recent release of papercraft cars marking its 100th anniversary. Specifically, they are the white and red Mazda R360 Coupé … Continue reading
Posted in Art Corner
Tagged cosmo sport, CX-3, cx-5, familia, Luce Rotary Coupe, mazda, mazda 2, mazda 3, mazda 6, Miata ND, mx-5, papercraft, r360
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CONCEPT CARS: 1991 Honda EP-X
Here at JNC, we have an Earth Day tradition where we dig deep into the memory banks to highlight an environmentally themed, often bizarre concept. This time around, we’d like to draw your attention to the alien-looking 1991 Honda EP-X.
VIDEO: More of the Daihatsu museum in a virtual tour
Daihatsu has uploaded more videos continuing the virtual tour of curiously named Humobility World, the company’s museum in Osaka. In part one, we saw the earliest Daihatsu products, a 5,842-pound diesel engine that’s likely the heaviest thing in Humobility World, … Continue reading
Posted in Galleries
Tagged charade, copen, daihatsu, Daihatsu Humobility World, Fellow, kei, midget, mira, Taft. Rocky
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ART CORNER: Stave off coronavirus boredom with an official Nissan coloring book
The time of coronavirus can be scary and boring, but being forced to quarantine can spawn creativity as well. Case in point. Nissan employees have been working from home for weeks now, and the quarantining designers have used some of … Continue reading
Mazda RWD rotary hybrid patent discovered
News about Japanese sports cars just keep on coming this week. First there was the RWD straight-six Mazda 6, then some rumors about the new Nissan Z. Now, there’s been some discoveries about a Mazda rotary-powered hybrid mounted in a … Continue reading
Toyota UAE’s Land Cruiser Heritage Edition has stripes
Toyota released a Heritage Edition of the J200-series Land Cruiser in the US last year, one with some snazzed up wheels and brightwork, as well as cool old school badges and logos. In the United Arab Emirates, where Land Cruisers … Continue reading
NEWS: A retro-styled Nissan 400Z is rumored for 2021
A new report suggests that the seventh-generation Nissan Z is scheduled for an appearance by the end of this year, and that it will boast retro styling. We’ve reported last month on Nissan’s trademark filing of a retro Z logo, … Continue reading
Mazda’s upmarket move will spawn straight-six RWD chassis, provide a beacon of hope to future enthusiasts
It’s next to impossible to get genuinely excited about a new car these days, but if there’s one that gets our loins burning, it is the next Mazda 6. That’s because it will ride on an all-new FR platform and … Continue reading
SHOWA SNAP: Tokyo Tower under construction, circa 1958
This Tokyo street scene shows a variety of vehicles, from sedans like the Toyopet Crown to large trucks like the Toyota Toyoace to three-wheelers like the Daihatsu CO10T. What really makes the shot, though, is the ghostly bones of Tokyo … Continue reading
QotW: Daily, Garage, Sell — Flagship Sedans Edition
Welcome to another edition of Daily, Garage, Sell, JNC‘s version of Bang, Marry, Kill. By the late 1980s, Japanese carmakers were taking on the established luxury brands with guns blazing. Tired of the sales price glass ceiling that names like … Continue reading
Daihatsu, Japan’s maker of small cars, also made this giant diesel engine
Like Nissan and Isuzu, Daihatsu is now also offering virtual tours of its museum. Though known mainly for kei cars nowadays, Daihatsu is 113 years old and started life making gigantic engines for steamships and industrial diesels. Though shorter than … Continue reading
MINICARS: Lego should license this unlicensed Initial D AE86
In the old days unlicensed toys used to be somewhat janky, but in recent years in China, where manufacturing prowess and the wild west of intelletctual property law intersect, a lot of it has gotten quite good. Case in point: … Continue reading
ART CORNER: Build these retro race liveried Toyotas during coronavirus lockdown
A few years ago Toyota UK created some very cool GT86es to commemorate the company’s 50th anniversary in the United Kingdom. While slapping a wrap and putting some wheels on an otherwise stock car can be a half-assed way for … Continue reading
Posted in Art Corner
Tagged 2000gt, 86, a20, A80, celica, Celica GT-Four, imsa, JGTC, papercraft, scca, st185, supra, toyota, wrc, yatabe
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VIDEO: These Mazda at 100 videos are pretty nifty
Mazda is now 100 years old, and it’s done a lot over the past century. To prove it, the company has dug into its archives to put together some videos, mixed with newer footage, showing their highlights and imparting their … Continue reading
Posted in Video
Tagged 787b, cosmo sport, familia, glc, Jujiro Matsuda, Kenichi Yamamoto, mazda, miata, rotary engine, rx-7, RX-Vision
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