Author Archives: Ben Hsu

MOTORSPORT: Eight hours of Honda motorsports festivities

Like Nissan, Honda has its own day-long motorsports festival in December. The Honda Thanks Day, held to show appreciation for its fans, was held last weekend. For those that couldn’t attend, Honda has provided eight hours of livestream footage from … Continue reading

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? Someone just traded in their entire Toyota MR2 collection

The best thing about working at a car dealership is that there’s always a chance some eccentric old owner will waltz in with a mint-ass car for trade. A few days ago at a showroom in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, that … Continue reading

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NEWS: Mazda trademarks MX-6 name in Japan

Mazda has trademarked the name MX-6 with the Japan Patent Office. In Mazda parlance, the “MX” nomenclature has always referred to sporty two-door cars such as the MX-3 and MX-5 Miata. A true sports car like the RX-7 probably isn’t … Continue reading

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NEWS: The million-dollar Nissan GT-R50 is a go; order it in Bayside Blue

Nissan has confirmed that it will indeed produce the GT-R50 to commemorate the GT-R’s 50th anniversary. When it was announced back in June, the GT-R50 was a one-off car used to gauge customer interest. Nissan said it would give the … Continue reading

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NEWS: Revived Toyota MR2 to be built with Subaru?

Rumors of a Toyota MR2 revival have been swirling around for a while, but that’s nothing new. Separately and more recently, the grapevine’s been buzzing about a mid-engine Subaru. The latest reports from Japan say what’s so obvious and perfect … Continue reading

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SHOWA SNAP: Have a refreshing Corona Mark II

In 1973, several Coronas lined what could have been a Tokyo dealership. With limited real-estate, urban Japanese dealers often have just a few cars on hand to test drive, but not a massive lot full of inventory. Here, a row … Continue reading

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Celebrate 30 years of Subaru performance with this teddy bear and curry combo

Sometimes it’s really hard to figure out what to get your beloved for an anniversary, especially a milestone one like the 30th. Thankfully, Subaru’s in-house motorsports division has come to the rescue with a suggestion — a teddy bear and … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Eight hours of NISMO Festival footage

The 2018 NISMO Festival took place at Fuji Speedway last weekend, and in case you missed it, don’t despair. Nissan has helpfully provided nearly eight hours of footage from the event. There’s everything from a Touring Sedan races involving Nissan … Continue reading

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PIXELATED: Gran Turismo Sport gets Fugu Z, new track

Polyphony Digital has announced the December update to Gran Turismo Sport. It includes a bunch of classics, like the Bandit Trans-Am and split-window 1963 Corvette, but JNCers are probably most concerned with Sung Kang’s Fugu Z. Actually, though, there’s an … Continue reading

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SHOWA SNAP: Fastbacks abound in 1975

Every time you see a new crossover ambling down the street, clogging your view, remember what life could have been. In this 1975 Japanese street scene, fastbacks are everywhere. In the car park to the right there’s a Corona Mark … Continue reading

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JNC THEATER: Discovery Channel Japan to air new car restoration show

Discovery Channel Japan has announced a new car restoration show, Chihara Junior’s Car Revival Project! Hosted by comedian and TV host Chihara Junior, it will follow restorers and shops as they rebuild classic cars. Each car will have three episodes … Continue reading

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QotW: What car should Nissan build next?

Carlos “Le Cost Killer” Ghosn came to Nissan at a time when the company was in massive debt, due partially to the fact that it was building too many different and over-engineered cars. He started a ruthless cost-slashing campaign that … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Look at what Nissan had to offer in 1991

The year 1991 might have very well been, for enthusiasts at least, peak Nissan. In a three-part series that year, Best Motoring covered the entire range of Nissan’s specialty cars, and there were tons of them. Sure, there were the … Continue reading

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NEWS: Nissan will make parts for the R33 and R34 Skyline GT-R again

Last year Nissan announced to great fanfare the first phase of its Heritage Parts program. Through its NISMO division, the company would re-issue parts for the R32 Skyline GT-R, and if the program was successful enough Nissan would expand the … Continue reading

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LA Auto Show: Here’s the 2019 Mazda 3

Mazda has unveiled the 2019 Mazda 3 ahead of the LA Auto Show in Hollywood, California. The design remains extremely faithful to the Kai concept that blew us away at the Tokyo Motor Show last year, and is an absolutely … Continue reading

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LA Auto Show: Honda resurrects two 90s nameplates

Honda has brought back two iconic names from the 1990s, but sorry, it’s not what you think. Unveiled ahead of the LA Auto Show today are a pair of new models for 2019,the Honda Talon and the Honda Passport. Neither … Continue reading

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SHOWA SNAP: Takamatsu 1972

This slide, said to be taken in 1972 in Takamatsu, is ostensibly of an interesting-looking restaurant that appears to have a small castle-like structure perched atop it. However, what’s even more interesting is the S50 Toyota Crown sedan, Hino truck … Continue reading

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NEWS: Carlos Ghosn is officially out at Mitsubishi Motors

After orchestrating a 34 percent buyout of Mitsubishi Motors by Nissan in 2016 and installing himself as chairman of both companies, Carlos Ghosn is now out of both. Mitsubishi Motors’ board voted today to remove Ghosn from his leadership position, … Continue reading

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Happy 40th anniversary of Doukoho Day from JNC

We at JNC hope that our American readers are having a wonderful holiday with your families this week. Forty years ago today, a different sort of celebration was taking place, when 3,000 bosozoku bikes and cars took to the streets … Continue reading

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NEWS: Carlos Ghosn is gone

The Carlos Ghosn era at Nissan is officially over. The Nissan board voted to remove him as chairman, as expected, following his arrest on Monday. His close advisor Greg Kelly was dismissed as well. The BBC reports that the vote … Continue reading

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