Author Archives: Ben Hsu

Happy 929 Day from JNC

It’s September 29, which means it’s time to honor the plushest Hiroshima sedan ever built. Even when it’s on the road it feels like it’s sailing along calm waterways. Happy 9/29 Day from JNC!

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MARKETWATCH: Integra Type R sold for $58,000

What if I told in you in 1997 that you could buy an Acura Integra Type R, store it in a garage for 21 years, and put only 1,191 miles on it during that time, and make about $34,000 in … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 05 — Trucks

Trucks are the unsung heroes of the JNC world. While many of us would love to have a Skyline or Supra, the truth is that these rigs did just as much to earn credibility and loyal customers for our favorite … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 04 — Subaru and Isuzu

One of the clues that JCCS 2018 was history’s biggest was the presence of Isuzus and Subarus. Not a lot, granted, but in past years we would have said there were a lot if even one car of either marque … Continue reading

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NEWS: Mazda completes first factory NA Roadster restoration

Mazda has completed its first factory restoration of a Eunos Roadster. The program was launched in August 2017 to help owners get their beloved NAs back to new condition, as well as to manufacture discontinued parts for the first-gen Roadster. … Continue reading

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JCCS Spotlight: This N600 was Honda’s first race car in America

At this year’s Japanese Classic Car Show, you may have been wondering why there was a rusty heap of an N600 given prime position in the middle of the Honda booth. Surrounding it were a new Civic Type R and … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 03 — Hondas

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of Honda has  founding, we continue our JCCS coverage with the brand that Old Man Soichiro built. Thanks to a bigger venue this year at Marina Green Park, JCCS is now able to allow 90s … Continue reading

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Happy 70th Anniversary to Honda Motor Co.

On this day 70 years ago, Honda Motor Corporation was officially established. The photo above is that of Honda’s first factory, in Hamamatsu, with 34 employees. The company’s first product was a small engine strapped to a bicycle, making it … Continue reading

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WILDLIFE: A Land Cruiser and Skyline GT-R become buds

You know those animal videos where a dog and a tortoise become friends? That is what this in-the-wild spotting of an R34 Skyline GT-R and a Toyota Land Cruiser in Yokohama reminded us of. Each one has come to represent … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 02 — Toyotas

For the first time since the show’s beginning, Toyota didn’t have a booth or any of its museum cars at the Japanese Classic Car Show. Mazda, Nissan, and Honda all had an official presence, but not the Big T. That’s … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 01 — JDM

Japan-only cars have been making their way into JCCS for a while now, but this year the trickle seemed to turn into a tsunami. You couldn’t swing a fender mirror without coming into contact with a RHD ride from the … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Listen to the wail of the Prince R380

At the second Japan Grand Prix in 1964, Prince Motor Company pit a family sedan against a race car. And even though Shinichiro Sakurai stuffed a two extra cylinders down the nose of the Prince, the purpose-built Porsche 904 won … Continue reading

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NEWS: Akio Toyoda actually built a Century GRMN

It seemed like a throwaway joke. Shortly after the Tokyo Motor Show last year, where Toyota unveiled only the third new Century design in 50 years, the company’s car-nut CEO Akio Toyoda was interviewed on a Japanese talk show called … Continue reading

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JCCS Spotlight: The Wild Cards always turn up

It’s become something of a tradition. The Wild Cards team rolls in like a storm with a gang of the show’s most stunning cars.  There’s always debut builds of the highest quality, but even many of their existing MVPs return … Continue reading

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VIDEO: How the Mazda Familia evolved into the Mazda 3

Here’s an interesting little video about the evolution of the Mazda Familia, now known as the Mazda 3. In it Mazda chassis engineer and former editor-in-chief of Sport Compact Car Dave Coleman describes the link between the Mazda GLC and … Continue reading

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JCCS Preview: See you all at the Japanese Classic Car Show this Saturday

The 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show is just two days away, and we are excited for what promises to be a new era for the country’s premier gathering of Nihon steel. After 13 years at the Queen Mary, the JCCS … Continue reading

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JCCS Preview: Come see new Hot Wheels castings of Japanese cars at the JNC booth this Saturday

View this post on Instagram #Japaneseclassiccarshow in Long Beach is only 2 days away. Who's going?? Don't forget to stop by and check out our small display with some *new models* at @japanesenostalgiccar booth! ?? A post shared by HOT … Continue reading

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Sam Mitani put Tuner Era dream machines into the mainstream

If you grew up in the pre-internet age, “buff books” like Road & Track were your bible. Magazines of its ilk were the only reliable sources of automotive news, but they were mostly concerned about cars that came fresh off … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Automotive Invitational

It has been a banner year for Nihon steel at Monterey Car Week. The annual series of ultra-prestigious automotive events have traditionally excluded Japanese cars, but 2018 saw, for example, Nissan become the first carmaker from Japan to be honored … Continue reading

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Happy 910 Day from JNC

Crack open a can of Coca-Cola Light and have a great September 10 with a photo of Nissan’s Super Silhouette Bluebird 910 race car. The 570PS monster won the championship in 1982 with Haruhito Yanagida behind the wheel. Memories of … Continue reading

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