Author Archives: Dan Hsu

EVENTS: The Bayline Gathering, Part 02

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Dan Hsu

In Part 01 of our Bayline Gathering coverage we gazed upon the show’s centerpieces, a collection of rare vintage Nissan Skylines that had journeyed across the Pacific to be revered by a new generation of enthusiasts. But with nearly 200 cars … Continue reading →

Posted in events, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota, wagons | Tagged 2000 sports, 240z, 260z, 280z, 510, 710, a40, auster, bluebird, celica, chrysler, conquest, corolla, corona, cressida, datsun, e70, fairlady roadster, fairlady z, mitsubishi, mx62, nissan, performance options, s30, starion, t130, te37v, te72, toyota, violet, volk, wagon, x60 | 11 Comments

Four new Choro-Q Zero models spotted at Shizuoka Toy Show

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Dan Hsu

The discontinuation a few years ago of Choro-Q, also known as Penny Racers or Turbo Tricksters to USDM fans, will remain one of the great injustices of modern Japanese society. Last year the line was relaunched as Choro-Q Zero with a focus on … Continue reading →

Posted in honda, minicars, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota | Tagged 300zx, ae86, caravan, cedric, choro-q, choro-q zero, city, corolla, delica, fairlady, gloria, group 5, honda, levin, mitsubishi, nissan, r30, skyline, soarer, sprinter, super silhouette, toyota, trueno, y31, z10, z31 | 8 Comments

EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 04

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Dan Hsu

We’ll let Patrick Ng‘s gorgeous TE27 kick off the fourth and final installment of our 17th Annual All-Toyotafest coverage. This tasty mango began life as a 1973 SR-5, an ultra-rare US-spec version of the Corolla Levin, with metal flares and all straight from the factory but … Continue reading →

Posted in events, toyota, trucks, vip, wagons | Tagged 2012 All-Toyotafest, 4runner, 5-axis, a60, ae83, august, aw11, barikan, camry, celica, corolla, corona, e70, estima, feroce, five axis design, fj40, fj45, fr-s, gt 86, hilux, junction produce, kp61, land cruiser, levin, liftback, ma61, mr2, n1, pickup, previa, ra21, ra22, ra28, ra29, riverge, riverside, rs watanabe, rt40, rt52, s-5, scion, soarer, sprinter, sr-5, ssr, star shark, starlet, stout, supra, sw20, t40, te27, te72, tom's, tosco, toyota, toyota 86, toyotafest, trd, trueno, v10, vip, watanabe, work wheels, z10 | 16 Comments

EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 03

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Dan Hsu

We start the 17th Annual All-Toyotafest coverage with a perennial fave, Jorge Aguilera‘s Fuji-reminiscent green 18R-G turbo Celica. Note the fender mirrors, which are not green but gunmetal carefully matched to the accompanying Wats.

Posted in events, toyota | Tagged 2000gt, 2012 All-Toyotafest, 3s-ge, 4a-ge, a3a, a60, A80, advan, ae86, barikan, bbs, cabe toyota, camry, celica, century, chaser, corolla, corona, cressida, crown, cusco, e70, fj40, fj55, hachiroku, jza80, land cruiser, levin, lexus, Lexus GS, Lexus LS, Lexus RX, ma61, mark II, mf10, mx32, mx62, mx73, ra21, ra22, rs watanabe, rt40, RX330, s190, s50, sprinter, stout, supra, t40, ta22, te72, toyota, toyotafest, trueno, vip, watanabe, x30, x60, x70, xv30 | 23 Comments

EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 02

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Dan Hsu

Part 02 of our 2012 All-Toyotafest coverage starts off with a pair of our favorite neoclassic Celicas. Moises Rivera (white) and Jesse Ortiz‘s (blue 1JZ-swapped) wedge-shaped A60s are the very definition of 1980s knife’s edge styling, and the US-spec GT-S flares … Continue reading →

Posted in events, toyota | Tagged 2012 All-Toyotafest, 2jz, a20, a40, a60, a70, advan, ae86, aw11, celica, chaser, corolla, corona, corona mark II, coupe, cressida, dori, e100, e70, fj40, hilux, land cruiser, levin, liftback, ma70, ma71, mark II, MkI, mr2, ra21, ra22, sa3r, scion, sprinter, ssr, supra, t130, t60, ta22, takechi project, te72, toyota, toyotafest, trueno, wagon, wangan, x60, xb | 13 Comments

EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 01

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Dan Hsu

The 2012 All-Toyotafest was abuzz with the excitement generated by the neo-hachiroku. After a decade and a half of supposedly sporty front-wheel-drive offerings, the lightweight FR Toyota is back with a vengeance. For throngs of Toyotaku in attendance it was cause … Continue reading →

Posted in events, toyota, wagons | Tagged 2012 All-Toyotafest, 5-axis, 80-series, a20, ae86, august, celica, corolla, corona, ct200h, e20, feroce, g's, land cruiser, levin, lexus, mango, peanut, ra29, sprinter, sr-5, ssr, star shark, t80, te21, te27, te28, te37, tosco, toyota, toyotafest, trd, trueno, wagon, work equip 01 | 27 Comments

EVENTS: Datsun Roadster Classic of Solvang 2012

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Dan Hsu

Dragging a non-car nut spouse to a car show is a hairy proposition, usually resulting in paying back a day spent gawking at old metal with some proper romance. That’s why we recommend killing two birds with one stone by … Continue reading →

Posted in events, nissan | Tagged 510, 710, auster, bluebird, bre, datsun, datsun roadster classic, fairlady roadster, frank monise, n320, nissan, nl320, peter brock, solvang, sp310, sp311, spl310, spl311, sports 1500, sports 1600, sports 2000, sr311, srl311, violet | 15 Comments

EVENTS: AE86 Nights 5th Anniversary

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Dan Hsu

SoCal may have its drawbacks, but there aren’t many places where you can put the call out for a hachiroku party and have over 100 cars show up. AE86 Nights has been doing this almost every Saturday night since April of 2007, … Continue reading →

Posted in events, toyota | Tagged 510, a60, ae86, AE86 Nights, bluebird, corolla, corona, cressida, datsun, e20, e70, enkei, enkei 92, gt-s, gurachan, levin, mark II, mx73, nissan, peanut, rt112, sprinter, sr-5, ssr, supra, t110, te21, te72, toyota, trueno, vip, x60, x70 | 17 Comments

Ring in the first day of spring with nostalgics and sakura

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Dan Hsu

Not only is today the first day of spring, but it’s also the opening of the 100th National Cherry Blossom Festival. A century ago the mayor of Tokyo gifted 3,000 sakura trees to our nation’s capital as a sign of … Continue reading →

Posted in mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota | Tagged 240z, 260z, 280z, crown, datsun, fairlady z, galant, gto, mazda, mitsubishi, ms90, nissan, s30, s90, sakura, t2000, toyota, wangan midnight | 7 Comments

2012 Hot Wheels X JNC Mazda RX-7, now in blue

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Dan Hsu

If you’re a die-hard diecast collector and know where to look, these beans have already been spilled. Otherwise, here’s your first look at the brand new 2012 Hot Wheels Mazda RX-7! We just got these samples fresh off the assembly line and, … Continue reading →

Posted in mazda, minicars | Tagged fb, hot wheels, mattel, mazda, rx-7, sa22, sa22c | 19 Comments

Rotaries and racing go together like wine and cheese

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Dan Hsu

At the beginning of each motorsports season Mazdaspeed gathers the press together to talk about their plans for the upcoming season and introduce some of the luckiest young men in the world, their new sponsored drivers. This year the event … Continue reading →

Posted in mazda | 6 Comments

EVENTS: 2012 New Year Meeting

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Dan Hsu

This year’s New Year Meeting was a bit less exciting as a large number of cars were repeats from previous shows, but hey, it’s Japan and there’s tons of vintage steel.

Posted in events, isuzu, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, prince, subaru, toyota | Tagged 110s, 117, 1600gt, 2012, 240z, 240zg, 260z, 280z, 2t-g, 330, 430, 910, a20, autech, b110, bluebird, c10, c110, c210, cedric, celica, civilian, contessa, corolla, cosmo sport, crown, csp311, datsun, datsun 1200, fairlady z, fb, florian, galant, gloria, gto, Hakosuka, hiace, hino, isuzu, itasha, kenmeri, kgc10, kgc110, kpgc10, kpgc110, levin, mazda, mitsubishi, MkIII, new year meeting, nissan, prince, r30, rx-7, s110, s50, s54, sa22, sa22c, sambar, savanna, silvia, skyline, sprinter, ssr, stelvio, subaru, subaru 360, sunny, ta22, takahashi kunimitsu, te27, toyota, trueno | 20 Comments

“Black Gold” JNC Inkan now available

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Dan Hsu

Have you been scouring the pegs of your local mega box retailer? We’ve gotten reports that Mattel’s 1:64 Mazda RX-7 is out! So in honor of our collab with Hot Wheels, we’ve created a special “Black Gold” edition of our iconic … Continue reading →

Posted in jnc | Tagged fb, gtu, hot wheels, imsa, inkan, jnc, mazda, rx-7, sa22c | 11 Comments

EVENTS: 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Dan Hsu

Every year more and more vintage Japanese steel forges its way into the Tokyo Auto Salon. But as Japan’s equivalent of the SEMA show, the theme favors “custom” over “classic”.

Posted in events, honda, mazda, nissan, subaru, toyota | Tagged 1uz, 2000gt, 240z, 260z, 280z, a70, ae86, c10, chaser, corolla, cressida, cresta, datsun, fairlady z, g-works, gx71, Hakosuka, jza70, kgc10, kpgc10, levin, lexus, mark II, mx73, nissan, option, rb26, rocky auto, s30, skyline, sprinter, subaru 360, supra, toyota, trueno, v8, x70 | 11 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? Carroll Shelby’s Toyota 2000GT #00001 for $1.7 million

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Dan Hsu

Let’s face it. The Japanese offerings at the recent Barrett-Jackson auction were pretty middling. Z-cars and FJ40s restored to new reaches for the definition of “stock” aren’t going to wow anyone who’s been hanging out at JCCS. Well, what do you … Continue reading →

Posted in toyota | Tagged 2000gt, carroll shelby, dave jordan, toyota | 20 Comments

Aoshima’s “The Wheel” 1/6-Scale Vintage Barrel Model Kit

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Dan Hsu

Welcome to 2012! As we await our Mayan apocalypse let’s enjoy what time we have by enjoying some holiday goodies received at the JNC office. Reason #3,811 of why Japan is great is because you can not only buy a … Continue reading →

Posted in minicars | Tagged advan, aoshima, bomber, formula mesh, hayashi, minicars, r104, riverside, speed star racing, ssr, wheels, work, work equip 03, yokohama | 13 Comments

2012 Hot Wheels X JNC Mazda RX-7

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Dan Hsu

2011 was a banner year for Japanese nostalgics in the Hot Wheels lineup with the release of both the hakosuka and kenmeri Nissan Skylines, as well as the BRE Datsun 510 in the Vintage Racing line. We at JNC were proud to have … Continue reading →

Posted in mazda, minicars | Tagged gtu, hot wheels, imsa, mazda, rx-7, sa22c, savanna | 33 Comments

Pomade Run at the Mooneyes Xmas Party

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Dan Hsu

This past Saturday some of the JNC crew strolled down to Toyota Speedway at Irwindale to join the annual Mooneyes Xmas Party. Although the car show/drag race caters heavily to domestic hot rods, lead sleds, and kustoms of every stripe … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

EVENTS: 2011 SevenStock

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Dan Hsu

SevenStock is SoCal’s annual gathering of all things rotary, a celebration of an engine so competitive it was banned from SCCA, IMSA and Le Mans. This year, the Mazdafarian Mecca was the Pomona fairgrounds, home of the NHRA Museum. That seems … Continue reading →

Posted in events, mazda | Tagged 110s, 787b, capella, cosmo sport, familia, fb, fc, fc3s, fd, fd3s, le mans, luce, mazda, r100, repu, rotary, rx-2, rx-3, rx-4, rx-7, sa22, sa22c, savanna, sevenstock, wankel | 27 Comments

EVENTS: 2011 Japanese Classic Car Show Part 09, Motorcycles

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Dan Hsu

This year JCCS welcomed vintage Japanese motorcycles for the first time, so for our final installment of our 2011 JCCS coverage let us take part in their admiration. As you will see our collective knowledge of two-wheelers is rather limited … Continue reading →

Posted in events, honda, suzuki | Tagged chabbott engineering, honda, japanese classic car show, jccs 2011, kawasaki, lossa engineering, monkey, motocompo, motra, shinya kimura, suzuki, yamaha | 11 Comments