Author Archives: Matt De Mangos

Peep the glorious diversity of cars on a Kobe street in 1972

A lot of Showa Era photos have the usual suspects when it comes to traffic. You got your Toyota Crowns, your Nissan Cedrics, maybe a Fuso or two. This scene published by the City of Kobe, though, has an incredible … Continue reading

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Nissan Violet and Toyota Crown taxis queue up near Mt Fuji

The areas near Mt Fuji have always been a popular sightseeing destination, but without a car it’s rather inconvenient to get to the top. At one of the train stations in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, a queue of taxis line up … Continue reading

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Showa Snap: Two-tone taxis teem toward Tokyo terrace

It’s been a while since we had a Showa Snap, but here’s a striking photo of taxi drivers gathered in front of a row of storefronts. Note that the 230 and 330 Nissan Cedric cabs have no toplights, and that … Continue reading

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The Nissan Primera P10 was an international touring car that raced on four continents

As the R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R was finishing up its four-year dominance of the All-Japan Touringcar Championship (JTC), winning every single race from 1990-93, a new Nissan race car was on the horizon. The FIA had announced new rules for … Continue reading

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Tokyo Landscapes circa 1971

In 1971 NHK went around Tokyo documenting scenes of everyday life. The footage shows a vibrant city full of hope and possibility. From children checking out at Mazinger Z toys in a Ginza department store to advertisements for Bruce Lee’s … Continue reading

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Cruise through the streets of Tokyo circa 1970

Seeing old cars is one thing, but how about an entire city-full of what are today rare classics? A portable video camera would have been very expensive back in 1970, but luckily someone had the foresight to get one and … Continue reading

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Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, joined by British cars in 1969 Tokyo

This touched-up video shows the hustle and bustle of the Ginza area in 1969. Most of the footage was taken near the famous 4-chome intersection where landmarks like the Morinaga globe can be seen. The soon-to-be-demolished San’ai Dream Center can … Continue reading

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Mazda Rotary cars on display in Ginza, circa 1971

The curved glass San’ai Dream Center in Ginza has been a major advertising platform in Tokyo for decades. The building at times has been home to the Nissan Gallery, worn a Mitsubishi triple-diamond logo and, in 1971, hyped Mazda’s latest … Continue reading

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Subaru Leone vs Subaru Leone pursuit in 1978’s Double Clutch

We wouldn’t call the car chase in the 1978 movie Double Clutch one of the all-time greats, but it’s definitely the only Subaru Leone vs. Subaru Leone car chase ever committed to film. We posted a shorter version of this … Continue reading

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Japanese cars of the golden era courtesy of the Shizuoka Prefecture archives

The Shizuoka Prefectural government has an amazing video archive, as it turns out. Footage from the 1950s to the 1970s include a number of short films about public works projects, including the construction of roads. These clips are chock-full of … Continue reading

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The Mitsubishi Lancer conquers the Safari Rally to hilariously incongruous music

We’re suckers for good vintage rally footage, especially when the car is an OG Mitsubishi Lancer 1600GSR conquering the Safari Rally. This video has it all — big air jumps, wheels sending plumes of river water skyward, a herd of … Continue reading

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Traffic was already a problem in early 1960s Tokyo

Based on the cars, we’d peg this photo as no later than 1963. According to The Guardian the crowded street is located somewhere in Tokyo, and if we’re right about the year only about 5km of the Shuto Expressway would … Continue reading

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SHOWA SNAP: Unicorn Datsun U221 pickup zooms through post-war Tokyo

Showa era images always manage to unearth something of interest. For example, in a photo taken in the late 1950s or early 1960s, we stumbled upon an ultra-rare Datsun U221 pickup. It looks like a coupe at first glance, but … Continue reading

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Honda Prelude SiR now at bottom of ocean, thanks to Felicity Ace disaster

Earlier this year the Felicity Ace, an auto transport ship with thousands of cars on board was lost after a fire broke out. The majority were brand new models from the Volkswagen Group and its brands, but a new report … Continue reading

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A Datsun 510 having 44 years of dirt washed off is extremely satisfying

What does nearly half a century of grime look like? In New York, detailers unearthed a 1970 Datsun 510 that had been sitting for 44 years. It was purchased new in Long Island, driven for just seven years, then parked … Continue reading

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QotW: Can Mitsubishi Motors be saved?

We were dismayed last week to learn of the recent fate of Mitsubishi’s Pajero factory. In a turn that was almost near-perfect in its poetic tragedy, the once hallowed birthplace of the mighty Paris-Dakar champions was sold off to a … Continue reading

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Sorry, Mercedes, Nissan had road surface sensing 30 years before you on a Maxima

We typically don’t review cars like the Mercedes S65 AMG, so it only recently came to our attention that when it debuted in 2014, the Benz flagship boasted about having the world’s first surface-sensing suspension. The only problem with that … Continue reading

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Mitsubishi Ralliart gives Hiroshi Masuoka gets another shot at rallying glory

Mitsubishi has announced a new rally machine, the first to fly the Ralliart banner in over a decade. The not-available-in-the-US pickup will participate in the 2022 Asia Cross Country Rally later this year. The FIA-sanctioned contest isn’t well known outside … Continue reading

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SHOWA SNAP: Traffic in eastern Tokyo circa 1964

We haven’t done a Showa Snap in a while, but this shot of Tokyo from 1964 seemed like a good photo to bring it back with. This shot of eastern Tokyo is another bustling street scene, with buses, streetcars, and … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Feast your eyes on 20 years of high-def Tokyo streets

As we approach the long Thanksgiving weekend, here’s a feast of a different sort. Let your eyes consume this incredible, high-definition video of Tokyo during the Showa Era. Spanning a period of almost two decades, the videos show how dramatically … Continue reading

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