Author Archives: Matt De Mangos
Purple Nissan Skyline adds splash of color to Daido Moriyama photo
Renowned Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama began capturing Japan’s postwar street scenes in the early 1960s. Throughout his distinguished career Moriyama won several photography awards around the world, including ones issued by camera manufacturers Hasselblad and Asahi. He has published over … Continue reading
Get your beer delivered by Isuzu Bellett Express
Suntory began brewing beer in 1963 and the bottles weren’t going to deliver themselves. There weren’t a ton of options available at the time. A Nissan 410/411 Bluebird had only a 1.2-liter engine, and the full-size 1.9-liter Cedric was too … Continue reading
Rare TR-series Orient three-wheeler captured in 1958
Sori Yanagi was a noted industrial designer in the post-war era. His works include everything from record players to bridges, and some of his furniture designs are part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New … Continue reading
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
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
Posted in Showa Snap
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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
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
Posted in motorsport
Tagged fuji speedway, infiniti, Infiniti G20, jtcc, masahiro hasemi, nissan, P10, Primera
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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
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
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
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
Posted in Showa Snap
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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
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
Posted in Showa Snap
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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
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
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
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
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
