Author Archives: Steve Chang
Japan’s supercar booms, a brief history
Exotic machinery has long been popular in Japan, but the country has had two notable supercar booms in its history. It could now be on the brink of a third, thanks to a perfect storm of unprecedented factors. According to … Continue reading
Initial D Toyota AE86 gets schooled by GR86 again, with a different master behind the wheel
In January a series of commercials for the 2022 Toyota GR86 reunited it with the famous Initial D AE86. In those commercials tofu delivery boy Takumi is defeated by none other than the Drift King himself, Keiichi Tsuchiya (or at … Continue reading
Casio’s Honda watches are a tribute to historic machines
We don’t really know a lot about watches here at JNC, but our recent article about an Initial D and MF Ghost Casio took us down a bit of a rabbit hole. Turns out Casio is an official partner of … Continue reading
An Initial D and MF Ghost Casio watch is here to keep time on your touge runs
Expensive motorsports-themed watches are nothing new, but typically they involve a Formula 1 team or some kind of luxury brand tie-in. Now there’s a watch — ahem, timepiece — for the lone wolf mountain racer in a humble Toyota. The … Continue reading
Posted in Watches
Tagged ae86, corolla, Initial D, MF Ghost, Shuichi Shigeno, sprinter trueno, toyota 86
3 Comments
Gran Turismo 7 finally welcomes the Kenmeri Nissan Skyline GT-R
Gran Turismo 7‘s October update has dropped, bringing four new cars to the game including the beloved Kenmeri Skyline GT-R. With the addition of the KPGC110, the game now has every GT-R generation. And as the release video shows you … Continue reading
Posted in Video Games
Tagged c110, gran turismo, gt-r, kenmeri, mazda, Miata ND, MX-5 Miata, nissan, r35, skyline
7 Comments
Toyota GR Corolla joins the family — Rate This Ad
The Toyota GR Corolla is hitting the showrooms soon, so it’s time for some new ads. For Americans, the 300-horsepower AWD hot hatch is probably the most anticipated Toyota in decades, especially if you count only the cars fully developed … Continue reading
Posted in cm
Tagged a20, A80, A90, ae86, celica, GR Corolla, GR86, sports 800, st205, supra, toyota
4 Comments
Jay Leno drives a couple of Z cars from opposite ends of the spectrum
Jay Leno doesn’t have a ton of Japanese cars on his show, but the last two were both Zs. And they couldn’t be more different. One is a 1970 Honda Z600, a 2-cylinder front-wheel-drive compact making about 36 horsepower; the … Continue reading
QotW: What’s your favorite Japanese sports car?
Today, October 10, is Sports Day in Japan. The holiday was established after the opening day of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, which took place on this day exactly 58 years ago. Definitions for what constitutes a sports car will vary, … Continue reading
Mitsubishi Fuso’s rare dual front-axle bus has been restored
Looking like something out of an Ultraman movie, the Mitsubishi Fuso MR430 bus oozes retro-futuristic strangeness. Tri-axle buses aren’t rare, but one with two axles located at the front, both of which turn with the steering wheel, certainly is. It … Continue reading
QotW: When is it time to call in the professionals?
When it comes to car repair or restoration, many of us pride ourselves on what we can do in our own garages. But there are lines that must be drawn. We feel pretty comfortable tackling any mechanical, some electrical, and … Continue reading
Rate this Ad: Toyota HiLux family receives an unexpected visitor
In the latest ad for the Toyota HiLux, a family that owns multiple generations of the venerable pickup receives a disturbing visit. It’s time for another Rate This Ad, this time coming to us all the way from Australia. This … Continue reading
Nissan’s Zama Heritage Collection offers another virtual tour
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced yesterday that Japan would remove caps on international travelers and visa restrictions on countries such as the US in three weeks’s time. That effectively means Japan will allow tourists back in starting October 11. … Continue reading
Nissan Skyline tops Japanese survey about dream cars
Monday, September 19, was Respect for the Aged Day in Japan. To mark the occasion Kinto, a car sharing service, held a survey to ask drivers of three generations about their motoring habits, including what their dream cars were when … Continue reading
Brand new Nissan SR20 engines will soon be available in Japan
A company in Japan will soon start making brand new SR20 engines. While they’re not technically from Nissan, like the remade Skyline GT-R parts and NISMO gauge clusters are, the motors are being made with Nissan’s blessing. Mercury Enterprise, a … Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? 1973 Mazda Luce with less than 4,000 miles
When considering the list of 6-figure Japanese cars, the Mazda RX-4 isn’t typically a chart topper. When new it was considered too heavy for its rotary engine, especially compared to its RX-3 and RX-2 stablemates. But man, it was a … Continue reading
A Toyota Corona runs from the law in Assassin
Almost exactly 40 years ago, on September 15, 1982, the movie Assassin was released in Japan. The plot was loosely based on the Setouchi Seajack Incident of 1970, one of the country’s most notorious hostage situations at the time. In … Continue reading
Watching an immaculate 1,500-mile Mazda Miata get even cleaner is extremely satisfying
You might think that a 1990 Mazda Miata with only 1,500 miles on the odometer would not need a thorough detailing. Especially when that Miata was lovingly cared for by its original owner and is so “new” that even its … Continue reading
QotW: Which JNC looks best in black?
Today, September 6, is Black Day in Japan. A number of businesses producing black goods promote their wares on this day, so it’s a good day to wear black clothes, eat black Kagoshima pork, or indulge your inner goth. It’s … Continue reading
