Author Archives: Steve Chang
The Honda Legend is Han Solo’s preferred transport on this remote backwater planet
The Millennium Falcon might be a fast ship, but when Han Solo visits a primitive Outer Rim world that has yet to develop repulsor technology the galactic smuggler needs to blend in with the locals. That’s why he chooses the … Continue reading
Japan’s oldest domestic bus is now on display at a Nagoya museum
Japan’s oldest surviving domestic bus is part of a new exhibit at the JR Tokai Maglev & Railway Museum in Nagoya. In fact, it’s so significant that it was the first bus to be designated as an important cultural asset … Continue reading
QotW: What Japanese car would you drive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland?
A teaser trailer just dropped for Twisted Metal, a new series based on the 90s PlayStation game about automotive combat. The most surprising part isn’t that Sony is trying to build a franchise around a fairly obscure 20-year-old video game, … Continue reading
Liberty Walk cars star in boy band music video inspired by racing games
Exile Tribe is apparently a boy band in Japan with a whopping 16 members. In their latest music video, for a song called “The Rampage / 16 Boosterz”, the singers gather 16 of Liberty Walk’s most famous cars. Then they … Continue reading
The Acura Integra Type S will take anime to Pikes Peak
It seems stupid, but it took Japanese manufacturers until 2022 to embrace anime as an advertising tool. It’s only been the most influential Japanese medium for about, oh, the last 30 years. Ironically it’s Acura, the first brand created for … Continue reading
Wheel lock comparison test finds only one design that’s not easily defeated
The days of “rims being more expensive than the car” are probably over for most JNCs, but a set of wheel locks is still a good investment, especially if you have super fancy expensive rollers. If you’re lucky, it’ll be … Continue reading
Posted in Product Guide
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The Honda Del Sol proves how important succession can be
The Honda del Sol is yet another car that was universally maligned by enthusiasts in its time, but is now endearing and legit. What octane-blooded driver today wouldn’t sacrifice a finger or two to have a car like the del … Continue reading
Toyota Celica hovercar invades Louis Vuitton photo shoot
The last place we ever expected to see a mid-80s Toyota Celica is a Louis Vuitton photo shoot. It’s not that the affordable coupe isn’t stylish. It’s just not the type of car a mindless chaser of brands would typically … Continue reading
Suzuki Jimny Heritage Edition gets retro with decal stripes
Those lucky Australians. Not only do they get the Suzuki Jimny, an off-roader we will have to wait until 2043 to enjoy, but now they get this sharp new Heritage Edition variant. It is only available in a 5-speed manual … Continue reading
The bustling city of Tokyo in 1968
It’s really too bad that human technology didn’t evolve a cheap way to capture mountains of video footage until recently. It would’ve been great to see more of Tokyo during the post-war boom times, especially very beginnings of the golden … Continue reading
Posted in Nihon Life
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The ten most expensive Japanese cars sold on Bring a Trailer
Auction site Bring a Trailer is celebrating its 100,000 listing, and it’s a special one. The milestone car is the company’s own 1973 Datsun 240Z. Maintained by Z Car Garage of San Jose, California and fitted with a Rebello 2.7-liter … Continue reading
Posted in marketwatch
Tagged 2000gt, 240Z/260Z/280Z, A90, datsun, fj40, honda, land cruiser, lexus, lfa, nissan, nsx, r32, r34, s2000, skyline, supra, toyota
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QotW: What’s your favorite tuning house demo car?
There’s been no shortage of amazing one-off machines from Japan’s prolific tuning houses. The demo cars were built to showcase what the mad scientists were capable of. The most famous of them stood out as separate from the cars they … Continue reading
Nissan Skyline and Honda City floating pens add some fun to your desk
Remember those “tip and strip” pens that were all the rage in the 70s? The pens had one image when lying flat, then changed when held upright for writing. They usually featured some quaintly scandalous image like a woman in … Continue reading
Posted in News
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FJ Company’s resto-mod Land Cruisers are worth every penny of their $210,000 sticker price
The FJ Company builds the best classic Land Cruiser resto-mods in the business. Their G40 series essentially takes FJ40 and longer-wheelbase FJ43 models and completely updates them with J70 suspension and 1GR V6 motors, the same kind you’d find in … Continue reading
Posted in Video
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Jay Leno drives a flawlessly restored Nissan Fairlady Z
Jay Leno has driven his share of Datsuns, but for some reason they’ve all been heavily modified. Finally, on the latest episode of his Jay Leno’s Garage channel on YouTube, he has the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a … Continue reading
QotW: Who deserves to be in the JNC Hall of Fame?
Last week we wrote about two great men from Japanese motoring history. Former president of Toyota Shoichiro Toyoda passed away, while co-founder of Honda Takeo Fujisawa was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. That got us thinking about creating … Continue reading
Toyota AE86 Hydrogen and Electric Concepts: build video and driving impressions
Toyota’s twin AE86 concepts, one powered by hydrogen fuel and one powered by electrons, were unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon earlier this year. Toyota has released some additional materials about the cars, including the images you see here, as … Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon, Video
Tagged ae86, corolla, corolla levin, sprinter trueno, toyota
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Mazda made a chocolate Miata for Valentine’s Day
Picking out a spot-on Valentine’s Day gift is never easy but as it is in all aspects of life, Miata is always the answer. Forget flowers, if I found a chocolate Miata like this wrapped in a bow on V-Day … Continue reading
This Toyota AE86 gets 40 mpg with its original gasoline engine
There has been a lot of buzz about the pair of alternative energy AE86s that Toyota unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon. However, even before Akio Toyoda‘s big reveal there’s been other efforts at making an environmentally friendly AE86. Specifically, … Continue reading
