Category Archives: events

Nissan Fairlady Z432R-inspired Z gets a nose job at the Tokyo Auto Salon

Over the weekend the production Japanese-spec Nissan Fairlady Z was finally unveiled at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon. Joining it on stage at the custom car extravaganza, in addition to the standard yellow and blue, was one very orange customized … Continue reading

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The stunning Toyota GR GT3 Concept gives us hope that the Mazda RX-Vision will be built

The Toyota GR GT3 Concept has just been unveiled at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon, signaling the Big T’s intention to enter the GT3 class of touring car racing. The car is absolutely gorgeous, hands down the best looking Toyota … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Japanese Classic Car Show 2021

The Japanese Classic Car Show Association dropped their official 2021 JCCS video yesterday. While it doesn’t feature all the cars, trucks, and motorcycles that were present (you can see our own coverage for that), it does a great job of … Continue reading

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Japanese Classic Car Show 2021, Part 02 – Our Faves

Some time off can do funny things. It can act as a reset. The in-person Japanese Classic Car Show was forced to go into a hiatus because of the pandemic last year, and forced to move to a new location … Continue reading

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Japanese Classic Car Show 2021, Part 01

To close out 2021, a year where things were finally opening up again, we’re going back to the Japanese Classic Car Show. After a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic, JCCS was back in full form. Perhaps trying to … Continue reading

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Toyota Chinook Camper reborn in “Tacozilla” SEMA build

Toyota has revealed its incredible Tacoma-based Tacozilla, a retro mobile home based on the Chinook campers of the 1970s. Unlike the Chinooks of old, which were mostly fitted to 2WD pickups, the Tacozilla rides on a 4WD Tacoma TRD Sport … Continue reading

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2021 All-Toyotafest, Part 02 — Supra & Lexus

One of the great developments we noticed this year was the ascendancy of the A70 Supra. We can’t remember seeing such a high turnout of the third-gen Supra at Toyotafest, and it was good to see this important chassis receive … Continue reading

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2021 All-Toyotafest, Part 01 — Starlet, Corolla, Celica, MR2

After a year and a half of no major car shows, it was good to be back. The 2021 Toyotafest picked back up right where 2019 left off, although a few changes had to be made due to the pandemic. … Continue reading

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For the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Daihatsu followed the torch from Greece to Japan

The last time Tokyo hosted the Olympics, Japan had yet to prove itself as a global force in the automotive realm. The country’s budding carmakers was eager to seize the opportunity that the 1964 Summer Games presented, to introduce the … Continue reading

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EVENTS: The inaugural Kyushu Kei Car Meeting

On Sunday April 25th the inaugural Kyushu Kei Car Meeting was held in Asakura City, Fukuoka Prefecture. I see a raised hand in the back there. “Inaugural” means, like, the first one? Well, yeah. Due to a glaringly obvious oversight, … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Ryu Asada Memorial Drive and Fundraiser

Ryu Asada was loved. By his family, by his friends, by his colleagues, and by the 200 people that showed up with a week’s notice to celebrate his life. The venerated Hot Wheels and Matchbox designer was taken from all … Continue reading

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TAS2021: Here come Daihatsu’s Tokyo Auto Salon cars

Daihatsu has officially taken the wraps off their 2021 Tokyo Auto Salon builds. We saw mock-ups of them last month, but now videos of the finished cars can be seen in motion, complete with jaunty music. This is probably the … Continue reading

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Daihatsu’s 2021 Tokyo Auto Salon lineup includes 60th anniversary Hijet camper, Copen speedster

The 2021 Tokyo Auto Salon has been canceled due to the recent COVID-19 spike, but carmakers will be showing their builds in an upcoming virtual event. Ahead of that, Daihatsu has revealed its lineup of five kei jidosha, including a … Continue reading

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Nissan takes over Cars & Coffee Tokyo with Z Proto

Cars & Coffee in Tokyo is a relatively small event but given its location, it’s a place where Japan’s carmakers will sometimes sneak a priceless concept out to mingle with enthusiasts. Sometimes, even a CEO will pop up and pose … Continue reading

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2020 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 01 — 60s and 70s

This year, the Japanese Classic Car Show could not be physically held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the organizers took the opportunity to expand the show into a global virtual event for 2020, allowing entries from all over the … Continue reading

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The winners and runners up of the 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon

The 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon was, like SEMA, largely a big ol’ Supra-fest. However, after the trophies were handed out there were a few highlights from the awards categories that defied convention. Like the teachers said in English class, you … Continue reading

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Toyota brought out stock and rally Celica GT-Fours to the GR Yaris debut

The Toyota GR Yaris seems like it will be an insanely awesome hot hatch, even if its connection to the Celica GT-Four is dubious. We said it smelled like a retcon, but we have to admit, when Toyota put all … Continue reading

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The Toyota 86 Black Limited Concept could mark the model’s final edition

At the Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota had a pretty killer display that included a trio of Hachiroku. The purpose of the display was to show off a new prototype version of the Toyobaru 86 called the Black Limited Concept. For … Continue reading

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Here’s a kit to make the new Suzuki Jimny look like its great-grandfather

It should come as no surprise that the Suzuki Jimny is a popular car in Japan. It’s one of the coolest new cars you can buy there, and a vehicle whose purposeful engineering is at the core of its appeal. … Continue reading

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Even Honda yearns for its heyday with a 20th Anniversary S2000 and EK9 Civic for the upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon

It’s hard to believe but the Honda S2000 is 20 years old (For reference, when JNC started the AE86 was 21 years old, and it felt ancient). At the upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon in January, Honda will be revealing a … Continue reading

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