Category Archives: Question of the Week
QotW: What’s the best inexpensive Japanese off-roader?
Recently we saw some laudable off-roading conducted by an unexpectedly capable 1978 Subaru station wagon. That has made us yearn for a truck that we can take into the wilderness without worry. To make this question more challenging, let’s add … Continue reading
QotW: What’s your favorite automotive museum experience?
Today is International Museum Day, and even though must museums are still temporarily closed due to the coronavirus, they are destinations of wonder, learning, and preservation. Needless to say, we are particularly fond of car museums, whether they are official … Continue reading
QotW: What’s your favorite tire?
On May 11, 1947, the patent for the tubeless tire was issued to BF Goodrich, ushering in a new age of wheeling. Nowadays, it can be hard finding the right sized rubber doughnut for many classics here in the US. … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the best way to make progress on your project car?
There are many hurdles to moving forward on a big project. In the past year, my wife and I bought a house, moved, and had a baby. I waited a long time to have my own garage space but now … Continue reading
QotW: Do you have any fond memories of the Lexus GS?
We learned Friday that Lexus has killed off the GS name. It had been rumored for a while, and at the same time models like the ES are getting big enough to step on the GS’s toes. Plus, there’s that … Continue reading
QotW: What’s a great movie or TV show for background JNC spotting?
While we’re all continuing to shelter from home, it’s a great time to catch up on movies. Going back to watch some of the classics, it can be amazing to see some of the JNCs populating the backgrounds. Take the … Continue reading
QotW: Daily, Garage, Sell — Flagship Sedans Edition
Welcome to another edition of Daily, Garage, Sell, JNC‘s version of Bang, Marry, Kill. By the late 1980s, Japanese carmakers were taking on the established luxury brands with guns blazing. Tired of the sales price glass ceiling that names like … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the best JNC for extreme social distancing?
It looks like this coronavirus social distancing thing is going to last a lot longer than what was initially ordered. In fact, it might be best to take a few months’ supply of food and essentials and escape from civilization … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the scariest thing you’ve discovered while working on your car?
Since we in California are under “shelter in place” orders due to the coronavirus, I decided to spend some much-needed time making a bit of headway in my multiple project cars. About a year ago I picked up an FZJ80 … Continue reading
QotW: What shot of a JNC will be forever seared into your brain?
Today is the birthday of one of the greatest humans ever to work behind a camera, director Akira Kurosawa. If he were alive today, Kurosawa would be 110 years old. Film (and digital) shots, whether still or moving, can make … Continue reading
QotW: What’s your JNC project until this whole coronavirus thing blows over?
Many places around the world are shutting down because of the COVID-19, a.k.a. the coronavirus. Though the virus has nothing to do with vintage Toyotas, this is an excellent time to get some work done on your JNC project if … Continue reading
QotW: Which JNC model deserves its own museum?
Most automakers have their own museums that showcase the history of the entire marque, but last week we wrote about an entire museum dedicated to one model, the Suzuki Jimny. Typically, to warrant its own museum the model would have … Continue reading
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QotW: What JNC would you pick if you had to charge through a snowy mountain?
The Toyota Celica GT-Four may have nabbed the starring role in Take Me Out to the Snowland, though the filmmakers originally wanted to cast a Mitsubishi. The Celica proved capable, but Japan has a plethora of AWD and 4WD machines … Continue reading
QotW: What should the Emperor of Japan have in his garage?
Today is the day when Japan celebrates the Emperor’s birthday. Though the Japanese royals are just figureheads, they can still own pretty much any car(s) they want. The previous Emperor, Akihito, kept it 100 with a low-spec Honda Integra sedan. … Continue reading
QotW: What’s your most romantic JNC story?
Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, and you know you have some romantic, steamy, or downright heartbreaking stories involving a JNC and a significant other. Maybe there was a date, relationship, or marriage that turned out particularly well (or ended … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the worst JNC decision you’ve ever made?
They say hindsight is 2020. It’s also the year 2020, so it’s time to reflect on some of the mistakes we’ve made and save others from the same fate. Is it getting in over your head in on a project … Continue reading
QotW: What’s your greatest JNC dream?
Do you have a dream of unlimited parking for a real life Gran Turismo garage? Do you have a dream that one day all parts, no matter how obscure, will be offered in the heritage catalogs of every carmaker? Do … Continue reading
QotW: What’s your JNC New Year’s resolution?
It’s a new year, a new decade. A chance to start off right. Will you finally make progress on that long-awaited project, take that road trip of a lifetime, complete your collection of the JNCs of the Wonder Bread Crazy … Continue reading
QotW: What did you think cars would be like in 2020?
The digits we assign to years are, of course, arbitrary, but 2020 still seems like a very futuristic number. When the JNCs we love were still new, 2020 seemed like a distant tomorrow, where we’d travel by tubes or sleek … Continue reading
QotW: What are the biggest changes to the Japanese classic scene in the last decade?
As we wind down the decade, it’s a good time to reflect on how drastically the Japanese classic scene has changed in the past 10 years. The 2010s saw increased acceptance of Japanese cars as rapidly appreciating collectors’ items, modification … Continue reading
