Category Archives: toyota

Vintage Toyotas spotted on the set of Ron Howard’s Rush

Hollywood doesn’t exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to movies for the die hard car nut but hope looms on the horizon. Ron Howard’s Rush, a biopic about the legendary rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 04

We’ll let Patrick Ng‘s gorgeous TE27 kick off the fourth and final installment of our 17th Annual All-Toyotafest coverage. This tasty mango began life as a 1973 SR-5, an ultra-rare US-spec version of the Corolla Levin, with metal flares and all straight from the factory but … Continue reading

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Five Axis Design developing Retro Series Scion FR-S

Five Axis Design is well known for creating stunning aero kits and drool-inducing concept cars for Scion, Toyota and Lexus vehicles. But in the midst of all the SEMA-style glam, if you looked closely there were always clues that an old school heart … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 03

We start the 17th Annual All-Toyotafest coverage with a perennial fave, Jorge Aguilera‘s Fuji-reminiscent green 18R-G turbo Celica. Note the fender mirrors, which are not green but gunmetal carefully matched to the accompanying Wats. 

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Question of the Week: What Japanese car was the biggest manga star?

You knew it was coming. After last week’s QotW about the best Nihon car movie star, we now grill you about the Japanese art form known manga and its in-motion equivalent. What Japanese car is the biggest manga/anime star? Being the hachi-head … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 02

Part 02 of our 2012 All-Toyotafest coverage starts off with a pair of our favorite neoclassic Celicas. Moises Rivera (white) and Jesse Ortiz‘s (blue 1JZ-swapped) wedge-shaped A60s are the very definition of 1980s knife’s edge styling, and the US-spec GT-S flares … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 01

The 2012 All-Toyotafest was abuzz with the excitement generated by the neo-hachiroku. After a decade and a half of supposedly sporty front-wheel-drive offerings, the lightweight FR Toyota is back with a vengeance. For throngs of Toyotaku in attendance it was cause … Continue reading

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Question of the Week: What Japanese car was the biggest movie star?

Not counting the Fast and Furious franchise, cars of Japanese origin don’t usually feature too prominently in Hollywood productions. But that makes their rare appearances all the more special, which brings us to this week’s question: What Japanese car was … Continue reading

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Kidney, Anyone? 22,000-mile 1974 Toyota Celica ST

In Ashland, Kentucky right now there sits a gorgeous 22,000-mile daruma waiting for a new owner. The 1974 Toyota Celica ST is as mint as mint can be and swathed in a period brownish-green. Everything is original except for the Cragar wheels, but … Continue reading

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Friday Video: The development of the Toyobaru Neo-hachiroku

As we gear up for Toyotafest this weekend, watch this promotional video in which engineers describe incredible feats of packaging that made the Subaru BRZ and neo-hachiroku twins smaller than a Scion tC. This is the Steve Jobs-level passion for and/or obsession … Continue reading

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JNC “RWD Toyota” shirts will debut at Toyotafest this weekend

Three letters — RWD. That says it all for the shirt we’re debuting at Toyotafest this Saturday, May 5. The lightweight rear-wheel-drive sport coupe is the magic formula that made us fall in love with old school Japanese cars in … Continue reading

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Question of the Week: Which nostalgic had the best nickname?

One of the most entertaining things about vintage Japanese cars is the crazy nicknames. There’s obvious ones like hachiroku, shortened ones like hakosuka, and funny ones like butaketsu. Therefore, we ask you: Which nostalgic had the best nickname? There are … Continue reading

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MINICARS: Hot Wheels Subaru BRAT & A60 Toyota Supra leaked

At a current bid of $8,100 is yesterday’s Kidney Car a bit too rich for your blood? Perhaps then a Hot Wheels Subaru BRAT would be kinder to your wallet. Though slated for later this year, renderings have been leaked … Continue reading

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EVENTS: AE86 Nights 5th Anniversary

SoCal may have its drawbacks, but there aren’t many places where you can put the call out for a hachiroku party and have over 100 cars show up. AE86 Nights has been doing this almost every Saturday night since April of 2007, … Continue reading

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Question of the Week: What is the ugliest Japanese car?

Without even reading the title, you can probably guess what this week’s QotW is just by photo alone. What is the ugliest Japanese car? Sorry Kev, but I’m going to have to make an executive decision on this one. The … Continue reading

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Toyota revamps development process to build bolder cars

More good news comes pouring from the C-level offices of our beloved automakers. The latest word from Japan is that Toyota has given its product development techniques a makeover so that they’ll result in less boring cars. It appears that … Continue reading

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Nissan design chief hints at return of Silvia or lightweight Fairlady Z

Over the weekend design chief Shiro Nakamura told the Sydney Morning Herald that Nissan is looking to downsize its sports cars. “I much prefer smaller sports car,” he was quoted as saying. “It is the time to look at [smaller engines]. … Continue reading

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Shakotan: You know your car is low when…

Actually, the road-mopping tsurikawa is laying flat with the help of a carabiner, but  the point is nevertheless made. This super slammed A40 Celica honestly couldn’t be any lower without that rear diffuser getting caught on a manhole cover, but is this … Continue reading

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Neo-86 jumpstarts Japan’s waning car culture

Even up until the mid-2000s Japan was swarming with sleek, souped up performance machines that would give any JDM nut seizures of joy. A stroll down any major street was like tracking a pre-race establishing shot from Tokyo Drift. The … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Eagle Rock Datsun-Nippon Swap Meet

Laugh all you want at our super-strict smog tests, but at the end of the day SoCal has at least one redeeming trait — enough nostalgics to hold a regular swap meet. Here’s what you missed from the recent Eagle … Continue reading

Posted in events, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota, wagons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments