Category Archives: toyota

EVENTS: 2012 Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, Part 04: Vans

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Ben Hsu

All hail the one-box! Our final installment of the 2012 Mooneyes Street Car Nationals is going to be van-tastic! After all, the SCN is a festival of Amesha Kulture, and what’s more American than vannin’?

Posted in events, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota, vans | Tagged caravan, datsun, delica, e20, e23, h10, h20, hiace, homy, largo, mitsubishi, mooneyes, nissan, prince, street car nationals, toyota, vanette, vans | 9 Comments

Toyota Land Cruiser Museum opens at Miller Motorsports Park

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Ben Hsu

This week the Toyota Land Cruiser received its own dedicated museum in Tooele, Utah. The Land Cruiser Heritage Museum currently holds 40 of the stalwart Japanese SUVs, ranging from the monstrous Mega Cruiser built for the JSDF to a 1959 FJ25, one of … Continue reading →

Posted in museums, toyota | Tagged fj40, fj55, fj60, fj65, land cruiser, land cruiser heritage museum, Miller Motorsports Park, toyota | 11 Comments

EVENTS: 2012 Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, Part 03: Wagons

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Ben Hsu

There’s a special place in the Japanese heart for wagons. Sure, they’re loved in America now, but over there in Japan they were always cool. At the Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, where sports cars and two-doors are the exception, not the rule, … Continue reading →

Posted in events, mazda, nissan, subaru, toyota, wagons | Tagged 323, a30, b110, b310, cedric, chaser, cressida, crown, datsun, familia, gloria, kujira, leone, m10, mark II, mazda, mooneyes, ms63, mx72, nissan, pan-am, prairie, prince, s110, s120, s130, s40, s50, s60, skyline, stanza, street car nationals, subaru, sunny, toyota, van, wa30, wagon, x30, x70, y30 | 6 Comments

JNC Toyota RWD & Z Heritage shirts available in the shop

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Ben Hsu

JNC‘s 2012 Z Generations and Toyota RWD shirts are now available online. Actually, they have been for a while and eagle-eyed JNCer’s have been getting them, but we neglected to make an official announcement. Z Generations debuted at the Z-Car West Coast … Continue reading →

Posted in nissan, nostalgic wear, toyota | Tagged 2000gt, 240z, 260z, 280z, 280zx, 300zx, 350z, 370z, ae86, brz, corolla, datsun, fr-s, gt 86, hachiroku, JNC shirts, levin, nissan, s130, s30, scion, sports 800, sprinter, subaru, te27, toyota, Toyota RWD, trueno, Z Generations, z31, z32, z33, z34 | 2 Comments

Friday Video: Depth of Speed’s Wagon Heritage

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Ben Hsu

This Friday Josh Clason‘s Depth of Speed series returns with a new video about Duane Schaffer‘s Datsun 510 Wagon and Toyota Hilux. As always, the cinematography is gorgeous and the story quite moving to the die-hard car nut. Schaffer’s garage … Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, Friday Video, toyota, trucks, wagons | Tagged 510, bluebird, datsun, depth of speed, Friday Video, hilux, josh clason, nissan, pickup, toyota, truck, wagon | 10 Comments

Grand Touring: A Weekend in Nagano Prefecture

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Skorj

Eight-and-a-half feet of reliable snowfall blankets the mountains of Nagano Prefecture each winter, transforming quaint and quiet towns into temporary getaways for Tokyo-ites. When the snows disappear so do the downhill skiers and onsen soakers, but local FJ40 Land Cruisers stay to witness the spring thaw. … Continue reading →

Posted in Grand Touring, honda, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, subaru, toyota | Tagged Bessho, bus, Chikuma, chuo expressway, cr-v, daihatsu, fd, fj40, fuji heavy industries, fuso, hijet, hino, honda, j3, jeep, Kakeyu, kei, land cruiser, mazda, mitsubishi, Nagano, onsen, r3, rx-7, subaru, subaru 360, Summer Wars, toyota, Ueda, vitz, yaris | 9 Comments

EVENTS: 2012 Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, Part 02: Sedans

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Ben Hsu

The Mooneyes Street Car Nationals may take place in Tokyo, but unlike the typical kyuusha gathering the SCN is a celebration of Amesha Kulture. That’s why you’re more likely to spot a Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier van than a G-nosed Z, and … Continue reading →

Posted in events, honda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota | Tagged 130, 230, 430, 510, a30, appliance, b110, barikan, barracuda, bluebird, cedoglo, cedric, century, concerto, corona, crown, datsun, datsun 1200, debonair, gloria, hardtop, honda, k12, march, mitsubishi, motor wheel spyder, nissan, Paint Factory, rays, rt40, rt50, s110, s150, s50, special six, sunny, t40, t50, te37, toyota, turbo-vec, volk, vto | 12 Comments

QotW: What Japanese concept should have been produced?

Posted on June 19, 2012 by John Roper

The Tokyo Motor Show is known across the auto industry for having the most crazed concepts in auto-dom. Future is what Japan does best, but last week Toyota debuted a concept at a toy show to get Japanese kids off … Continue reading →

Posted in concepts, minicars, nissan, Question of the Week, toyota, wheels | Tagged concept, konami, MID4, minicars, MkI, mz11, nissan, rs watanabe, soarer, ssr, techno phantom, toyota, vintage barrels, watanabe, wheels, z10 | 32 Comments

MINICARS: 2012 Hot Wheels ’87 Toyota Pickup

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Ben Hsu

The latest nostalgic Hot Wheels to roll from the mad minds at Mattel is a 1987 Toyota Pickup. When it was first announced last December, we envisioned for reasons unknown a slammed minitruck, but instead it’s a lifted 4×4 that would … Continue reading →

Posted in minicars, toyota, trucks | Tagged hilux, hot ones, hot wheels, pickup, toyota | 22 Comments

Toyota Camatte concept debuts at Tokyo Toy Show

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Ben Hsu

This charming, retro-looking contraption is the Toyota Camatte, a real car that ToMoCo unveiled today at the Tokyo Toy Show. The venue may seem odd, but the concept’s goal is to spark children’s interest in cars, a noble cause if … Continue reading →

Posted in concepts, minicars, toyota | Tagged Camatte, concept, Daichi, minicars, Sora, Tokyo Toy Show, toyota | 10 Comments

EVENTS: 2012 Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, Part 01: Coupes, Two-Doors & Utes

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Ben Hsu

As you can guess by the name, the Street Car Nationals put on by Mooneyes each year is a festival of Amesha — American car — culture. Instead of usual Japanese fare like step-lipped SSRs and racing livery, this show is all about chromed … Continue reading →

Posted in events, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, prince, toyota, trucks | Tagged 221, 510, 620, arrow truck, b-series, b120, b1600, b1800, b210, bluebird, bre, clipper, corona, courier, crown, d50, datsun, datsun 1200, dodge, enkei, enkei dish, ford, forte, hilux, kujira, libre, mazda, miler, mitsubishi, ms75, nissan, peter brock, pickup, plymouth, prince, proceed, s60, s80, sanitora, sunny, sunny excellent, sunny truck, t140, toyota, truck | 10 Comments

Lexus LFA engineer Chiharu Tamura drives a Subaru 360

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Chiharu Tamura may be a hero to many for his work as Deputy Chief Engineer of the Lexus LFA. To us, it’s because he drives a 1968 Subaru 360. Not even 27 of these 20PS kei jidosha would equal a single LFA’s output, … Continue reading →

Posted in subaru, toyota | Tagged Chiharu Tamura, lexus, lfa, subaru, subaru 360 | 3 Comments

Friday Video: Kamikaze Road V

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Kevin San

And now for something completely different, one of the many home-grown videos of Japan’s car culture from the age of VHS. This one’s called Kamikaze Road V, and shows of the somewhat unrefined side of 1980s bosozoku style, when people … Continue reading →

Posted in Friday Video, nissan, toyota | Tagged bosozoku, datsun, gurachan, Kamikaze Road, nissan, shakotan, toyota | 10 Comments

Four new Choro-Q Zero models spotted at Shizuoka Toy Show

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Dan Hsu

The discontinuation a few years ago of Choro-Q, also known as Penny Racers or Turbo Tricksters to USDM fans, will remain one of the great injustices of modern Japanese society. Last year the line was relaunched as Choro-Q Zero with a focus on … Continue reading →

Posted in honda, minicars, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota | Tagged 300zx, ae86, caravan, cedric, choro-q, choro-q zero, city, corolla, delica, fairlady, gloria, group 5, honda, levin, mitsubishi, nissan, r30, skyline, soarer, sprinter, super silhouette, toyota, trueno, y31, z10, z31 | 8 Comments

Question of the Week: What new car would you buy today to preserve for posterity?

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Inspired by Jason’s article about Project Neo86, this week’s QotW should be obvious: What car would you buy today to preserve for posterity? Kev reported that today Toyota Australia announced a starting price of $29,000 for the GT86. For comparison’s … Continue reading →

Posted in mazda, Question of the Week, toyota | Tagged Question of the Week | 36 Comments

Project Neo86: Introducing the JNC Scion FR-S

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Jason

When the original AE86 and Silvia were killed, no one expected that Japan would simply walk away from its automotive roots. But walk they did, and light, agile, affordable RWD cars remained absent from the market for what turned out … Continue reading →

Posted in Project Neo 86, toyota | Tagged ae86, fr-s, gt 86, hachiroku, Project Neo86, scion, toyota, toyota 86 | 35 Comments

EVENTS: 2012 Fuji Jamboree, Part 02

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Ben Hsu

In Part 01 of our 2012 Fuji Jamboree coverage we focused on machines that took to the Speedway. Blood red hakosuka with Okamoto logos? You know those black Wats are ready to cut loose on Fuji’s tarmac. However, as every … Continue reading →

Posted in events, honda, isuzu, nissan, toyota | Tagged a20, b210, bellett, butaketsu, c10, c110, c130, c210, celica, daruma, datsun, fuji jamboree, fuji speedway, gc10, gc110, Hakosuka, hayashi, hayashi street, honda, isuzu, kenmeri, kp30, laurel, MkII, motorsports, nissan, publica, ra28, rs watanabe, s500, s600, s800, skyline, ssr, starlet, sunny, sunny excellent, toyota, watanabe, yonmeri | 15 Comments

Question of the Week: What’s Japan’s most luxurious car?

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Ben Hsu

From the world’s first production GPS system in the JC Eunos Cosmo to the Cressida’s redundant stereo volume dial next to the steering wheel, Japan has always been a pioneer of automotive luxury. That is why this week we ask, … Continue reading →

Posted in Question of the Week, toyota | Tagged ae86, century, civic, corolla, eg, hachiroku, honda, levin, QotW, Question of the Week, sprinter, toyota, trueno | 29 Comments

EVENTS: 2012 Fuji Jamboree, Part 01

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Ben Hsu

If the sight of a Skyline and Savanna in nostalgic warpaint doesn’t stir your soul, we’ll go ahead and notify your next of kin. Add to that a sprinkling of Starlet, Sunny, and a snazzy Japanese-colors retro racing helmet perched just so, … Continue reading →

Posted in events, honda, isuzu, mazda, motorsports, nissan, toyota | Tagged 110s, 1600 sports, 2000 sports, 240z, 260z, 280z, 330, 510, advan, alpine, b110, bellett, bluebird, bmw 2002, c10, c110, c130, cedric, cosmo sport, datsun, europa, fairlady roadster, fairlady z, familia, familia rotary coupe, fuij speedway, fuji jamboree, fuji speedway, gc10, gloria, gordini, gt-b, gt-r, Hakosuka, honda, isuzu, kenmeri, kgc10, kgc110, kpgc10, kpgc110, laurel, lola t70, lotus, m63, macransa, mazda, motorsports, nissan, passol, porsche 904, publica, r100, renault, rs watanabe, rx-3, s30, s500, s54, s600, s800, savanna, skyline, sports 800, starlet, sunny, toyota, toyota sports 800, wagon, watanabe, yamaha | 19 Comments

Akio Toyoda’s favorite cars built by Toyota’s rivals

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Ben Hsu

In case you needed more proof that Akio Toyoda is a car nut of the highest order, yesterday the ToMoCo head honcho rattled off his favorite cars that are not Toyotas. The occasion was Toyoda’s inauguration as chair of JAMA, the Japan … Continue reading →

Posted in isuzu, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota | Tagged 110s, acura, akio toyoda, bellett, cosmo sport, dakar, honda, isuzu, mazda, mitsubishi, montero, nissan, nsx, pajero, skyline, toyota | 5 Comments