Category Archives: Video
How far can a Nissan kei car go without refueling?
It’s easy to dismiss kei cars as weak, un-serious shoeboxes for misers. However, there’s a good reason why they comprise more than 34 percent of car sales in Japan. Even if you take the registration, parking and tax benefits out … Continue reading
Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX: Once beloved, now extinct
If you didn’t live through its introduction it’s hard to grasp just how big of an impact the Mitsubishi Eclipse made. The all-wheel-drive turbo sports coupe was so beloved that major magazines devoted extra pages to it beyond the typical … Continue reading
The Mazda-built Ford Festiva was technically the first Kia sold in the US
Korean cars are common sights on the road today, but in 1987 the name Kia was a complete unknown in pre-internet America. Long before our streets teemed with Sephias and Souls, the first Kia to achieve widespread sales in the … Continue reading
Watch a Toyota Comfort GT-Z get a supercar-worthy restoration
The Toyota Comfort GT-Z Supercharger looks like a taxi, but is one of the best sleepers and rarest car Toyota ever made. Only 59 were built and, as the name implies, the base 3S-FE engine was forcibly induced by a … Continue reading
Finally, a Mitsubishi Galant Sigma review from when it was new
One car that has always held a strange fascination for us when it was new was the US-market Mitsubishi Galant Sigma. We vaguely remember seeing these when they were new but they weren’t very common then; today they seem to … Continue reading
The Lexus GS400 was a “barnstorming performance sedan”
The arrival of the second-generation Lexus GS turned up the heat on 1998’s luxury sedan market. Lexus was still young, less than a decade old, but the LS held down the unflappable luxury sedan corner, the SC had the beautiful … Continue reading
The fourth-gen Mitsubishi Mirage was peak Mirage
The Mitsubishi Mirage is dead. The Nissan Versa is now the only new car in America that costs below $20,000. But there was a time when the economy compact was one of the hottest, most competitive segments in the market. … Continue reading
This 1973 Datsun promo video makes us want to travel back in time
Created to introduce its audience to the Datsun brand, a 1973 Datsun promotional video serves up loads of drool-worthy imagery. The 20-minute short film presents a primer on Nissan history dating back to the 1930s before going behind the scenes … Continue reading
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Tagged 310, 510, 620, b210, bluebird 610, c210, cedric, Cherry E10, datsun, nissan, Rallye Monte-Carlo, s30 z, safari rally, skyline, sunny
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The FC Mazda RX-7 Convertible was the Miata before the Miata
When the Mazda Miata debuted in 1989 it was heralded as a rebirth of the once-common British-style roadster. But Mazda may have already been attempting to resurrect that segment before the MX-5’s arrival. The FC Mazda RX-7 Convertible was described … Continue reading
The 1987 Mazda 323 was good, but not enough
The turbocharged 1986 Mazda 626 GT debuted to rave reviews but how was its little brother, the 323? In 1987 Motorweek tested North America’s version of the BF Mazda Familia in both hatchback and wagon body styles. Mazda’s successor to … Continue reading
This 1986 Mazda 626 GT review is surprisingly similar to that of modern Mazdas
It’s almost eerie, but Motorweek‘s review of the 1986 626 GT could be describing a modern Mazda. Take out the prices and horsepower figures and you can basically copy/paste the parts about how it handles and feels into any Mazda … Continue reading
Automotive bearing manufacturing is a mesmerizing process
JTEKT is one of the three largest bearing suppliers in Japan, along with NSK and NTN. The original company dates back to 1935 when it was called Koyo Seiko, and some may remember the blue Koyo logo on bearings packages. … Continue reading
Japanese detailers clean up a Toyota TE27 Corolla Levin
After seeing several detailers work their magic on classic Nihon steel, we wondered how such things are done in Japan. We weren’t able to unearth a video of anyone cleaning a full-on rat poop-infested husk, but we were able to … Continue reading
Mitsubishi Starion getting first wash in 12 years is extremely satisfying
It’s not clear why someone would let a built Mitsubishi Starquest sit unused in a barn for 12 years, but that’s what happened. It gets even more curious when the builder is your father and one of the longest-serving experts … Continue reading
O.G. Nissan Skyline GT-Rs go for a relaxing afternoon drive
There isn’t much to this video, just a couple of O.G. Skyline GT-Rs at the track. Nissan calls the video a relaxing afternoon drive and the pace certainly appears leisurely. But pristine specimens of S20s on steelies snaking through bends … Continue reading
Mazda Luce owner is part of multi-generational rotary family
With the rollout of the rotary engine’d Mazda MX-30 underway in Japan, Mazda is doing a video series on owners of rotary-powered cars. The first is Mr Shimzu, who drives a second-generation Mazda Luce, known as the RX-4 in the … Continue reading
Honda engines of street and circuit sound off at 75th anniversary event
As part of Honda’s 75th anniversary festivities this year, the Honda Collection Hall in Japan invited guests to listen to the sound of engines. Taking a series of classic motorcycles, cars, and racing machines from the museum, curators fired them … Continue reading
Posted in Video
Tagged Benly CB92, C100, Civic 1G, honda, honda collection hall, Honda Dream 2E, McLaren Honda MP4/5, McLaren Honda MP4/6, N360/N600, NR750, NSX Type S, ra272, RC143, RC213V, RC213V-S, S500/S600/S800, t360
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The Subaru Legacy turbo wagon had one fatal flaw
Long before the WRX was even a glint in the eye of Subaru USA’s marketing team, Fuji Heavy Industries was offering a turbo wagon in the US market. The first-generation Legacy Sport Wagon was the most athletic wagon Subaru had … Continue reading
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