It’s the season of giving to your loved ones, but no one said those loved ones had to be human. Cars require love and attention as well, and sometimes getting them a much-needed part or devoting some garage time will bring joy to both rider and steed.
What will you gift your car next?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s a telltale sign of a bad driver?“. Continue reading
Suzuki has filed for a trademark application for the e-VanVan, an electric mini-bik inspired by the 1971 VanVan 90. Whimsically named for the sound of a revving two-stroke, the original was one of the motorcycles that defined Japan’s leisure bike boom of the late 60s and early 70s. Now there’s something of a retro bike renaissance in Japan, so it only makes sense that the VanVan is revived for the modern age. Continue reading
In 1985 Mitsubishi finished the seventh running of the Paris-Dakar Rally with a pair of Pajeros in a 1-2 sweep, becoming the first Japanese carmaker to win the event. The first place Pajero was immediately shipped to Mitsubishi’s collection in Japan and stored there. Now, 40 years later, this history-making truck has been restored. Continue reading
Punk legend Jello Biafra, frontman for the Dead Kennedys, is auctioning off his 1989 Toyota Celica GT convertible. The foundational punk band was known for their satirical lyrics and skewering of the cultural and political establishments, and the Celica is somehow simultaneously not at all fitting and also wholly appropriate. We’ll come right out and say it — the car looks like crap — but Biafra swears by it and actually has some pretty good takes on it. Continue reading
Honda heads, rejoice! Honda has announced a new reproduction parts program for their sports cars. And yes, the newly christened Honda Heritage Works is going global and will include Acuras as well. With an estimated 70 percent of first-gen Japan-market NSXes still registered there, it’s natural for Honda to start with its flagship. However, it will expand to other models in the future. Continue reading
As car enthusiasts we have a fairly decent idea of how to handle our vehicles and how they function. Sadly, that isn’t the case for the majority of the car-owning public. Yet nearly everyone in America is allowed to captain a 4000-pound slab of steel with not much screening. Sharing the road with them can be absolutely terrifying, or at the very least rage-inducing. Whether it’s squatting in the left lane or having side mirrors aimed at the door handles, there are clues that you might be traveling with a less-than-stellar wheelman.
What’s a telltale sign of a bad driver?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “If you could travel to one moment in time, when would it be and what would you do?“. Continue reading
The trailer for the live action Street Fighter movie is out, and some fans are pretty stoked that one famous scene made the cut. Based on the Capcom video game franchise, the upcoming movie includes Street Fighter II‘s bonus stage where a player can destroy a car for extra points. The model of the 16-bit car was never stated but it was clearly based on the Lexus LS400, and the movie recreates that scene with a real UCF10. Continue reading
To herald the long-awaited return of the Prelude in Japan, Honda opened a pop-up curry cafe. If you’ve never had the pleasure of downing a plate of proper Japanese curry you’re seriously missing out, but what is the association between curry and a hybrid coupe, one may justifiably wonder. Well, Honda wanted to appeal to a younger demographic and figured a tomato-based spiced pork stew was the key to unlocking the youth vote. Continue reading
The latest video in the Gymkhana stunt series takes a 1978 Subaru BRAT to Australia. The heavily modified BRAT — or should we say Brumby, going by its Aussie name — is piloted by rally driver Travis Pastrana and is subjected to the regular Hoonigan video buffet of death defying stunts. It’s definitely a spectacle, and probably the most on screen action a ’78 BRAT has seen since Kidd Video. Continue reading
Last week it was discovered that Toyota has applied for trademarks for the GR MR2 and GR MR-S names. There have been rumors of an MR2 revival swirling around for a couple of years, and Toyota has shown off a sports car with a mid-engined profile, but that concept was said to be electric. Naturally the discovery is fueling another round of speculation about the possibility of a Mister Two resurrection. Continue reading
Let’s say you got your hands on a flux capacitor and had the nuclear scientist know-how of Doc Brown to attach it to any vehicle you want. You know the rest — hit 88 mph, get instantly zapped into the time of your choosing, and let the antics commence. The obvious choice would be to get that sports almanac, but let’s say for the purposes of this question that whatever you do has to be automotive related.
If you could travel to one moment in time, when would it be and what would you do?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which movie scene forever seared a Japanese car into your brain?“. Continue reading
In a one-two punch that will reverberate though the ages, Toyota pulled the curtains off of two flagship supercars today. The birth of a Japanese supercar doesn’t come along very often, and in fact there have only been five since Toyota launched the original one, the 2000GT, in 1967. It didn’t make another one until 2010 with the Lexus LFA. Today, it debuted successors to both. During the unveiling, Toyota execs made it clear that these cars only exist because they were deeply dissatisfied with their own brand. Continue reading
There are two legendary Italian design houses penning modern interpretations of the Honda NSX right now, and one has been fully revealed. The Tensei, meaning “rebirth” in Japanese, is a carbon fiber-bodied reimagining by Pininfarina, a studio that has birthed some of the most beautiful supercars of all time. Continue reading
On November 27 televisions in Japan began airing a commercial that teases Toyota’s next supercar. The spot opens with a Toyota 2000GT, followed by a Lexus LFA, followed by a sleek black sports car. The words “The Soul Lives On” appears on screen as the cars speed down a banked track. Turns out, this location reveals a hint toward the car’s purpose. Continue reading
Subaru created the, “Love. It’s what makes a Subaru, a Subaru” slogan when it realized that the common theme uniting nature loving Outback owners and and rally fiend WRX drivers alike was that they were among the most brand-loyal customers in the automotive world. But there’s brand-loyal and there’s completely obsessive freaks, and the latter can now prove just how devoted they are to the marque with a pair of his-and-hers Subaru wedding rings. Continue reading
Today, December 1, is Movie Day in Japan, marking the country’s first public screening of a film in 1896. So it’s only fitting that we ask about notable movie scenes depicting Japanese cars. We’re not talking about petrolhead movies necessarily, and in fact the vehicle in question doesn’t even need to be the hero car. Nor does it have to be involved in a pivotal action scene. In fact, we’re looking for blink-and-you’ll miss it appearances, the more obscure the better. For example, we’ll never forget the time in Mission to Mars when Gary Sinese briefly drove the Isuzu VX-O2 concept, essentially an open-top VehiCross for a few seconds on-screen.
Which movie scene forever seared a Japanese car into your brain?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which car had the best evolution between generations?“. Continue reading
If you need something to watch during this Thanksgiving holiday, the smash sci-fi series Pluribus set a new record as Apple TV’s most-viewed show. Though it takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, it’s a complete departure from Vince Gilligan’s previous works, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Both had excellent car choices, and Pluribus is no exception. We’re only five episodes in, and one of the most-seen cars in the series is this classic E30 Toyota Corolla. Continue reading
Many of the most prominent automotive technical colleges in Japan are associated with OEMs. The students who graduate funnel directly into those companies or service centers of that particular brand. However, there are less known schools that are also doing cool things like the Saitama Automobile College, which is currently restoring a B310 Nissan Sunny. Continue reading
Today, November 24, is Evolution Day, marking the date on which Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was published in 1859. Like in the animal kingdom, when cars go from one generation to the next, changes can occur. Sometimes they’re an improvement, sometimes they’re not. Purists may prefer the undiluted driving experience of earlier generations, while leadfoots might enjoy the advancements in performance that came with subsequent ones, and there are some generational changes in which everything just went to shit. Was it the quantum leap between R31 and R32 Skyline? Or perhaps the return to basics that characterized the Z32 to Z33 Fairlady Z?
Which car had the best evolution between generations?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “How do you satisfy your car addiction when you can’t access your actual car?“. Continue reading
A Nissan exec has reaffirmed that the next-generation Pathfinder could be a proper body-on-frame SUV. There’s already pretty solid confirmation that Nissan will be bringing the Xterra back from the dead with a BoF architecture. That design could spawn several more model ladder-frame models, like the Frontier, Pathfinder, and maybe an Infiniti-branded luxury SUV. Continue reading
