Paramount Pictures has just released the Bumblebee trailer, and we couldn’t help but notice a BRE-themed Datsun 510 lurking in the background. It’s not the first time a Datsun 510 has made an appearance in the Transformers film universe, and though we hope it will be portrayed more positively this time around we’re not holding our breaths. Continue reading
EVENTS: All-Toyotafest 2018, Part 01 — Sedans
If there’s one thing Toyota is known for, it’s sedans. Yes, the Camry is basically the default car that pops into most brains when the word “sedan” is uttered, but Toyota also has a mean portfolio of old school, rear-wheel-drive mobbers. From Cressida kaido racers to VIP Lexuses to the king-daddy Century, Toyotafest had them all. Continue reading
MINICARS: Apparently you can get kaido racers from a vending machine in Japan
You can get almost anything in a vending machine in Japan, and now that apparently includes toy kaido racers. Just drop in ¥1,000 (approximately $10 USD) and out comes your 1:64-scale bosozoku-style minicars. Continue reading
QotW: Tell us a tale of a JNC you helped rescue
Summer is just around the corner here in Japan. As we get ready to take our prized machines out on a hot sunny day with the wind in our hair, we ask you to think back on a time when you rescued a JNC destined to return to the earth or live a life under heaps of junk and clutter. Maybe it was a vehicle you rescued, or maybe one you helped find a new owner that would give it the care it deserved.
Tell us a tale of a JNC you helped rescue
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What JNC belongs in a museum?” Continue reading
Posted in Question of the Week, Uncategorized
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Toyotafest is this Saturday
Just a reminder: The 2018 Toyotafest is tomorrow, June 2 at Marina Green Park in Long Beach, California. It promises to be the largest one yet. There are over 550 slabs of Aichi steel registered for this event, plus vendors, special displays, as well as official presences from Toyota and Lexus.
Note that Toyotafest moved to a new location last year, the aforementioned Marina Green Park. It’s no longer at the Queen Mary. The new location has allowed the organizers to accommodate many more cars than before.
JNC will be there as well, so be sure to stop by our booth and say hello.
Admission is free, and the show goes from 9 am to 3 pm.
NEWS: Retro fourth-gen Suzuki Jimny leaked ahead of July debut
Though it has been on the market for nearly 50 years, the stalwart Suzuki Jimny has had only three complete generational changes. The fourth generation of the kei SUV debuts this July, but renderings based on leaked information in Japan’s Best Car magazine have revealed that it will be a throwback design reminiscent of the beloved second-gen. Continue reading
The heartwarming tale of strangers rescuing a Datsun wagon from the desert
There is a B310 Datsun Wagon that has been baking in a remote corner of the Mojave desert for over 20 years. The car was abandoned there when the owner died in a freak accident, but now, in a heartwarming tale of gearhead camaraderie, complete strangers are driving hours into the desert to try to recover the car and deliver it cross-country to the owner’s children. Continue reading
NEWS: Mazda celebrates production of 50 millionth car
On May 15, Mazda reached a production milestone. The Hiroshima-based company has built 50 million cars since it began making its first road vehicles in October 1931. A small ceremony was held at the Hofu plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Continue reading
VIDEO: Suzuki Jimny ads sure beat the crap out of these kei SUVs
We continued to be tickled by the fact that Suzuki is releasing a lot of archival footage showing the evolution of their products. From animated history lessons to old ads, the company seems to be digging deep into the vault for this stuff and putting it online. The latest is a series of clips of the original Jimny, a kei-class SUV that, despite its size, was billed as a go-anywhere off-roader. And man, they sure beat these things like a rented mule. Continue reading
Happy S30 Day from JNC
Well, there really isn’t an S30 Day on the calendar, but the seminal Japanese sports car certainly deserves a day of its own. So, we might as well make May 30 that day, because an “S” looks kind of like a “5” if you squint. Here’s a pair of G-noses from when we attended the rainy 2009 Time Machine Festival at Fuji Speedway. Happy S30 Day from JNC!
VINTAGE RACING JOURNAL: The Mitty, Part 04 — The Final Race
It was only in 2010 that I attended my first vintage race as a spectator. Eight years later, I was reliving racing history at the famed Road Atlanta circuit in an authentic C-Production 240Z I had spent a year restoring. We can only hope to catch a glimpse of what it was like to be a driver during the good ol’ days at this hallowed track where Datsun dominated other marques in SCCA racing for over a decade, but this was as close as we were going to get without a time machine. Continue reading
QotW: What JNC belongs in a museum?
Looking over the new Petersen Automotive Museum exhibition: Monozukuri, the Creative Spirit in Japanese Automaking and Fine Tuning from last Friday’s post has me excited to see all the rare J-tin on display for all (go see it in person!). There are models I’ve never even seen in Japan! Seeing the JNC heavyweights like the 2000GT, Skylines and Cosmo are a no-brainer, but I want to know what you think should get the museum treatment for styling, performance or cultural significance.
What JNC belongs in a museum?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What made you start collecting Hot Wheels?” Continue reading
GALLERIES: The Petersen Automotive Museum opens an unprecedented exhibit honoring Japanese cars
Perhaps it is only fitting that the Petersen Automotive Museum is now located in what was once the only Seibu department store in the US. Where rows of Japanese home goods resided in 1962, today in 2018 stands this hemisphere’s most comprehensive museum exhibit celebrating the cars and car culture of Japan. Continue reading
Posted in museums
Tagged 2000gt, A80, bosozoku, c110, civic, cosmo sport, cresta, csp311, datsun, Datsun Type 16, drag, ef, EK, Flying Feather, hino, honda, Honda N-Series, Honda S-Series, jimny, kaido racer, kenmeri, lj20, mazda, mitsubishi, Mitsubishi 500, n600, nissan skyline, Petersen Museum, prince, r382, rx-3, s600, silvia, skyline sport, supra, suzuki, Suzulight, toyoda aa, toyota, x80
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MINICARS: Can you help us identify these Japanese race car toys?
I recently rediscovered these toys of two historic Japanese endurance racing prototypes. They are completely plastic, have no branding underneath, but are extremely well-made examples. Can you help us identify where they came from? Continue reading
Posted in minicars
Tagged 24 Hours of Daytona, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 787b, mazda, minicars, nissan, R91CP
16 Comments
KIDNEY, ANYONE? S40 Toyota Crown BOGO
There’s a incredibly rare S40 Toyota Crown being auctioned on Bring A Trailer right now. It’s located in New Hampshire and has no reserve. Specifically, it’s a 1966 Toyota Crown Deluxe with a 3R engine and a three-on-the-tree manual transmission. And, if you act now, they’ll throw in another one for free. Continue reading
JNC THEATER: A Datsun 510 episode of Wheeler Dealers
It’s been a while since we mentioned Wheeler Dealers (is the show any good since Edd China left?) but tonight’s feature car is something that piqued our interest. It’s a Datsun 510, that seemingly had hopes of being a BRE tribute car at one point. Continue reading
NEWS: New license plates reflect 41 regions of Japan
For nearly 70 years, the simple green-on-white number plate has been the default vehicle registration identifier for passenger cars throughout Japan. That’s all about to change, because on May 22 the Japanese government unveiled 41 new license plate designs, each one reflecting a different region of the country. Continue reading
VIDEO: How to pronounce Japanese carmaker names properly
A couple of years ago we were at a dinner with several journalists and a Mazda executive. At the other end of the table, a debate broke out about whether the proper pronunciation of the Hiroshima carmaker was the standard issue “MAHZ-dah” or the Australian-accented “MAAZZ-dah.” Finally, the exec schooled everyone with the real pronunciation, “MA-tsu-da.” You can often make friends in Japan by speaking the universal language of cars, but in order to get more than a blanks stare back it’s helpful to say the words correctly. Luckily, YouTuber CZero has helpfully put together a video for this exact purpose. Continue reading
Posted in Learning Japanese
Tagged datsun, honda, lexus, mazda, mitsubishi, mugen, nissan, subaru, toyota
7 Comments
EVENTS: Get a discount code to The Petersen Automotive Museum’s unprecedented Japanese car exhibit
This week the Petersen Automotive Museum is opening three unprecedented exhibits featuring classic Japanese cars. Although the Petersen has exhibited classic J-tin in the past, this is the first time nostalgics have taken such a prominent position in the museum’s exhibit space. The exhibits will showcase many cars never displayed in the States before, many shipped from the automakers’ collections in Japan. The Petersen is offering JNC readers a special discount code to the grand opening on May 24, so see descriptions and get the code below. Continue reading
Happy 521 Day from JNC
You can’t not love an honest truck. They basically tie dogs for status of man’s best friend. The Datsun 520 and 521 were the first of the modern compact pickups by Nissan, and kicked off decades of the breed. Obligatory: Wish they still made trucks like these. Today, on May 21, we honor these workhorses. Happy 521 Day from JNC!
