If you’re into tiny hatchbacks and Italian sports cars with Ford V8s, in 1980s Japan you could get a car combining both of these worlds. The Daihatsu Charade De Tomaso melded the work of Toyota’s compact car subsidiary and the Argentinian-Italian car builder into one machine. At the Tokyo Auto Salon this year, Daihatsu brought a fine example of this rare oddity, and put it front and center at its booth. Continue reading
NEWS: Toyota teases MkV Supra
Toyota tweeted a dark image today of what is almost certainly the fifth-generation Supra. After not showing up at the Tokyo, Los Angeles or Detroit motor shows like it was rumored to, it looks as if it will make its public debut next month. Continue reading
VIDEO: The origins of Suzuki in anime form
Suzuki has released a new animated video showing the origins The origins of Suzuki go back to the late 1800s, when founder Michio Suzuki was finishing up an carpentry apprenticeship at the age of fourteen. He devised an automatic loom, as he hailed from Japan’ Enshu region, known for its textiles. After building a loom of his own design for his mother, a weaver, he founded Suzuki Loom Works at the age of 21. Continue reading
QotW: What makes you cringe about the current JNC culture?
We’ve see many trends roll through JNC culture over the years. Some great (upgrades in body rigidity and period correct wheel re-pops), and some not so great (such as over-use of accessory add-ons). Personally, I wince every time I hear people waxing on about “JDM” this and that. It comes off as very boy-racer and an air of elitism. How about you?
What makes you cringe about the current JNC culture?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your favorite JNC underdog story?” Continue reading
Tokyo Auto Salon: Honda goes retro, announces plans for used car refurbishment
Continuing the tour of Auto Salon automaker booths, we arrive at Honda. The company has its fingers in almost as many types of auto racing as Toyota, but perhaps more overall thanks to its motorcycle division. It also debuted an unusual retro design to whet the appetite of vintage Honda owners. Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon
Tagged acura, Civic Type R, cr-z, honda, honda z, Indy 500, nsx, super cub, Takuma Sato, tokyo auto salon
6 Comments
Tokyo Auto Salon: What Lambos? Liberty Walk’s Advan-livery Hakosuka
Liberty Walk never ceases to up the ante at each Auto Salon, each time showcasing a car that somehow manages to be more mind-blowing than the year before. The internet-melting buzz this year, as you may have heard, was the Lamborghini Miura done in the style of traditional Japanese tuning melded with modern stance culture (don’t worry, purists, it’s a replica). However, it was a different car at the Liberty Walk booth that got our motors revving here at JNC. Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon
Tagged acura, advan, Black Emperor, c10, God Speed You Black Emperor, gt-r, Hakosuka, honda, liberty walk, nissan, nsx, r35, s660, skyline, tokyo auto salon, yokohama
4 Comments
KIDNEY, ANYONE? $10,000 for a Hot Wheels some paint missing
There is no doubt the Japan Historics 2 series are the hottest Hot Wheels of 2018. Given the rabid enthusiasm for diecast JNCs, that’s not surprising. What is surprising, however, is that a Skyline C210 from that series has sold for — pinky to mouth — $10,500. That is not a typo. The new casting is a highly desirable model both in real life and in diecast form, but what could possibly prompt someone to pay real car prices for one? Continue reading
Tokyo Auto Salon: A gorgeous restomod Hakosuka shows off Yokohama’s vintage tire revival
Draped in the company’s trademark colors of black and red, the Yokohama Tire booth at the Tokyo Auto Salon was among the best of the show. A gleaming white Hakosuka Skyline stood proudly at its center, and while the goal was to show off Yokohama’s newly re-released vintage tires, the car itself was stunning as well. Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon
Tagged Advan HF Type D, c10, Hakosuka, nissan, skyline, tokyo auto salon, yokohama
16 Comments
VIDEO: Subaru, A Life Story on the Line
A new Subaru commercial follows the multiple generations of a family that owns nothing but Subaru wagons. It starts out with a daughter being born and leaving the hospital in a DL. Continue reading
Tokyo Auto Salon: A woman-run tuning house’s ultra-Japanese custom creations
The car world is still, unfortunately, very male dominated, with few woman-run shops anywhere on the planet. At the Tokyo Auto Salon this year, however, one of the most striking booths was that of L-Tide, a woman-led shop located in western Tokyo, and its display cars hailed from two of the most testosterone-fueled subcultures of Japanese tuning. Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon
Tagged 430, bosozoku, cedric, cresta, L-Tide, nissan, tokyo auto salon, toyota, vip, x60
16 Comments
Happy TE27 Day from JNC
Have a mango today, for it is TE27 Day. Take your Corolla Levin or Sprinter Trueno out for a drive to celebrate!
Tokyo Auto Salon: Nissan, Mitsubishi show cars with American roots
We’ve seen how Japanese tuners glean inspiration from vintage American styles, but it’s interesting when actual automakers do the same. Though Nissan and Mitsubishi are of the same family now, their branding is still very separate. Coincidentally, both showed cars whose roots came from the States. Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon
Tagged 370z, 370Z Heritage Edition, Delica D:5, Eclipse Cross, fairlady z, gt-r, mitsubishi, NISMO, nissan, r35, SuperGT, z34
3 Comments
Tokyo Auto Salon: Banzai Sports SSS-face Sunny Truck
If there is one thing people will seemingly never get tired of it’s putting other Nissan noses on a Sunny Truck. The latest example, shown at the Tokyo Auto Salon recently, was by Banzai Sports and features a Bluebird SSS face on the evergreen Sanitora. Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon
Tagged 510, b210, bluebird, datsun, nissan, sunny truck, tokyo auto salon
3 Comments
VIDEO: Toyota’s football game ad had some vintage Aichi steel
The unavoidable championship football game that happened Sunday night isn’t a place you’d normally see some vintage Aichi steel, but if you were watching closely during the Superb Owl commercials, you might have caught some in Toyota’s “One Team” spot. Continue reading
QotW: What’s your favorite JNC underdog story?
Unless you emerged from a coma this morning you know that the underdog Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl last night. It was a fantastic close game down to the final minutes. Of course, JNCs often had their own underdog stories and a lot to prove, whether in motorsports, sales, or back street antics.
What’s your favorite JNC underdog story?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which JNC introduced in 1993 is your favorite classic of 2018?” Continue reading
Tokyo Auto Salon: The championship-winning TOM’s KP47 Starlet was rebuilt around its original engine
Toyotaku know the name TOM’s well. Tachi Oiwa Motorsport is the has been Japan’s premier tuner of Toyota and Lexus cars for decades, serving as something of an unofficial performance arm for the Big T. For the Tokyo Auto Salon this year, they brought out a beautiful display showcasing a newly restored KP47 Starlet, the car that launched the tuning house in the wake of the 1973 Oil Crisis. Continue reading
Happy TA22 Day from JNC
Hey, look, it’s a chassis code holiday where Americans and Australians don’t have to argue about whether the month comes first or not! Happy TA22 Day, better known as Daruma Day, everyone!
Tokyo Auto Salon: Maybe it’s time to stop calling Toyota boring
Modern Toyota often gets a bad rap for not indulging enough in its fun side. At the Tokyo Auto Salon, Japan’s carnival of car customization and tuning, the Big T reminded us that few other Japanese automakers willing to commit this level of far-out vehicular mayhem. Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon
Tagged crown, lexus, Lexus LC, nurburgring, S220, tokyo auto salon, toyota, toyota 86, vitz, wrc, yaris
5 Comments
KIDNEY, ANYONE?: A super clean 1989 Acura Integra
You. Yes, you. You want this Integra. You want an 80s sports car but you want it to be reliable. You feel it calling to you with its pop-up lights and rev-happy DOHC engine. You need this Integra. Continue reading
VIDEO: Son gifts Dad with Supra identical to the one lost in a crash in 2006
Here’s a wonderfully heartwarming story about a son, his dad, and his dad’s beloved Toyota Supra. Jason Torchinsky tells the tale of the white-on-maroon A60 at Jalopnik. Even before Dalan Ruttan’s father bought the Supra in 1991, he had surrounded his office with photos of his dream car. Continue reading
