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
Tokyo Auto Salon: Banzai Sports SSS-face Sunny Truck
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
MARKETWATCH: 2018 Scottsdale JNC Round-up
Two years ago, we published a round-up of the various JNCs offered for sale during the annual orgy of automotive spending known as the Scottsdale auctions, and based on both the quantity and quality of the cars that crossed the dais that week we concluded that JNCs had at last entered the mainstream of the car collecting community. The Scottsdale auctions (along with Monterey Car Week) are the leading barometer of classic car prices and trends in the US, so now in 2018 we felt it was time to revisit the Arizona desert to see whether the big spenders of the car world are still showing JNCs any love. Continue reading
MOTORSPORT: Bob Sharp inducted into SCCA Hall of Fame
Nissan racing pioneer and legend Bob Sharp has been inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame. Sharp was one of eight inductees announced for the Sports Car Club of America’s 2018 honors, recognizing a lifetime’s worth of racing achievements, three-and-a-half decades’ worth of which were accomplished with Datsun and Nissan cars. Continue reading
Posted in motorsport
Tagged 510, 610, bob sharp, datsun, fairlady roadster, nissan, paul newman
2 Comments
Tokyo Auto Salon: Alaska-to-Chile Land Cruiser restored
On March 29, 1960 a Toyota Land Cruiser embarked on a record-breaking north-to-south journey from Fairbanks, Alaska to Puerto Montt, Chile. The Land Cruiser covered 20,015 miles, took 117 days, and recorded the first time the trip had been completed without accidents. Also, it was bright pink. Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? 10k-mile Toyota MR2 for $30,000
The gods of mid-engine runabouts must be receiving their share of sacrifices, because here’s the second ridiculously low-milage MR2 we’ve seen for sale in less than a week. Though this 1986 model in Indianapolis has traveled more than double the distance of the 1993 Turbo from last week, that still means it has only racked up about 10,000 ticks. Continue reading
Tokyo Auto Salon: Endless brakes make this Hino Contessa a show stopper
One of the benefits of the growing interest in Japanese classics is that aftermarket companies are producing an increasing number of parts for the cars we know and love. One of the leaders of this movement is Endless Advance, the Japanese maker of performance brakes. At the Tokyo Auto Salon earlier this month, they showed off their ever-expanding catalog of brake system bits with a raised Hino Contessa in one of the most eye-catching displays of the show. Continue reading
Posted in events, Tokyo Auto Salon
Tagged contessa, Endless brakes, hino, tokyo auto salon
4 Comments
NEWS: Nissan still “working on” keeping the Z alive
The current Nissan Z is nearly a decade old and the automaker has given not even the slightest suggestion of a successor. However, the company’s most memorable model is perhaps not completely dead, according to a Nissan executive’s recent statements. Continue reading
QotW: Which JNC introduced in 1993 is your favorite classic of 2018?
It’s hard to believe, but the year that gave us President Bill Clinton, Jurassic Park, and Beanie Babies is now 25 years in the rear view mirror. 1993 was a seminal year, quite possibly the peak of the Bubble Era cars, as technology developed during boom times reached market. As such, a new round of Nihon steel is now eligible for historic plates, classic car insurance, and import from Japan.
Which JNC introduced in 1993 is your favorite classic of 2018?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Has your JNC ever gotten you in trouble with the law?” Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? 4,400-mile Toyota MR2 Turbo
If you wanted a brand new second-generation Toyota MR2 Turbo back in the day but foolishly did not buy one, this could be your one shot at redemption. Offered for sale in Canal Winchester, Ohio, is quite possibly the country’s lowest-mile all-original SW20 MR2 in private hands. Continue reading
KEI HERO: Suzuki Alto Works
Poor America. We don’t even know how bad we have it. In the States, we think of hatchbacks as puny, minimally equipped tin cans that people buy because they can’t afford something better. Elsewhere in the world and especially in Japan, not only are the smallest of the small kei cars acceptable, they are desirable, deliver superior performance, and are packed with technology that would make actual sports cars of the era look like an oxcart. There was perhaps no better example of this phenomenon than the Suzuki Alto Works, the tiniest hot hatch. Continue reading
VIDEO: Leno Drives an S30 Z
Jay Leno built a career on comedy, then built arguably the best private car collection in the world with the proceeds, and today uses that car collection to educate the world about interesting about cars. He doesn’t limit himself to just one type of car, nor does he own the world’s supply of Porsches or every Paul Newman race car. If it’s interesting mechanically, he’s into it. Continue reading
SEARCH & RESCUE: Mazda Millenia S
Dear JNC readers, we need your help. We trust that if you are reading you 1.) believe in our mission to preserve cars for posterity, and 2.) are experienced in tracking down an elusive but prime vehicular specimens for purchase. We are introducing a new series, Search & Rescue, in which we ask our readership to help us find cars for those who will save them. For the first installment, we are seeking a Mazda Millenia S. Whichever lucky example is chosen will live the rest of its life in a very important collection of historically significant Mazdas and be well taken care of. Continue reading
COLLECTIONS: Nissan completes restoration of 24 Hours of Spa R31 Skyline
On Saturday Nissan celebrated the completion of its restoration of the Group A HR31 Skyline GTS-R that ran at the 1988 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. With only 800 homologation models made, the R31 Skyline GTS-R is a rare and technologically advanced model, even if often overshadowed by its GT-R brethren. This particular car has even more historical significance, however, as it marked the first time an official Nissan sanctioned Skyline competed in Europe. Continue reading
