After all our bellyaching about how there was no Supra or Fairlady at the Tokyo Motor Show this year as many had expected, it appears that we spoke to soon! Upon examining our TMS materials more carefully, it turns out that Nissan did in fact bring a Fairlady, and we can’t believe no other media outlets have noticed. Continue reading
Tokyo Motor Show: Nissan brought a Fairlady after all
Posted in Tokyo Motor Show
Tagged e-Evolution, fairlady z, IMx, mitsubishi, nissan, TMS 2017, tokyo motor show
14 Comments
SEMA 2017: Toyota will always have trucks
Nissan may have the “it” cars, says our editor at large Ricky Silverio, but Toyota will always have trucks. Toyota may have misstepped when it brought a fleet of Camrys to SEMA, eliciting even a roast from Honda, but when it comes to classic off-roaders, rock crawlers, overlanders, or just plain well-restored vintage SUVs, Aichi has the market cornered. Continue reading
Posted in events
Tagged 4runner, baja, celica, FJ Company, FJ50, icon, land cruiser, Land Cruiser 60, land cruiser 70, Land Cruiser 80, pikes peak, sema, SEMA 2017, st205, toyota, tundra
2 Comments
(not so) MINICARS: Life-size Tamiya Bruiser Toyota Hilux pickup
As Marty McFly said, “All the best stuff is made in Japan.” Cars aside, this also holds true for hobby products. And in the land of remote controlled model cars, one kit persistently remains the best of the best in terms of realism, ingenuity, and sheer awesomeness: Tamiya’s metal ladder frame chassis Toyota pickup truck. As a tribute to its status among otakus, somebody has made a life-size, 1:1 scale version of it. Continue reading
Posted in minicars
4 Comments
SEMA 2017: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
As the largest trade event for custom cars in the US, possibly the world, SEMA can serve as a showcase for innovation and creativity, sometimes giving a spotlight for bloody knuckled backyard builds to shine. The flip side, though, is that SEMA’s high profile pressures talented craftsmen into pouring cash into cars whose sole purpose is to clothesline your eyeballs into submission and collect clicks for some up and coming brand. Is there anything more depressing than a “SEMA build”?
Luckily, most of the JNCs at SEMA were built first, then discovered for display because they represented a passion for the car, not a passion for the show itself. Here are some highlights (and lowlights) of the big shindig in Vegas. Continue reading
Posted in events
Tagged 240sx, 360 Modena, A80, acura, ae86, arrow, C-HR, c10, civic, Civic Type R, corolla, daihatsu, ef, eg, fd3s, ferrari, ford, GC8, Grom, gt-r, Hakosuka, hijet, honda, isuzu, lancer celeste, lexus, Lexus LC, Lexus LS, Lexus RC, liberty walk, mazda, miata, Miata ND, mitsubishi, mustang, mx-5, nissan, NPR, nsx, plymouth, r30, r32, r33, r35, Ridgeline, rx-7, s14, sema, SEMA 2017, sienna, skyline, subaru, supra, TLX, toyota
20 Comments
SEMA 2017: An unmolested Toyota MR2 gave us the strength to carry on
Dearest Martha,
As I took respite to pen this letter, I wondered if I would return from war the same man I was when I left home. SEMA is hell, my love. It has been just two days, but it feels like fortnights have passed. A fellow soldier nearly lost his leg from a surprise attack by a cursed foe and his mobility scooter mount. Supplies are scarce and dwindle by the hour, leaving us victim to highway bandits who would dare charge eight Union dollars for a frankfurter.
We have endured wastelands of misshapen composites, towering pickups taller than they are wide, and wheels so grotesquely oversized it’s a wonder the wagons they are affixed to can move at all. I trembled on the brink of abandoning all hope until we saw it, and it bestowed upon us the strength to carry onward: a virgin AW11 MR2. Continue reading
QotW: Tell us your most challenging “reach”
SEMA has some magical vehicles on display. Even more magical are the clean, eat-off-the-floorpan quality restorations. I’d say most of us are not privy to that level of pristine. For most of us, we spend countless nights wrenching to get a JNC back up on its feet. But, sometimes, we have that one bolt, that one clip that is so easy to see, but impossible to reach. I want to know about your experience:
Tell us your story of a difficult reach while trying to repair or diagnose your JNC.
My own tale involves the same engine pictured above (but not my ride). It was my first engine swap. I just got the head back from the machine shop, put it back on and torqued all the head studs, just installed the headers and intake and finally the valve covers. But I had an extra water jacket in the corner of the shed. Oops. I spent three hours trying to tighten two 10 mm bolts on the back of the head. The gap between the head and the firewall was about half as thick as my flat hand. I had to make the “scissor” motion with my fingers while holding a wrench and only getting 1/32 of a turn at a time. To add more stress to the mix was a plastic vacuum sensor with 2 brittle nipples on the end. As I got one bolt secure enough to hopefully not leak, one of those vac nipples snapped when it got clocked by my thumb… Words were exchanged between me and that water jacket. Many words. On my fourth rebuild, I still have that same head minus all the vac lines and that water passage where the jacket would have bolted up to is now welded shut.
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “JNC Battle! NSX vs Supra” Continue reading
SEMA 2017: Datsun is the new “it” marque
Despite brief surges in sport compacts, drifting, VIP, and other trends from the land of the rising sun, SEMA is still mostly an American car show. If we had to put a number on the resto modded muscle cars pushing 1,000 horsepower, lifted pickups, and acres of new Camaro/Mustang/Challengers, we’d say it was 85 percent of the show. This year, however, we noticed a trend. There were Datsuns among them. Continue reading
SEMA 2017: Into the Badlands star Daniel Wu’s Datsun 510
One of the standout cars at SEMA was a 1972 Datsun 510 sitting in the Toyo Tires Tread Pass section. Though owned by a celebrity — Into the Badlands star Daniel Wu — that’s hardly the most interesting thing about it. In a show full of carbon fiber excess and House of Kolor assaults on the senses, it was an honest, no-nonsense build in the five and dime tradition. Continue reading
SEMA 2017: Toyota brings fifteen Camrys to world’s biggest tuner show
We’re not sure if Toyota is trolling the entire aftermarket community, but Japan’s largest carmaker basically filled their entire SEMA display with nothing but Camrys. There were no tricked out Toyota 86s, lifted Land Cruisers, or slammed Siennas. Nope, just fifteen family sedans, including a lineup of every generation sold in America (the newer end of which looked like every Sunday afternoon parking lot in the San Gabriel Valley). The purpose of the collection seemed to be in support of the all-new 2018 Camry. Go forth and tune it, I guess. Continue reading
SEMA 2017: Jun Imai debuts his widebody Datsun Z
Five years ago, we watched as the pink slip of a dusty blue 1974 260Z was signed over to Jun Imai. It appeared as if attempts to turn it into something greater had been cut short, leaving a car that was neither stock nor carefully modified. If you had told us then that the tired Z would one day be a SEMA Show booth car, we would’ve bet good money against it. Continue reading
Tokyo Motor Show: Daihatsu brought the wrong Compagno
Daihatsu’s booth at the Tokyo Motor Show was the only one that had any sort of nostalgia factor. They even brought out a classic Midget and classic Compagno to sit prominently on stage beside the concepts they inspired. Unfortunately for the latter, they brought the wrong car. Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Motor Show
Tagged compagno, daihatsu, DN Compagno, TMS 2017, tokyo motor show
9 Comments
Happy Halloween from JNC
What’s the first rule of entering a dark garage with a classic car? Don’t go in there alone. Happy Halloween from JNC!
Tokyo Motor Show: The heritage is strong with Daihatsu
Daihatsu came out strong this year with heritage models. We’ve already seen the Daihatsu DN Compagno concept, which shared the stage with a classic Compagno. Also at the Daihatsu stage was its most iconic nostalgic car, a 1959 Midget. Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Motor Show
Tagged daihatsu, DN Pro Cargo, kei, midget, TMS 2017, tokyo motor show
2 Comments
QotW: JNC Battle! NSX vs Supra
Tokyo Motor Show was a blast but we were really hoping to catch a glimpse of the new production model Supra. Sadly, we all will still have to paw over spy shots and 3-D renders for now. Honda came out with yet another great looking EV concept, this time a sporty coupe, but the NSX is still waiting for a dance partner…
Since we can’t judge (yet) Toyota’s new monster, I thought we could consider the last gen iterations. Which early 90s asphalt brawler did it better? The Toyota A80 (MKIV) Supra, or the Honda (Acura) NSX? What makes one better than the other? Styling? Technology? Raw driving characteristics? Let us know!
Who had the goods? NSX or Supra?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What car should our Touge Rally Master get?” Continue reading
Tokyo Motor Show: 2018 Toyota Century
The Toyota Century is not just an executive sedan, it is a pillar of Japanese tradition. And like most Japanese traditions, it has carried on virtually unchanged for a long, long time. At the Tokyo Motor Show, however, nearly 50 years after its debut in 1967, the Toyota Century has undergone only its second full model change. Continue reading
Tokyo Motor Show: Mazda’s concepts are simply stunning
In a largely disappointing Tokyo Motor Show, the stars of the Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Mitsubishi booths were autonomous or electric or overstyled crossovers — sometimes all three. Only Mazda bucked the trend with a couple of concepts that went old school. We don’t mean old school as in retro styling, but old school as in what golden era concept cars, like the ones from the 60s and 70s, were meant to do — get your heart revving with drop dead sexy looks give a glimpse of what’s to come. Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Motor Show
Tagged Kai, mazda, mazda 3, TMS 2017, tokyo motor show, Vision Concept
17 Comments
Tokyo Motor Show: Daihatsu saves the day
The Tokyo Motor Show was largely disappointing this year, mainly caused by high expectations. There was no Gran Turismo reunion of Supras, Zs, and Evos. In fact, Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi all highlighted some sort of electric crossover van thingy. It was up to tiny Daihatsu to show something, anything of interest to JNCers. Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Motor Show
Tagged compagno, daihatsu, DN Compagno, TMS 2017, tokyo motor show
7 Comments
Tokyo Motor Show: Honda’s Sports EV concept will keep driving alive
Honda has unveiled what it believes is the next generation of sports cars at the Tokyo Motor Show. The Honda Sports EV is a concept model that the company says “combines EV performance and AI (artificial intelligence) inside a compact body with the aim to realize the joy of driving.” Continue reading
Kidney, Anyone?: Flawless 1984 Toyota Camry LE
Our friend Bryan Thompson, is selling his flawless 1984 Toyota Camry. This means that right now is your best chance to own arguably the best example of a V10 generation Camry currently in private ownership. If Bryan’s name is familiar, you’ve probably seen some of his other cars in our posts from JCCS. He is a connoisseur of orphaned JNCs and has set out to collect the finest examples of obscure ones from across time. Continue reading
QotW: What car should our Touge California Rallymaster get?
The time has come for your faithful Touge California rallymaster to get a new set of wheels. A shift in family priorities means that my trusty 2003 Honda Odyssey will be returning to kid-hauling duty with the missus, so I’m looking for a daily driver to handle my LA commuting needs. Of course, as a contributor to JNC, owner of a diecast model business, and announcer at JCCS, not just any vehicle will do. Since the JNC community was so helpful in steering Mrs Hsu toward the perfect car for her new life in LA, I’m hoping that your collective wisdom will once again generate a list of suitable candidates. Here are my requirements:
- It must have a back seat that can accommodate two young kids, one of whom still requires a full-sized child safety seat. No flexibility on this point.
- It must be at least somewhat modern, with reasonable level of crashworthiness in a freeway environment loaded with inattentively driven crossovers.
- It must pass California registration and smog tests with zero hassle. That pretty much means only fuel injected cars will be considered, and it definitely means that privately imported JDM vehicles are out.
- If a car was offered for sale in the US with a manual transmission, then ONLY manual versions of that car will be considered.
- It must be stock. Stock means stock. If you suggest a car with “easily reversible mods,” you need to be prepared to come to my home and easily reverse them yourself. For free.
- It must have some sort of performance potential. That can mean high-speed touring on the interstate, or it can mean cone-killing prowess at an autocross. Whatever, it just needs to be fun to drive.
- It must be $5,000 or less.
- Obviously, it has to be Japanese. I’ve made a couple of ill-advised BMW purchases, and I’m pretty sure that if I do that again my wife will leave me. And if she doesn’t, then Ben Hsu definitely will.
What car should our Touge California Rallymaster get?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What JNC needs to be Kylo Ren’s ride in the next Star Wars?” Continue reading
