QotW: What makes you cringe about the current JNC culture?

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Brandon Kelley

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 →

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Tokyo Auto Salon: Honda goes retro, announces plans for used car refurbishment

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

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Tokyo Auto Salon: What Lambos? Liberty Walk’s Advan-livery Hakosuka

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Ricky Silverio

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 →

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? $10,000 for a Hot Wheels some paint missing

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Ricky Silverio

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 →

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Tokyo Auto Salon: A gorgeous restomod Hakosuka shows off Yokohama’s vintage tire revival

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

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VIDEO: Subaru, A Life Story on the Line

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

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Tokyo Auto Salon: A woman-run tuning house’s ultra-Japanese custom creations

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

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Happy TE27 Day from JNC

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Ben Hsu

Have a mango today, for it is TE27 Day. Take your Corolla Levin or Sprinter Trueno out for a drive to celebrate!

Posted in Holidays | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Tokyo Auto Salon: Nissan, Mitsubishi show cars with American roots

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

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Tokyo Auto Salon: Banzai Sports SSS-face Sunny Truck

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

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VIDEO: Toyota’s football game ad had some vintage Aichi steel

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

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QotW: What’s your favorite JNC underdog story?

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

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Tokyo Auto Salon: The championship-winning TOM’s KP47 Starlet was rebuilt around its original engine

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

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Happy TA22 Day from JNC

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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!

Posted in Holidays | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Tokyo Auto Salon: Maybe it’s time to stop calling Toyota boring

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

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KIDNEY, ANYONE?: A super clean 1989 Acura Integra

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Ryan Senensky

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 →

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VIDEO: Son gifts Dad with Supra identical to the one lost in a crash in 2006

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

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MARKETWATCH: 2018 Scottsdale JNC Round-up

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Patrick Strong

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 →

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MOTORSPORT: Bob Sharp inducted into SCCA Hall of Fame

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

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Tokyo Auto Salon: Alaska-to-Chile Land Cruiser restored

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

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