The 1973 film Akai Tori ni Geta? (Did the Red Bird Escape?) was an avant garde work that differed vastly from Japan’s typical crime dramas. Rather than heroic cops taking down bad guys, it was a tragedy about aimless youth and the darker side of 1970s Japan. That didn’t preclude it from featuring a protracted car chase at the climax, in which filmmakers destroyed a Nissan Skyline 2000GT borrowed from a Toho Studios producer. Continue reading
Nissan’s next restoration will be a Z31 Fairlady Z NISMO rally car
With the restoration of its WRC Pulsar GTI-R complete, the next project Nissan will tackle is a third-generation Fairlady Z rally car. The Z31 claimed the All-Japan Rally’s 1985 championship, despite missing the first two races of the season. The restoration will once again be carried out by a team of volunteer Nissan employees on their off hours. Continue reading
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QotW: How do you navigate when driving your JNC?
Today is the 10th anniversary of Navigation Day in Japan, started in 2014 by Zenrin, the map company that helped create the world’s first in-car GPS in the Mazda Eunos Cosmo. The date of July 1 was chosen to coincide with the summer Obon holidays, a popular time for travelers to go long distances.
As much as we love our classic cars, there probably aren’t many of us who use period correct navigation methods. These days, it’s increasingly tempting to rely on navigation systems even if you’re familiar with the roads, thanks to features like real-time traffic updates. How do you find your way around when you’re an older car? Do you use a smartphone app, a separate GPS device like a Garmin, paper maps? Mega props if you carry a Thomas Guide.
How do you navigate when driving your JNC?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which historic auto industry figure would you visit if you could time travel?“. Continue reading
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Nissan Pulsar GTI-R, the company’s final WRC rally car, has been restored
Nissan has restored a Pulsar GTI-R Group A rally car from its own collection. The project was undertaken by a group of all-volunteer Nissan employees, about 115 in all, who worked on the WRC car during off hours. After spending about a year on the restoration, the team recently held a small ceremony to commemorate its completion. Continue reading
Toyota Celica GT-Four tribute stuffs GR Corolla drivetrain into GR86
Toyota has commissioned an interesting project for this fall’s SEMA Show. It plans to create a tribute to the famed Celica GT-Four rally cars by Frankenstein-ing two existing performance cars together. A GR86 will provide the coupe body, while a GR Corolla will donate its hardware for a turbo AWD drivetrain. Continue reading
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Flying Mitsubishi police cars chase a Mazda Grand Familia in one of Japan’s worst cop shows
The wild success of Seibu Keisatsu spawned a lot of similar cop shows. In Novemberr 1980 one short-lived series titled Hashire Nekketsukeiji (translated literally as “Run, Spirited Detective!”) followed the same format: police in the big city, hard luck stories, and gunfights. But instead of Tokyo’s finest in a fleet of Nissans, Hashire Nekketsukeiji landed Mitsubishi as a sponsor. As a result, all the good guys all drove Triple Diamonds. Continue reading
Posted in Film/TV
Tagged Eterna Lambda, Eterna Sigma, Galant Lambda, galant sigma, Grand Familia, mazda, mitsubishi, rx-3
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The FC Mazda RX-7 Convertible was the Miata before the Miata
When the Mazda Miata debuted in 1989 it was heralded as a rebirth of the once-common British-style roadster. But Mazda may have already been attempting to resurrect that segment before the MX-5’s arrival. The FC Mazda RX-7 Convertible was described as the closest modern convertible to those roadsters when it debuted in 1988. Continue reading
QotW: Which historic auto industry figure would you visit if you could time travel?
A recently published Japanese novel tells the a sci-fi story of what would happen if Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda traveled back in time to meet his grandfather Kiichiro Toyoda, the man who founded Toyota Motor Co. If time travel were real — and while we’re at it, a Star Trek-style universal language translator too — there are so many inventors, executives, race car drivers, designers, etc. whose brains we’d love to pick or whose brilliance we’d love to witness. It’s hard to pick just one.
Which historic auto industry figure would you visit if you could time travel?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What was it like in the least powerful car you’ve ever been in?“. Continue reading
Kamen Rider’s Ridoron had mandibles and a top speed of 932 mph — Guess the Tokusatsu Car!
Y’all thought you were so smart figuring out that Inazuman’s Raijingo was an Isuzu Bellett based on the shape of the windshield frame? Good luck guessing what car lies beneath the Ridoron, the vehicle from 1988’s 47-episode Kamen Rider Black RX. It’s high time we visited Japan’s most popular tokusatsu series of all time. Continue reading
‘Toyota’s Child’ is a novel in which Akio Toyoda time travels to meet his grandfather
A new book about Akio Toyoda has been published in Japan, but it’s not your typical biography. Eri Yoshikawa’s Toyota no Ko, which translates to “Toyota’s Child”, is a science fiction novel in which the current Toyota chairman travels back in time to meet his grandfather, Kiichiro Toyoda, founder of Toyota Motor Co. Continue reading
Suzuki Cappuccino may be revived by Toyota, which will continue sports car partnerships
Toyota might be single-handedly responsible for reviving Japan’s sports car market, if a whirlwind of rumors prove true. The latest says that Suzuki is working on resurrecting the legendary Cappuccino with Toyota’s assistance. The car might even spawn two other versions wearing Toyota and Daihatsu badges. Continue reading
Nissan Z Heritage Edition lands stateside to mark 55th anniversary of the Z-Car
The rumors were right. Nissan is celebrating 55 years of the iconic Z by bringing Japan’s much-praised Customized Edition to America. Inspired by the S30 Fairlady Z and Datsun 240Z, the 2024 Nissan Z Heritage Edition adds several styling cues that are throwbacks to the S30 Z while improving on the design of the standard RZ34 Nissan Z. Continue reading
QotW: What was it like driving the least powerful car you’ve ever been in?
True car enthusiasts know it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast. But what about a really slow car? Maybe just getting home without a catastrophic event makes an everyday drive a thrill ride. Anyway, we don’t care about experiences in the latest and greatest supercars. We want to hear about the harrowing adventures you’ve had in the slowest boxes you’ve ever had the pleasure of wheelin’.
What was it like in the least powerful car you’ve ever been in?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your favorite car-themed T-shirt?“. Continue reading
The 1987 Mazda 323 was good, but not enough
The turbocharged 1986 Mazda 626 GT debuted to rave reviews but how was its little brother, the 323? In 1987 Motorweek tested North America’s version of the BF Mazda Familia in both hatchback and wagon body styles. Mazda’s successor to the GLC debuted stateside in 1986 and would eventually spawn the excellent 323 GTX but the ordinary commuter subcompact received plenty of praise as well. Continue reading
Akio Toyoda is so badass he flipped a GR Yaris rally car
When Chairman Akio Toyoda spoke recently at the opening of Toyota’s new R&D center, he did it standing before a wrecked GR Yaris rally car. It was one he overturned himself while hot-shoeing it at the newly built Shimoyama Technical Center, a 1600-acre proving ground that will serve as the new home base for Gazoo Racing and Lexus. Continue reading
Kaiketsu Zubat’s nuclear-engined Zubacar — Guess the Tokusatsu Car
The 1977 series Kaiketsu Zubat is unusual in the tokusatsu genre in that it didn’t involve superheros, aliens, or monsters. The star was just a regular dude named Ken Hayakawa whose best friend gets murdered in the very first episode. Conveniently, his friend left behind blueprints for a bunch of stuff that helps Ken fight crime, including a flying, nuclear-powered car called the Zubatcar. Welcome to another installment of Guess the Tokusatsu Car. Continue reading
Kujira Crown gets painfully shot up and crashed in ‘Alice in Borderland’ car chase with Nissan President
The fourth-generation Toyota Crown is a rare car, even in Japan, which makes its destruction particularly agonizing to watch. In a car chase from the Netflix Japan series Alice in Borderland, a gunman in a 250 Nissan President gives chase to a bunch of teens driving a green S60 Crown sedan. It gets riddled with bullet holes and hits other cars as it weaves through crowded Tokyo streets, yet we can’t look away. Continue reading
Posted in Film/TV
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QotW: What’s your favorite car-themed T-shirt?
Today, June 10, it T-shirt Day in Japan. The date was chosen because it coincides with the start of the humid summer season, where a T-shirt can bring much relief in Japan’s sweltering climate. But T-shirts are much more than that. They also serve as statements for things we like, souvenirs from a trip, or mementos from a certain time in our lives. We of course offer a variety of car-themed T-shirts in the JNC shop, but we won’t be offended if you pick one that’s not ours.
What’s your favorite car-themed T-shirt?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s the best Gran Turismo setup?“. Continue reading
This 1986 Mazda 626 GT review is surprisingly similar to that of modern Mazdas
It’s almost eerie, but Motorweek‘s review of the 1986 626 GT could be describing a modern Mazda. Take out the prices and horsepower figures and you can basically copy/paste the parts about how it handles and feels into any Mazda test drive circa 2024. Who knew a nearly 40-year-old public broadcasting auto show could be so prescient? Continue reading
Classic Japanese cars shot up in ‘Hunt’ movie’s recreation of 1980s Tokyo
One of the central action setpieces in the 2022 movie Hunt is a bloody shootout on the streets of 1980s Tokyo. It features several vintage Japanese cars that become machine gun fodder, but the scene wasn’t filmed in Tokyo at all. Hunt is South Korean movie starring Lee JungJae, the lead actor in Squid Game, and all the cars were imported to South Korea from Japan. [Warning: the clip is extremely violent, so don’t watch it if you wish to avoid seeing such things.] Continue reading
