QotW: What sacred model name should never be revived for a crossover?

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Ben Hsu

JNC readers were pretty much in universal that the Mitsubishi Eclipse name would have been better laid to rest than revived for a crossover, even though the once great sport coupe had morphed into a bloated cruiser with little semblance of performance by the end of its run. But it’s not the only venerated name that has befallen that fate. For example, did you know that the Infiniti EX was called the Skyline Crossover in Japan? Clearly, the blasphemy must stop.

What sacred model name should never be revived for a crossover?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Tell us your tip for battling the winter weather with a JNC.”  Continue reading →

Posted in Question of the Week | Tagged | 17 Comments

MINICARS: The Wild Cards Hakosuka Skyline is now a Hot Wheels

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Ricky Silverio

The next Japanese nostalgic Hot Wheels for 2017 is going to be a very special one, as it is the first classic J-sled to be modeled after someone’s personal car. That person would be our friend Roy De Guzman of the Wild Cards, and his white Skyline with a kaido racer-inspired graphic of his own design.  Continue reading →

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PIXELATED: Toyota C-HR ad stars cast of Street Fighter game

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Ben Hsu

The car may not be nostalgic, but the game certainly is. Toyota has enlisted the help of the Street Fighter II cast to promote the new C-HR. In the new ad, Ryu drives the car around the world through some familiar settings, but it sure does look like he just cold ran over M. Bison in cold blood.  Continue reading →

Posted in Video Games | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

NEWS: Nissan ends run of the Tsuru in Mexico

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Ryan Senensky

Nissan has announced that it will be discontinuing the B13 Sentra. Wait, Didn’t that happen 22 years ago? Yes, but the car was so popular they had to do it again. Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

KIDNEY, ANYONE? 1970s Toyota campus for sale

Posted on February 16, 2017 by Ben Hsu

It’s finally happening. Nearly three years after Toyota announced it was relocating its US headquarters from California to Texas, the automaker’s campus has been listed for sale. Like an annoying Craiglist ad, no asking price was mentioned but according to the Daily Breeze, Toyota has invested $5 billion since it established the site in the 1970s, so… make an offer?  Continue reading →

Posted in for sale | Tagged , | 15 Comments

MINICARS: How to get your exclusive mail-in Hot Wheels Datsun 510 this weekend

Posted on February 16, 2017 by Ricky Silverio

If you like Hot Wheels and JNCs, you’ll want to get yourself to a Kmart this Saturday. On February 18 there is a K-Day event happening, and for every 20 regular Hot Wheels you buy, you’ll be able to send in your proofs of purchase for this exclusive Datsun 510 that won’t be sold in stores.  Continue reading →

Posted in minicars | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

KIDNEY, ANYONE? Someone is selling a Mazda 767B

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Ben Hsu

You. Yes you, mere mortal. You can now own perhaps the most organ-worthy car we’ve ever come across, a Mazda 767B. While the original auction description (they have since edited it) described it as “the most iconic race car to ever come out of Japan,” let’s be clear: This is not the 1991 Le Mans-winning 787B. That is locked away in Mazda’s Hiroshima collection hall and they will never, ever let it go. This predecessor, which is still a 630-horse 4-rotor, is as close as you’ll likely ever get to the orange and green demon. Continue reading →

Posted in for sale | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Please, Mitsubishi, don’t bring back the Starion…

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Ben Hsu

… if you’re going to use the name on a minivan or something.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 7 Comments

NEWS: Suzuki, the Real MVP, issues recall for a single Cappuccino

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Ryan Senensky

Suzuki has launched a nationwide recall campaign in Japan that affects only one car. That’s not a typo. There is apparently only a single 1996 Suzuki Cappuccino with the problem, and rather than reach out to the owner directly, the company issued a standard recall as if it impacted thousands of cars. Even more amazing, the problem was a minor oversight at the factory that didn’t change the car’s operability one iota, and it took them 21 years to realize it.  Continue reading →

Posted in suzuki | Tagged , , | 27 Comments

NEWS: The Mitsubishi Eclipse Crossover is actually happening. Whyyyyyyyyyy?

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Ben Hsu

Danger to Manifold! The rumors we feared were true. Scarcely believable, but true. Mitsubishi announced today that it is reviving the name of a beloved sport coupe to use on a new crossover model called the — are you ready? — Eclipse Cross. This leads to the obvious question of, “Why, for the love of Amaterasu, why!?!?!?”  Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day from JNC

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Ben Hsu

As is tradition on Valentine’s Day, Japanese chocolatier Kobe Frantz has released a set of highly realistic, 1:1 scale chocolate tools (1:64 Toyota 2000GT for scale).  Continue reading →

Posted in Reminder | Tagged , | 1 Comment

MINICARS: Have some chocolate cars for Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Ricky Silverio

Tomica is back with a line of chocolate minicars for this Valentine’s Day. The Japanese diecast carmaker is giving us six cars to drool over, with modern version of two sports car icons — the Nissan GT-R and Fairlady Z — headlining the set.  Continue reading →

Posted in minicars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

QotW: Tell us your tip for battling the winter weather with a JNC

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Brandon Kelley

Morning JNCers! In Tokyo, we are hitting single digits, in the US there are huge snow flurries and downright tough weather all around. In high school I used to scrape my windows each day before heading to school in my AE82 Corolla DX. That all changed when i learned to drape a towel over the windows and saved myself scrape time and increased visibility. We ask you all:

Tell us your tip for battling the winter weather with a JNC!

Your answer can be based on a new school or old school tip and hopefully helps everyone reading this to keep their JNCs on the road.

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize.  Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s What JNC would best represent the New England Patriots?

Continue reading →

Posted in Question of the Week | Tagged | 15 Comments

VIDEO: A Datsun 240Z is the hero car in this 1979 chase movie

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Ben Hsu

1970s Los Angeles was an automotive paradise. Not only did you have a diverse mix of Detroit land yachts, European compacts and heaps of Japanese runabouts, but its freeways ran long and wide. Back then, before the 405 was one giant parking lot, it was a more innocent time, too. A serial killer with a windowless van merely ran his victims off the road, instead of abducting them and doing some weird sex stuff. This was the premise for the 1979 movie Death Car on the Freeway, which took place in LA and featured a whole bunch of J-tin — including a first-gen Honda Civic and, as the hero car, a Datsun 240Z.  Continue reading →

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

VIDEO: Could the fifth-gen Civic VX be the best beginner car ever made?

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Ryan Senensky

It is 2017, so 25 years ago it was 1992. That year, one of the most important cars to the sport compact movement came to American shores, the EG Honda Civic. In this case, however, we’re talking about the EH2 Civic VX because Honda enthusiasts get too in depth with chassis codes for their own good.  Continue reading →

Posted in Video | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

VIDEO: Just a reminder that Toyota is cooler everywhere that is not the US

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Ben Hsu

So at this point we’ve seen official ads featuring classic Toyotas in Japan, Colombia, the UK, and Australia. Now, three new videos have emerged Down Under featuring a trio of dedicated enthusiasts and their classic Toyotas. These include the original owner of a 1976 Celica and a girl who found a rare JDM RA35 GT Liftback in Adelaide and has owned more than 60 Toyotas. Continue reading →

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

VIDEO: The only running Toyota 2000GT in the UK

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Ben Hsu

With just 351 built, the Toyota 2000GT is a rare car. According to Toyota UK, this is the only roadworthy one in the country. They’re calling it The Toyota that Lived Twice, a nod to the 2000GT’s starring role in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice and the fact that the owners found a bullet hole in the door during restoration.

Continue reading →

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EVENTS: Houston Morningstar Meet

Posted on February 8, 2017 by Ben Hsu

You might have heard there was a football game in Houston over the weekend. We were in town for the epic clash — something about classic Fords versus Jeep crossovers — but before the big game the local JNC community welcomed us to a Sunday morning meet.  Continue reading →

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Happy TE27 Day from JNC

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Ben Hsu

When you think of Toyota performance, the color palette that pops into your head may largely depend on the cars you love. Yellow, orange and red for 80s IMSA racing, red and green Castrol for WRC, white and red for TRD’s various exploits and so on. If you’re into TE27s, though, you’re probably a fan of dark green and orange. As you may already know, the names Levin and Trueno mean “thunder” and “lightning” in old English and Spanish, respectively. But a quick Google search seems to reveal that this iconic palette has never been translated to English, so today, on this day of 2/7 2017, we shall.

The official color names for the Corolla Levin were Indianapolis Olive and Monte Rosa Orange. For the Sprinter Trueno, they were Daytona Olive, Haight-Ashbury Orange. The greens were clearly named after famed American raceways but the oranges, as far as we can tell, were named after a mountain in the Alps and the famed San Francisco intersection that was ground zero for 1960s counterculture. We don’t know why they got these names, but we offer you this completely useless bit of trivia anyway. Happy TE27 Day!

For mango madness, revisit our coverage of the TE27 Club Meeting.

Posted in Reminder | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

QotW: What JNC would best represent the New England Patriots?

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Brandon Kelley

Greetings fellow JNCers! As I drafted this QotW, I was sitting in my Tokyo office feverishly refreshing my browser to follow Super Bowl LI. As the game progressed, turned on a dime, and presented the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history; I wondered:

What JNC would best represent the New England Patriots?

The question is abstract, just as abstract as the team mascots that represent the physical players. So I would ask that you run with the spirit of the question. Does the JNC represent the team as a whole? MVP player? Coach? Gatorade caddy?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize.  Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW: Which JNC took on grassroots rally racing the best? Continue reading →

Posted in Question of the Week | Tagged | 9 Comments