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
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
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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
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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
Inazuman’s Raijingo flew at Mach 3 and had a mouth — Guess the Tokusatsu Car
The 1973 series Inazuman featured one of the most memorable cars in tokusatsu history. Called the Raijingo, the convertible sports car had a reptilian mouth from which it could fire missiles. But perhaps more impressively, it could transform into a plane and carry its hero through the sky at Mach 3. This is one of the toughest cars we’ll likely every present in our “Guess the Tokusatsu Car” series, but see if you can take a stab at it. Continue reading
Get 33% off your Toyotafest admission with this coupon code
The 2024 All-Toyotafest will is this Saturday, June 8. General admission is $15, but be sure to use coupon code JNCFAN to get $5 off. Also, please stop by the JNC booth to meet former international editor of Road & Track Sam Mitani, who will have limited copies of his second espionage thriller (and car-centric) novel Red Mist available for purchase. Or, you can bring your own copies of The Prototype or Red Mist for him to autograph. We will have some free Hot Wheels to give away, but there’s also the event exclusive A80 Toyota Supra in 1:64 scale. The 2024 Toyotafest will be held on Saturday, June 8 from 9am to 3pm at Marina Green Park in Long Beach, Calif. See you there!
QotW: What’s the best ‘Gran Turismo’ setup?
Last week’s Gran Turismo 7 update brought back a lot of memories. Some of us have played the latest and greatest, but the last GT game I really played religiously was Gran Turismo 4, simply due to the sheer number of classic and “regular” cars it had. Now I have a son, and I’m looking for a father-son bonding activity that may have me dusting off my PlayStation 2. Should I spring for a PS5 and GT7? Should I stick with GT4? I don’t have anything but the controllers the PS2 came with, so should I get a whole wheel and pedal system? Is there another installment of the series that I should look into?
What’s the best Gran Turismo setup?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “If you could only drive cars from one year for the rest of your life, which would it be?“. Continue reading
Mazda developing dual-rotor engine as partners Subaru and Toyota commit to boxers and inline-fours
This week Toyota, Subaru, and Mazda jointly announced that they were teaming up to develop Japan’s next generation of combustion engines. Each company would specialize in the iconic engines that built their brands while striving toward carbon neutrality. Toyota would focus on compact inline-fours, Subaru on boxers, and Mazda on rotary engines. The sweeping announcement glossed over a little nugget of information from Mazda’s part of the presentation — that it’s building a twin-rotor engine being considered for sports cars. Continue reading
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