If you have an old Japanese car, it’s not difficult to find yourself with a garage full of old Japanese parts, too. Even weird stuff like a 350mm Hitman steering wheel.
What’s your most prized JNC part?
What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s the best Japanese car name?” Continue reading
Wow. Such design. So convertible. Much JDM. Many happy.
2016 marks the 25th anniversary of Mazda’s historic win at the world’s most celebrated endurance race: Le Mans. Yet Mazda’s interest and involvement in endurance racing stretches way back, beginning with its Cosmo Sport at the 1968 Marathon de la Route. Following that excellent showing—4th place finish after 84 hours at the Nürburgring in its debut race—Mazda continued in endurance racing but with a new car: the R100, a.k.a. Familia Rotary Coupé. Continue reading
“Mad about Honda” is the way one UK man describes his love for the early Civics, so much so that he’s built an entire community around the preservation of early UK-market examples. Continue reading
In a heartwarming story of generosity, heroism, and what love for a car can accomplish, a Miata seemingly ruined in the recent Louisiana flood will be brought back to life by enthusiasts. Continue reading
We at JNC are once again extremely proud to share with you the latest Hot Wheels car to wear the JNC inkan. The Nissan Fairlady 2000 will be showing up in stores soon as a 2017 release, part of the “Legends of Speed” mainline series. Continue reading
In the US, Toyota gives us two doofus brothers dreaming about racing Monaco in a pair of Camrys and Prius getaway vehicles. They are the worst commercials ever. Toyota Latin America, on the other hand, features a trio of rather comely women in a FJ40 Land Cruiser touring Colombia and a pair of mustachioed 70s dudes in a TE27 Corolla. Continue reading
Typhoon Mindulle is hammering Tokyo right now with epic rains. A tunnel on the Chuo Expressway in Tokyo saw some epic flooding this morning. The storm is headed towards Tohoku next. Looks like I won’t be driving my Skyline for a while.
Yes, we all know about the Suzuki Every Joy Pop and the Hino Dolphin Dump, but we’re not talking about “oh look how weird and crazy those Japanese are” type car names today. We’re talking cool names that instantly evokes a tree-lined mountain road or sea breezes wafting through open windows. Something you’d be proud to have on your trunklid.
What’s the best Japanese car name?
What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which JNC was the one that got away?” Continue reading
When it’s done, this might just be the best restored Honda N600 on planet Earth. But then again, it’s a special car, the first Honda ever built for US import. Our friend Tim Mings — who we believe is planning a full transition into the character that gave him his nickname Merciless Mings, fu manchu and all — is in charge of the restoration, and in the latest installment the humble Honda undergoes a down-to-bare-metal stripping usually reserved for Pebble Beach show cars. Continue reading
Last week the Japanese rock band Unicorn released their thirteenth album, and lo and behold, there’s a Mazda Cosmo Sport on the cover. It’s not clear why the band has taken a liking to the classic rotary sports car, but it features very prominently on their artwork and marketing. Continue reading
There have been many limited edition Miatas. Here’s one more. Mazda has announced that the first 1,000 examples of the 2017 MX-5 RF will be exclusive Launch Edition models. As with the soft-top ND Miata Launch Edition, the RF will feature a few bits that you can only get on the Launch Edition too. Continue reading
The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers has certified the Subaru 360 as part of the the nation’s “Mechanical Engineering Heritage.” It is only the second car in the organization’s 119-year history that an automobile has received this honor. So what does it mean, exactly? Continue reading
By the end of 1971 racing season, the Skyline GT-R was barreling towards its highly anticipated 50th victory in Japan’s hotly contested touring car races. The GT-R had enjoyed three years of domination but, as history knows, the planning for that much publicized 50th win would all come tumbling down in Nissan’s face at the hands of a Mazda Savanna RX-3. Before that happened. though, on October 10, 1971, at a race that would be Nissan’s 49th checkered flag, the Hakosuka was at its absolute motorsports peak. Continue reading
Life with cars is cruel as it is in dating. Sometimes, you just don’t know you how good you have it until it’s gone. Or, maybe those are the lucky ones, because they actually had some time with their soul mate, no matter how brief. Others never met them to begin with, or were a minute to late to make that call asking them to prom before they were picked up by someone else.
Which JNC was the one that got away?
What say you, dear reader? As always, 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 best Japanese taxi story?” Continue reading
We all know that cars are designed, but what is “design,” exactly? A new video released by Toyota aims to answer that question via a history and tour of their Calty design studio. Toyota was the first Japanese automaker to open a US design studio back in 1973. From there sprang everything from the 1978 Celica to the first Lexus SC to what could be the next Supra. Continue reading
Mazda has something good in store at this year’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. In what’s becoming a bit of a tradition for Mazda North American Operations, it’s adding a restored race car to its Heritage Collection: the #202 767B that raced at the 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans. Continue reading
Happy Mountain Day from JNC! If you’ve never heard of Mountain Day, a national holiday in Japan, don’t feel bad. Over a third of actual Japanese people have no idea it exists either. To be fair, it’s a new holiday — so new, in fact, that this year is its first passing. As many JNCers know, Japan is 70 percent mountainous, which creates an abundance of incredible touge roads. We’ve visited a few, and these are some of our favorites. Continue reading
Happy 810 Day from JNC! Here’s Jorge Ramirez’s old goon for your viewing pleasure.
Forget Sega GT. Forget Forza. Forget Gran Turismo. Though we haven’t even played it yet, we’re beyond certain that the most realistic car simulator ever created is My Summer Car, a Finnish game where you restore an E10 Datsun Cherry one frustrating part at a time. Continue reading
