In this installment, we take a look at two very different types of cars: original barn finds and restorations whose every last nut is factory correct, and those that were treated like instruments of war. In other words, all the stuff that’s prized by predictably obvious “traditional” collectors. Continue reading
For the final installment of this year’s Toyotafest we share the JNC staff favorites. In a show packed with prime Aichi steel, it wasn’t easy to narrow down the field, making the results probably over-long. But hey, it’s a good problem to have, right? Continue reading
The RT40 Corona was hugely important in the US, saving Toyota’s skin after an embarrassing debut with the S30 Crown. However, that was nothing compared to the way it utterly transformed the Australian market for Toyota when it debuted in 1965. Continue reading
Playstation owners, rejoice! Your racing sim is here. After a console generation of Forza giving Gran Turismo a run for its money, it looks as if Turn 10’s David has not beaten Polyphony’s Goliath. In graphics alone, Turn 10’s Forza franchise appears to have competition again. Continue reading
After 9 years of dutiful service it has come time to retire the JNC Cressida wagon. It has faithfully carried the JNC crew to nearly every Toyotafest, JCCS, SevenStock, Nissan Jam, and SEMA — usually packed to the headliner with gear — for almost a decade, but California’s debris-covered, oil-pan denting roads and incessant sun have not been kind to this increasingly rare workhorse. Don’t worry, we’re not selling it. We’re going to give it a proper reconditioning so it can shine once again.
In the meantime, we’ll need another hauler. It doesn’t have to be a station wagon, but it’ll need to have at least as much cargo space as the Cressida, be somewhat reliable (or easy to find parts for), and be appropriately Japanese nostalgic.
What should the next JNC wagon be?
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 baddest Nissan-Mitsubishi combo?” Continue reading
Keiichi Tsuchiya might be happy smoking new GT-Rs, but he has nothing but admiration for the old ones. In another Best Motoring video uploaded last night Keiichi Tsuchiya climbs into a couple of Victory 50-tuned Hakos and gets ’em slideways like the days when Kunimitsu Takahashi would break loose his bias-ply tires. Continue reading
Power-to-weight ratio is the key in this old Hot Version race in which Keiichi Tsuchiya and Akira Iida pit a pair of Toyota Starlets against an R34 Skyline GT-R and the Kei Office S15 Silvia. The Drift King puts it all on the table in a classic David vs Godzilla battle, but the ending may not be what you expect. Continue reading
The Honda Collection Hall museum at Twin Ring Motegi has just uploaded another several videos to their YouTube channel. Following on the series launched earlier this year, several 80s Honda cars and motorcycles get their turn to exercise their engines around the museum grounds. It’s not quite an extensive a collection as the first round, but we get some sweet Prelude and CR-X action. Continue reading
For our second installment of the 2016 Nostalgic 2 Days event coverage, we’ll take a look at some of Japan’s kyusha tuning houses, beginning with our friends at Star Road. The Tokyo-based specialists of classic Skylines and Fairlady Zs typically holds court at one of the biggest and most eye-catching displays of the show, and this year was no exception. Continue reading
Racing driver Sokichi Shikiba died yesterday, May 17, in a hospital in Tokyo as a result of liver failure. He was 77 years old.
Born to a hospital manager in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture in 1939, Shikiba grew up with a generation of young men who came of age as Japan’s nascent auto industry was taking off. Carmakers were delving into motorsports to spur development, and Shikiba’s cadre of fellow motorheads — which included legends such as Tojiro Ukiya, Aritsune Tokudaiji, and Tetsu Ikuzawa — became the forefathers of motorsport in Japan. Continue reading
There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Toyota trucks. Tales of their indestructibility are told throughout the world, and this year’s Toyotafest saw a variety of Aichi dromedaries from all corners of the globe. Continue reading
Honda has released the second installment of its video series documenting the restoration of the first car it built for the US market. If you’ve been keeping up with the story, the extremely brief video is unlikely to shed any new light on the topic. Still, it’s worth a viewing for any Honda head. Continue reading
As we saw in Part 02, Toyota has had no shortage of grand, powerful machines powered by the legendary straight-six. However, the company built its fortunes on millions of inline-fours. Using its vast production reserves, it has over the years been able to bestow many of these four-bangers into an affordable sports coupe package for the masses. Here are some of them that showed up to the 2016 Toyotafest. Continue reading
Ever since Best Motoring launched an official YouTube channel, it’s been delivering non-stop JDM goodness. But if you’re absolutely sick of watching S2000 touge battles and Silvias and Chasers duke it out for drift supremacy, then perhaps a video about the Mitsubishi Mirage Cyborg is more your pace. Continue reading
Registration for the fourth annual Nissan Jam is open. The annual Datsun, Nissan, and Infiniti car show will be held on June 12 in a new venue this year, La Palma Park in Anaheim, California.
Registration is $35 for any Datsun, Nissan, or Infiniti vehicle. You can register by clicking this link.
Nissan USA has just announced they will be joining the festivities with an official display this year for the first time.
Yokohama Tire is also kicking in with awards and trophies. Thanks to the new location, the show will take place on grass rather than a dealership parking lot.
If you’re just there to spectate, admission is free. Mark your calendars!
Almost exactly one year ago when news of the Toyota-Mazda partnership broke, it seemed like two companies, each excelling at their own particular skill sets, would only make each other better. Our QotW asked what the ultimate Toyota-Mazda combo would be. Somehow, though, Nissan’s takeover of Mitsubishi feels a lot more ominous. Therefore, you can choose whether to interpret this week’s question as “good bad” or “actually bad.”
What’s the baddest Nissan-Mitsubishi combo?
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 JNC should’ve had a shooting brake variant?” Continue reading
Subaru’s parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, is changing its name. Stemming from what is known as “an extraordinary meeting of its Board of Directors” FHI will be known as Subaru Corporation starting in 2017, pending stock holder approval. Continue reading
As engines go, the Toyota straight-six is one of the best conceived by humankind. Smooth as Suntory whiskey, as long-lived as a mountain, and capable of stupid amounts of horsepower in later iterations, they are a triumph of automotive engineering. It’s no wonder the 2016 Toyotafest had over four decades of them and the cars they powered. Continue reading
International Vehicle Importers has posted a list of the cars that have been lost in the warehouse fire on the evening of May 1 that claimed the lives of two company employees’ dogs. There were a dozen imported JDM cars lost, as well as several other cars, motorcycles and personal items owned by employees that were stored in the building. Continue reading
Breaking news from Japan tonight: Nissan has agreed to take a 34 percent controlling stake in Mitsubishi Motors in a deal worth $2.2 billion, according to Bloomberg. It is now the single largest shareholder in the beleaguered automaker, even larger than than parent company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which owns 20 percent. Continue reading
