In the latest episode of James May’s Cars of the People, the former Top Gear host travels to Japan and drives some JNCs. Specifically, he gets behind the wheel of a Mazda Familia (aka 323) hatchback in its hometown of Hiroshima, and pilots a Toyota Celica Liftback in Toyota City with three of the company’s engineers as passengers. Continue reading
Watch two car cultures collide as Jay Leno and Sung Kang (along with his “legit Asian” buddies) discuss the award-winning Fugu Z. The car may not be everyone’s cup of matcha — one of the builders has an interesting definition of “period correct” — but one thing is undeniable: it’s the first high-profile resto-mod 240Z in North America, a perfect storm of top-of-the-game craftsmanship, wow-factor styling, and a pitch-perfect deployment of marketing strategy. As Leno’s video proves, it’s taking the mainstream car world by storm in the vein of a Boyd Coddington or Chip Foose custom, a first for a Japanese classic. It’s also built with incredible skill and love, a global community of car enthusiasts coming together. Continue reading
What was the most high-tech Japanese sports car of the 90s? Quite possibly the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4, with its all-wheel-drive, twin-turbos and active aero. Today they seem to be taking a back seat to cars like the NSX, RX-7 and Supra among all but the most ardent Triple Diamond fans, but back when it was new the 3000GT (and its twin, the Dodge Stealth R/T) were awesome, state-of-the-art Nihon rockets. Continue reading
In the last two installments of our 2016 New Year Meeting coverage, we prowled the parking area to find as much diversity in marques and models as there were in customization styles. In our final installment of the 2016 New Year Meeting we find something even better than that — and possibly better than what was in the show itself — JNCs in motion, driving to, around and from the show. Behold the streets of Odaiba. Continue reading
Somehow, old cars inspire tales of friendship, camaraderie, and bringing out the best in your fellow humans. Case in point: this weekend we learned about an entire country that banded together to help one owner restore a Toyota Corolla that had been wrecked by the 2011 tsunami.
What’s your most heartwarming JNC story?
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 tale of JNC indestructibility?” Continue reading
During Day 01 and Day 02 of our road trip across Japan, it rained constantly. On the morning of Day 03, the weather finally broke. As the clouds departed to the north, we were headed south, and that meant nothing but increasingly clear skies and sunny weather from here on out. Our goal for today was to take the Isuzu 117 Coupé from Matsue City on the northern end of Shimane Prefecture to Shimonoseki, the southernmost city of Japan’s main landmass. Continue reading
Five years ago, waves from the devastating tsunami that struck Japan’s eastern coast swept Masayuki Watanabe’s 1971 Toyota Corolla from its garage. Today, he got that car back. Continue reading
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the twin disasters — a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and devastating tsunami — that struck Japan off the coast of Tohoku in 2011. In remembrance, we are re-running a series of stories that relate to the event’s aftermath. This article was originally published on October 23, 2012.
In Part 01 of our Grand Tour through Japan’s Tohoku region we headed north from Tokyo, past tsunami-devastated villages and deep into Aomori Prefecture. Normally on such trips the nostalgics we encounter are the most beloved — Skylines, rear-drive Corollas, Honda S-cars — but this time we’d been pleased to cross paths with machines less often seen. We pick up Part 02 as we trace Mutsu Bay on the northernmost tip of Honshu, Japan’s main island. Continue reading
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the twin disasters — a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and devastating tsunami — that struck Japan off the coast of Tohoku in 2011. In remembrance, we are re-running a series of stories that relate to event’s aftermath. Another version of this article was published on July 9, 2015. Here it is with minor updates.
The story of how Subaru became masters of AWD is one of pure chance. In 1969, Tohoku Electric Power Co., northeast Japan’s power company, was looking for vehicles to replace their fleet of Land Cruisers (in some versions of this story, the vehicle is described as a “jeep-like” truck, which could refer to a Mitsubishi JH). Employees often had to venture into rugged and snowy terrain to repair power lines. The trucks were deemed too uncomfortable and inefficient, especially in winters, when their canvas tops would let cold air in. Continue reading
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the twin disasters — a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and devastating tsunami — that struck Japan off the coast of Tohoku in 2011. In remembrance, we are re-running a series of stories that relate to the event’s aftermath. This article was originally published on October 17, 2012.
For the last year or more, most of our visits to Tohoku have been single minded – helping with the recovery efforts. This trip was a chance to relax, tour the glorious countryside, meet people and, of course, capture some glimpses of nostalgic cars in the wild. For this we traveled northward from Tokyo as far as possible, all the way to the Aomori coast on the northernmost tip of Honshu. Continue reading
In a video titled Honda Kokoro (Honda Heart), a collector welcomes viewers into his incredible collection of Honda memorabilia. If the wall of valve covers didn’t clue you in already, it is a collection of epic proportions, from bikes to Hot Wheels, generators to Honda-branded gym socks. Lance isn’t just an otaku, though. He works for the company as well. Continue reading
With the prices of the most popular models entering unattainable status for a lot of younger JNCers, we felt it necessary to highlight some painfully overlooked — often for no good reason at all — yet still affordable (for now) nostalgics. Consider the following: The CA Honda Accord. Continue reading
Here’s a video, perhaps in the same grade-school documentary series as the one about Japanese industry in the 1970s. It has no cars, but you can still learn a thing or two. In particular, there’s a scene showing a family-owned sewing business (6:19 in the video below the fold). In the small home, a family might live in one room, while a “factory” occupied another. It is difficult to describe the scale of such an operation without visuals. Continue reading
Perhaps unbeknownst to most Americans, the Philippines has an incredibly strong tradition of classic car enthusiasm, especially with Nihon steel. Due to the nation’s proximity to Japan, it was one of the early export markets and received many models that would be popular with JNCers today. The Old Schoolers East are a club composed of owners from the eastern side of Metro Manila who are into vintage cars, mostly ones that were common in the capital city during the 70s and 80s. Continue reading
A life-size Gundam robot towers above the trees. Giant windowless shopping centers operate like small cities. In this snapshot of a hyper-futuristic metropolis floating on a man-made island in Tokyo Bay, tradition comes in the form of a parking lot teeming with zokusha. This is Japan. Continue reading
The video you’re about to watch is what American schoolchildren were taught about Japan in the 1970s. Throughout it all, there are brilliant scenes of Showa Era Japanese streets and the cars that populate them. Continue reading
One of the greatest things about owning a JNCs is its reliability. Think that’s boring? Well, while macchine nostalgico Italiano owners are leaking vital fluids, Deutsch nostalgischen auto owners are trying to figure out why you need to remove the transmission to change a bulb, and British reminiscing motorcar owners are studying for Master’s degrees in electrical engineering, JNC owners are out there driving their cars. We’re so cocky, we sometimes even willfully abuse our cars, knowing they’ll just roll with the punches.
What’s your best tale of JNC indestructibility?
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 once-common car has suddenly disappeared?” Continue reading
In Part 01 of our once-in-a-lifetime road trip, we set out from Nagoya and headed to Maizuru City via Lake Biwa. Our car was an Isuzu fresh off of a head gasket change, and while Day Two was yet another day of pure rain, a quick look at the weather radar showed it’d be the last foreseeable shower for a while. Regardless, we weren’t going to let our spirits be dampened by dampness! So we hopped back in the 117 and hit the road again, out of Maizuru, sticking to Japan’s northern coastline. Continue reading
It’s been said a thousand times: Group B race cars are among the most iconic, exciting, and outrageous in motorsport history, tearing through dirt or tarmac in outlandish style and manner. However, fans of Japanese sports cars may feel a bit shortchanged by this legendary era, as few Group B racers were homologated from the land of rising sun. The most famous example may be the Nissan 240RS, based on the S110 Silvia. Keen JNCers might also point out that there existed a Group B Mazda RX-7. And now, you can have one such example (sort of) in metaphorical exchange for your kidney. Continue reading
