Have chrome-bumpered bullies been making you feel bad that your urethane-capped car isn’t truly a classic? Tell them to take a chill pill. Now that 1990 is the 25-year cutoff, everything that was built in the Eighties is officially a classic. Continue reading
Mazda is set to unveil a new sports car concept at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show next month. That in itself is already cause to celebrate, but Mazda has gone on to state that this will be a heritage model. Sources from within the company have assured us that JNC readers will not be disappointed. Could it be a return of the rotary? Here’s what we can tell you so far. Continue reading
The march of AE86s coming out of the woodwork continues. Now what could very well be the lowest-mileage Toyota Corolla GT-S left in the world has surfaced in Waxhaw, North Carolina. With just 14,500 miles on the clock, this USDM version of the famed AE86 could very well be the holy grail for the right Hachiroku fiend. Continue reading
In Japan, shakotan is simply means a lowered car. Many different styles of car can technically qualify as shakotan, but if we’re going to steal a traditional Japanese term, we might as well apply it to traditional Japanese cars. You know it when you see it — small-diameter wheels, limited use of body kits, and steel instead of composite fiber. Can you dig it? Continue reading
The piston engine’d version of the Mazda RX-4 was called the Luce in Japan and the 929 elsewhere in the world. Happy 9/29 Day!
Talk about time travel. What were you doing in 1989? In Japan, car enthusiasts were lining up at Hakone Nanamagari Touge like it was a playground slide. A notoriously twisty section of mountain road, it is part of the most famous of Japan’s touge, the birthplaces of drifting. And man, it’s a scene! Continue reading
A very limited Hot Wheels Toyota 2000GT will go on sale this Tuesday (ie, tomorrow). Wearing the livery of the Carroll Shelby SCCA race car driven by Scooter Patrick, it’s the latest offering from the official Hot Wheels Red Line Club for collectors, and it’s limited to just 3,000 pieces.
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Time travel is real, but it only goes to one point on the space-time continuum: Showa Era Japan. For some reason, you have a briefcase full of 1960s-era yen in large bills. You also know of a remote garage in rural Japan that will be undisturbed for 60 years because, well, you’re from the future.
What JNC would you get if you had a time machine?
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 sighting will you remember forever?” Continue reading
No one that walked through the Japanese Classic Car Show last weekend could have missed the astounding collection of half a dozen classic rotaries parked on the Queen Mary lawn. Each one was more pristine than the next, as if we had jumped a few decades back in time only to land in a Mazda showroom. Turns out, the cars belong to Abel and Elvis Ibarra, brothers who built a legendary rotary racing empire. Continue reading
As it embarks on its second decade, the 2015 Japanese Classic Car Show has become a must-attend event, not just for J-tin owners or readers of this fine site, but car enthusiasts everywhere. Nowhere in America will you see a wider array of cars from the Japanese domestic market never sold in the US, the subject of our first installment. Continue reading
This decrepit looking Honda N600 was one of the most important cars at the Japanese Classic Car Show last weekend. Why? Because it is the very first Honda automobile built for the US. That’s right, this faded lime green hatch barely larger than a picnic basket is the one that blazed the trail for all your beloved Civics, Integras, and NSXes. Continue reading
Think back a little…or a lot, what were you doing in high school? Going to band camp? Studying for the SAT? Slacking off? Or maybe restoring a Mazda Cosmo Sport? …wait what?! Turns out, if you were one of the eight lucky students at Hiroshima Technical High School, that’s exactly what you did this summer. Continue reading
Honda is back with another incredible commercial showcasing the breadth and history of their products. This time, the painstakingly crafted spot uses nothing but sheets of paper and hours of stop-motion animation to create a moving timeline. Continue reading
As a die-hard car nut, you may not remember how many kids your boss has, your first kiss, or even your birthday, but you can sure as hell remember every vivid detail about the millisecond you laid eyes on a mind-blowingly awesome JNC. I, for example, will have that time in 2003 when I saw a black S30 Z just cold chillin’ with a VIP Cima in a Tokyo parking lot seared into my brain for the rest of my life. We witnessed that very moment in the wide-eyed faces of so many JCCS spectators this weekend — and on innocent bystanders during a post-show photo shoot in Long Beach with a couple of very cool Skylines. As we process hundreds of photos from this weekend’s festivities, we ask you:
Which JNC sighting will you remember forever?
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, “How can Nissan save the Z?” Continue reading
You’ve asked for it. You’ve demanded it. You’ve even threatened to pick up pitchforks for it. Well, here it is! We are very, very excited to give you the first sneak peek at the next Hot Wheels to wear the JNC inkan, the Mazda RX-3! Continue reading
One last JCCS preview before the big show. Here’s a sneak peek at the next big Hot Wheels JNC. What is it? You’ll have to come by the JNC booth tomorrow at the Japanese Classic Car Show. If you can’t make it, check back here at 9:00am Pacific Time on Saturday, September 19. Any guesses?
We are proud to debut our first poster collaboration with Japanese artist San Mamiya at this Saturday’s Japanese Classic Car Show. Titled Fuji Speedway, it is an easter egg-filled tribute to the golden era of Japanese motorsports, Showa Era pop culture, and, yes, even the iconic JNC inkan’ed Hot Wheels. Continue reading
Before 2015 is over, we’re going to have one last blast with the Hot Wheels Datsun 510 Wagon. Once again, it is predicted to be a highly sought-after model, especially since it will be a KDay exclusive. However, we just received our samples from the factory so here are the details. Continue reading
Man, those guys at Nissan really know how to cut it close. Here are two cars they shipped over from the Zama warehouse in Japan for this Saturday’s JCCS, and they just arrived today. Continue reading
With winter fast approaching for the majority of the country and the fall onslaught of video game releases on its way, we felt that it is high time that we feature some of the best in home console games to feature JNCs. With the popularity of classic Japanese cars fast growing in the meatworld car community, it is now being reflected more than ever in the game market. Continue reading
