Japanese Nostalgic Car

QotW: What car would you import from Japan?

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Ben Hsu

For the last QotW, we asked what you’d do if you had a single day in Japan. Not surprisingly, many of you said you’d get a car to drive around in. Well, what if you could then take that car home with you? For the purposes of this exercise, let’s assume the car would be legal to register in your home country (so for Americans, it would have to be 25 years or older).

What car would you import from Japan?

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 would you do with 24 hours in Japan?” Continue reading →

Posted in Question of the Week | Tagged QotW | 64 Comments

SAN MAMIYA’S CORNER: My Fairlady Z

Posted on October 23, 2015 by San Mamiya

My Fairlady Z is the second San Mamiya X JNC illustration, following Fuji Speedway, which was released at JCCS. The latest illustration takes a journey through the history of Japanese tuning via the life of one model that was loved by all, the S30 Z. Continue reading →

Posted in San Mamiya's Corner | Tagged 240z, datsun, fairlady z, Gripz, nissan, s30 z, San Mamiya | 9 Comments

TBT: HKS M300 Toyota Celica XX

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Ben Hsu

In 1983 HKS achieved the long-held dream of building the first car in Japan to surpass the magical 300 kph barrier. The HKS M300 was purpose built for that very task, and the proof is right there in its aspirational name. Continue reading →

Posted in Bubble Era | Tagged Bubble Era, celica xx, hks, supra, Yatabe Test Circuit | 4 Comments

EVENTS: 2015 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 08 — Editors’ Choice

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Ben Hsu

As is tradition, each year we conclude our JCCS coverage with list of our favorites, and each year it gets harder and harder to choose. I asked the JNC staff to each pick the two cars that they liked the most, and provide a short description why. Here’s what we came up with.
Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 240z, 521, 710, bre, c10, datsun, fc3s, Hakosuka, japanese classic car show, JCCS 2015, lancer, leone, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, rx-4, rx-7, s30 z, sambar, skyline, subaru, subaru gl, violet | 11 Comments

MINICARS: NY, LA and Dallas — Go get your Back to the Future diecast Toyotas now!

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Ricky Silverio

For Back to the Future Day, Toyota has set up three pop-ups across the country featuring a Tacoma tribute of Marty’s 1985 Toyota SR5. The cars are displayed in a life-size toy box because, well, Toyota is also quietly giving away diecast cars of the very truck! There was no fanfare or official announcement; the toys just popped up on social media, and they will only be available TODAY. Continue reading →

Posted in minicars | Tagged back to the future, minicars, tacoma, toyota | 4 Comments

VIDEO: It’s October 21, 2015, Welcome Back to the Future

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Ben Hsu

Put on your self-tying sneakers and get on your hoverboards, because the future is here. Today, October 21, 2015, is the day Marty McFly time traveled to in Back to the Future II, and Toyota is using the opportunity to fully reveal the video they teased last week. Continue reading →

Posted in Video | Tagged back to the future, hilux, tacoma, toyota | 25 Comments

PRODUCT GUIDE: Rocket Bunny Pandem S30 Z kit

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Ben Hsu

Rocket Bunny has released a new kit for the S30 Z. The Pandem kit takes the widebody look that head honcho Kei Miura is known for and applies it to the OG Japanese sports car. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 240z, datsun, fairlady z, Kei Miura, nissan, Rocket Bunny, s30 z, TRA Kyoto | 20 Comments

EVENTS: 2015 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 07 — Motorcycles

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Ben Hsu

As we near the end of our JCCS coverage, we arrive at a subject we rarely cover on JNC, but we love two-wheelers just as much as four. In Japan, however, the ratio of motocycles to automobiles is far greater than in the US, and is really a core part of the motoring culture. While we celebrate the cars, we can’t forget about the bikes. Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged cb750, FZR 1000, honda, japanese classic car show, JCCS 2015, motorcycles, motra, SuperCub, superhawk, yamaha | 5 Comments

PRODUCT GUIDE: Tomei Expreme Ti AE86 exhaust

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Ryan Senensky

It is a rare occasion that a chassis is popular enough to get a newly developed exhaust system nearly 30 years after the car was discontinued. However, due to the overwhelming popularity of the AE86 platform, Tomei has announced the release their newest addition to their Expreme Ti lineup and are currently in pre-order stages until December 10th. Continue reading →

Posted in Product Guide | Tagged ae86, corolla, levin, Product Guide, sprinter, tomei, toyota, trueno | 12 Comments

QotW: What would you do with 24 hours in Japan?

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Ben Hsu

For some reason your flight to O’Hare was diverted to Tokyo instead. You have one day see the one shop, buy the one part, or drive the one car you’ve always dreamed of before you have to fly back across the Pacific.

What would you do with 24 hours in Japan?

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 was the last great golden era Japanese car?” Continue reading →

Posted in Question of the Week | Tagged QotW, Question of the Week | 38 Comments

Street Neo Classics Preview: Limited Edition Made in the 80s Shirts

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Ben Hsu

Join us this Sunday at Toyota headquarters for the Street Neo Classics 80s & 90s show. We’ve made a limited edition run of our Made in the 80s shirt to debut at the show. It will be available in the JNC Shop afterwards if there are any left. See you there!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

VIDEO: Toyota announcement coming on Back to the Future‘s October 21, 2015

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Ben Hsu

October 21, 2015 was the date Marty McFly flew to in Back to the Future II, the date we were supposed to have things like hoverboards and Mr Fusion engines. And while the film’s hero may have done all his time traveling in a DeLorean, his dream car was a black 1985 Toyota Hilux 4×4. To celebrate this landmark date, Toyota is preparing something special. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged back to the future, hilux, Mirai, toyota | 10 Comments

MINICARS: 2016 Hot Wheels list announced

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Ricky Silverio

Mattel has announced the list of 2016 Hot Wheels. Among them are a few new castings that may be of interest to JNC readers. We already know about the Nissan Fairlady Z modeled after designer Jun Imai’s real car and the Custom Acura Integra designed by Ryu Asada (come meet him at the JNC booth at the Street Neo Classics show this Sunday!). But now we know there will be a 2016 Acura NSX (to go along with the 1990 NSX with similar colorways in a “Then & Now” pairing) and, excitingly enough, a Honda Monkey! Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged honda, hot wheels, monkey | 6 Comments

25 YEAR CLUB: Mitsubishi GTO

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Kevin San

If you had to rank the social pecking order of JDM performance cars, then the Skyline GT-R would be the king. No matter what marque you favor, it’s hard to argue against the decades of motorsport glory and performance folklore that surrounds Nissan’s finest product. After that, you might have the RX-7 with its seductive curves and turbo rotary cool, and of course the Supra is covered in Paul Walker fairy dust and 2JZ engine mythos. Nissan also has the Z, still such an evocative nameplate even today, especially in Japan. Subaru? Well those guys are steeped in rally lore and so is Mitsubishi with its Lancer Evolution, all sideways and airborne through a Finnish forest somewhere. And that’s it, isn’t it? Continue reading →

Posted in 25 Year Club | Tagged 25 Year Club, 3000GT, Dodge Stealth, gto, mitsubishi | 50 Comments

EVENTS: 2015 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 06 — Road & Race

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Ben Hsu

The last installment of our JCCS coverage was a homage to bone stock beauts, but a huge contributor to the popularity of Japanese cars has always been their tunability. Here are the JCCS cars that were built for street and circuit, not preservation. Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 240z, 280zx, 300zx, 510, 710, a20, b110, b210, bluebird, celica, corona, cressida, crown, daruma, datsun, datsun 1200, e20, e30, e70, fairlady z, fb, japanese classic car show, JCCS 2015, mazda, nissan, rx-2, rx-3, rx-3 sp, rx-7, s30 z, s50, sa22, sr20, sunny, t80, te27, toyota, violet, x30, z32 | 8 Comments

VIDEO: Sung Kang’s Datsun 240Z Dream Build

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Ben Hsu

Sung Kang is perhaps best known for his role as Han in the Fast & Furious movies. Like his character in the films Sung is a car guy as well, and is currently building a Datsun 240Z with the help of Trust/GReddy that will debut at SEMA in November. Here’s a little preview of the car and the story behind it. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 240z, datsun, greddy, s30 z, Sung Kang, Trust | 5 Comments

Street Neo Classics Preview: Meet Hot Wheels designer Ryu Asada at the JNC booth this Sunday

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Ben Hsu

This Sunday marks the inaugural Street Neo Classics show, an event for 80s and 90s Japanese cars, brought to you by the people who created JCCS. We at JNC will of course have a booth there, and joining us to sign autographs will be none other than Hot Wheels designer Ryu Asada. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged hot wheels, Street Neo Classics | Leave a comment

NEWS: Toyota S-FR specs leaked?

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Ricky Silverio

When Toyota dropped photos of its upcoming Toyota’s S-FR concept, many thought it looked suspiciously production ready. As it turns out, it may be even closer than we thought. As it turns out, it has very specific specifications, and they have been leaked. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged S-FR Concept, sports 800, tokyo motor show, toyota | 30 Comments

VIDEO: A Fairlady Z for future generations

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Ben Hsu

We’ve admired Glenn Chiou’s Nissan Fairlady Z ever since the moment we laid eyes on it at the 2012 Bayline Gathering. Over the years, we’ve seen it progress into what is quite possibly one of our favorite S30 Z builds in the states. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 240z, datsun, fairlady z, nissan, Petrolicious, s30 z | 7 Comments

PRODUCT GUIDE: Trust Racing exhaust manifolds for S30 Zs and Kenmeri Skylines

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Dan Hsu

Established in 1977, Trust is an institution in the Japanese tuning world. They produce a line of high-quality exhaust manifolds for the S30 Z and L-series-equipped kenmeri Skyline, but until now those have never been officially offered in the US. Continue reading →

Posted in Product Guide | Tagged 240z, 260z, 280z, datsun, fairlady z, nissan, s30 z, Trust | 1 Comment