Toyota UK is featuring a series of Toyota Stories, tales of classic old Aichi steel that have served their owners for decades in areas so remote that the rural dialects of English they speak might as well be Japanese. Continue reading
EVENTS: Cars & Coffee Nashville, a tribute to Mr K
As most of you know, Nissan USA’s headquarters is located in Nashville, Tennessee. This past Sunday the local Cars & Coffee event, held near the main offices, was a tribute to a man pivotal in building Nissan’s American presence, Yutaka Katayama, the former president of Nissan USA who passed away earlier this year at the age of 105. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 240z, 260z, 280z, Cars & Coffee, datsun, fairlady z, mr k, nissan, s130, s30, yutaka katayama, z31, z32
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VIDEO: JNC on After/DRIVE
Like a half-finished Datsun B210 project bringing down the property value of an otherwise respectable neighborhood, I made an appearance on After/DRIVE last week. JNC was in town for the New York Auto Show, and it was a great honor to be invited onto the program by Mike Spinelli, esteemed Jalopnik editor and distinguished Toyota MR2 Spyder owner whose writing I have admired for years. If you’re interested in watching me blab about old Japanese cars for 25 minutes, or simply have a severe case of insomnia that needs curing, check out the video below. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 2000gt, 510, ae86, c10, celica, civic, corolla, corolla levin, cosmo sport, datsun, Hakosuka, honda, mazda, nissan, prince, rx-2, rx-3, skyline, sprinter, sprinter trueno, toyota
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Welcome, new readers, to Japanese Nostalgic Car!
If you arrived at our little corner of the web via coverage of the Touge California, welcome! Founded in 2006, JNC is the first publication in the US devoted to the world of classic Japanese autos. We’re excited to have you as part of our growing community. Continue reading
Posted in jnc
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QotW: What’s the sportiest Japanese nostalgic sedan?
Last week Nissan announced it was bringing back the 4DSC moniker for the new Maxima. Japan, however, has been making 4-door sports cars from the Prince Skyline to the Lancer Evo.
What’s the sportiest Japanese nostalgic sedan?
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 JNC for NYC?” Continue reading
MINICARS: Hot Wheels X JNC Datsun 240Z, now in white
We are very proud to announce the latest Hot Wheels car to have the JNC inkan. The Datsun 240Z will soon be available in its second color this year, white with red and blue stripes, gunmetal wheels and gray interior. Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? All-original 1973 Toyota Corolla TE27
Up for sale in the San Gabriel Valley outside Los Angeles is a 1973 Toyota Corolla Deluxe Coupe that looks as about as original as one can be. It has a claimed 68,000 miles on a 5-digit odometer, but the lack of tears in the original vinyl seats would seem to back up that claim. Continue reading
BACK ROADS: 1965 Datsun Baby
Nissan Motor Corporation has just announced the restoration of a piece of their history. Nissan built only 100 units of the two-seater coupe, which featured four-wheel independent suspension and front double wishbones back in 1965, making it rarer than a Kenmeri GT-R. Oh, did we mention it was built specifically for children to drive? It was called the Datsun Baby, and if you were a kid in 1965, that would pretty much make it the coolest car ever built. Continue reading
NEWS: 2016 Nissan Maxima resurrects the 4DSC
Peer closely into the boomerang headlights of the 2016 Nissan Maxima and you will notice an small easter egg: 4DSC. It’s a callback to the now nostalgic 1988-94 Maxima and its subtle window sticker that told the world it was no ordinary sedan; it was a “4-Door Sports Car.” Continue reading
NEWS: Subaru BRZ STI Concept
Ever since the debut of the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86/Scion FR-S, people have been positively begging for a steroid-injected version. The best hope for a pumped up version of the joint Toyota-Subaru neo-hachiroku seemed to lie with Subaru’s boxer engineers, specifically STI, who could turbocharge the bejeezus out of the EJ20 motor and create a hairpin destroying weapon. Well, Fuji Heavy’s performance division has gone and done just that, and that car was just unveiled at the New York Auto Show. Continue reading
NEWS: The Return of the 4DSC
This is no April Fools joke. JNC is at the New York Auto Show, going on now, and while the 2016 Maxima hasn’t been unveiled yet Nissan’s designers did lift its skirt to give us an exclusive peek at the headlight. Notice anything? Those who owned or aspired to a 1988-94 Maxima back in the day will remember the “4DSC,” or 4-Door Sports Car moniker. The Maxima has grown a lot in the 28 years since, but Nissan is trying to bring back a lighter, sportier version of its top sedan. Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? Datsun 510 sells for $247,000
The past twelve months have seen astounding prices for Japanese cars at auction, but perhaps none were as astounding as a bone stock Datsun 510 that sold recently at the Raeford Concours D’Elegance for $247,000, including the auction house’s 10 percent fees and commission. That price in itself for any 510 would have been astounding enough, but the fact that it was a 1977 Datsun 510 is positively brain-melting. Continue reading
Posted in for sale
Tagged 510, a10, april fools, bluebird, datsun, nissan, stanza, violet
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KIDNEY, ANYONE? Super Clean 1987 Honda Prelude Si
Featured here is a 1987 Honda Prelude Si located in Thomasville, North Carolina, currently for sale from it’s third owner who bought it originally from an estate sale. It hasn’t lived a hermetically sealed life, but for the unloved second-gen Prelude it is still an extraordinarily clean example. Continue reading
REMINDER: Red Line Club BRE Datsun 240Z on sale today
That mystery car on the Hot Wheels Collectors website a couple of weeks ago? It is indeed the BRE Datsun 240Z, and it goes on sale today at 9am Pacific Time. Just head over to the Hot Wheels Collectors website and place your order today if you are a Red Line Club member. If not, you need to wait 24 hours. UPDATE: The car was reported sold out in under 6 minutes. A year and a half ago, the BRE Datsun 510 sold out in a little under two hours despite a smaller run of 3,000. The 240Z had 4,500 units produced.
MINICARS: 2015 Hot Wheels Nissan 180SX Type X
S13 fans rejoice! The 2015 Hot Wheels lineup will now include a 1996 Nissan 180SX Type X! Now you can act out your drift fantasies in 1:64 scale. Continue reading
QotW: What’s the best JNC for NYC?
JNC is in NYC this week for the New York International Auto Show. If you want to follow along, check us out on Facebook and Instagram. While in the Big Apple, we’ve come to wonder:
What’s the best JNC for NYC?
New York is a terribly inhospitable environment for cars. There are maniacal cabbies, suicidal pedestrians, and potholes large enough to swallow an off-brand Elmo costume. Add to that traffic, endless roadwork, and approximately 12 parking spaces for a population of 8.4 million, and you almost want to give up driving altogether. Almost. For the die-hard driver, there’s the Honda City. It’s easy to park, has that awesome 1980s Honda visibility for zipping between taxis, and is available in a peppy turbo version. Plus, it comes with its own foldable motorbike that you can deploy in seconds to make you the envy of every hipster in Brooklyn.
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 springtime JNC ritual?” Continue reading
EVENTS: Tokyo Bayside Classic Cup season closer
One of the great things about owning a classic car in Tokyo is that you can find a car club revolving around almost any make and model you desire. Soon you’re welcomed into the fold with typical Japanese hospitality, and as a result of my recent purchase of my Sunako blue GT-B, I was invited by the head of the Prince Skyline GT A&B club to come out for an event at Sodegaura Forest Raceway with four other members. Continue reading
GALLERIES: Nissan Yokohama Headquarters, 2015
It’s been a little over a year since we had the chance to visit Nissan’s Yokohama headquarters. The relatively new glass and steel tower was opened in 2009, replacing the long-standing Ginza HQ in the heart of Tokyo. While, like most automaker showrooms in Japan, the main focus is on newer cars, Nissan does a fairly good job of putting its history on display. Continue reading
JNC THEATER: 5000km to Glory
Earlier this year the full 2 hour, 54 minute uncut version of 5000km to Glory was aired on Japanese TV for the first time. The 1969 film, an octane-filled tale of motorsports, honor, and heroic driving was tops at the Japanese box office the year of its release. Most astoundingly, a central plot point revolved around a Datsun 510 winning the Safari Rally a year before it actually happened at the 1970 running of the event. Continue reading
Posted in JNC Theater
Tagged 5000km to Glory, 510, bluebird, datsun, japan grand prix, masahiro hasemi, Monte Carlo Rally, moto kitano, nissan, r381, safari rally, takahashi kunimitsu, Yujiro Ishihara
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MOTORSPORT: Mr K and the rise of Nissan racing
Yutaka Katayama, who passed away last month, was unlike most executives. There was more than just spreadsheets and sales statistics to him; he was a true motoring enthusiast. Although this is exactly the type of automotive executive enthusiasts in the outside world clamor for incessantly, he nevertheless had to prove himself continuously. Continue reading
