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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
Spring is here, and for much of the world it’s time to take your JNC out of storage, finish up your winter project, or go for the year’s first drive.
What’s your springtime JNC ritual?
Well, if you live in SoCal, the answer is simple: act like it’s any other day of the year. In fact, you soon start digging up our window shades and searching for shaded parking because the California sun that The Rivieras sang so fondly of gives us 90 degree days in March and quickly makes JNC interiors crumblier than corn flakes.
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, “When is it okay to stance?” Continue reading
In recognition of Honda’s return to Formula 1, the regular Sunday Morning Cruise in Daikanyama, Tokyo recently extended an invitation to “all Honda and other classic Japanese cars.” There was little excuse not to take the S800 out for an early morning run… except perhaps for the forecast of near zero degrees and rain. Continue reading
Located beneath a wind tunnel at Toyota Motorposrt GmbH in Koln, Germany is a warehouse of cars worth far more than their weight in gold. From a WRC Celica GT-4 in Castrol livery to the sole GT-One road car, it’s a Gran Turismo player’s dream garage. Continue reading
A mysterious ad for what is claimed to be the first Toyota 2000GT has been making the rounds in Japan (and beyond) recently. The serial number on the car is claimed to be MF10-10001, and if that is the case it would certainly seem to indicate that it’s the earliest one built. Multiple JNC readers have sent us this auction tip, but I’ve resisted publishing something about it until now because the story doesn’t quite add up. It took a team of six JNC writers to figure it all out, but we think we finally have the mystery sorted. Sort of. Continue reading
