The Chicago Auto Show kicks off today. The nation’s oldest car show, it has faded from prominence in recent years, but here’s a look back at what Japan was up to during its 80s heyday. Helpfully, the Chicago Auto Show has uploaded a bunch of old footage onto its Youtube channel. Here are the highlights below. Continue reading
A 1970 Nissan Fairlady Z432 is going up for bidding at the RM Amelia Island auctions next month. JNCers know the drill: its namesake 4 valves per cylinder, 3 carbs, and 2 cams stems from the S20 straight six sourced from the Skyline GT-R of the same era. It cost double the amount of a standard Fairlady Z when new, is exceedingly rare, and was never exported for sale. Continue reading
Japan has been the source of some truly extreme car cultures. Sadly, a “custom car” was the type of vehicle deemed most unseemly by Japanese women in a recent survey. No matter. Despite a western eye that cherry picks the only the most severe modification trends, many Japanese owners do in fact choose to keep their cars stock. Continue reading
In Part 01 of our New Year Meeting coverage, we looked at the early days of Japan’s infatuation with sizzling Sixties sports cars. In Part 02, we look at the Disco Decade’s explosion of new sports coupes and sports sedans. Continue reading
Holy crap, the curmudgeons really came out in last week’s QotW responses. Well, we asked for it. This week, however, we’ll take a more positive spin.
Which Japanese automaker has stayed truest to its roots?
We’re going to risk the wrath of thousands of Mazdafarians breaking down our doors with sharpened eccentric shafts by saying that it’s the little automaker that could from Hiroshima. Sure, the magnificent 7 is no longer in production, nor is its revolutionary centerpiece engine, but everything we know about the new MX-5 says that it’s so pure, so true to the original without being a thoughtlessly bloated counterfeit that it gives us hope for the automotive industry as a whole. If it’s a hairdresser’s car, then call us Zohan.
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 Japanese automaker is furthest from its roots?” Continue reading
The Japanese Classic Car Association is one of the nation’s largest organizations for old car enthusiasts. Each year, the New Year Meeting show draws thousands. This year’s event took place on Sunday, January 26 from 9-4 in the Aomi Parking Area in Odaiba, Tokyo. In Part 01, we’ll look at the Sixties Sports that kickstarted Japan’s fascination for enthusiast automobiles. Continue reading
How awesome is this? A Toyota 2000GT wrapped on the side of a train. Of course, it is in Japan and the train is the Linimo, a mag-lev train in Aichi Prefecture. Japanese rail companies often create limited-time decorations for their trains, but this is perhaps the coolest one yet. Here’s more than you ever wanted to know about it. Continue reading
Today we are sharing an amazing story from Dutch forum member Marv666, who owns a 1983 Mitsubishi Galant GLX. Because of its condition, Marv666 was asked to participate in this event celebrating 40 years of Mitsubishi Netherlands, a older official presence history than the company has in the US. We’ll let him take it from here.
I got the question to show some pictures of the Mitsubishi Classic Cars Tour that is currently happening in the Netherlands. This Classic Cars Tour is a celebration of 40 years of Mitsubishi in the Netherlands. With this tour, a number of classic Mitsubishis is shown at a number of different dealership showrooms across the Netherlands. Continue reading
Speeding tickets. It’s like a tax on driving. You never know when you’ll be plucked by laser for the Shirley Jackson lottery. Once in a blue moon, however, you completely luck the eff out and get pulled over by the coolest traffic cop in the world. This is exactly what happened to a young Mazdafarian riding dirty in a heavily modified RX-3 in New Zealand. Watch the unbelievable video below. Continue reading
Sometimes you have a great history and come to the table with some big wins already under your belt. Then you make a bad decision, miss the goal by one yard, and ruin everything you’ve worked for, leaving legions of hopeful fans bitterly disappointed.
Which Japanese automaker is furthest from its roots?
Subaru achieved record sales this year, but some argue that their *cough* legacy models have become too mainstream. Honda is still going strong, but their lineup lacks the sharp driving dynamics and intuitive designs. Isuzu was the first to offer a factory-souped street racer, but now all they make are heavy duty trucks.
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 strangest JNC sighting you’ve encountered?” Continue reading
We can probably all agree that there’s nothing cooler than an old Japanese wagon. With that in mind, we’re proud to announce the next Hot Wheels car to bear the JNC inkan is, once again, the 1:64 scale representation of designer Jun Imai’s Datsun 510 Wagon. Continue reading
The Motorweek archives continues to entertain with another star of the 1980s, the Toyota Cressida. Before it was rediscovered in recent years by those with drift sedan or zokusha aspirations, the X70 Cressy was nearly entirely forgotten by much of the automotive world. It’s hard to picture what the reaction to the car was in context of its era, but luckily the remarkably tepid PBS car show has the 80s everyman take ready to go. Continue reading
Originally released in 1964, “The Auto Show Song” was composed by famed Japanese songwriter Tetsuro Hoshino and performed by action movie star/singer Akira Kobayashi (there are a lot of crossover entertainers in Japan). It was an old standard of the Showa Era, and sounded off popular cars of the era. Continue reading
Today’s Kidney Car is a sad one, because it belongs to our dear friend Bart Wilkus, JNC contributor and master of all things Isuzu.
How does one even begin to write a “Kidney, Anyone?” for their own car? I guess I’ll start by stating the honest truth: I don’t want to sell my Impulse. I don’t even need to sell my Impulse. But time is short, money is hard earned, and space is at a premium. Such is life I guess, and we all have to make sacrifices from time to time. So here it is. Continue reading
As Nissan designer Ken Lee put it, part of the fun with old Japanese cars is that you have to be in the know to recognize the gem that’s hiding in plain sight. The preponderance of interesting background cars in You’re Under Arrest has led us to think about how amped we get when we see a JNC where it doesn’t belong, ignored by the masses but acting as a dog whistle for people who read this site.
What’s the strangest JNC sighting you’ve encountered?
Many moons ago, there was a show called World’s Wildest Police Videos. It’s goal was to repeatedly caution viewers about the vehicular dangers caused by criminals fleeing from the law, all while gleefully showing you the Hollywood style carnage caused by said criminals. It was America’s Funniest Home Videos but with worse narration. Periodically, the unnecessarily intense host would stand in front of a staged accident, showing you what would happen if you were foolish enough to engage cops in a car chase. Most of the cars used in these faked accident scenes, complete with flashing reds and blues, were junkers arranged like Hot Wheels cars, but one day, lo and behold, there was a bone stock Corolla GT-S flipped on its roof. To the producers, it was just an old Corolla; to AE86 fans, it was a travesty.
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 greatest nostalgic Subaru?” Continue reading
Forget Initial D or Wangan Midnight. Kousuke Fujishima’s You’re Under Arrest (Taiho Shichauzo), is among the best car-themed anime out there. Featuring a pair of Tokyo Traffic cops, Miyuki and Natsumi, who patrol the streets of Bokuto Precinct in a Honda Today with a Motocompo folding motorcycle in the boot, every episode is crammed with awesome cars, plenty of bikes, and all but a handful of episodes feature a car chase. Continue reading
The new Acura NSX will retail for approximately $150,000. If that’s too rich for your blood, we spotted this scale model tucked away in a corner of the Acura booth at the Detroit Motor Show. It will, according to the company, become available when the car does, along with some other accessories like wallets and keychains. Continue reading
A generations-old way of life is about to go extinct. The Daghwah fishermen on the shores of the Persian Gulf haul tons of fish to shore by casting massive nets each morning. Dragging them to shore and carrying them to market are their old workhorses, Toyota Land Cruisers slowly disintegrating from constant contact with saltwater. Continue reading
Michelle Christensen was responsible for the form gracing the second-generation NSX unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show, and is the first woman to hold the exterior designer position at Acura. With the original NSX passing the threshold into classic status this year and an all-out legend in the hearts of many enthusiasts, the job of styling Honda’s next supercar would be a tough act to follow. Here’s what she had to say about the job. Continue reading
The JNC Shop is back up and has a new URL. Thanks for being patient as we upgraded it. The downtime was longer than we expected but this will make the experience better as time goes on. You can make your orders via Credit Card or Paypal.
