MINICARS: 2015 Hot Wheels Heritage line loaded with nostalgic Nissans

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Ricky Silverio

2015 Hot Wheels Heritage line Datsun Bluebird 510

When we called 2014 the Year of the JNC, one of our arguments was that Hot Wheels was using every Japanese nostalgic casting in their lineup for that year. This was the personal goal of the godfather of JNC Hot Wheels, Jun Imai, but extenuating circumstances at the retail end prevented that dream from being fully realized. Popular classics like the Datsun 510 and 240Z, which weren’t in the regular line, were slated to be in the 2014 Cool Classics premium line. That didn’t happen, but fortunately, they will live on in 2015.  Continue reading →

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? 1977 Mazda RX-3 SP

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Ben Hsu

1977 Mazda RX-3 SP blue

The Mazda RX-3 SP was a US-only appearance package that included unique blacked-out bumpers trim and louvers, a snazzy decal package, and a jutting chin spoiler. Though nothing of note was added to the 12A rotary engine within, the SPs have become highly coveted cars amongst early Mazda collectors just for their sheer rarity and embodiment of 70s styling. Now there’s    that has reached $24,000.  Continue reading →

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QotW: What’s the greatest nostalgic Subaru?

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Ben Hsu

SUBARU360-02

With the Legacy squarely in the 25 Year Club and Subarus being the best mode of transportation available to much of the snowed-in country right now, it may be a good time to ask:

What is the greatest nostalgic Subaru?

Subaru doesn’t have quite the varied history of a Nissan, Toyota or Mazda, but that doesn’t mean its models aren’t influential. The company might be small, as was their first car, but the Subaru 360 became a symbol of the Showa Era and had a lasting impact on Japanese culture.

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 most anticipated “Class of 1990″ JNC?” Continue reading →

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KIDNEYS, ANYONE? Arizona auction roundup

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Ben Hsu

PGC10 Nissan Skyline GT-R hakosuka RM Auctions

After the record prices for JNCs seen in Monterey last year, all eyes were on the gavel-pounding circus that is Arizona in early January. With no less than six auction houses competing for attention and incessant television coverage, it’s like Superbowl of car auctions, complete with all the beer (and beer guts) you can imagine. Humans being humans, there was a cadre of capitalists waiting in the wings to cash in on the J-tin hype. Here’s how they fared.
Continue reading →

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? How to sell a Datsun 240Z

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Ben Hsu

1973 Datsun 240Z 142953 02

This 1973 Datsun 240Z has dings, hasn’t been driven in 15 years, and the dash has more cracks than a plumber’s convention. It’s not even a desirable 1970-72 model. Why, then, with just a little over one day on eBay, it’s been bid 30 times up to over $18,000? Because this is how you sell a car.  Continue reading →

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The saddest poem you’ll ever read

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Ben Hsu

045-5134_MazdaRX7-FC3S

Forget Keats, forget Yeats. An unnamed Mazda RX-7 owner has penned the world’s saddest poem. Found in the missed connections section of Austin, Texas’s craigslist, it tells the tale of a new FC owner that found his formerly original-paint ’88 was no longer so mint. Here, read the poem in its entirety and weep: Continue reading →

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Detroit Auto Show: Production Acura supercar revealed, but is it an NSX?

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Ben Hsu

043-5788_AcuraNSX2016

This is the year the Acura NSX turns 25, and we can think of no better way for Honda to celebrate than unveiling the legendary supercar’s successor. Announced in 2007 but killed after the Global Financial Crisis but then revived again in 2011, it’s been a long wait for the Honda faithful. From what we learned at the Detroit Auto Show, it will be amazing in every respect, but is it an NSX? Continue reading →

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MINICARS: Igniton Models 1:18 kenmeri Nissan Skyline GT-R

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Ricky Silverio

Ignition Models kenmeri Nissan Skyline GT-R KPGC110 rear

What you are looking at here is not a kenmeri Skyline. It’s an insanely detailed scale model of a kenmeri Skyline made by a new outfit out of Shizuoka called Ignition Models. They make a variety of 1:43, 1:18 and 1:12 scale cars, but the most interesting one to us is this stunning 1:18 Skyline GT-R, and it has just landed stateside. Continue reading →

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? 24k-mile Mitsubishi Twin-Stick

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Ben Hsu

1983 Dodge Colt Twin-Stick Mitsubishi Mirage 01

The Mitsubishi Mirage (aka Dodge Colt (aka Plymouth Champ)) has one of the most interesting transmissions ever built, with as many gear ratios as your first big kid and two shift levers poking out of the cabin floor like a split hair. And while this particular example offered for sale in Raleigh, North Carolina, is just a middle-of-the-road trim level that wasn’t particularly interesting back in the day (or arguably, even now), it is incredibly rare, and at 24,000 miles and change, quite mint. There’s gotta be someone out there that wants it, right? Continue reading →

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QotW: What’s the most anticipated “Class of 1990” JNC?

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Ben Hsu

Mazda JC Eunos Cosmo

Today is Coming of Age Day in Japan, a holiday in which adolescents become adults. Local city halls in towns across the country invite the newly minted adults for a small ceremony, a tradition that dates back to 714 AD. Of course we at JNC plan to welcome another round of cars into the 25 Year Club, a bit older than adulthood, but you get the idea.

What’s the most anticipated “Class of 1990” JNC?

1990 marks What we have here is a cornucopia of choice, from tuner favorites like the ST185 Celica, DA Acura Integra, and original Mitsubishi Eclipse to sensible sedans like the CB7 Honda Accord. Weird JDM cars such as the Toyota Sera enter the fold, as do supercars like the JC Mazda Cosmo and Acura NSX.

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 question should we ask next year?”  Continue reading →

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DESIGN: An interview with Nissan designer Ken Lee

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Ben Hsu

03-5332_NissanMurano2015-KenLee

It’s not often that you find yourself hurtling down narrow two-lane roads with the guy that designed the very car you’re sitting in. We recently had the rare opportunity to take a ride with Ken Lee, a senior creative manager at Nissan Design America. The car of choice was the 2015 Nissan Murano, a project he birthed, from idea to 2D drawing, clay to sheetmetal, at the company’s La Jolla, California studio. The futuristic-looking crossover is a far cry from 25-year-and-older J-tin, but during our chat Lee revealed a surprise: he grew up with and loves Japanese nostalgic cars. Continue reading →

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? 59k-mile Subaru Loyale Wagon

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Ryan Senensky

1994 Subaru Loyale 01

The EA82 Loyale was Fuji Heavy Industries’ flagship model until it was dethroned by the Subaru Legacy. The particular example offered for sale in Cadillac, Michigan is without a doubt the best example of an EA82 we’ve seen stateside, and it isn’t just a base model DL either. With only 59,000 miles on the clock, it would take copious amounts of trail hooning to arrive at the condition most EA82s are found in, but who could do that with such a pristine example of the biggest unsung hero of the Pleiades badge? Continue reading →

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? Hot Wheels Datsun Z prototype for $4,295

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Ricky Silverio

Hot Wheels Z-Whiz prototype 01

This is could be the earliest Hot Wheels Japanese car ever made. The Hot Wheels Datsun “Z-Whiz” 240Z of 1977 is certainly the first Japanese casting, but this is a pre-production prototype of that casting, making it one of the earliest Z-Whizes known to exist, and it’s currently on eBay with a BuyItNow price of $4,295. Yes, that is a dollar figure that is utterly ridiculous and exceeds some actual Zs, but there is probably some crazy collector out there that will shell out for it because it is an extremely rare piece.  Continue reading →

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EVENTS: SevenStock 17 Spotlight — Cherry Capellas

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Ben Hsu

009-5098_MazdaRX2-ElvisIbarra

As the name implies, SevenStock is heavy on the Sevens. At SevenStock 17, however, Mazda RX-2s made a tremendous showing. We presented some of them already, along with R100s, RX-3s, REPUs and, yes, RX-7s galore. But there were three examples of Capellas, if going by their Japanese name, that deserved to stand out. Continue reading →

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QotW: Which JNC should be a Transformer and what should its name be?

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Ben Hsu

Transformers Masterpiece Bluestreak Datsun 280ZX 01

Happy 2015! We asked for a Question of the Week in last Monday’s Question of the Week, and you delivered. So to kick off a new year of QotWs, here’s (one of) the winning questions.

Which JNC should be a Transformer and what should its name be?

Well, let’s imagine we are talking about pre-Michael Bay Transformers, which was a cartoon, a toy line, and not shitty. It also debuted squarely in the mid-1980s. That makes many of the original characters JNCs. We have robots that disguise themselves as Datsun 280ZXes, Honda Citys, Toyota Hiluxes and Nissan Vanettes, so let’s just eliminate all of the existing ones from the running and come up with completely new characters. What will be their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and favorite quotes?

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 question should we ask next year?”  Continue reading →

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EVENTS: 2014 Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival, Part 02

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Skorj

045-R3a538_ToyotaHinoContessa

The annual Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival offers something few other shows can claim: the chance to see its cars driving through public streets. It’s not simply witnessing them in motion, though It’s the fact that those public streets are in Tokyo, in some of the capital city’s most famous historic districts, many of which look largely unchanged since these cars were new.  Continue reading →

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JNC‘s top stories of 2014

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Ben Hsu

JNC_Grand_Touring-Boso_Hanto-04

As we mentioned, 2014 was the Year of the JNC. As it draws to a close, let’s look back at the things that most interested JNCers over the last 365 days. Continue reading →

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QotW: What question should we ask next year?

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Ben Hsu

R3a-478s

We’ve asked you for many answers, but we’ve yet to ask you for a question. As the year draws to a close, what would you like to know from your fellow JNCers?

What question should we ask next?

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 JNC getting for the holidays?” Continue reading →

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25 YEAR CLUB: Mitsubishi Eclipse

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Ryan Senensky

1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX

The Mitsubishi Eclipse was launched in 1989 as a 1990 model. Known as the DSM cars by enthusiasts, the Plymouth Laser, the Eagle Talon, and the Mitsubishi Eclipse were a combined project between Chrysler and Mitsubishi built under the program name of Diamond Star Motors (DSM). These were sports cars designed for the American market, with two of the affiliated manufacturers being American marques but using the assembly line techniques of Mitsubishi in a joint-venture plant. To fully understand the DSM, a quick history lesson is in order.  Continue reading →

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GRAND TOURING: New use for a Toyota Hiace

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Skorj

004-2612s_Honda S800 in Toyota Hiace

The Honda S800 has been a great steed for Grand Touring, but it’s going off to get a tear down to look at some possible valve clearance issues. Who needs a flatbed? Continue reading →

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