Leading up to the Chicago Auto Show, Mazda announced it was releasing a Heritage Collection of accessories. Needless to say, we at JNC were very excited. Not only that, but the show would be a reunion of sorts, as the original Mazda MX-5 Miata was debuted at this very show 26 years ago. Continue reading
Mazda will be the featured marque at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year. It will have been eight years since a Japanese marque has taken center stage. One of the world’s premiere automotive events, the FoS takes place on the estate of an English Duke about two hours outside of London. It’s a car show, race, and celebration of the automobile as art. Continue reading
There is no shortage of motorsports history in Japan, and it’s not uncommon there to find road-going replicas of some of of the nation’s most iconic — and some not-so-iconic — competition machines. Here at the New Year Meeting, it’s a collection of replicas, racers, and homologated street cars. Continue reading
JNC owners, myself included, love to spout on about the superiority of rear-wheel-drive to anyone that will listen (and many whom won’t). Nissan wants to prove all of us wrong with a front-wheel-drive GT-R. No, that is not a typo. The latest evolution of the legendary GT-R name is driven by the same wheels as a Honda Civic. Continue reading
Joining the Nissan Fairlady Z432 going across the block this year at Amelia Island is a 1968 Mazda 110S, which is the name for a Mazda Cosmo made for export. This car, as you may have noticed, is a rather unique shade of custom orange. Originally sold in the standard Swan White, it was repainted within the last year to its current hue for reasons unknown. The jury is still out on what the Bonhams “Give me originality or give me death!” crowd will think about the color, but the rotary engine-pioneering car itself is nothing to scoff at. Continue reading
For those of you in the midwest dying to see an honest-to-god 1967 Toyota 2000GT in real life, get thee down to the Chicago Auto Show, going on until February 22. Toyota is taking three of its classics on tour, displaying its supercar alongside a 1961 FJ25 Land Cruiser and an IMSA GTP racer. These are the same cars we covered at the Los Angeles Auto Show so there’s no need to go into detail again, but it’s a rare opportunity to see a rare JNC if you’re in the midwest. And, with a value north of $1 million, it’s one of the most expensive cars in the entire show too.
As pilots of decades-old Japanese warhorses, we all pride ourselves on driving the simplest, everything-you-need-nothing-you-don’t motoring experiences. Blind spot monitors? Ha! Backup cameras? Ha! Airbags? Double ha! We are hard core. Sometimes though, as hard as it is to admit, isn’t just the sliiiightest bit difficult to go from a modern car to your old school steed?
What’s the one modern feature you wish JNCs had?
I once thought it was fine with a tape adapter. Take a couple seconds to plug my phone into the $10 accessory and suddenly I have all the music, podcasts, and streaming audio in the world playing through a 30-year-old piece of technology. But then I step into a new car equipped with the Tooth of Blue and all of that seems hopelessly clunky — the cables, the two-second plug-in time, the instant start/stop, and the lack of ability to take phone calls. It’s almost enough to make me consider buying a car built in the last decade and a half, as even the cheapest of cheapo subcompacts now come with Bluetooth. Or I could just get another adapter, I guess.
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 has stayed truest to its roots?” Continue reading
Often clad in faded paint, plenty of rust, and maybe an oil-caked zombie of an engine, those KP61 Toyota Starlets which that aren’t being abused by a teenager with dreams of being Daigo Saito are usually on Craigslist halfway through a restomod. However, this car has never been restored and has few enough miles to be within the requirements of Toyota’s warranty policy if it wasn’t 34 years old. Continue reading
It’s become a tradition for Tomica to release a series of chocolate cars every year, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
In years past we’ve seen chocolate classics like the Toyota 2000GT, S30 Nissan Fairlady Z, hakosuka GT-R, TE72 Corolla Levin, and Honda S800. Last year they added a Subaru 360.
For 2015 they’re going with modern cars, including the N360-inspired Honda N-One, Subaru WRX STI, Z34 Nissan Fairlady Z, and Toyota Prius. For Bus maniacs there’s a London double-decker and a Mitsubishi Fuso Hybrid. Continue reading
The previous installment of our New Year Meeting coverage focused on originality. In Part 04, we travel to the opposite end of the spectrum. But among all of Japan’s customization styles, shakotan is perhaps the most appealing to JNCers. Translated as simply “low,” shakotan cars are indeed slammed, but it’s also a catch-all term that implies an aggressive stance, a vague racing-inspired look, and a disregard for societal norms. Above all, however, a shakotan sled should exude menacing cool. Continue reading
This August will mark the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To keep alive memories and legacies of the survivors, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) will broadcast a series of television specials. Three shows are of particular interest to JNCers, especially Mazdafarians. Continue reading
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
