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.
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Wishing all you crazy JNCers a very Happy Holiday season. May サンタクロース bestow you with many gifts!
Photo by Erik Lukas.
Honda has opened a new Heritage Center at its plants and R&D center in Marysville, Ohio. Take note, this is a different collection of Honda vehicles than the American Honda Collection we recently toured in Torrance, California. This one showcases the whole of Honda technology, from a Super Cub to ASIMO to the Honda Jet, and will be open to the public. Continue reading
The next-generation Nissan Titan will be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Leading up to it, Nissan has produced a multi-part “Truckumentary” leading up to its reveal. Part one delves into Nissan’s storied truck history. Continue reading
