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
The holidays are meant to be spent with your loved ones. Sometimes your family is there too.
What is your JNC getting for the holidays?
A new car cover, some fresh new wheels, or perhaps that impossible-to-find NOS plastic bezel that hasn’t been produced since 1987? There are many possibilities for the JNC (or JNCer) in your life.
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 Japanese nostalgic rally car?” Continue reading
Unlike last year‘s clear blue skies and balmy weather, this year’s Meiji Jingu Classic Car Festival was held on a cool, wet Saturday. The annual event, put on by the Toyota Automobile museum, welcomes all marques and takes place in a 175-acre park in the center of Tokyo. The weather, though, did not deter a high number of participants or spectators. Both sides of the main avenue leading into the park were crowded with eager kyuusha spotters. Continue reading
Before Lexus, there was Cressida. The top-of-the-line Toyota from its 1980s glory days was a tech-laden luxo-barge with rear-wheel-drive and an M-series straight-six that will outlast the cockroaches. Obscure enough to have a cult following but cheap enough to be snapped up by any kid with an after-school job, the result is a perfect storm in which cars that have been preserved for decades are immediately slammed and literally driven into the ground. We hope that’s not the fate for this 29,890-mile 1986 Toyota Cressida currently offered for sale in Wilmington, Delaware. Continue reading
Mattel has announced the entire 2015 Hot Wheels lineup. Each year, there are a number of brand new castings and this year the one that jumps out to JNCers is surely the 1990 Acura NSX. Yes, by next year, Soichiro’s supercar will officially be a Japanese nostalgic car. What a great way to welcome it into the family. Continue reading
So here’s a thing that is probably not going to happen due to lack of interest. But it should! The California Legacy License Plate Program is offering you a chance to get a legal blue plate for your 1969-87 cars, and there are two weeks left. Continue reading
Strap into your gull-winged Starion, because the entire 46-episode run of Gorilla: Metropolitan Police Department Squad 8 goes on sale tomorrow, December 17. What is Gorilla: Metropolitan Police Department Squad 8? It’s an 80s cop show produced in Japan, complete with shootouts, explosions, car chases, and loads of synth music. It’s also heavily sponsored by Mitsubishi, who forked over an endless supply of triple-diamond cars for use in its action set pieces. Continue reading
With all the snow blanketing the country this winter, you might as well be rallying. There have been many a JNC throughout history built for tackling the not-quite-paved roads of the world.
What’s the greatest Japanese nostalgic rally car?
The A73 Lancer 1600 GSR was the first Mitsubishi to compete in a WRC race, long before the word “Evolution” was ever associated with the car. It promptly won its debut event, the 1974 Safari Rally, a five-day, 3,700-mile race through the brutal terrain of Kenya. To the surprise of many, drivers Joginder Singh and David Doig beat even WRC regular Björn Waldegård and his far more powerful Porsche 911. Mitsubishi came back in 1976 with three Lancers and swept the podium, finishing 1-2-3. Tommi Mäkinen was 12 years old at the time.
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, “How does a JNCer pass the winter?” Continue reading
SevenStock is the annual gathering of the Southern California Rotary Club. The combination car show and track day is one of the largest American assemblages Mazdas both old and new, held at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California with official support from Mazda North America. Continue reading
Up for auction right now is a 1973 Toyota Celica with just over 40,000 miles. According to the listing, it has had only one owner previous to the current seller, who acquired it in an estate sale upon the first owner’s passing. Continue reading
No matter your stage in life, the 1972 Toyota lineup has a car for you. Heading up to makeout point? You’ll get to first base at least in an E20 Corolla. Looking for a more sophisticated woman? The A20 Celica is your steed. And when all that dating results in offspring, the T80 Corona has you covered. Accompanied by the dulcet tones of Matt Flinders, the monochrome spot feels ominous and somewhat creepy today, as if beneath all that Mad Men sheen there are darker undertones lurking. Or that an axe murderer will simply jump out and off the fornicating teens. Still, kujira Crown! Continue reading
Are you jonesing for a glimpse of hakosuka Skyline or Datsun 510 during your sick front side 180 ollie? The S2 Carbon Works 2014 line of skate decks has some pretty cool JDM style rides, including a VIP Celsior/Lexus LS and Honda Odyssey. You can see the full lineup of decks at their website.
Mitsubishi‘s Astron 2.6-liter was one of the largest inline-fours motors available at the time of its production. It came in Fire Arrows, Sapporos, and even the Chrysler LeBaron, but in the case of this swapped 1974 Colt Galant GT, it is pure aural bliss. Watch it tear up a Targa Tasmania stage in the video below. Continue reading
The weather sucks in much of the country and/or world. Even SoCal is experiencing the strange meteorological phenomenon in which drops of water mysteriously fell from the sky and temperatures dipped into the low 60s. It’s hard out there for a JNCer.
How does a JNCer pass the winter?
Whatever you do, we hope it doesn’t involve salt.
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 rarest special edition JNC?” Continue reading
From a shed in the middle of a burned out lot in 1946 to a small US subsidiary selling motorcycles in 1959 to their first US-sold car in 1970, the company Soichiro Honda founded has come a long way. In Part 01 of our visit to the American Honda Collection, we looked these humble beginnings. But Honda wasn’t done yet, and was about to go farther. A lot farther.
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