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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In addition to being Toyota’s petrolhead honcho, Akio Toyoda has been given Japan’s Best Dresser Award. The man who fast-tracked the Toyota 86, Lexus LFA and Lexus RC F to production was bestowed the honor by the Men’s Fashion Association, which has been giving out the prize since 1972. Continue reading
A 1970 Nissan Skyline GT-R sedan will cross the block at RM Auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona in January. After the floodgates opened in Monterey earlier this year, there has been a frenzy of invisible trans-Pacific activity. Moneyed gaijin are trading their dollars for Nihon steel in hopes of catching the Japanese classic tsunami early. Continue reading
Ever since we founded JNC way back in late 2006, we’ve been waiting for this year. We knew it would be an important milestone, but this particular orbit around the sun has exceeded even our wildest expectations. Here’s why 2014 is the year of the JNC. Continue reading
Look on the back of Honda‘s latest JDM-only kei jidosha and you’ll see “N/” — the letter N and a forward slash. Apparently the way to pronounce that is N-Box Slash. This is the fifth offering in Honda’s revived N-Series and the second retro-styled car in the series. The first was the Honda N-One, which drew inspiration from and existing car, the 1967 N360. The N-Box Slash is more closely related to the Nissan Pike cars, which take design cues from classic cars without referencing them outright. Continue reading
The Japanese love their special editions. Whether it’s celebrating an anniversary, a final run series or just some odd color combo, JNCs have a lot of bizarre option packages on their cars.
What’s the rarest special edition JNC?
In 1975 Dodge introduced the Carousel Colt. The rebadged Mitsubishi Colt Galant featured white paint matched with a light blue vinyl roof, and a blinding white interior with blue and red upholstery. These Colts, especially in two-door form, are already nearly impossible to find to begin with. Are there any Carousel Colts left?
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 are you most thankful for?” Continue reading
Today’s guest writer is Chris Nicholson, who keeps the cars running at the Lane Motor Museum. Chris recently attended a classic car show in Showa Kinen Park.
Every trip to Japan is full of wonder, and every trip to Japan is too short. A free afternoon with a break in the rain led to Showa Kinen Park with its lines of famous gingko trees, whose colors were peaking. There, a collection of early Showa Era cars awaited, all bone stock and exemplifying family cars of the era. Unlike most shows, there was a distinct lack of sports models — no GT-Rs, Fairlady Zs, Celicas, TE27s, or Mazda rotaries — just what you might see on a Japanese city street in the early 1970s, perfectly preserved in time. Continue reading
On Day 01 of our Boso Hanto tour we visited visited hallowed ground, a Skyline specialist shop, and stopped for the night with some curry and a bit of Honda tourism. Welcome to Day 02, where we continued through the peninsula in the trusty Honda S800 Coupe. Continue reading
Pacifico is the first show in southern California by Historic J, who have put on events like the Bayline Gathering, Vintage Auto Salon, and Shokuji J-Tin in the San Francisco area. If the show’s name sounds familiar, you might be thinking of the Pacifico Yokohama convention center, which has held such events as Nos2Days and the Mooneyes’ Yokohama Hot Rod & Custom Show, located at the mouth of Tokyo Bay. But the show wasn’t in Yokohama. It was 5,500 miles across the ocean in Santa Monica. Continue reading
Though symbolized by the turkey, Thanksgiving is all about being grateful for what you have. When what you have is an old Japanese car, however, it may be easier to curse your skinned knuckles than count your blessings.
What are you most thankful for?
It may will definitely sound cheesy, but we are thankful for all our loyal readers — every one of you who have rescued an under-appreciated car from the scrapyard, inspired a friend to restore the old heap in his dad’s backyard, or simply helped a fellow JNCer turn a wrench. A big domo arigato gozaimasu to you all.
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 Honda?” Continue reading
