On Monday, Japan Time, Toyota held a Land Cruiser Motor Show at their MegaWeb car mall in Odaiba, Tokyo. The occasion was the 30th anniversary of the 70-Series Land Cruiser, a truck that has just been re-released for sale in Japan. Continue reading
QotW: What Japanese car did we get the better version of?
Type Rs, GT-Rs, S20s, SR20s, and so on. So often we hear about how Japan kept the best stuff for themselves, while we cackling execs foisted detuned sissy versions on our shores. But that’s wasn’t always the case, and we’d like to know:
What Japanese car did we get the better version of?
Right from the start, our based versions of the S30 Z had no fewer than 2.4 liters, while Japan got 2.0. The second-gen Acura Legend was never sold with a 6-speed Japan. Our 2002 Infiniti M45 had a V8, while its equivalent Cedric in Japan had just a six. The list goes on and on. Perhaps the earliest example, however, came in the form of the Datsun 411 SSS. In America we got the “sleeper” version that wasn’t labled as such, but had the Datsun 1600 roadster’s 1.6L motor stuffed in a base model 411 without the chrome.
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 the last QotW, “What’s the next Japanese collectible?” Continue reading
NEXT VERSION: A closer look at the Toyota FT-1 Graphite
The Toyota FT-1 is just a stunning piece of design. And now, Toyota’s built a second one and painted it Graphite Gray, making it even more beautiful than the first. It was unveiled last week at McCall’s Motorworks Revival, an exclusive pre-party to kick off the Monterey Historics. We briefly mentioned FT-1 number two in Part 01 of our Monterey coverage, but the gorgeous concept deserves a closer look. Continue reading
25 YEAR CLUB: The R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R is officially a Japanese Nostalgic Car
“No victory, unless GT-R.” That was the saying in Japan when Nissan’s Skyline GT-R became the most dominant racing machine of its era. No, this is not another story about the hakosuka’s 50-plus victories; the adage was coined for its successor. On August 21, 1989, the R32 GT-R went on sale in Japan. Godzilla is now officially a Japanese nostalgic car. Continue reading
EVENTS: Monterey Historics, Part 02 — The Auctions
We’re going to do things out of chronological order because we felt it was important to report on the auctions of four significant Japanese cars as they happened. Now that we’ve recuperated from the madness, here’s how it went down, and how it felt to be in a room full of multi-millionaires as J-tin crossed the block. Continue reading
Posted in events
Tagged 2000gt, c10, cosmo sport, fj40, Hakosuka, imsa, land cruiser, mazda, monterey historics, nissan, skyline, toyota
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Mazda M2 1002 briefly offered for sale
With all the hype surrounding blue chip JNCs in recent weeks, we almost overlooked the fact that a genuine M2 1002 was recently offered on eBay and then quickly taken down (supposedly sold in an off-site transaction). Continue reading
QotW: What’s the next Japanese collectible?
Over the weekend we saw what the KPGC10, Cosmo Sport and 2000GT can do at auction. However, those flagship models have been the obvious choices in terms of collectibility.
What’s the next Japanese collectible?
If we’ve learned anything from Monterey, it’s that collectors go for top-spec models that were special for their time, cars that had racing provenance, and “last of their kind” models. Manga and anime star really isn’t on the list, but add that to the mix and you’ve got a winner. AE86 prices have already been steadily climbing thanks to the popularity of drifting. Will it ever reach six figures?
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 the last QotW, “JNC prices are on the rise. Good or bad? ” Continue reading
NEWS: 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport sells for $264,000
Minutes after the white Toyota 2000GT crossed the block at Gooding & Co., a short-wheel base 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport did the same.Both were from the same collection, an unnamed collector that also sold a BMW 507 and 1969 Camaro Z/28. After some spirited bidding, the gavel dropped at $240,000, or $264,000 out the door after commission. Continue reading
NEWS: Toyota 2000GTs sell for $1 million each
The Toyota 2000GT is a million dollar car. But you already knew that. In the auction world, the rule of thumb is that a car needs to sell for a particular price three time before it’s considered legit. Two 2000GTs sold for $1 million each this weekend at Monterey, confirming what we already have seen in three other sales of Japan’s first supercar. Continue reading
NEWS: KPGC10 Nissan Skyline GT-R sells for $242,000
We will have more detailed coverage early next week, but we just wanted to tell you that the first KPGC10 Skyline GT-R to sell at auction broke expectations with a $220,000 sale in Monterey. RM Auctions expected it to go for $125,000-175,000, but it blew right through that ceiling. With the 10 percent commission, it was $242,000 out the door. This changes everything. Continue reading
EVENTS: Monterey Historics, Part 01
So after we dropped off the hakosuka GT-R at Nissan’s garage, we set out to see what the rest of the Monterey Historics had to offer. It is the most mind-detonatingly expensive automotive festival in this hemisphere, a world we plebes normally never get to experience. We’d heard there was J-tin in them thar hills, and we were off in search of it. Continue reading
Posted in events
Tagged 2000gt, 787, fc3s, fj40, FT-1 Concept, imsa, Laguna Seca, land cruiser, lexus, Lexus LS, lfa, mazda, rx-7, rx-792p, toyota, yamaha
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EVENTS: KPGC10 Skyline GT-R at the Monterey Historics
We just brought a genuine KPGC10 Skyline GT-R to the Monterey Historics. It was a bit surreal to say the least, watching it enter the paddocks of the legendary Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Though it never raced here, the circuit is the GT-R’s natural environment, and it dominated every one that it went to throughout the late 1960s and early 70s. From the banks of Fuji Speedway to perhaps the most famous track in the US, the GT-R had come home to roost. Continue reading
Posted in events
Tagged 370z, c10, gt-r, Hakosuka, jnc, Laguna Seca, monterey historics, NISMO, nissan, skyline
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PROFILES: The lost Datsun 240Z Sport Wagon
At this year’s Z Car Club of America’s annual convention, a unique 240Z was unveiled. The Datsun 240Z “Sport Wagon” was borne from the mind of Yoshihiko Matsuo, the original stylist of the Datsun 240Z. Though it was never put into production, this one-off custom has made his vision a reality nearly 50 years since he first put pen to paper. Continue reading
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GALLERIES: Shinjuku Subaru Building closes for good
One of the great things about Tokyo is that just about every Japanese automaker has a large office building there. Such buildings usually have a showroom on the ground floor, and you can spend an entire day gallery-hopping, picking up brochures, collecting whatever swag they have lying around, or dropping some serious yen on minicars, posters, and apparel.
Among the easiest to get to was the Subaru Building in Shinjuku, just across the street from the massive west exit of Shinjuku Station, Tokyo’s largest train depot. Sadly, it closed for good last week. Continue reading
QotW: JNC prices are on the rise. Good or bad?
We are headed to the Monterey Historics this week. Among the festivities are the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance in which million-dollar cars you’ve never heard of compete to see who has the bone-stockiest restoration, the Motorsports Reunion in which priceless pieces of racing history are driven around Laguna Seca, and a myriad of auctions among which a Ferrari owned by Steve McQueen is expected to sell for over $60 million.
In the middle of all that madness are several important milestones involving Japanese nostalgic cars, including the auctioning of a pair of Toyota 2000GTs, a Mazda Cosmo Sport, and for the first time ever at Monterey, a genuine S20-powered hakosuka Skyline GT-R. It appears that Japanese cars are finally getting the recognition they deserve, but you know what that means.
JNC prices are on the rise. Good or bad?
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 the last QotW, “What’s the greatest Z-Car?” Continue reading
EVENTS: 2014 SpoCom
Google “SpoCom” and you’ll find more photos of bikinied booth babes than actual cars, but occasionally this “automotive lifestyle” show for the dubstep crowd does turn up some JNC gems. To show you, we dodged legions of rehearsing dance crews, suffered loud electronic distortion masquerading as music, and endured a convention hall packed with candy colored Scions and stanced Audis. Continue reading
Happy 8/6 Day from JNC
It’s that time of year again, August 6 or 8/6, the day on which we celebrate the hachiroku. It’s the drift king, the touge master, the car both Keiichi Tsuchiya and Takumi Fujiwara cut their teeth on, or to paraphrase Mad Max — last of the rear-drive Corollas.
To commemorate this day, take a gander at the original Japanese brochure and its Bubble Era naming excesses. It’s not just a 4A-GE, it’s a Lasre α. And did you know, that as you sling your AE86 around your canyon roads, you’re riding on a Pegasus? No, not the winged horse, Toyota’s Precision Engineered Geometrically Advanced SUSpension!
There’s even a female-oriented SOHC version with floral upholstery called the Corolla Levin Lime. With all the focus on the top-spec twin-cams, are there even any Levin Limes left in the world? Ponder these eternal questions and many more on this day, our day of 86es. Happy 8/6 Day! Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? 125-mile 1985 Honda Civic
These may be the worst photos ever taken by someone trying to sell what is claimed to be a historic vehicle. Despite the potato-cam, however, the seller of this 1985 Honda Civic hatchback claims that it was a special car commemorating the 500,000th Civic ever built. As such, it has been driven only 200km (124 miles) in its lifetime. UPDATE below. Continue reading
QotW: What’s the greatest Z-Car?
As we prepare for the 2014 ZCon this week, we can’t help but reflect on how influential the Z-Car has been to the JNC scene. We don’t usually devote a QotW to a single model but the Z has earned it over six generations and 45 years.
What’s the greatest Z-Car?
In 1971 the No.11 Datsun 240Z finished a five-day, 3,977-mile trek across the punishing landscape of East Africa and won the 1971 Safari Rally. That very car is still kept in Nissan’s Zama warehouse, battle scars and all, as a reminder of that fantastic feat. Incidentally, the designers of the 240Z, 300ZX TT and 370Z will all be in San Diego this week. at ZCon.
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 the last QotW, “What’s the coolest JNC stereo deck?” Continue reading
ART CORNER: Fujimi’s Touge Series Box Illustrations
Long after earning driver’s licenses and pinkslips to our rides, some of us still find ourselves mired in plastic model cars. Perhaps it reflects the constraint suffered by many of us on budget, space, or sanity (of ourselves and/or family members), limiting the number and kind of cars we can own. Or maybe there is something innately attractive about miniature replicas of objects of our interest. Fortunately, there have been no shortage of plastic models of JNCs. One line of particular relevance to JNCers is Fujimi’s Touge series of 1/24 scale model kits. Let’s take a look at them, especially the awesome box arts that graces its packaging. Continue reading
Posted in Art Corner
Tagged 2000gt, a60, a70, ae86, chaser, civic, corolla, cr-x, cresta, ef, fairlady z, fc3s, Fujimi, honda, integra, levin, mark II, mazda, mitsubishi, mr2, r31, r32, rx-7, s13, s14, silvia, skyline, soarer, sprinter, starion, supra, sw20, te27, touge, toyota, trueno, x70, z10, z20, z31
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