In September 1984 Nissan Motorsports was established in Omori, Tokyo. It’s been 30 years of top-level racing on an international stage under the NISMO banner and the company is celebrating. Continue reading
MOTORSPORT: Happy 30th Anniversary, NISMO
Posted in motorsport
Tagged datsun, datsun 210, gt-r, le mans, NISMO, nissan, r32, skyline
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EVENTS: Monterey Historics, Part 04 — Running a Datsun 240Z at the Rolex Motorsports Reunion
Today’s guest writer is Alvin Gogineni, a member of the Z Car Garage team that restored and worked as pit crew for Joel Anderson’s No. 49 IMSA Datsun 240Z at the Rolex Motorsports Reunion. —Ben
If it’s the smell of 110 octane, straight-piped exhausts and vintage wheel-to-wheel action you desire than look no further than the Rolex Motorsports Reunion, one of the keystone events of the week-long Monterey Historics. This is what it’s like to bring vintage Datsun 240Z to this the world-renowned event and run it.
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MUSEUMS: The Petersen has a 130 Datsun Cedric in its Vault
So the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles apparently has a Nissan Cedric 130 Custom Six. What’s more, it’s is a LHD example badged as a Datsun, with black California license plates. Was this staple of Japanese streets circa 1965 actually meant for US import? Continue reading
Someone tell MOPAR fanboys what the BRE stripes are
We’ve begun to notice a weird trend recently. Mopar fanboys are up in arms about Nissan copying some racing stripes that belong to Dodge. Sure, Peter Brock may have designed the livery on his Datsun Sports 2000 roadsters in 1968, but the rich heritage of Dodge’s slanted parallel stripes can be traced all the way back to 2010. Continue reading
The most well preserved Datsun 720 pickup, ever
A couple of months ago Nissan threw a key party at an old ivy-covered mansion in the woods crammed full of taxidermied animals. But even better than some Eyes Wide Shut-type masquerade, they let attendees grab the keys to anything in their product lineup, including several items from the Heritage Collection. Continue reading
Posted in museums
Tagged 240z, 720, datsun, fairlady roadster, nissan, nissan heritage collection, s30
23 Comments
QotW: Which JNC commands the most respect?
Today is Respect for the Aged Day in Japan, so…
Which JNC commands the most respect?
With its racing provenance, menacing grille and the fact that its modern day successor eats supercars for breakfast, the Nissan KPGC10 GT-R seems like the obvious choice. Then again, few outside JNC enthusiast circles see it as more than an old Datsun.
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 winning comment regarding the news that JCCS is now screening entrants. Continue reading
MUSEUMS: Motoring Mysteries of the Far East
If you’re on the East Coast and looking for a place to get your JNC fix this weekend, may we recommend the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The museum has gathered a fantastic and diverse cross section of Japanese vehicles in an exhibit titled Motoring Mysteries of the Far East. If you can’t make it, our friend Brad DeSantis managed to snap some shots during his visit there. Continue reading
EVENTS: MX-5 Turns 25 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
If you just woke up from a coma, we have two things to tell you. First, welcome back. Second, Mazda made a new Miata. Everyone else in the world was bombarded with that knowledge a week ago with an inescapable global unveiling. That, however, was just the pre-game show to the main event: almost 2,000 Miatas descending like locusts on Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Continue reading
VIDEO: Australia’s Nissan’s Motorsports History
Nissan’s racing exploits in Japan, the US and even Africa should be at least somewhat familiar to long-time JNC readers by now. However, the automaker was hugely influential in the motorsports history of Australia as well. R30 and R31 Skylines were manufactured locally, Nissan racing legend Masahiro Hasemi raced there, and it was the only country outside of Japan where the R32 GT-R was officially sold. Continue reading
Posted in motorsport, Video
Tagged australia, Bathurst, bluebird, george fury, masahiro hasemi, nissan, skyline
4 Comments
EVENTS: Monterey Historics, Part 03 — Motorsports Reunion
Perhaps the only thing more heavenly than hearing a cacophony of uncorked engines at full tear is actually witnessing a fleet of irreplaceable metal come screaming over the hills. The Rolex Motorsports Reunion is one of the highlights — possibly the highlight — of the Monterey Historics. Continue reading
Posted in events
Tagged 240sx, 240z, adam carolla, Bob Sharp Racing, c10, celica, datsun, fairlady roadster, fairlady z, fc3s, honda, imsa, mazda, Mazda 787, monterey historics, nissan, paul newman, porsche, Rolex Motorsports Reunion, rx-7, s13, s30, silvia, skyline, sports 800, Steve Millen, Tetsu Ikuzawa, toyota, z31, z32
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EDITORIAL: JCCS now screening entrants. This is a good thing.
The 2014 Japanese Classic Car Show is less than three weeks away. It’ll be a milestone event as the JCCS reaches its 10th year in existence. We hope you can join us at the Queen Mary Park in Long Beach, California on September 27th. Doors open at 9am.
This landmark moment in the Japanese classic scene, however, does not come without controversy. This year, JCCS organizers have begun screening entrants, enforcing a long-standing rule that cars have to be up to a certain level of quality in order to be admitted into the show. Owners with cars that don’t meet that requirement are politely refunded the entrance fee and registration turned down. This has spawned some debate, but we at JNC say it’s a good thing. Continue reading
Hachimaru Hero ranks the top 80s Japanese cars
Hachimaru Hero (80s Hero) is the Bubble Decade’s counterpart to Nostalgic Hero. Both come from the same publisher but nowadays interest in 80s Japanese cars is picking up speed. Recently the magazine put out a reader survey asking for the top twenty domestic cars from the 80s. Here’s what they found. Continue reading
Posted in media
Tagged 430, 80s, a60, a70, ae86, aw11, cedric, city, f31, fairlady z, fc3s, gloria, Hachimaru Hero, honda, Infiniti M30, isuzu, leopard, mark II, mazda, miata, mitsubishi starion, mr2, mx-5, nissan, nsx, Piazza/Impulse, r30, r31, r32, rx-7, s130, skyline, soarer, supra, toyota, x70, z10, z20, z31
17 Comments
NEWS: This is the ND Mazda MX-5 Miata
At 6:00pm Pacific Time, Mazda unveiled the fourth-gen Mazda MX-5 Miata globally and simultaneously in Tokyo, Monterey, and Barcelona. After arriving at Cannery Row in Monterey, we were shuffled into a black, tinted-windows bus headed to an undisclosed location. We thought the unveil may take place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, but the bus blew right past that. It was all rather ominous. Also, sadly, the bus was not a Mazda Parkway 26. Continue reading
INTERVIEW: Bob Hall talks Japanese nostalgics, the Miata, and how the Lotus Elan fits in
In light of the 25th anniversary of the Mazda Miata and the fact that the fourth-gen is just hours away from unveiling, here is an interview with Bob Hall.
It was probably appropriate that we met with Bob Hall at the Fair Oaks Pharmacy in Pasadena, California. A sign in the window of the 1950s soda fountain-turned-cafe advertises “Nostalgic Toys,” and we were sitting down with a man who conceived the most nostalgic toy in the automotive kingdom, the Mazda Miata. Not only that, he may have very well been the first American to do the whole JDM thing. Here’s what he had to say about the Miata, why the Lotus Elan is not as influential as everyone thinks, and his favorite JNCs. Continue reading
QotW: What’s the coolest “chick’s car”?
Fairly or not, many JNCs are labeled “chick’s cars” because they are compact, sport inoffensive designs, and embody performance in ways more civilized than spewing a boatload of HP. Besides, what’s so bad about being a “chick’s car” anyway?
What’s the coolest “chick’s car”?
We are just a couple days from the unveiling of the fourth-generation Miata, a car that by all indications seems to be a throwback to the original MX-5. Mazda’s little roadster has become the best-selling sports car of all time, but perhaps more importantly, in recent years it has reclaimed its image as a serious sports car and shed its early reputation as a chick-mobile. If the Miata is a chick’s car, then chicks have great taste.
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 Japanese car did we get the better version of?” Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
20 Comments
Happy Labor Day from JNC
It’s not work if you love it, right? Happy Labor Day from JNC.
Posted in jnc
8 Comments
MEDIA: JNC on the Petersen Museum’s CarStories Podcast
Last week our intrepid editor Ben Hsu was invited to the Petersen Museum‘s CarStories podcast. The topic was classic Japanese cars in general. The producers thought it would be a good followup to the landmark auctions at the Monterey Historics.
Recent guests have included Wayne Carini, Bruce Canepa, Adam Carolla, the founder of Singer Porsches, Indy driver Ed Carpenter and Sir Jackie effing Stewart, but please listen to his episode anyway despite a significant downturn in guest quality. You can subscribe to CarStories on iTunes as well. Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? 1980 Plymouth Arrow Sport Truck with less than 19k miles
It’s a miracle! A 1980 Plymouth Arrow Sport Truck has appeared on Craiglist in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. This rare captive import version of a Mitsubishi Forte pickup has color-matched wheels, the most 1970s stripe package you can imagine, and just 18,854 miles on the clock. Continue reading
MINICARS: Japan Post celebrates the Mazda MX-5’s 25th anniversary with commemorative stamps
On Monday, the Japan Post released a series of commemorative stamps and a 1:64 diecast car to honor the 25th anniversary of the Mazda Miata and the upcoming debut of the fourth-generation Mazda MX-5 on September 3. We’ll be on hand at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the unveil so watch this space, but until then, stamps! Continue reading
EVENTS: Land Cruiser Motor Show in Tokyo celebrates Japanese re-release of 70-Series
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
