Japanese Nostalgic Car

2014 Japanese Classic Car Show registration opens today

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Ben Hsu

The 2014 Japanese Classic Car Show opens for registration today, July 1. This will be a landmark year because it will be the 10th annual JCCS.

That’s right. It’s hard to believe, but the show that paved the way for nostalgic car gatherings of all sorts has been going strong for an entire decade now. The organizers, Koji and Terry Yamaguchi, tell us they have something special planned in honor of this special occasion.

In addition to the cars and motorcycles that have been eligible in previous years, the first-gen Mazda Miata is now a classic and thus welcome at the show.

Special guests will include designer and BRE founder Peter Brock, as well as race car driver John Morton. JNC will also be there with a very special car never before seen at JCCS, so stop by our booth and take a peek.

This year, Toyotafest registration filled up in a record four days. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to display your car or bike on the lawn at Queen Mary Park in a banner year for Japanese nostalgics. You can register at the JCCS website.

Posted in event horizon | Tagged japanese classic car show, jccs | 4 Comments

QotW: What would you tell automakers to do?

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Ben Hsu

Last week Dave wrote about M2, the Mazda specialty shop designed to hear feedback delivered directly from the customer’s mouth. If only more companies would do that.

What would you tell automakers to do?

Japanese automakers once made the most perfectly ergonomic dashboards known to man. Some still do, but the one automaker that’s fallen farthest from its heyday tree is Honda. Look upon in wonder at this Honda dashboard from the days when Old Man Soichiro still had a hand in his company: the thin-spoked steering wheel, the trio of logical gauges, the well-bolstered and gorgeously upholstered seats. Compared to modern-day Honda’s Romulan warbird consoles it is a thing of utter beauty, so minimalist and functional, and even has a small tray formed by negative space. All this in an Accord, no less! And if you ask us, there’s a tragic dearth of blue interiors these days. So yeah, we’d tell Honda to make more of these, less of those.

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 your favorite period-correct license plate for your JNC?” Continue reading →

Posted in Question of the Week | Tagged QotW | 66 Comments

BUBBLE ERA EXCESS: The story of Mazda’s M2 brand, Part 01

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Dave Yuan

As enthusiasts, many of us feel the urge to voice opinions about our favorite marques. “Honda should do this,” or “Toyota should build that.” If only the they would listen the (automotive) world would be a better place, no?

In fact, automakers do listen. Back in the glory days of the Bubble Economy, Mazda, in particular, even created a whole entity for this purpose. It was called M2, Inc. Continue reading →

Posted in Bubble Era | Tagged Bubble Economy, M2, mazda, miata, mx-5 | 3 Comments

LOST CARS: 1962 Toyopet Stout world honeymoon truck

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Ben Hsu

Ivan Shkirev knew that the 1962 Toyopet Stout he had purchased was unique, but not how unique. Upon receiving delivery to his home in New Mexico, Shkirev found the faded declaration “Tokyo, Japan to Chicago, Illinois” painted across the Stout’s tailgate, along with the names of various countries that it had apparently visited decorating its flanks. Continue reading →

Posted in Lost Cars | Tagged pickup, RK45, stout, toyopet, toyota | 12 Comments

NO MODS, PLZ: 1989 Nissan 240SX two-tone coupe

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Ben Hsu

Not too long ago a low-mileage pignose S13 that had somehow not been drifted to death came up for sale in Pennsylvania. The sleek, red hatchback caught was a real eye-catcher, but if it were our money to spend on a Nissan sports coupe that revolutionized the drifting world, we’d snap up a 1989 240SX coupe, in two-tone. Continue reading →

Posted in for sale | Tagged 180sx, 240sx, nissan, s13, silvia | 25 Comments

KIDNEY, ANYONE? 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport, Toyota 2000GT to be auctioned at Monterey Historics

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Ben Hsu

In addition to the hakosuka GT-R at RM Auctions, there will also be a 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport at Gooding & Co.’s Monterey Historics auction this year. The Cosmo Sport has been restored by noted restoration shop The Finishing Touch of Fountain Hills, Arizona, the same shop that restored the one in Mazda USA’s collection. Continue reading →

Posted in for sale | Tagged 2000gt, cosmo sport, mazda, monterey historics, toyota | 10 Comments

QotW: What’s your favorite period-correct license plate for your JNC?

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Dave Yuan

Thanks to California’s Legacy License Plate program we’ve been talking a lot about the proper period-correct license plates for your JNC recently. We’ve been Cali-centric, but we’d like to open the question up to our readers worldwide.

What’s your favorite period-correct license plate for your JNC?

A visit to Nissan resto-mod specialist Rocky Auto last year revealed a hakosuka GT-R with a a very unique plate. To quote David, “In Japan, whenever a car changes owners or is de-registered its plates are sent in to the rikuunkyoku, or vehicle registration center, and subsequently destroyed, whereupon new plates are made and re-issued. This plate, however, was the original plate, with only one digit on top rather than three, from when the car was brand new. That means that this KPGC10 GT-R is a one owner car!”

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, “Just the tip of the iceberg, or last of a dying breed?“ Continue reading →

Posted in Question of the Week | Tagged QotW | 15 Comments

JNC GEAR: The IDx shirt, by the actual car’s designer at Nissan

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Ben Hsu

The hottest concept of the 2013-14 auto show season was the Nissan IDx. A lightweight, rear-wheel-drive car with heritage styling cues from the Golden Age of nostalgics? Take our money, please! Now one of the designers of the actual concept car has created this shirt in collaboration with JNC, which we will be debuting at Nissan Jam. UPDATE: The IDx shirt is now available in the JNC shop. Continue reading →

Posted in JNC Apparel | Tagged datsun, IDx, nissan | 7 Comments

OTAKU OBSESSION: The true history of period-correct California license plates

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Dave Yuan

California’s unique blend of arid weather, car culture, and state law forcing license plates to stay with the car, even when it changes hands, have created a perfect storm for a unique otaku obsession. For sale ads in all corners of the US use the term “California car” as shorthand for salt-, moisture- and thus rust-free sheetmetal.

Buyer beware, of course, as cars registered in the Golden State weren’t necessarily California cars to begin with, but here’s the thing — cars coming into the state don’t get the original plates, making the period-correct ones a telltale indicator of exactly how California the car really is. Thing is, California doesn’t even know its own license plate history. Continue reading →

Posted in Otaku Obsession | Tagged license plates | 30 Comments

NEWS: Tree-damaged Toyota 2000GT arrives at repair shop

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Ben Hsu

We were all saddened by the recent loss of a Toyota 2000GT in Japan, crushed when it passed under a tree at the exact instant the aged beech decided to fall. The good news is, the owner has decided to rebuild it. We have the technology. Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged 2000gt, toyota | 31 Comments

MEDIA: 1987 Isuzu Impulse Turbo RS Limited Edition in Hemmings

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Ben Hsu

If there’s one marque that does not get the love it deserves in classic car circles, it’s Isuzu. Despite never producing a 510 or Civic, a car that really took the Japanese motoring world by storm, vintage Isuzus are ripe for crossover collectability from the concours d’elegance crowd. Continue reading →

Posted in media, minicars | Tagged impulse, isuzu, piazza | 23 Comments

KIDNEY, ANYONE? 1972 Hakosuka GT-R to be auctioned at Monterey Historics

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Ben Hsu

Welp, it’s happened. A 1972 Nissan Skyline GT-R will be offered at RM Auctions this year at the Monterey Historics, the week-long celebration of the automobile during which sheetmetal is admired, coveted and traded amongst kajillionaires like Picassos. After last year’s record sales of a Toyota 2000GT crossing the block at $1.2 million at auction, the floodgates to Japan have been opened. Continue reading →

Posted in for sale | Tagged c10, Hakosuka, nissan, skyline | 15 Comments

QotW: Just the tip of the iceberg, or last of a dying breed?

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Ben Hsu

Last week we saw several nice Hondas come out of the woodwork, including newfound appreciation for a Mugen CRX Si with customizing styles way ahead of its time.

Are these just the tip of the iceberg, or last of a dying breed?

It’s a truth as old as the ages: Any Honda with even the slightest hint of performance pedigree has been snatched up and customized, thanks to their affordability, Old Man Soichiro-infused driving dynamics and complete lack of resemblance to modern Hondas. Some have been modded tastefully, some not so much.

We don’t have a problem with putting personal touches on Hondas as long as stock ones continue to exist, and in great enough numbers that the occasional errant beech tree attack won’t dwindle their numbers by too much. Did we just see a few unicorns, or are there more, squirreled away in garages waiting to cross the auction lines at Barrett-Jackson 2020?

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 your greatest JNC tragedy?” Continue reading →

Posted in Question of the Week | Tagged honda, QotW | 8 Comments

Happy Father’s Day from JNC

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Ben Hsu

To all the daddy JNCers out there, Happy Fathers Day.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged honda, prelude | 3 Comments

PROFILES: Sid Chiang’s 1986 Mugen Honda CRX Si

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Guest Writer

Sid Chiang is a long-time veteran of the automotive design world. He’s held positions at GM, where he worked on cars like as the C7 and Camaro, and before that Ford, where he was lead exterior designer on the ST44 Probe and Ford GT. Prior to today, there were only three known photos of Sid’s Mugen CRX on the internet, all mysteriously taken inside a Ford studio. Here’s how it happened in Sid’s own words. —Ben

I’ve always had the love of sporty cars, especially small displacement 4-cylinder imports. As a teenager in the 70s, my first car was a rusty 1969 Triumph GT6+ that I loved and cherished. I drove it to into the ground and as many teenagers do, ended up nearly killing myself in it. But it didn’t kill my addiction to 4-bangers. Continue reading →

Posted in profiles | Tagged crx, honda, mugen | 21 Comments

NEWS: Pre-1969 California Legacy Plates approved

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Ben Hsu

Residents of California can now get classic black license plates for their vintage cars. In 2012 the state began taking applications for the Legacy License Plate program, promising to re-issue the classic colors if at least 7,500 people signed up.The black plate, originally produced from 1963-69, just reached that magic number and all systems are go. They will go into production in January 2015.

Unlike this diesel Isuzu Bellel, however, most cars owned by JNCers were built in the 1970s and require blue plates to be period correct. Unfortunately for those, there’s still a ways to go.

Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged california, license plates | 9 Comments

KIDNEY, ANYONE? Bubble Economy Honda Civic Si trio

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Dan Hsu

Have you noticed? Original, mint-condition, late-80s Hondas have been coming out of the woodwork over the past year. On eBay, right now, there are two Civic Si examples, both incredibly clean, while a similar-condition CRX Si auction just ended. Are we seeing a classic Honda boom? Continue reading →

Posted in for sale | Tagged civic, civic si, crx, ea, ef, honda, kidney anyone | 10 Comments

Reminder: Nissan Jam 2014, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Dan Hsu

Just a reminder, the 2014 Nissan Jam show will be this Sunday, June 15 in Costa Mesa, California.

There will be over 100 Datsun and Nissan cars at this event, from Sunnys to GT-Rs, hakosukas to Zs.

Special guest MC Alain Montiel will be hosting, and vendors include Stillen Motorsports, Barramundi Wheels, and more.

Stop by the JNC booth — we will be debuting an exclusive T-shirt created by DesignerD, the Nissan designer who created the Nissan IDx!

Doors open at 10am and the show goes till 2pm. See you there!

Location: Connell Nissan, 2850 Harbor Blvd. Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged Nissan Jam | 3 Comments

NEWS: The end of the kei car era?

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Ben Hsu

For Japan’s largest automakers, the kei car has outlived its usefulness. The government is aware of this and is ratcheting up taxes on the uniquely Japanese microcars to make their cost of ownership more on par with regular passenger cars. The move could signal the end of the kei car era as we know it. Continue reading →