Earlier this week we asked what classic Japanese car would be the best investment. Turns out the answer may not be a car at all, but a Japanese nostalgic truck. During the height of the Arizona auto auctions this past week, FJ40 Toyota Land Cruisers continued to fetch ever-higher prices. When all was said and done at Gooding & Co. the 1979 FJ40 above went for $61,600 including fees. Continue reading
Before we get started, we’re excited to announce that DaBox Toys has offered JNC readers a 7.5% discount if you purchase with the coupon code JNC2013. Now let’s take a look at this week’s minicar.
Most of you probably know Kyosho as the maker of plastic model kits and R/C cars, but since the early 2002 they’ve also been making some of the highest quality 1:64 scale diecast cars money can buy. Continue reading
It’s car auction season, and collectors with more money than sense are flocking to Arizona to pay the highest possible prices for the cars of their dreams. Our buddy Jeff Koch is covering the auctions for Hemmings and reports that an FJ40 Land Cruiser just sold for $56,000 at the Gooding auction. We don’t necessarily condone the practice of buying and flipping or stowing your car away from the world like a prized Van Gogh, but if you were…
What Japanese car is the best investment?
As a result of it being the last of its kind, its status as a pioneer of drifting, and a star of its own anime series, we think the Toyota AE86 will be hugely desirable sometime in the near future. The fact that so many were destroyed in failed attempts at said drifting make them only rarer, and its fan base is world wide. Will we see them trading for ridiculous sums at Barrett-Jackson 2030? Only time will tell.
What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining or inspiring comment by next Monday will receive a random toy. Click through to see the winner from last week’s question, “What’s the most significant “new” nostalgic car from 1988?” Continue reading
One of the greatest rivalries from the heyday of Japanese motorsports was that of Nissan versus Mazda. After the Savanna RX-3 snatched Nissan’s much anticipated 50th victory from the Skyline GT-R in December 1971, a blood feud was born. The following year that fight grew even more heated, with roaring rotaries and fierce hakosukas duking it out throughout the 1972 season. Here’s a Mazda promotional video setting the scene for the 1972 Fuji Masters Super Touring Race, which pitted RX-2s and 3s against fearsome GT-Rs in a thrilling display of wheeled combat around the 30 degree banks of Fuji Speedway. Continue reading
In the last installment our series on nostalgic collectibles, we looked at the Tomica Limited Vintage Toyota Crown. The TLV line pumped out casting after casting of stupendously detailed models of 60s and 70s cars for two years, and its success led to the formation of the Tomica Limited Vintage Neo line for 80s cars in 2006. Continue reading
There’s no event on Earth that captures the the fusion of Japano-American car culture quite like the Mooneyes Hot Rod & Custom Show. Everything from Baja Bugs to T-Buckets are represented, with the majority of cars shown are imports to the Japanese. However, this being JNC, we’re going to focus on the Nihon Steel and the particular subset of showgoers who like to apply traditional American modifications to said steel. Continue reading
You would think that being the absolute top dog of a country known for building spectacular vehicles would provide Emperor Akihito with a garage to end all garages. Instead, when the head honcho of the Japanese royal family is not being driven around in his Nissan Prince Royal or Toyota Century Royal, he slips behind the wheel of a mauve second-gen Honda Integra. Continue reading
It’s 2013, and that means a new lineup of vehicles has officially crossed the magical 25-year threshold to become nostalgics. Cars built when INXS and Arsenio Hall ruled the airwaves can now officially qualify for historic tags and and collector’s car insurance in most places. Therefore we ask:
What’s the most significant “new” nostalgic car from 1988?
Our staff vote goes to the S13 Nissan Silvia. As other manufacturers abandoned the affordable RWD sports coupe, Nissan doubled down and created one of the most iconic Japanese performance cars ever made, still sliding at any given drift event a quarter century later.
What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining or inspiring comment by next Monday will receive a random toy. Click through to see the winner from last week’s question, “What’s your New Year’s resolution?” Continue reading
This is just a quick post to let you guys know that Scooter Patrick, former driver of the white-and-red #33 Carroll Shelby SCCA Toyota 2000GT, has a case of rapid onset Alzheimer’s disease. There’s a fundraiser happening January 12, 2013 at the Riverside International Auto Museum from 1-5 pm.
If you’d like to attend, please download the flyer.
And now, please allow the shotgun rider of this shakotan kenmeri to demonstrate proper bosozoku door riding technique. The torso must be upright and positioned completely outside the vehicle. Grasp the grab handle tightly as the driver executes doughnuts. Continue reading
Looks like the J-tin is coming on early and often for Hot Wheels‘ 2013 lineup. Hot on the heels of the hakosuka and Jun Imai‘s 510 wagon comes this just-leaked image of the Boulevard series Subaru BRAT. This is the second color of this casting, which will hopefully be easier to find than the 2012 Hot Ones version. For the newbie, Boulevard series cars are premium models with special graphics, metal base and rubber tires and cost around $5. It’s only the second week of the year and it’s off to a smashing start for collectors.
[Image: T-hunted]
Our picks of Classic Japan 2012 coverage from Melbourne, Australia thanks to guest writer Adam Laws —Dan
Our fifth installment of Classic Japan 2012 coverage features the JNC staff favourites. As it turns out, they have pretty damned good taste as I like the majority of these too! Continue reading
Part 04 of Adam Laws’ Classic Japan 2012 coverage from Melbourne, Australia covers a whole bunch of J-tin that is rarely spotted in the USA. —Dan
In Australia the Mazda range in the 70s included both the RX-3 and its pedestrian little brother, the 4-cylinder 808 (called the Grand Familia in Japan I believe). Sold in sedan, wagon and coupe versions, many of them gave up their life as to become an RX-3 clone, and being no expert, I can’t tell if this is the genuine article – an RX-3 sedan – or an 808 that has been converted with all the good bits. Continue reading
It’s a new year, and you know what that means. Finally, for the love of all that is good and holy, it’s time to open up that good book gathering dust on your nightstand, get that oxidized heap in your backyard moving under its own power, or wipe the drool from your keyboard and buy that nostalgic car you’ve been dreaming of. That’s why our first question of the year is:
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
We’ve got some great stuff ahead for JNC fans, but we can’t spill all the beans just yet. You’ll just have to stay tuned to this bat-channel.
What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining or inspiring comment by next Monday will receive a random toy. Click through to see the winner from last week’s question, “QotW: What do you want from Japanese Santa Claus?” Continue reading
In Part 03, Adam Laws takes a look at the modified nostalgic cars from the 2012 Classic Japan show of Melbourne, Australia. —Dan
Part 03 of our Classic Japan 2012 coverage features a whole range of modified classics, those special beasts whose owners have put their own spin on what their J-tin should look and go like. Sometimes this modification requires quite a lot of commitment, as our government and police are not great fans of modified cars and will happily put an old car off the road if they think it’s modified beyond their deemed limits of appropriateness. Continue reading
We’re less than a week into 2013 and already it’s turning in to a great year for Hot Wheels collectors. First we had news of the Treasure Hunt Toyota 2000GT that’s coming out March-ish, but before that even hits the pegs Mattel has unleashed the Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-X and Datsun 510 wagon. Continue reading
In Part 02, Adam Laws continues his coverage of Classic Japan 2012 from Melbourne, Down Under. —Dan
Our second installment of Classic Japan coverage from Australia is focused on some quintessential 80’s classics. Bring on the boxes!
1986 saw the dawning of a new era in Australian motoring circles with the introduction of unleaded petrol, along with various new emissions targets for new cars. This meant manufacturers could no longer get away with selling carby-fed smog makers, and instead fuel injection quickly became the norm. This in turn meant that hot engines, like the venerable 4AGE, were finally a viable option. Continue reading
Today’s coverage of the 2012 Classic Japan comes courtesy of Australian contributor Adam Laws. Enjoy! —Dan
November 25th saw the second running of Classic Japan in Melbourne, Australia, a show celebrating 25-plus-year-old J-tin, run by the Toyota Car Club of Australia (VIC), in conjunction with the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club. Continue reading
Happy new year from the JNC team! Download the wallpaper-sized nengajo below. Continue reading
Boom. Ever since we began reporting on Hot Wheels‘ Renaissance of classic Japanese cars, there’s been one that collectors clamored for more than any other — the Toyota 2000GT. Well, your offerings to the diecast gods have paid off.
We first saw a prototype of this model (in blue) over a year ago but were forced to take a blood oath of secrecy. As you might have guessed, it’s another Jun Imai creation, but it’s not just the latest in his great string of diecast Japanese classics. It’s Jun’s favorite real-world car as well. Continue reading
