Here’s another garage gem for east coasters JNCers. A seller near Philadelphia is unloading a 25,000-mile 1974 Mazda RX-4, and it’s a beaut. We’ve long contended that the pre-facelift big Luce coupe was one of the sexiest cars from its era. Add what appears to be a gorgeous period Iris Blue paint job with white interior and you’ve got a real stunner. Although we could do without the white vinyl top, door ding guards and US-spec bumper extenders, this car is rare enough that beggars can’t be choosers. Continue reading
QotW: What should Suzuki USA have done differently?
Alas, Suzuki, we hardly knew ye. This statement rings especially true in the wake of the Suzuki’s departure from US shores last week, because as JNC reader Tyler pointed out, many of their best cars were not sold here under the Suzuki name. That’s why this week we ask:
What should Suzuki USA have done differently?
We opine that Suzuki should have imported their Alto Works RS-X to America. What’s not to love about a turbocharged, twin-cam, all-wheel-drive pocket rocket with an astounding output of 118 horsepower per liter? To be fair, that’s the specific output if you actually had a full liter, and the kei car actually had only .543 liters. Still, that’s 64 angry ponies in a package weighing 1345 pounds. Would it have changed Suzuki’s fortunes? Probably not one iota, but damn it would’ve been fun.
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 music do you listen to when driving your nostalgic?” Continue reading
FRIDAY VIDEO: Initial D Fifth Stage, Episode 01 – Encounter of Destiny
Admit it, you’ve been waiting for this, ever since Fifth Stage rumors surfaced months ago. There’s no shame in being a fan of Initial D. After all, it features some of our favorite cars drifting through the mountains of Japan, and it can’t be any worse than the live action Wangan Midnight movie.
The first episode has already been posted to YouTube and subtitled (be sure to click on the closed captioning button). Just sit back and enjoy your guilty pleasures. UPDATE: Episode 02 now out too (see below, thanks to Marcelo for the tip)! Continue reading
GRAND TOURING: Sailing through the desert in an Infiniti QX56
Lawrence of Arabia. The Road Warrior. Return of the Jedi. These journeys into the desert and the hazards that befall their heros were fully seared into our minds as we traveled from Los Angeles to Phoenix, Arizona for the 25th Z Car Convention.
Those of you who attended JCCS this year will probably never forget how skin-meltingly hot it was by the coast in Long Beach. We were headed 400 miles into a barren wasteland in the midst of this record heat wave, and as much as we love the JNC wagon, we love A/C and not turning into a powdery skeleton even more. Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? 17,000-mile 1972 Datsun 1200 Coupe
Right now on Ebay there’s a 1972 Datsun 1200 Coupe for sale, with a claimed mileage of only 17,181. Nissan USA marketed it as a fuel saver back in the day, with ads trumpeting its ability to drive from New York to Los Angeles for under $30 in fuel (in 1972 dollars, of course). Continue reading
American Suzuki Motor Corp, 1985-2012
After 27 years American Suzuki Motor Corp. has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Though it will no longer be selling cars in the US, the motorcycle and ATV side of things will continue on. Continue reading
QotW: What music do you listen to when driving your nostalgic?
We all know the correct answer is “the engine,” but sometimes you need to rock out to some tunes to fully capture that nostalgic feel.
What music do you listen to when driving your nostalgic?
With songs their bosozoku-inspired costumes and songs like “Boso Skyline Phantom,” “330,” and “Wangan Nocturne,” Kishidan (Japanese for The Knights) is our current playlist favorite. Their songs are steeped in nostalgia for rebellious youth, being outcasts and, of course, vehicular mayhem. The long performance above is from 2006 of a song called “The White Lightning of Route 127.”
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 car would you drive across Japan?” Continue reading
Reminder: Less than a month to go for Classic Japan 2012
Just a friendly reminder that there’s less than a month to go before the Classic Japan show of 2012 kicks off!
The Melbourne, Australia event will showcase over 200 classic Japanese cars and over 50 motorcycles on the lawn at Como Park in South Yarra, Victoria.
The event is put on by the Toyota Car Club of Australia, but welcomes any Japanese marques built before 1987.
JNC has shipped a package of decals to organizer Adam Laws for any of our Aussie compadres who bring a car to the show on November 25. For more details, go to the TCCAV website, and check out photos from 2011’s Classic Japan show.
Honda Celebrates 30 Years of US-built Accords
Here’s your daily dose of history. November 1, 1982 was the day when the first US-built Honda rolled off the assembly line in Marysville, Ohio. The first car to emerge from the newly constructed plant three decades ago was a gray Accord sedan, which now resides at The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan. wearing the license plate “USA 001.” Continue reading
Mazda RX-7 reportedly returning in 2017
2017 will be an important year for Mazda‘s rotary engine, as it will mark 50 years since the revolutionary motor’s debut in the 1967 Cosmo Sport. However, our mates at Australia’s aptly named The Motor Report are, well, reporting that 2017 is also the year the famed Mazda RX-7 makes its return. Continue reading
EVENTS: 2012 ZCon
In the automotive kingdom there exists only a handful of models that can inspire a car show at the national level. We’re not talking about marques here; we mean a single model so iconic and beloved that its devotees have formed a national governing body, with regional chapters across the US, and a yearly convention. Continue reading
QotW: What car would you drive across Japan?
From Hokkaido to Kagoshima, Japan has some of the coolest highways and mountain passes known to man. We live vicariously through Skorj’s Grand Touring stories, in which he travels across Japan looking for nostalgic cars “in the wild.” Though he owns a Honda S800 it is unfortunately not the most practical steed. So on his excursions he takes a late-model Honda CR-V instead, which begs the question:
What car would you drive across Japan?
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, “Which nostalgic car makes the perfect daily driver?” Continue reading
Friday Video: Jay Leno drives Toyota’s 1936 Toyoda AA
What’s it like to drive the first Toyota ever built? Jay Leno answers that question. Leno’s been on a whirlwind tour of Japan. First he stopped by the Nissan design center to drop hints about the 2014 Fairlady Z and take a spin in a 240ZG. Then he swung by Fuji Speedway to take a lap in the Lexus LFA. Next stop, Aichi Prefecture to drive Toyota’s first car, the 1936 Toyoda AA. Continue reading
MINICARS: How to make custom decals for your Hot Wheels hakosuka Skyline
Many readers have asked JNC contributor Mark “ScaleMaster” Jones exactly how he adds his amazing detail to the custom Hot Wheels he’s shown you how to build. In Today’s article he’ll explain exactly how to do just that by turning the Hot Wheels hakosuka into Kunimitsu Takahashi’s 1971 works racer. —Ricky
This is another “how to” article using a Hot Wheels C10 Skyline to create a tribute to Nissan’s 1971 Japan Grand Prix winning Skyline GT-R. It will contain mostly information about the decals and how to make your own using commonly available tools, materials and computer hardware/software. Continue reading
QotW: Which nostalgic car makes the perfect daily driver?
Some of us are blessed with enough parking to house multiple cars. Others must choose only one to fulfill all their practical, reliable and/or economical reqs while maintaining a veneer of old school Japan cool. Therefore we must ask:
Which nostalgic car makes the perfect daily driver?
As it happens, we have to haul a lot of gear around to car shows. We’d love to rock a comfy new crossover, but we gots to keep it real on the nostalgic tip, yo. We’ve taken our 1986 Cressida wagon all over SoCal, to Vegas for SEMA, and up and down the western seaboard. Here it is at California Speedway a couple weeks ago for 86Fest wearing faded AE86 steelies. The JNC wagon swallows more cargo than many modern SUVs, draws plenty of power from a nearly indestructible Toyota straight six, and most importantly, has passed that 25-year-or-older threshold. Who could ask for anything more?
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 greatest Japanese racing livery?” Continue reading
FRIDAY VIDEO: Wangan Midnight, The Movie, with subtitles
You know the drill. Boy meets Fairlady Z, boy restores Fairlady Z, boy learns Fairlady Z is possessed by a need to kill its owner. Wangan Midnight, the story of the Devil Z and its rivalry against the Blackbird Porsche has been told and retold in manga, anime, live action and video game form. Christine this is not, but you do wonder who is the one possessed, the Z or its owner. Continue reading
EVENTS: 2012 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 08: Two-Door Sedans
Some of you may be wondering what the deal with the two-door sedan is. Isn’t that just a coupe, and didn’t we already see the classic coupes at JCCS? The answer to that is, confusingly, no. Continue reading
EVENTS: 2012 Formula D Car Show & Drifting Championships
Formula D isn’t the kind of event we here at JNC normally cover, but in recent years stateside drifting has grown tremendously, and with that growth it has welcomed with open arms the nostalgics that made all this tail-sliding possible. Continue reading