We all know why the BRE Datsun 510 rules, but what’s it like to actually drive? In this fantastic video by Road & Track, professional IndyCar racer Alex Lloyd gives viewers a seat-of-the-pants rundown on what makes the car so magical. This is likely the closest most of us will ever get to driving the magnificent beast ourselves, and the ridealong is absolutely soul-stirring. Continue reading
As the name implies, SevenStock was originally a gathering for Mazda‘s iconic sports car, the RX-7. Over the years it’s evolved to include all rotaries, and this year they teamed up with MazFest to throw one giant celebration of all cars flying under the zoom-zoom banner. Continue reading
It’s no secret that many of us on the JNC team are certifiably nutty about wagons, yours truly included (There are a couple that aren’t, and they look at us as if we’re the weird ones when it’s clearly the other way around. Sheesh.). The Wagon section is always my favorite part of our JCCS coverage, so let’s jump right in like an excitable dog through the rear hatch. Continue reading
Mazda likes to brag that on any given weekend there are more of their cars on America’s road-race circuits than any other marque. It’s true that Mazdafarians love wringing their cars out, and MazFest has been one of the best events to offer them cheap track time. SevenStock, on the other hand, has been one of the premier rotary-themed car shows in the US for 15 years. For 2012, the two joined forces for one massive shindig. Continue reading
Japanese automakers love emblems, and we’re not just talking about those for the various marques. In Japan, each model often has its own as well, and these badges are highly desirable to those of us who want to JDM-ize our cars. Thus we ask:
What’s the best Japanese car emblem?
As a Toyotaku I’m tempted to pick the MR2 eagle or the Soarer gryphon, but actually I would have to agree with Matt and say Mitsubishi‘s reigns supreme. The three diamonds represent the family crest of the Iwasaki clan, after Mitsubishi founder Yataro Iwasaki, and their arrangement came from the Tosa, a samurai clan that Iwasaki was part of. So not only is it geometrically simple and easily recognizable, but it has history too. See the evolution here.
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 was the greatest Mazda?” Continue reading
Jay Leno is in Japan. What comes of this trip should be interesting, but for now, watch as he tours the Nissan DNA Garage.
UPDATE: Leno goes to Toyota and drives the Lexus LFA Spyder as well! Continue reading
While plebeians consider the DeLorean the “cool car” from Back to the Future, JNCers know that the real gem from the series was the jet black 1985 Toyota 4×4 Pickup that Marty McFly owned in his new-and-improved future. Now an outfit called Time Machine Restoration has acquired the movie truck and is starting a thorough restoration. Continue reading
You want Zs? You got Zs. We begin Part 05 of our 2012 JCCS coverage with the seminal Japanese sports car, the one that forever changed perceptions of what it meant to be “J-tin” and swept America by storm. Here in the Cruise Nisei corral are the matching Datsun 240Zs of Kelvin Hiraishi, Tod Kaneko, and Raymond Lui, proving once and for all that yes, there are indeed three separate bright orange Zs in SoCal, not one insane owner that rotates wheels and engines. Continue reading
Last year at SevenStock JNC debuted “LeMans” in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Mazda 787B‘s historic win at the French enduro.
This year we follow it up with “Daytona,” the second in the series, celebrating the Mazda RX-7 that won its inaugural race in IMSA’s GTU class at the 1979 24 Hours of Daytona.
The car, driven by Yoshimi Katayama, Yojiro Terada and Takashi Yorino, was the first the RX-7 in a long line of successors that went on to dominate the IMSA league. By the time the series came an end in the early 90s, Mazda had won over 100 races, becoming the winningest marque in IMSA history.
This year saw the release of our Hot Wheels X JNC Mazda RX-7, which was inspired by this car. That subsequently led to a life-sized RX-7 by JDM Legends and Brandon Ozaki inspired by the Hot Wheels. It’s been a fantastic year for JNC and Hot Wheels, so this is our thank you to the fans.
As always, we will debut the shirt to SevenStock attendees first. We will add it to the JNC Shop after the show. See all you Mazdafarians on Saturday!
This is just a friendly reminder that SevenStock and Mazdafest have joined forces this year to form one mega-celebration of rotary power at Willow Springs Raceway this Saturday, September 29!
By the mid-70s Japanese automakers had their sights firmly set on comfortable long-distance runners that could eat up highway miles. They were often luxurious too — well, more luxurious than a Datsun 510 at least — and built for the new Japanese pastime of road tripping. In previous years most of these cars you’ll see in this article were absent from JCCS, but as the show and scene grow, that’s changing. Continue reading
Part 03 of our 2012 Japanese Classic Car Show coverage considers the very vehicles that put Nihon cars on the map. Agile and stylish, the rise of the Japanese sport coupe gave those of us who like to do our driving in bends rather than boulevards an alternative to the muscle car, and it’s what made most of us enthusiasts today. Continue reading
With all the JCCS coverage going on it’s time for east coasters’ yearly grumble session about their lack of clean cars. While it’s true that faded 510s and AE86s are not on every corner there, it’s equally true that when an old Japanese car does appear you can bet it’s going to be dead mint. Case in point: a 1988 Mitsubishi Galant Sigma currently on eBay in Philadelphia. Continue reading
In Part 02 of our coverage of the 2012 Japanese Classic Car Show we examine the fabulous four-doors that graced the Queen Mary lawn. Continue reading
From greatest engine to most luxurious to most beautiful to proudest marque, Mazdas have consistently been winners in our QotW series. And since it’s also SevenStock/Mazdafest week, we thought we’d devote the next question to this one very special marque.
What is the greatest Mazda of all time?
There have been many great Mazdas, but in the annals of Japanese motoring history it was perhaps the Savanna RX-3 that left the most indelible mark. It was the zebra-striped rotary that prevented Nissan‘s then-dominant Skyline GT-R from snatching a 50th touring car win, a public trouncing watched by nearly everyone in Japan because Nissan themselves had publicized the “Victory 50″ event so highly.
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 made you fall in love with Japanese nostalgic cars?” Continue reading
After seeing a prototype of Jun Imai’s latest design in the flesh at JCCS last weekend, we’ve had nothing but Celica on the brain all week here at JNC.
The 2012 Japanese Classic Car Show has come and gone, and this year’s was the hottest one yet. We mean that literally, as it was an unseasonably scorching 100-plus degree day, rare even for SoCal in September, but that didn’t stop throngs of enthusiasts from turning up in droves. In Part 01 of our JCCS coverage, we’ll go right to this year’s big debuts. Continue reading
Earlier this year the first section of the Shin-Tomei Expressway opened for traffic, marking a new era for Japan’s highway system. Naturally we went exploring, taking this newest road to one of the oldest inhabited regions of Japan, the Kii Peninsula. Continue reading
The beans have been spilled. Those of you who came by the Japanese Nostalgic Car booth at JCCS on Saturday were treated to a very special surprise — the Hot Wheels Toyota Corolla AE86 new for 2013. We are very proud to once again have our JNC inkan on the car, along with our friends at the JCCS! Continue reading
This past weekend one of my oldest friends, whom I’ve known since the eighth grade, came to his first JCCS (more on that later). After his baptism by fire into the world of nostalgics, he immediately went home and began scouring craigslist. This got us wondering:
What made you fall in love with Japanese nostalgic cars?
Each member of the JNC team has their own story. For Ricky it was seeing a beautiful Toyota 2000GT. For James it was his dad’s yellow MX32 Cressida. For me, it was a combination of factors. Yes, becoming aware of the achingly gorgeous 2000GT was a brain melting revelation, but even more brain melting was a trip overseas that involved a layover at Narita Airport. I had never been to another country and I naively believed, in those pre-Internet days, that the Toyotas, Nissans and Mitsubishis I was familiar with in America would be the same cars I’d see in Japan. But when I looked out that airport window and saw row after row of Crown and Cedric, complete with fender mirrors in humble taxi spec, my feeble mind was blown.
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 would you like to see at JCCS this year?” Continue reading
