All hail the one-box! Our final installment of the 2012 Mooneyes Street Car Nationals is going to be van-tastic! After all, the SCN is a festival of Amesha Kulture, and what’s more American than vannin’? Continue reading
2012 Japanese Classic Car Show registration now open
The year’s most anticipated gathering of nostalgics will soon be upon us. The 2012 Japanese Classic Car Show falls on September 15 this year and will be held at the usual venue by the Queen Mary in sunny Long Beach, California.
Registration opens today, and if you have a vintage Japanese car or motorcycle to share with the growing kyuusha community, sign up now. Spaces are limited so be sure to register early.
To whet your appetite, here are some photos from the 2011 JCCS. Don’t miss it!
Classic CM: “My Baby and Me” Mitsubishi Cordia ad by Randy Crawford
Mitsubishi had big plans for Tredia/Cordia twins when they debuted in 1982. The Triple Diamond Zaibatsu was ready to go mainstream with a front-wheel-drive compact, the wave of the future! Mitsu went as far as commissioning renowned album cover artist Shusei Nagaoka to whip up some sci-fi illustrations. The TV commercials weren’t quite as far out, but Mitsubishi recorded a dedicated theme song called “Me and My Baby (Cor-Di-A)” by jazz singer Randy Crawford. Continue reading
Posted in cm, Friday Video, mitsubishi
Tagged ad, Classic CM, cm, commercial, cordia, Friday Video, mitsubishi, randy crawford
4 Comments
The last rotary has been built by Mazda
Last year Mazda said that come next June it would end production of the RX-8 and, by extension, the rotary engine. Well that day has arrived. Mazda has announced that last Friday, June 22, the final Wankel rolled off the assembly lines in Hiroshima. Continue reading
Toyota Land Cruiser Museum opens at Miller Motorsports Park
This week the Toyota Land Cruiser received its own dedicated museum in Tooele, Utah. The Land Cruiser Heritage Museum currently holds 40 of the stalwart Japanese SUVs, ranging from the monstrous Mega Cruiser built for the JSDF to a 1959 FJ25, one of the first Toyotas to be imported to the US, period. Continue reading
Posted in museums, toyota
Tagged fj40, fj55, fj60, fj65, land cruiser, land cruiser heritage museum, Miller Motorsports Park, toyota
11 Comments
EVENTS: 2012 Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, Part 03: Wagons
There’s a special place in the Japanese heart for wagons. Sure, they’re loved in America now, but over there in Japan they were always cool. At the Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, where sports cars and two-doors are the exception, not the rule, wagons are practically a way of life. We certainly could be happy with this Toyota Mark II (or a similar Cressida) as our only car for eternity, as long as it was also finished in metallic avocado. In no universe would Appliance Turbo-Vecs be our first wheel choice, but they somehow fit nicely on this goon. Continue reading
Posted in events, mazda, nissan, subaru, toyota, wagons
Tagged 323, a30, b110, b310, cedric, chaser, cressida, crown, datsun, familia, gloria, kujira, leone, m10, mark II, mazda, mooneyes, ms63, mx72, nissan, pan-am, prairie, prince, s110, s120, s130, s40, s50, s60, skyline, stanza, street car nationals, subaru, sunny, toyota, van, wa30, wagon, x30, x70, y30
6 Comments
QotW: What’s the coolest kei car?
Seeing some excellent examples of kei jidosha on the way back from Nagano last week got our brains churning. These uniquely Japanese micro machines are what put the island nation on the road and have been around for over 50 years. There are way more spiffy examples than our 360cc minds can sort out, so we put the question to you:
What’s the coolest kei car?
On paper, it would seem the Vamos is one of the most amazing cars ever built. A mid-engined Honda convertible with a 9,000rpm redline? Sign us up! Oh wait, it’s got a 30PS SOHC 0.36 liter motor? Well, at least we can go to the beach, have a picnic, and load ladders with ease while fashionably dressed.
What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining, well-written, or inspiring comment by next Monday will receive a random JDM toy. Click through to see the winner from last week’s question, “What Japanese concept should have been produced?” Continue reading
Posted in kei, Question of the Week
Tagged cherry, datsun, dome, honda, kei, minicars, nissan, QotW, Question of the Week, vamos, Zero
29 Comments
JNC Toyota RWD & Z Heritage shirts available in the shop
JNC‘s 2012 Z Generations and Toyota RWD shirts are now available online. Actually, they have been for a while and eagle-eyed JNCer’s have been getting them, but we neglected to make an official announcement.
Z Generations debuted at the Z-Car West Coast Nationals and is our homage to the legendary and iconic Nissan Fairlady Z. Each of the six silhouettes is accompanied by the corresponding “Z” emblem, which differs for each generation.
RWD Toyota debuted at Toyotafest and is our tribute to the return of the lightweight FR sports coupe. Iconic rear-wheel-drive cars from the Big T’s past include the 2000GT, Sports 800, TE27 and AE86. They are are pictured in rear-quarter view to emphasize the driven wheels, and are all headed towards the wearer’s heart.
Click here to visit the JNC Shop.
Posted in nissan, nostalgic wear, toyota
Tagged 2000gt, 240z, 260z, 280z, 280zx, 300zx, 350z, 370z, ae86, brz, corolla, datsun, fr-s, gt 86, hachiroku, JNC shirts, levin, nissan, s130, s30, scion, sports 800, sprinter, subaru, te27, toyota, Toyota RWD, trueno, Z Generations, z31, z32, z33, z34
2 Comments
Friday Video: Depth of Speed’s Wagon Heritage
This Friday Josh Clason‘s Depth of Speed series returns with a new video about Duane Schaffer‘s Datsun 510 Wagon and Toyota Hilux. As always, the cinematography is gorgeous and the story quite moving to the die-hard car nut. Schaffer’s garage is packed with period automobilia, and there’s nothing we like more than some cross-marque love, especially in truck and wagon form. Watch the video below the fold. Continue reading
Posted in datsun, Friday Video, toyota, trucks, wagons
Tagged 510, bluebird, datsun, depth of speed, Friday Video, hilux, josh clason, nissan, pickup, toyota, truck, wagon
10 Comments
Grand Touring: A Weekend in Nagano Prefecture
Eight-and-a-half feet of reliable snowfall blankets the mountains of Nagano Prefecture each winter, transforming quaint and quiet towns into temporary getaways for Tokyo-ites. When the snows disappear so do the downhill skiers and onsen soakers, but local FJ40 Land Cruisers stay to witness the spring thaw. Parked before a former thatched-roof house, the consummate rig for such climates appears to have braved many Nagano frosts. Continue reading
Posted in Grand Touring, honda, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, subaru, toyota
Tagged Bessho, bus, Chikuma, chuo expressway, cr-v, daihatsu, fd, fj40, fuji heavy industries, fuso, hijet, hino, honda, j3, jeep, Kakeyu, kei, land cruiser, mazda, mitsubishi, Nagano, onsen, r3, rx-7, subaru, subaru 360, Summer Wars, toyota, Ueda, vitz, yaris
9 Comments
EVENTS: 2012 Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, Part 02: Sedans
The Mooneyes Street Car Nationals may take place in Tokyo, but unlike the typical kyuusha gathering the SCN is a celebration of Amesha Kulture. That’s why you’re more likely to spot a Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier van than a G-nosed Z, and if there’s a barikan Corona it’s going to have white-letter radials on slot mags. Continue reading
Posted in events, honda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota
Tagged 130, 230, 430, 510, a30, appliance, b110, barikan, barracuda, bluebird, cedoglo, cedric, century, concerto, corona, crown, datsun, datsun 1200, debonair, gloria, hardtop, honda, k12, march, mitsubishi, motor wheel spyder, nissan, Paint Factory, rays, rt40, rt50, s110, s150, s50, special six, sunny, t40, t50, te37, toyota, turbo-vec, volk, vto
12 Comments
QotW: What Japanese concept should have been produced?
The Tokyo Motor Show is known across the auto industry for having the most crazed concepts in auto-dom. Future is what Japan does best, but last week Toyota debuted a concept at a toy show to get Japanese kids off their cellphones and back into garages. That’s why this week’s question is:
What Japanese concept should have been produced?
Our pick is the 1985 Nissan MID4. It was Nissan’s answer to Toyota‘s MR2, but armed with a twin-cam, 24-valve V6. Unlike many concepts it seemed production ready and many assumed it’d be the next Fairlady Z. Two years later Nissan came out with the MID4 II concept, adding improved aerodynamics and twin turbos for a VG30DETT putting down 330 horsepower. It probably would have been a Porsche killer, but it was too expensive for what the market would bear.
What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining, well-written, or inspiring comment by next Monday will receive a random JDM toy. Click through to see the winner from last week’s question, “What’s the coolest vintage barrel?” Continue reading
Posted in concepts, minicars, nissan, Question of the Week, toyota, wheels
Tagged concept, konami, MID4, minicars, MkI, mz11, nissan, rs watanabe, soarer, ssr, techno phantom, toyota, vintage barrels, watanabe, wheels, z10
32 Comments
MINICARS: 2012 Hot Wheels ’87 Toyota Pickup
The latest nostalgic Hot Wheels to roll from the mad minds at Mattel is a 1987 Toyota Pickup. When it was first announced last December, we envisioned for reasons unknown a slammed minitruck, but instead it’s a lifted 4×4 that would have made Marty McFly forget all about his DeLorean. Continue reading
Friday Video: Depth of Speed’s Track Day & Taking the Plunge
What’s more stirring, the sight of a crimson hakosuka in motion or the heartfelt love of a car nut for his dream machine? Two new Depth of Speed videos follow the same red KGC10 Nissan Skyline, first as JDM Legends wrings it out at Utah’s scenic Miller Motorsports Park, and then after it’s found a new owner who teaches transportation design at the prestigious Art Center College of Design. Continue reading
Posted in Friday Video, nissan
Tagged c10, depth of speed, Friday Video, Hakosuka, kgc10, kpgc10, Miller Motorsports Park, nissan, skyline
9 Comments
Toyota Camatte concept debuts at Tokyo Toy Show
This charming, retro-looking contraption is the Toyota Camatte, a real car that ToMoCo unveiled today at the Tokyo Toy Show. The venue may seem odd, but the concept’s goal is to spark children’s interest in cars, a noble cause if there ever was one. Continue reading
EVENTS: 2012 Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, Part 01: Coupes, Two-Doors & Utes
As you can guess by the name, the Street Car Nationals put on by Mooneyes each year is a festival of Amesha — American car — culture. Instead of usual Japanese fare like step-lipped SSRs and racing livery, this show is all about chromed slot mags and pin stripes.
Case in point: the sanitora was never sold in the US, but this canary yellow Sunny Truck unabashedly sports door rather than fender mirrors, ding guards circa 1982, and a genuine California license plate complete with frame from Buena Park Nissan. Continue reading
Posted in events, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, prince, toyota, trucks
Tagged 221, 510, 620, arrow truck, b-series, b120, b1600, b1800, b210, bluebird, bre, clipper, corona, courier, crown, d50, datsun, datsun 1200, dodge, enkei, enkei dish, ford, forte, hilux, kujira, libre, mazda, miler, mitsubishi, ms75, nissan, peter brock, pickup, plymouth, prince, proceed, s60, s80, sanitora, sunny, sunny excellent, sunny truck, t140, toyota, truck
10 Comments
Subaru Philosophy blog launches
Fuji Heavy Industries recently launched the Subaru Philosophy blog, and although it has only two posts so far things look promising. The first describes the origins of the company name and the logo (spoiler alert: the Pleiades constellation), while the second one details the 1966 launch of the Subaru 1000, which was meant to compete with the Nissan Sunny, Toyota Corolla and Mazda Familia. Here’s to the hope of many more archival photos surfacing at this particular URL.
QotW: What’s the coolest vintage barrel?
No other car culture comes close to Japan’s in terms of wheels. The sheer enormity of selection can be matched only by the magnitude of a rim collector’s obsession. From ninja star designs to barrels deep enough to bathe a baby in, variations and possibilities (and prices) know no bounds. So it’s about time a Question of the Week asked:
What is the coolest vintage barrel?
There’s nothing like a black Watanabe, but then again there’s the more-expensive-than-most-cars pink Hayashi Yayoi “sakura” and everything in between. We can’t decide, so it’s up to you, dear reader.
As always, the most entertaining, well-written, or inspiring comment by next Monday will receive a random JDM toy. Click through to see the winner from last week’s question, “What car would you buy today to preserve for posterity?” Continue reading
Posted in Question of the Week, wheels
Tagged cube, lexus, lfa, nissan, Question of the Week, vintage barrels, wheels
44 Comments
Lexus LFA engineer Chiharu Tamura drives a Subaru 360
Chiharu Tamura may be a hero to many for his work as Deputy Chief Engineer of the Lexus LFA. To us, it’s because he drives a 1968 Subaru 360. Not even 27 of these 20PS kei jidosha would equal a single LFA’s output, but apparently a man who works on a 553-horsepower supercar needs only an air-cooled two-stroke twin to get around. Who says a Toyota–Subaru union can’t yield great results? Check out TTAC for the full profile.
[Image: Bertel Schmidt]
Friday Video: Kamikaze Road V
And now for something completely different, one of the many home-grown videos of Japan’s car culture from the age of VHS. This one’s called Kamikaze Road V, and shows of the somewhat unrefined side of 1980s bosozoku style, when people were throwing anything and everything at their cars and seeing what stuck. Nowadays, the true nostalgic ‘zoku have filtered out some of the gaudier aspects of this era, like excessive venting and Benz grilles, and kept the cool stuff like deep barrels, stretched tires and flares. All we can say is we wish they kept the hair too. Continue reading
Posted in Friday Video, nissan, toyota
Tagged bosozoku, datsun, gurachan, Kamikaze Road, nissan, shakotan, toyota
10 Comments
