The S130 Fairlady Z is by no means an ugly car. In fact it was once considered the must-have car of its time. Yet nowadays it gets little to no love from the Z-car crowd, whose legion of newcomers much prefer the lighter, purer, and more O.G. S30 chassis. But just look at this photo from a Japanese S130 catalog! It’s got everything — a cool car, amazing lighting, a hot chick in a racing suit, and a damn puma. Continue reading
Turn your Datsun into a Champion with the 210ZX!
It’s as if the planets have aligned. Just as we posed a QotW about Japan’s ugliest car, a reader unearths this long-forgotten piece of motoring history. Behold, the Datsun 210ZX! Continue reading
Question of the Week: What is the ugliest Japanese car?
Without even reading the title, you can probably guess what this week’s QotW is just by photo alone.
What is the ugliest Japanese car?
Sorry Kev, but I’m going to have to make an executive decision on this one. The 1988 Autech Stelvio is both proof that the Italians were not infallible when it came to good design, and that there was once a time when Nissan was indeed crazy enough to green-light something like this. One of the automotive world’s great tragedies is that a road as incredible as the Stelvio Pass must now share a name with this abomination. Underneath, it’s an ¥18 million F31 Leopard/Infiniti M30, albeit one with 320hp, but as Kev has noted you could buy two NSX-Rs for that price.
As usual, the best (not the most-correct, but the most entertaining/well-written/inspiring) comment will receive a random JDM toy in the mail. Click through to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What is the most beautiful Japanese car?” Continue reading
Posted in mazda, nissan, Question of the Week, toyota
Tagged 1500 sports, 1600 sports, 2000 sports, autech, choro-q, crown, datsun, enfini, fairlady, fairlady roadster, fd3s, mazda, minicars, ms75, nissan, Question of the Week, rx-7, s60, stelvio, toyota, zagato
38 Comments
Friday Video: Beg for the sweet release of death after listening to the Z-Zuke song
Drop the song title “Z-Zuke” into a translator and you get “pickled Z.” While it is true that in Japanese zuke means “pickled” as delicious in tsukemono, this little ditty is not about making a jar of preserved vegetables from your S30. Zuke also means “to absorb oneself in” (ie, to be obsessed with) as in “JNCers are all kyuusha-zuke!”
Sadly, one can get a bit too absorbed, and whoever composed this over-sugared, seizure-inducing techno tune appears to have let their love of a good G-nose completely warp their sanity. We can’t really describe the video per se, as we woke up in a puddle of our own drool after blacking out for three days, before which our last conscious thought might have been that despite a 2007 release, Z-Zuke’s production values appear to be more appropriate for a cable access show circa 1982. All we can really say is proceed to watch it at your own risk. And though it’s no Far East Movement, should the urge to listen to this song more than once actually strike you, here it is on Amazon Japan. Continue reading
Shakotan: Zokusha Patrol Car will make you want to get pulled over
What in holy hell is going on here? A zokusha a police car? It’s topsy-turvy, man. Like cats playing with dogs! Shouldn’t the lowered, widened rides of the OG Japanese bad boys be the very antithesis of law-and-order establishment enforcers from one of the world’s most law abiding nations? Continue reading
Toyota revamps development process to build bolder cars
More good news comes pouring from the C-level offices of our beloved automakers. The latest word from Japan is that Toyota has given its product development techniques a makeover so that they’ll result in less boring cars. It appears that over the decades, the number of executives signing off on each vehicle has ballooned to anywhere from 80 to 100! Continue reading
Nissan design chief hints at return of Silvia or lightweight Fairlady Z
Over the weekend design chief Shiro Nakamura told the Sydney Morning Herald that Nissan is looking to downsize its sports cars. “I much prefer smaller sports car,” he was quoted as saying. “It is the time to look at [smaller engines]. With 370Z, we still don’t know next generation will have a larger or smaller engine.” Nakamura-san noted the importance of lightness, which would allow smaller-displacement engines for similar performance.
This led to speculation that the the Silvia would return, and we’re going to fuel that particular fire even more. Our contact tells us the word from inside Nissan is that the Silvia S16 has in fact been given the green light (again). Continue reading
Question of the Week: What is the most beautiful Japanese car?
This week’s QotW is one that anyone can answer, as it requires no knowledge of history, obscure Japanese trivia, or even an ability to differentiate between a sparkplug and a lug nut. All it takes is a pair of eyes.
What is the most beautiful Japanese car?
For our suggestion, we turn to JNC‘s art director and Art Center College of Design alum Yee Chan, who says that the 1967 Toyota 2000GT is not only the most beautiful car from Japan, but among the top five most beautiful cars ever built, period. It looks stunning from every angle, and the orgy of compound curves makes the sheetmetal dance before your very eyes as you walk around the car.
What do you, dear readers, think? As usual, best comment will receive a random JDM toy in the mail. Last week’s QotW, “What is Japan’s proudest marque?” raised much debate in the comments as well as at the JNC water cooler. Click through for the answer below. Continue reading
Posted in honda, mazda, nissan, Question of the Week
Tagged honda, mazda, nissan, prince, Question of the Week, soichiro honda
59 Comments
Friday Video: Seizure-inducing onslaught of vintage photos is an Isuzu ad, surprisingly
Out of all the Japanese automakers we’d vote Isuzu, hands down, as the marque least likely scour the attic for a heritage hyping infodump of family photos in the name of advertising. Sure we’ve seen history-laden campaigns from the likes of Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and Subaru, but Isuzu? Continue reading
Shakotan: You know your car is low when…
Actually, the road-mopping tsurikawa is laying flat with the help of a carabiner, but the point is nevertheless made. This super slammed A40 Celica honestly couldn’t be any lower without that rear diffuser getting caught on a manhole cover, but is this considered cheating?
[via Riverside]
Tomica R30 Skyline Super Silhouette is among the most detailed 1/64 cars ever
Since Tomica‘s sponsorship of Masahiro Hasemi‘s actual Group 5 R30 Skyline Super Silhouette back in the early 80s, the insanely be-winged racer has been replicated in countless forms. The latest iteration will be released this May in Tomytec‘s Tomica Limited Vintage Neo lineup and — with full interior, bespoke wheels, and a removable nose just like the real thing — promises to be one of the most detailed 1:64 scale model cars ever made. Continue reading
Posted in minicars, motorsports, nissan
8 Comments
Kidney, Anyone? 18,000-mile 1973 Datsun 510
Actually, it’ll take more than a kidney to get your grubby little paws on this sub-18,000-mile 1973 Datsun 510, because it’s not even for sale. Despite many inquiries, it’s stayed in the same family for 40 years and three generations. Think of this post as more of an inspirational tale, one that offers hope to those trying to find an unmolested example of the quintessential Japanese sport sedan before the rat rodders and engine swappers have their way with it. See, Virginia, mint 510s do exist (as long as you don’t mind a slushbox)! Even if the owner insists on hanging on to this heirloom, isn’t it nice to know that it’s out there? For more photos, visit our friends at TTAC.
Question of the Week: What is Japan’s proudest marque?
The winner of last week’s QotW, “What 1987 car will be the next classic?” by a slim margin is Isaac with his short-but-simple answer, “’87 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II.” They were criticized in-period for looking too much like a Porsche 944, but if anything the styling has aged more gracefully than the front-engined German, and it had class-leading performance and handling for the Japanese market in the late 80s. Add in increasing rarity due to drifters smushing them into trees and the cost of rotary engine rebuilds is making restoration uneconomic — the perfect ingredients for an up-and-coming classic.
Plus, the FC3S continued Mazda’s long tradition of dominating IMSA endurance races that began with the first RX-7, which leads us to our next QotW.
What is the Japan’s proudest marque?
Posted in Question of the Week
Tagged daihatsu, datsun, fc, fc3s, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, Question of the Week, rx-7, savanna, subaru, toyota
39 Comments
Neo-86 jumpstarts Japan’s waning car culture
Even up until the mid-2000s Japan was swarming with sleek, souped up performance machines that would give any JDM nut seizures of joy. A stroll down any major street was like tracking a pre-race establishing shot from Tokyo Drift. The current and former AE86 owners on the JNC staff were waxing nostalgic about videos like the one above, with Keiichi Tsuchiya going hell for leather on a winding road in a pretty stock hachiroku.
But talk to anyone embedded in Nihon’s car culture today and they’ll give you the same doom-and-gloom scenario: the Japanese auto enthusiast is dying. Sports cars are too expensive for kids today, who are mostly interested in cellphones and electronic gadgets anyway. Continue reading
Posted in Friday Video, toyota
Tagged ae86, corolla, fr-s, Friday Video, gt 86, hachiroku, keiichi tsuchiya, levin, scion, sprinter, touge, toyota, toyota 86, trueno
8 Comments
EVENTS: Eagle Rock Datsun-Nippon Swap Meet
Laugh all you want at our super-strict smog tests, but at the end of the day SoCal has at least one redeeming trait — enough nostalgics to hold a regular swap meet. Here’s what you missed from the recent Eagle Rock Datsun-Nippon Swap Meet. Continue reading
Posted in events, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota, wagons
Tagged 510, 720, a20, b310, bluebird, c22, celica, colt, corolla, datsun, dodge, galant, king cab, levin, libre, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, nl320, phantom, rx-3, sprinter, ssr, SSR MkII, te27, te28, techno, toyota, trueno, vanette, wagon
21 Comments
B310 Sunny Shooting Brake is a USDM Jammer’s wet dream
This guy’s pretty crafty with the Photoshop. He calls it the Nissan Sunny California Shooting Brake. Let’s see… big bumpers, door mirrors, two-door wagon, faux wood-grain paneling and the word “California.” Sounds like a USDM Jammer’s wet dream to us. For more, see VirtualModels.org.
Kidney, Anyone? Tuned 1974 Mazda RX-4
It’s not a limited edition, nor does it have a slew of rare options, but we at JNC have a soft spot for the 2nd-gen Luce. They’re just rare in general and although much maligned when new, 38 years later it’s a beautiful reminder of pre-NHTSA safety bumper design.
This 1974 Mazda RX-4 is located in Victoria, BC and while not an original-owner car, it has resided in the same garage for 20 years. Light mods have been made, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at it — exactly the type of tuning we dig. The engine is said to have only 700 km on the rebuild and included are some rare Racing Beat bolt-ons. The asking price is $8,500.
Question of the Week: What 1987 car is the next classic?
It’s 2012 and that means another new model year has made it into the ranks of “classic.” The rolling 25 year cutoff for vehicles eligible for historic license plates and classic car insurance is now at the year of Iran-Contra, The Joshua Tree and The Simpsons. So we ask you, dear JNCers:
What 1987 car will be the next classic?
Posted in Question of the Week, toyota
Tagged all-trac, celica, gt-four, long beach grand prix, pace car, Question of the Week, safety car, st165, toyota
31 Comments
Friday Video: Gene Hackman, Toyota Celica racer
The most famous celebrity driver raced under Nissan’s white-red-blue colors, but their main rival had an Oscar-winner of their own flying the red-orange-yellow. Yes, Nissan may have had Newman, but Toyota had Hackman. After competing in the SCCA Formula Ford series in the 70s, Little Bill Daggett raced Dan Gurney‘s ’81 Toyota Celica in the 1983 Pepsi 24 Hours of Daytona. Continue reading
Posted in motorsports, toyota
Tagged 24 hrs of daytona, a40, a60, celica, dan gurney, daytona, Gene Hackman, supra, toyota
8 Comments
California bill may exempt pre-1981 cars from smog testing
Car nuts in states which are not California may envy our perpetual sunshine and plentiful kyuusha stocks, but when it comes to our emissions laws they just point and laugh. Most states have a rolling cutoff for cars of a certain age that exempt them from smog testing, but the Republic of California has frozen that number at 1976.
That means all vehicles that year or newer must pass Cali’s notoriously picky tailpipe sniffers to be street legal, dooming many older, poorly maintained Japanese cars to the scrapheap. Thankfully, a bill has been introduced into the state senate that, if passed, will move the cutoff forward to 1981. Continue reading
