If you needed further proof that Akio Toyoda is the most delightful car executive in the world, look no further. The former president of Toyota recently charmed Japan’s netizens when he was spotted at a rally event in Japan driving a Honda. “What kind of car is this?” the cameraman asks as Toyoda pulls up. With nothing short of total enthusiasm, the current Toyota chairman says, “It’s a Honda!” before chucking a thumbs up and driving off. Continue reading
QotW: What’s in your ideal classic and daily two-car garage?
Due to life circumstances, you have only two parking spaces at your residence and will for the foreseeable future. Fortunately the car gods have granted you one space for the JNC of your dreams, no questions asked except it must be 25 years or older. The other must be your daily driver for work and family-hauling duties. It can be however old you want, which means it also be a classic if that fits your particular needs. Please show your work (explain why you choose the cars you name).
What’s in your ideal classic and daily two-car garage?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What Honda model is the most Honda?“. Continue reading
Nissan Hardbody nameplate to be revived, likely with D21 3-spoke block wheels
Nissan dropped a mysterious little teaser Thursday centered around the delightful D21 Hardbody. The no-nonsense compact pickup embodied the notion of form following function, and there was a minimalist beauty in its simplicity. We aren’t naive enough to think that Nissan will bring back the D21, but the press release reads, “The Hardbody legacy continues,” and “Beloved compact truck begins its next chapter Sept. 14.” As the Hardbody is one of our favorite trucks, consider our interest piqued. Continue reading
Toyota Century SUV design sketches show longer, wider body
The dust is still settling from Toyota’s Century SUV bombshell, and strong opinions will continue to reverberate for some time. In the meantime, thanks to some design illustrations we can glimpse what those who worked on the car originally imagined. It’s not uncommon for there to be a huge chasm between what a designer intends and what is practical for packaging and production, but we can’t help but feel some opportunities were missed. Continue reading
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The Toyota Century SUV is here
At the time Toyota was developing the original Century, the most luxurious cars available in Japan were foreign made. Kiichiro Toyoda wanted to build a Japanese car that could go head-to-head with them, but Toyota’s experience in building passenger cars was in its infancy and the brand lacked the history-laden cachet of the marques it sought to challenge. “Heritage will come later. It would be forgery to pretend it exists, when it does not,” said Kenya Nakamura, the Century’s chief engineer. “We must create a completely new type of luxury car. The Achilles heel of luxury cars today is their inability to change.” This seems to be Toyota’s way of saying they need to change with the times. Continue reading
QotW: What Honda model is the most Honda?
Honda has made some fantastic vehicles in its 75 years as a company. But if you had to pick just one car to represent the distilled essence of Honda, what would it be? From the humble Civic CVCC to the world-beating NSX, there’s a tremendous breadth of engineering excellence under the H banner. Is it even possible to narrow it down to just one? Maybe not, but make your arguments here.
What Honda model is the most Honda?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your favorite Japanese car commercial?“. Continue reading
How Toyota recreated its long-lost first race car from scratch after 70 years
At long last Toyota has revealed the full story of how they recreated their first race car, the 1951 Toyopet Racer. News of the car’s existence was only made public last year, and after 71 years lost to history no examples had survived. Toyota sought to build a replica from scratch, and though the car was primitive by today’s standards the project, even with all the manufacturing might behind one of the largest automakers in the world, proved much more difficult than it might seem at first. Continue reading
The Toyota Century SUV sure looks like it’s happening
Toyota has released a teaser showing a white-gloved chauffeur hand resting on the door handle of a tall and upright black vehicle. What else could this be but the rumored Century SUV? It was rumored to arrive before the end of 2023 and camouflaged test mules have already been spotted all over Japan. It’s as good as official, people. Continue reading
Sam Mitani’s Red Mist packs action and espionage with Japanese cars
In his second novel, former International Editor for Road & Track magazine Sam Mitani continues to blend gripping action and international intrigue with fast cars, most of which are Japanese. It’s not hard to understand why. Almost 30 years ago Mitani put Japanese tuner cars on the greater automotive map when he gathered legends like GReddy, RE-Amemiya, and Veilside for a seminal R&T article that showed pre-internet Americans there was more to the aftermarket than Saleen Mustangs and Callaway Corvettes.
From the moment you open the cover, Red Mist is nonstop action where the hero drives cars like a Lexus RC F, Mazda RX-7, and Subaru WRX STI. Fans of action thrillers tend to geek out over gadgets like cars, aircraft, and weapons, and it can be frustrating when a story doesn’t get these details right. That is never the case with Red Mist. Continue reading
Datsun Fairlady, Skyline, Miata star in High Card anime
There’s a new anime series out that looks to feature some cool classic cars. We haven’t actually seen High Card, but the trailer and opening credits include a healthy dose of automotive mayhem. The plot sounds completely cuckoo-bananas ridiculous, but the star car is apparently a Datsun Fairlady roadster, and plenty of other real-world cars appear throughout. Continue reading
QotW: What’s your favorite Japanese car commercial?
Today, August 28, is the 70th anniversary of Japan’s first television broadcast and, thus, it is also the 70th anniversary of Japan’s first television commercial. TV signals began beaming at 11:20 am; the first commercial aired 40 minutes later. It was supposed to be a Seiko spot announcing the first noon on TV, but a mistake in the studio caused the film to be reversed and the sound muddled. The ad was halted after three seconds. Another version announcing 7:00 pm aired that evening as the second commercial. Since then, Japanese TV spots have evolved to an art form all its own.
What’s your favorite Japanese car commercial?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s the worst trend in car culture these days?”. Continue reading
Tokyo’s Rainbow Bridge, monument of legendary street races, turns 30 years old
No blast down Tokyo’s legendary Wangan would be complete without an encounter with the Rainbow Bridge. The 2,618-foot suspension bridge links the city’s Shuto expressway to the Bayshore Route, sites of Tokyo’s storied street racing scenes. On August 26, the famed landmark of the hashiriya celebrates its 30th anniversary. Continue reading
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Toyota Celica, the first convertible with 4-wheel-steering
Today, August 24, is the birthday of a car that is pretty unique in the annals of automotive history. It’s the day the fifth-generation Toyota Celica Convertible was introduced, a car that most observers don’t think of as being particularly noteworthy. However, this humble Celica has the distinction of being the first factory convertible equipped with 4-wheel steering. Continue reading
Tokyo Landscapes circa 1971
In 1971 NHK went around Tokyo documenting scenes of everyday life. The footage shows a vibrant city full of hope and possibility. From children checking out at Mazinger Z toys in a Ginza department store to advertisements for Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury at the Nichigeki theater, it’s a time warp to an age when the capital was booming. Cars aren’t the focus of the hour-long film but they pop in and out of the many street scenes, making us drool over brand-new Mazda Savanna RX-3s and Nissan Bluebird 510s. Continue reading
Robot Detective‘s Joker — Guess the Car!
If you grew up watching Ultraman or Power Rangers you’ve seen a tokusatsu television series. Meaning “special photography” in Japanese, these action shows for kids usually had a sci-fi theme and used elaborate costumes and primitive live-action special effects to populate a world of superheroes, robots, and/or aliens. Of course, these characters needed similarly futuristic vehicles to get around in. This often resulted in regular cars dressed up as ornate, crime-fighting machines that were completely unrecognizable from their base models. Welcome to a new series on JNC where you guess the tokusatsu car. Continue reading
QotW: What’s the worst trend in car culture these days?
Apologies for the late QotW, thanks to a big storm that knocked out power a JNC HQ. It was an annoyance, but not as big an annoyance as the many atrocities committed by car people. We, for one, cannot wait for the matte paint trend to go away. Back in 2009 we were saddened to see that Lexus USA painted their LFA press car matte black while introducing their brand new V10-powered engineering marvel in front of the world. Fourteen years later we’re still waiting for the fad to disappear. There are many crimes, both fashion and actual, committed in the name of cars.
What’s the worst trend in car culture these days?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your saddest story of saying goodbye to a car?”. Continue reading
Cruise through the streets of Tokyo circa 1970
Seeing old cars is one thing, but how about an entire city-full of what are today rare classics? A portable video camera would have been very expensive back in 1970, but luckily someone had the foresight to get one and record an everyday drive through Tokyo.
Despite what the title says this is clearly in the early 1970s based on the cars on the streets. We see countless Toyota Crown taxis, but also privately owned cars like 510 Bluebirds, Glorias, a Toyota Corona, Honda Life, a rare Publica pickup and even a Porsche 911. Billboards for Canon, Toshiba, Sony and Mitsubishi all float by, and the last segment passes through Ginza right by the soon-to-be demolished San’ai Dream Center with the Morinaga Globe looming in the background. The air is probably thick with hydrocarbons but the views are simply amazing.
Enkei Al’Vita brings back an aluminum “steelie” that brought back an actual 1950s steelie
Enkei has revived a classic wheel design that looks like a steelie but is actually cast aluminum. The original Enkei Al’Life debuted in 1990 with the same “looks like steel but lighter” concept. The remake is called the Al’Vita, appropriately, as vita is Latin for “life”. It’s equally fitting that Enkei’s hero car is an ND Roadster — the Al’Life could’ve been fitted to any car with a 4×100 bolt pattern, but was mainly created for the NA Roadster. Continue reading
This 1958 Datsun L210 is one of the first Nissans sold in the United States
One of the the oldest Nissans in the USA is currently for sale. Nissan established a foothold in the US market one year after Toyota in 1957, and this 1958 Datsun 1000 would have been among the first sold. It might not look like much, but its build date is what’s historically significant here, and we can’t remember ever seeing one in such good condition. Continue reading
Barbie does indeed have some ‘JDM’ cars in her garage
A couple of weeks ago we wondered what “JDM” car Barbie would drive if she wasn’t in a Corvette. Turns out this chick has more cars than Jay Leno. We learned more than we ever wanted to know about her car collection, which includes a ton of weird made-up vehicles but also some that are actually cool. As a dad who doesn’t want to give his daughter unrealistic car toys, it was a deep rabbit hole to fall into. Continue reading
