This here rare brown bird is a Suzuki Fronte 7-S 550. That’s 550cc’s of rear-engined, rear-wheel drive kei car sweetness. It’s difficult to eyeball the scale of this car until you get a look at the fender mirrors, which protrude like giant antennae on a vehicle of this size. It was the last of the RR Suzukis, and the larger engine was used in anticipation of the 1976 bump in kei car displacement from 360cc to 550cc. Continue reading
Chat with Hot Wheels’ Jun Imai
Hey minicar fans! Hot Wheels designer Jun Imai will be taking part in a live online chat tomorrow, August 16 at 3:30 PDT. If you don’t know already, Imai-san is the one responsible for the recent surge in nostalgics in the Hot Wheels lineup, with cars like the hakosuka and kenmeri Skylines, Datsun 510, and Toyota AE86. Stop in and ask him some questions (or demand more castings from him!). You’ll need to register to ask a question, but it’s free.
What a Japanese Redneck Would Drive
Whilst browsing The Intarwebs last weekend we came across this feat of fabrication. Why anyone would ute the Triple Diamond’s executive town car is something we, sadly, do not have the answer to. What we do have is a Mitsubishi Debonair pickup. Continue reading
JCCS Registration Coupon for JNC Readers!
Great news for JNCers! There is now a special discount code for the 2011 Japanese Classic Car Show.
$5 off registration $50 = $45. Hurry before the offer ends. Just use the code “JNC” at the vehicle information page when you register via this link.
Come show off your old school ride at the biggest and best vintage Japanese car show in America!
Friday Video: Nissan Patrol Lays Waste to Amusement Park
If you’re a bad guy fleeing from the fuzz, you probably wouldn’t take time out of your busy schedule to destroy an amusement park with your getaway vehicle. But if you were going to, a Nissan Patrol makes a good choice. Also learned from this clip of Seibu Keisatsu: yonmeri Skylines don’t float. Continue reading
Nissan Cedric Y30 & President
Many of you thought the 1977 Nissan AD-2 concept ungainly but at least one of its “Advanced Design” cues, the wraparound rear window, carried over to production. It first appeared on the 430 Cedric and Gloria twins, and then on the following Y30 generation which you can see above. It’s a thing of beauty, especially on a slammed pillarless hardtop sedan.
Nostalgic Concept: 1977 Nissan AD-2
We’ve seen what Toyota was up to at the Tokyo Motor Show in the late 1970s. What about rival Nissan? Behold the 1977 Nissan AD-2, a design study for the ultimate luxury sedan. Continue reading
Nostalgic Concept: 1977 Toyota F110
Ever since our visit to Calty Design Research we’ve been fascinated with the lost concepts borne from that studio. The bizarre 1977 Toyota F110 was unveiled at that year’s Tokyo Motor Show, depicting what a luxury sedan would look like in the coming decade. And since that decade was the 1980s we’ll guess, “What is cocaine, Alex?” as the enhancement they used to conceive it. Continue reading
Join JCCS, TORC and JNC for the 2011 Motion Show
Last year we teamed up with our friends at JCCS and TORC to stake out a little corner of old school goodness in what is billed as “one mega show that is a beacon of the sport compact lifestyle, culture, community and industry.” In a hall full of Nissan 240SX drift cars and VIP Lexuses, the kids needed a history lesson.
That event, the SpoCom Super Show, is now called the Motion Sport Compact Show & Expo, and will take place August 21. JCCS, TORC and JNC will return to teach the classics, and we welcome you to join us. If you have a nostalgic ride you’d like to register, contact us for registration coupon code.
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Found in Belgium by Larry Chen of Speedhunters. Owner wishes to remain anonymous. Smart man.
Friday Video: Happy 86 Day!
Alright, fine. Here’s a Toyota with a Toyota engine. A hachiroku, to be specific, sailing through a gymkhana course in this oldie but goodie. Ken Block, eat your heart out. Happy 86 Day!
Another run below the jump. Continue reading
Team HDO SR20-Powered RA28 Toyota Celica Drift Machine
Yesterday we posted a period-correct vintage Toyota race car. Today we’re going with a thoroughly modern one. Wildly stickered nostalgics usually induce mild indigestion around the JNC office but I suppose we can make an exception when it’s a D1 Grand Prix drift machine. This RA28 Toyota Celica Liftback is the newly liveried 2011 D1GP race horse of Team HDO, a Japanese shop that sells dorifto parts and — for the brave — used drift cars. Continue reading
Kidney, Anyone? 1968 Toyota 1600GT Race Car
This is no ordinary kidney car. Though it may appear to be a gussied-up barikan Corona coupe, it’s actually a 1968 Toyota 1600GT GT5. And if that has a familiar ring to it, that’s because it’s sibling to the legendary Toyota 2000GT. Only 2,222 were built, and the eBay seller claims a fortune was spent modifying this particular example for historic racing in Japan. Continue reading
Depth of Speed Talks Hakosuka with Fatlace Founder Mark Arcenal
We’ve been big fans of Josh Clason‘s Depth of Speed videos, and the latest does not disappoint. It’s an interview with Mark Arcenal, founder of the Fatlace, who is fortunate enough to own a KGC10 Nissan Skyline, S14 drift machine, and a VW Bus. Watch the video below. Continue reading
Posted in nissan
Tagged 240sx, c10, datsun, depth of speed, fatlace, Hakosuka, josh clason, kgc10, mark arcenal, nissan, s14, silvia, skyline
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Kidney, Anyone? 38,000-Mile 1985 Toyota 4Runner
Is the first-gen 4Runner becoming the next hot collectible? After all, it was one of the most capable SUVs of its time. It hails from an era of Aichi greats like the AE86 Corolla, AW11 MR2, and MX73 Cressida. Hell, there’s even a Matchbox version.
On eBay a minty fresh original 1985 Toyota 4Runner SR5 is going for over $24,000 at the time of this writing. The odo reads only 38,000 miles and you could eat off any surface, even the spare tire. Or nuzzle up to the SR5-laden upholstery and the cargo area’s immaculate carpeting. It is well documented, wears the entire fall catalog’s lineup of NOS parts, and the seller claims a garaged life. A rare beast indeed. More photos below the fold. Continue reading
Friday Video: Nissan Skyline Japan, Subaru Leone, and a Helicopter
The 1979 cop show Detective Story was hugely popular, and responsible for launching the career of Yusaku Matsuda. This clip appears to be a parody of the original, as it contains no Matsuda and adds a laugh track instead. Nevertheless, it follows two bumbling thieves and gang of well-armed men after their steel briefcase — like a Japanese prequel to Ronin.
C210 Nissan Skylines are driven hard and destroyed. One is chased down by two Cedrics. Another faces a helicopter and is shot by a magic rocket launcher that turns into a Subaru Leone. Hilarity ensues. Continue reading
Posted in nissan, subaru, Video Games
Tagged c210, car chase, datsun, detective story, japan, japanese cop show, leone, nissan, skyline, subaru
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Kidney, Anyone? 1978 Datsun 200SX
With some already speculating the hakosuka GT-R as a million dollar car, this 1978 Datsun 200SX for $4100 is a helluva a steal. For one, it’s one of the rarest Dattos out there. And while that’s because it was widely considered the ugliest car on the market when it was new, all of that blame can be laid squarely on the US 5mph safety bumpers.
In Japan, it sported sleek chrome that blended seamlessly with its body lines and was called the “New Silvia.” That’s new, as in “not the ’65 CSP311,” which means it was the first Nissan to bear the all-new “S” chassis code. Yes, drifters, meet the great-great-grandpa of your precious sliding machines. Continue reading
Nostalgic Concept: 1977 Toyota CAL-1
One of the concept cars we really wanted to see during our visit to Calty Desing Research was the 1977 Toyota CAL-1. Sadly, it wasn’t available for viewing. But come on, who wouldn’t be intrigued by the intersection of a ute’d A40 Celica Supra and antique speedboat? Continue reading
Posted in concepts, toyota
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Grand Touring: 2011 Scion tC & Calty Design Research
Recently, we found ourselves behind the wheel of a jet black 2011 Scion tC. Why are we telling you this? Because the tC is the latest vehicle to emerge from Calty Design Research in Newport Beach, California, the first US design center ever set up by Japanese automaker. Toyota had invited us on a tour of the birthplace of many of its most famous models, from the original Celica Supra to the all-new tC. Continue reading
Posted in toyota
Tagged 2011 scion tc, a40, calty, celica, fj cruiser, fxv-II, hilux, scion, supra, tc, toyota, trd
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More Nostalgic Toyotas from Cyprus UN Buffer Zone
Last week we mentioned that the UN was documenting the Green Line, a demilitarized Buffer Zone set up on the island of Cyprus in 1974. One photo showed a couple of lonely but brand new E20 Toyota Corollas, one with only 38km on its odometer, abandoned when residents were forced to flee the conflict-riddled region. Turns out, we were just scratching the surface. Continue reading
