2012 Hot Wheels X JNC Mazda RX-7, now in blue

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Dan Hsu

If you’re a die-hard diecast collector and know where to look, these beans have already been spilled. Otherwise, here’s your first look at the brand new 2012 Hot Wheels Mazda RX-7! We just got these samples fresh off the assembly line and, as always, are extremely proud to have Mattel’s support in the form of the JNC inkan on the B-pillar.

Blue, orange and white is the second color for this casting, succeeding black and gold, and it now rolls on white five-spoke wheels. Big ups to our nostalgic hero, Mattel’s Jun Imai for making this happen. The 1/64-scale SA22 looks fantastic tricked out with an IMSA kit, and looks right at home next to our Hot Wheels hako.  Continue reading →

Posted in mazda, minicars | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Question: What should be the first model under the Datsun brand if it comes back?

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Ben Hsu


It’s been a few months. Time for another cycle of Datsun revival rumors! The media has been awash with speculation on the return of the Datsun brand for the past week. We’ve heard it before, last October, July and beyond, so instead of just regurgitating the fact that Nissan president Mr. Bean neither denied nor confirmed the gossip and leaving it at that, we’re going to have some fun with it. Here is your Question of the Week:

If Nissan does revive the Datsun brand, what should be the first model to wear that badge?

If the Silvia hadn’t been killed off, it might have made a good 240Z, but its name would obviously conflict with the brand equity built on the 370Z. Perhaps the Cherry, since neo-Datsuns would likely be front-wheel-drive entry-level cars. Anyway, put your two cents in the comments below. The best answer one week from now will get a Nissan tchotchke from Japanland!

Posted in nissan, Question of the Week | Tagged , , | 40 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? 35,000-mile 1972 Toyota RT90 Corona Coupe

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Matt De Mangos


Ben says the RT90 Corona Coupe is ultra rare. However, I’ve found him about three to four examples floating on the lists of craig. This black-on-red ’72 is similar if not identical to the one owned by the Toyota USA Museum and boasts a documented 35,000-mile odometer. Like most, the 18R-C is paired with a Toyoglide three-speed auto. Though the wheels appear to be from a later Corolla, the owner assures speculators that the rest of the car is complete and a rust-free specimen from Phoenix. Buy it on craigslist for $6,000 and be twinsies with Toyota at the next TORC show.

Posted in for sale, toyota | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Aussie Rally Champion Hoons Rebuilt RA40 Celica Rally Car

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Neal Bates is a four-time Australian Rally Championship winner, long associated with Celica GT-Fours and AWD Corollas that we didn’t get here in the states. Though retired, Bates spent the last 18 months building a replica RA40 Celica rally car inspired by Ove Andersson‘s 1980s WRC ride. There’s a few differences though, like the updated 3S-GE 2.0-liter twin-cam and  a 5-speed Aussie dog box. Still, it qualifies for the ARC Classic Rally Challenge for pre-1986 classic cars like the A10 Datsun Stanza, Porsche 911, and Ford RS 1800.

Watch the beautifully constructed and freshly painted machine roll out of the shop and immediately onto some unpaved roads for maximum hoonage.  Continue reading →

Posted in motorsports, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Friday Video: Nissan Technical Center Celebrates 30th Anniversary

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Instead of the wanton destruction of 430 Cedrics, this week’s video shows them being created at the Nissan Technical Center in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture. Founded in late 1981, the NTC is the design and engineering hub of the Yokohama-based automaker, and the birthplace of everything from the March to the GT-R to, in an earlier cut of this video, the as-of-yet-unveiled 2013 Altima (oops).

As Ceddys, 910 Bluebirds and 720 pickups funnel off the assembly line and onto Nissan’s trademark red-white-blue car carriers, we wonder which ones were destined to meet an untimely end as Seibu Keisatsu chase fodder.  Continue reading →

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See what Toyota USA looked like young and sexy

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Toyota USA has launched its new Facebook timeline, populating it with some rarely-seen vintage photos of its early years. Like many over 50, its run into a few snags with the newfangled technology. Continue reading →

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Grand Touring: Nostalgic Nissans in Yamanashi Prefecture

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Skorj

In exploring the non-traditional Japan, you quickly learn to identify markers to indicate you are on the right track to discover something old and special — narrow roads lined with closed shutters, anything made of red brick, disconnected power meters, less-than-eight-digit telephone numbers, blanked-out shop signs.  Continue reading →

Posted in nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Rotaries and racing go together like wine and cheese

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Dan Hsu

At the beginning of each motorsports season Mazdaspeed gathers the press together to talk about their plans for the upcoming season and introduce some of the luckiest young men in the world, their new sponsored drivers. This year the event was held at Crevier Classic Cars in Costa Mesa, California, which was packed with machines far older than any of the talented young speed demons on stage.  Continue reading →

Posted in mazda | 6 Comments

For Sale: Victor Laury’s 1972 Datsun 240Z

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Ben Hsu

No glib joke about kidneys today, because it’s with great sadness that we announce the sale of Vic Laury’s 1972 Datsun 240Z. He is no longer able to enjoy this car because of his recent health conditions, and must reluctantly offer it for sale. As most of you from SoCal know, Vic is a beloved figure among SoCal’s Datsun and nostalgic car community. He’d frequently volunteer to help with the major shows, and always brought his big-hearted, warm personality to any gathering, along with one of his beautiful Nissans. You may recognize him from his pale yellow Fairlady Roadster, mustard yellow 510, 521 pickup, or this beautiful 112 Yellow 240Z.   Continue reading →

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Friday Video: S41 Prince Gloria vs ’65 Dodge Coronet

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Miki Sugimoto was most known for her roles in 1970s exploitation films that lured viewers into 90 minutes of low-budget cinema with 0.5 seconds of soft-core nudity Sadly, the only cheap thrills we can promise today come from Sugimoto’s S41 Prince Gloria as she chases down a bad-guy-filled ’65 Dodge Coronet. Besides, wouldn’t you rather see streets filled with nostalgics in their prime than a glimpse of side boob?  Continue reading →

Posted in nissan, prince, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Automobile realizes old Japanese cars are pretty cool after all

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Ben Hsu


Well lookee here. Automobile, long the bastion of if-it-ain’t-Euro-it’s-crap has suddenly discovered the awesomeness of classic Japanese sports cars. Are we in the bizarro world? Their March 2012 issue even manages to review four cars — Honda S800, Mazda Cosmo Sport, Toyota 2000GT and the Nissan Fairlady Z432 — without once calling them copies of Old World models. With muscle-car-crazy Mattel building hakosukas and our recent quotes in the New York Times, perhaps what we’ve long preached is finally being recognized by the mainstream.

[Image: Automobile]

Posted in honda, mazda, media, nissan, toyota | 23 Comments

Behold, the Mazda Cosmo AP RX-5

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Matt De Mangos

The Mazda RX-5 is easily the most unloved “RX” car ever sold. When Mazda decided to revive the Cosmo name on a 2+2 GT at the height of the mid-70s luxo-barge craze, it dropped the “Sport” altogether and gave it an “AP” suffix. That stood for Anti-Pollution — this was post-oil-crisis, remember? — and at 2,645 pounds, it pushed the limits of what its emissions-choked 135PS 13B could handle, but hey, it did have a stylish waterfall grille and opera windows in the B-pillar!

Despite all its shortcomings and subsequent unpopularity, however, this Japanese owner managed to build a classy one that appears mostly stock, albeit slammed.  Continue reading →

Posted in bosozoku, mazda | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Grand Touring: Forgotten steel tempts rust in Aichi Prefecture

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Skorj

A few weekends ago, we were again exploring some outlaying areas outside of Nagoya, and in the middle of the rice fields was a small mechanic who had amazed a sizable collection of varied old Japanese cars. As distressing as it is to see the state of some, it was even more so when they suffered the ignominy of being stacked on top of each other.  Continue reading →

Posted in honda, isuzu, junkyards, mazda, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? 1972 Mazda Luce 1800

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Matt De Mangos

A number of alert readers informed us of this ultra-rare 1972 Mazda 1800 sedan over the weekend. For those well versed in JDM Hiroshima steel will recognize this as the pre-rotary Mazda Luce, one generation before the 13B made it the RX-4. UPDATE: More photos and info from the owner below.  Continue reading →

Posted in for sale, mazda | Tagged , , , , | 27 Comments

Friday Video: The Datsuns of New Zealand’s Shellsport Series

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Matt De Mangos

There’s an island nation halfway around the world where Sunnys and Starlets were regularly raced in a premier racing series back in the late 1970s. Fans flocked to see these small-displacement machines battle it out, and the cars achieved such legendary status that today many of them are being restored to period correctness and livery. Oh, and they all spoke English (sorta). That island is New Zealand, and the cars were part of the Shellsport Series.

Widened Steels is a great little doc about some of the most renowned Datsun Cherrys, B310s, and Bluebirds that took part in series. It combines great vintage racing tape — you can even spot some Mitsubishi Galant GTOs in the infield and a sanitora track vehicle — with modern footage of what the cars look like today. The series was so beloved that there’s even talk about reviving it today. Watch it after the jump. (hat tip:beeoneoneoh)

Continue reading →

Posted in motorsports, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? 1984 Toyota FJ43 Land Cruiser for nearly $70,000

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Matt De Mangos

The FJ43 Toyota Land Cruiser was sold, at least in our hemisphere, in South America. The Bandeirante, as it was called by locals, split the difference between the FJ40 (90 inch) and the long-chassis FJ45 (105 inch) with a 96-inch wheelbase and is considered one of the rarest Cruisers in the US. That’s why the sale is pending at $69,700. Continue reading →

Posted in for sale, toyota | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Wednesday Wall: Nissan Skyline 55th Anniversary Wallpapers

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Ben Hsu

For the Skyline‘s 55th birthday Nissan has released a series of wallpapers by artist Eizen Suzuki. The gorgeous illustrations depict each generation of the Japanese legend in various nostalgic settings, and a new one will be released every month of 2012. Keep checking back at the Skyline 55th website, where you can also grab a screensaver and take a peek at the JDM V36 Skyline 55th Limited.

Thanks to James D. for the tip!

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EVENTS: 2012 New Year Meeting

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Dan Hsu

This year’s New Year Meeting was a bit less exciting as a large number of cars were repeats from previous shows, but hey, it’s Japan and there’s tons of vintage steel.   Continue reading →

Posted in events, isuzu, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, prince, subaru, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Lung, Anyone? Star Shark Ashtray

Posted on February 13, 2012 by John Roper

Valentine’s day usually results in a bunch of useless containers shaped like hearts. But here’s a much, much cooler container shaped like a Star Shark! It’s a vintage ashtray, still stamped with the original manufacturer, Colin, on the back. The opening bid right now is a mere ¥24,980, which converts to $322, or roughly the price of a real wheel. Not trying to drop a hint, but if we were to find one wrapped in a bow come February 14, we’d definitely put out. Continue reading →

Posted in Vintage Barrels | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Bonus Video: Mazda Skyactiv gets retro

Posted on February 10, 2012 by John Roper

Not to be outdone by the boys at Fuji Heavy, Mazda has produced yet another look-at-our-awesome-history-of-fun-to-drive-cars montage commercial, but this time without the zoom-zoom. Instead, it’s to get the word out about its new family of Skyactiv motors. The spot is titled “Revolutions,” but despite glimpses of 787Bs and Cosmo Sports ironically/sadly there is no rotary engine to promote. Continue reading →

Posted in cm, Friday Video, mazda | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments