This week’s video is from G-Men ’75, about a special task force within the Tokyo Metropolitan Police force. It was sponsored by Toyota, which explains why the MX20 Corona Mark II has to come to the rescue of the poor Mitsubishi Galant GTO. It actually came before the more famous (and Nissan-sponsored) Seibu Keisatsu, but did not have the outrageous crashes and explosions to garner the same following. Watch the video below the fold. Continue reading
Friday Video: Toyota Corona Mark II vs Mitsubishi Galant GTO & Canter Tow Truck Toyota in G-Men ’75
Posted in mitsubishi, toyota, Video Games
Tagged canter, car chase, corona, g-men, galant, gto, japanese cop show, mark II, mitsubishi, mx20, toyota, x20
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Events: Nos2Days 2011, Part 02
Nos2Days is a two-day event held by Geibunsha, publishers of the awesome Nostalgic Hero magazine. Cars on display can come from any number of places — individual owners, restoration shops, aftermarket tuners, specialty car dealers, and Nostalgic Hero covers, spanning the range from insanely customized resto-mods by Rocky Auto to niche car clubs like Prince Garage, who brought out a stock Gloria and S50 Skyline GT. Continue reading
Posted in events, minicars, nissan
Tagged 240z, 260, 280z, 30, barramundi, c10, c110, c210, cedric, clipper, common snapper, cr01, datsun, dr30, dunlop, f31, fairlady z, gc10, gloria, gt-b, Hakosuka, infiniti, japan, kenmeri, kgc110, leopard, longchamp, longchamps, m30, marchal, meister, nissan, pgc10, phantom, pit house, prince, r30, rhr30, rocky auto, s30, s50, s54, shinichiro sakurai, skyline, techno, utilitas, work, xr-4
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EVENTS: Nos2Days 2011, Part 01
News came out today that in the wake of the Tohoku tsunami, Japan’s new car sales have returned to what they were in 1968. Too bad the cars themselves have not! But if they did, the marketplace would resemble the scene inside Pacifico Yokohama convention center just before the quake, at the annual Nos2Days weekend. Here are a pair of S50 Toyota Crowns restored by the ever-present Mooneyes crew. Is it feeling like 1968 yet? Continue reading
Toyota Sports 800 2U Camshaft by JUN Auto Mechanic
We weren’t surprised to find news of a new aftermarket part for a nostalgic car sitting in our inbox today. We were surprised that the nostalgic car in question is the Toyota Sports 800. So for all you yotahachi and Publica owners out there, if you need a billet camshaft for your 2U flat-twin, give JUN Auto Mechanic a call. Now we want to see a lemon yellow Sports 800 break some land speed records.
Hat tip to Nils E.
Posted in Aftermarket, toyota
Tagged cam, camshaft, jun, jun auto mechanic, publica, sports 800, toyota, up15, yotahachi
4 Comments
A Gallery of Mitsubishi’s Dakar Rally Cars
Last Friday Mitsubishi released a teaser for the next Lancer Evo on Facebook. Alas, it was just the Triple Diamond Mafia rubbing cruel April Fools salt into the wounds of jilted fans of the last sporty Mitsu. The company may be moving on to an all-electric, motorsports-less future, but at least there will always be Dakar. Continue reading
Friday Video: Zero-4 Fighter Trailer
Add another title to Japan’s long tradition of guerrilla-shot movies about street racing. Zero-4 Fighter is all about late night drags in the metric system, where 400 meters is the interval by which you live your life. The presence of an R35 GT-R means it’s pretty new, but there’s no shortage of mid-eighties Supras and RX-7s. Watch the trailer below the fold. Continue reading
Posted in Video Games
Tagged datsun, fairlady z, mazda, nissan, rx-7, skyline, supra, toyota, zero-4 fighter
6 Comments
Kidney, Anyone? One-Owner 1967 Toyota 2000GT #88
So yeah. This is going to take more than a kidney, but there’s a one-owner 1967 Toyota 2000GT for sale. Not only that, but this one of 62 sold in the US is a yakuza special because it’s Number 88, and as you may know Japanese crime syndicates love both the number 8 and LHD cars. With the recent disasters in Japan it may be an inopportune time to put this car on the market, but then again, if the yakuza has over half a million US dollars just sitting around for massive undisclosed aid shipments to the Tohoku region, maybe they can spring $650,000 for Japan’s O.G. supercar. Continue reading
Posted in for sale, toyota
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Pre-Digital Camera Kobe Kyuusha Meeting
We here at JNC love photos taken in pre-digital days. Clearly it’s not the photo quality, it’s that these authentic time-warp photos probably lived in some Japanese bloke’s personal photo album until one fateful day when it met with a primitive low-res scanner. This isn’t even that long ago — July 2002 to be exact — but it’s an account of what the burgeoning kyuusha scene was like a decade ago. Continue reading
Toyo Kyogo Instructional Video on the Mazda Rotary Engine
What starts out like an episode of Schoolhouse Rock is actually a 1960s Toyo Kyogo video about the Mazda rotary engine. We get a lesson in the operation of the Wankel, and its advantages over its piston counterpart. Best of all, there is some footage of the 1970 Mazda RX-500 concept you guys dug last week in motion around Yatabe test track. Watch the two-part video below the fold. Continue reading
Narusawa Village Showa Version 2 Gallery
Reason number 4,197 why Japan is awesome. No matter how miniscule the meet, wicked metal still shows up. Here’s a small gathering called Showa Version 2 that took place at the base of Mt. Fuji last November. Continue reading
Posted in mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota, trucks, wagons
Tagged 240rs, 720, a114a, aa175, aa63, ae86, b110, b122, b210, b211, b310, bs110, c230, camry, celica, corolla, corona, cressida, cresta, crown, datsun, galant, gazelle, gc110, gf31, gx71, hayashi, kb110, ke75v, kenmeri, kgc110, khc231, khgc10, kp61, lancer, laurel, leopard, levin, liftback, mark II, mazda, mesh, mitsubishi, MkII, MkIII, ms112, mx73, nissan, pf30, pickup, ra25, ra55, reverse mesh, rx-7, s110, sa22, sa22c, sanitora, savanna, silvia, skyline, sprinter, ssr, starlet, sunny, toyota, truck, trueno, tt106v, un521, van, vanette, vb310, wagon, work equip, yayoi, yonmeri
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Friday Video: The Last Hero Trailer
In honor of earthquake-damaged Sportsland Sugo circuit in Miyagi Prefecture, this week’s Friday Video is the trailer for the 1982 film The Last Hero, also known as Dirty Hero. Adapted from a 1969 novel by Haruhiko Oyabu, the motorcycle racing story was shot at the Yamaha-built Sportsland Sugo, and featured real-life figures such as Domenico Agusta of MV Agusta; Honda riders Jim Redman, Kenjiro Tanaka, and Mike “The Bike” Haliwood, who gave the upstart manufacturer its first international title in 1961; as well as Takahashi Kunimitsu, hakosuka GT-R driver who got his start on two-wheelers. Continue reading
Posted in JNC Theater
Tagged akio kitano, c10, dirty hero, domenico agusta, gt-r, Hakosuka, haruhiko oyabu, jim redman, kenjiro tanaka, kgc10, kpgc10, mike haliwood, motorsports, mv agusta, pgc10, rosemary butler, shiro ito, skyline, sportsland sugo, takahashi kunimitsu, the last hero, wgp, yamaha
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Gallery of Japanese Concept Cars
We’ve talked about many of these cars individually, but Pink Tentacle recently collected a bunch of Japanese concept cars all in once place. Here are some of Nihon’s wildest from the golden age of show cars. Above is the 1971 Nissan 216X. Continue reading
Mooneyes Toyota Crown Picnic
The Mooneyes Crown Picnic took place before the tragedies of March 11, but we thought it’d be nice to share the pics now. Besides, who doesn’t like the Toyota Crown? Continue reading
Long Overdue Idea: V6 Datsun 240Z Drift Machine
We’ve long wondered why no one has built an S30 Z drift machine yet. It’s light, it’s RWD, it’s simple to work on. Parts, whether junkyard special, aftermarket, or reproduction, are plentiful and can be scavenged from a whole host of later-model Nissans. There are enough non-mint 240Z/260Z/280Zs out there that you wouldn’t feel bad about cutting one up (or putting it in a wall). Plus, you’ll have the best looking puck on the track. Continue reading
RT50 Toyota Corona Found in Infiniti M Hybrid Ad
Oversight or subtle jab? In a new Nissan TV spot, the Infiniti M Hybrid speeds through “the last 100 years of hybrid technology.” When it gets to 1978, there’s an RT50 Toyota Corona sitting pretty in a supposed hybrid car dealership. And that’s not the only Aichi product in the commercial either. The M later whizzes by a Lexus GS450h en route to a balletic slow-mo drift as the voice-over announces it’s the first hybrid you’ll enjoy driving. Oooh, burn! Watch the full ad below the fold. Continue reading
Nostalgic Mitsubishi Funny Cars
Okay, so technically these are Dodge Colts and Plymouth Arrows, but as we all know they’re Mitsubishis in disguise. Before the Triple Diamond established an official US presence Chrysler rebadged them as Dodges and Plymouths, and that close association with Mopar spawned funny car followings that other imports rarely enjoyed. Here’s a gallery of nostalgic Mitsubishi doorslammers with giant slicks, Hemis, and colorful names. Continue reading
Posted in mitsubishi, motorsports
Tagged altereds, arrow, bob glidden, celeste, challenger, colt, dodge, don prudhomme, drag racers, galant, irda, lancer, mitsubishi, nhra, nostalgia drags, plymouth, ronnie sox, sapporo, sox & martin
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What the Tsunami Looked Like from a Car
DONATION LINK.
Here are some more harrowing videos of the tsunami, including an in-car video from a Japanese driver who just happened to be driving along the coast the exact moment the tsunami hits. He remains amazingly calm as his car is tossed around like a bathtub toy. More videos of cars tossed around like Matchboxes below the fold. Continue reading
Friday Video: Zokusha Cruise Osaka
As Japan recovers, let’s visit a simpler time. Here’s a nice evening commute through Osaka. Judging from the cars the background, it’s mid-1980s. Fun times. Watch the video below the fold. Continue reading
Sportsland Sugo Damaged in Earthquake
Japan is still recovering from last week’s record-breaking 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Sadly, reports say one of the nation’s great racetracks, Sportsland Sugo, has sustained damage. Located in the hard-hit Miyagi Prefecture, Sugo was built in 1975 by Yamaha, and is a regular stop on the Super GT circuit. It’s also hosted World Superbike Championships, World Motocross Championships, and the Rock Olympics, one of northeast Japan’s largest music festivals. Continue reading
Posted in japan, motorsports, wagons
Tagged earthquake, japan, juichi wakisaka, miyagi, sports 800, sportsland, sugo, supra, tohoku, toyota, wagons
3 Comments
“Save Japan” Disaster Relief Campaign from Japan’s Motorsports Community
Juichi and Shigekazu Wakisaka, the race car driving “1141” brothers, have started a relief fund from the Japanese motorsports community for victims of the Tohoku earthquake. Save Japan has the support of Japanese racers and motorsports personalities of diverse backgrounds, including F1 drivers Kamui Kobayashi, Yuji Ide, Sakon Yamamoto, drifter Manabu Orido, Super GT drivers Daisuke Ito, Kazuya Oshima, Kazuki Hoshino, and many more drivers, riders, journalists and announcers. Of course, Juichi Wakisaka himself is most known for being a two-time Super GT champion with the Esso Toyota Supra in 2002 and the Petronas Lexus SC430 in 2007. All have issued personal messages on the Wakisakas’ Save Japan website. There does not appear to be a way for English speakers to donate, but we would like to show our support for Japan’s motorsports community. You can donate via international aid organizations here.
Hat tip to Toyotageek.
Posted in motorsports
Tagged daisuke ito, earthquake, japan, JGTC, juichi wakisaka, kamui kobayashi, kazuki hoshino, kazuya oshima, lexus, manabu orido, sakon yamamoto, sc430, sendai, shigekazu wakisaka, soarer, Super GT, supra, tohoku, toyota, yuji ide
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