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JNC readers of a certain age will remember pegs at Toys R Us filled with Tomy Pocket Cars, highly detailed diecast models blister packed against a denim background. They were the US brand name for Tomica, Japan’s most popular line of toy cars.
Arriving in 1974, Tomy initially figured kids probably wouldn’t really care what kind of cars they were playing with so they simply offered what was available in Japan —Japanese cars. Turns out, kids cared a lot about which makes and models they were smashing up on the kitchen floor and sales lagged behind Hot Wheels and Matchbox. Keep in mind, this was years before the average American had heard the words Nissan, Mitsubishi or Subaru. Tomy eventually added Corvettes and Lamborghinis to the mix, but only lasted until 1987 in the US market.
Now, 23 years later, they are making a comeback! The Tomy USA website has only two items for now, but the company promises licensed cars from Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru and more. And if you are going to the Japanese Classic Car Show this Sunday, they will offer an exclusive look at their upcoming products.
For a trip down memory lane, visit Tomy Pocket Cars.
You’ve heard of the slow food movement. How about the slow car movement? This article in GQ by Jamie Lincoln Kitman describes perfectly why old school is most cool. New cars are so fast and packed with electronic gizmos that driver skill is seldom required or utilized on public roads. With nostalgics, you can push the car (and yourself) to the limit every time you get behind the wheel.
From the tuner crowd to the massing army of drifters who get their kicks sliding through corners in ’80s-era Nissans and Toyotas, from the motorists who get their jollies commuting in Honda Fits, low-end Subarus, and diesel-powered VWs to the old-car lovers like me, whose idea of bliss is a well-oiled 1960s sports machine—our nation’s relentless march to horsepower oblivion has finally got some real competition. The times demand we burn less fuel, yes. But we slow-car types are also demanding that we have more fun.
The full article is an excellent read and perhaps something you can show your spouse when she (or he) asks what that old heap is doing there.
According to the seller, In 1983 Toyota Racing Development in Torrance, California built eight Toyota Starlets to compete in the SCCA GT5 National Championship races. This one is apparently the only one with a plaque bearing the names of the TRD team that built it, including Motoi Kodaira, who would go on to become General Manager of Toyota Technocraft in Japan. It was campaigned in 1983-84 by TRD driver Tom Yoshida and is the “last remaining” one of the eight. It’s a full-on race car sporting a laundry list of racing mods, Weds Ultralights, and a $13,500 asking price. Interested? Contact Bring A Trailer.
While we’re on the topic of Mazda Cosmo Sports, we have no idea what Neon Genesis Evangelion 2.0 is about, but there is a decidedly old school Cosmo in an animated cityscape leading a bunch of gigantic, futuristic military vehicles. Video below the fold. Continue reading
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Oddly enough, one of Mazda‘s early successful export markets was Greece, where the three-wheeled Mazda T1500 was actually assembled locally. The above is a promotional photo for the Cosmo Sport from Mazda Greece, demonstrating clearly why nostalgics are cool.
Imagine rolling into JCCS with your nostalgic on the bed of this Mitsubishi Canter dekotora. It could be yours for ¥4,390,000 (or $52,000 American), shipping not included. More photos below the fold. Continue reading
We’re not sure where we got this photo from (most likely Minkara Carview), but this triple diamond is one sick Sigma. We definitely don’t post enough slammed Mitsubishis on ‘champs.
Okay, so this isn’t, strictly speaking, a car, but it is Japanese, nostalgic, and I saw it in person the other day. It’s also rare. Continue reading
How do you stop a steamrollin’ Isuzu Elf with just a standard-issue unmarked Nissan Cedric? With aviator shades, driving and bullets! Continue reading
Last week we saw how Norway does old school. What about their neighbors in Finland? They have a taste for originality as well, and here are some photos from their 10th Annual Japanese Car Meet. Continue reading
So you want to recycle the metal from an old Bluebird to satisfy the demand for new 510s. But you don’t want all that pesky rubber and plastic to contaminate your molten steel. What to do? Burn it off on a giant car rotisserie before crushing the car! Those of us old enough to remember piles of burning tires in junkyards and dumps will probably not find this as shocking, but there was once a time when it was perfectly acceptable to spray any kind of toxic chemical you wanted right into the air. Click here for the video.
Hat tip to Michael S.
Hardcastle and McCormick would be proud. How low does a bad ass Datsun 280ZX need to do this? Continue reading
In this short but action-packed chase from Seibu Keisatsu, a Bluebird 810 sedan goes head to head with a 330 Cedric. A flotilla of Nissan black-and-whites give chase, and a particularly brave yonmeri Skyline patrol car sets up a pick and roll to bring the perps to a gruesome demise. Embedding has been disabled for this clip, so watch it on Youtube.
Hat tip to Kev L.
The votes are in and Japan’s National Police Agency has just announced its new Koreisha Mark. The four-color clover, created by a 31-year-old graphic designer from Osaka, was selected as the winner among four proposed symbols. It will replace the familiar “autumn leaf” symbol that has been displayed thusfar on cars driven by those 70 years or older.
The old symbol, which is (and will remain) an integral part of the JNC logo, was deemed by some seniors to be offensive because the orange and yellow autumn leaf represented death. The addition of two shades of green may brighten up the mark, but it also destroys the symmetry that the mark once had with the “spring leaf” beginner driver’s mark, which has no proposed changes.
If you know of or would like to tell us about an event, send us a tip at the feedback address at the bottom of this page or leave a comment below.
This week:
It’s time once again for the Japan Treff from Norway, a classic Japanese gathering that does not boast a single tsurikawa or boso pipe in the field. Continue reading
Have you registered for the Japanese Classic Car Show yet? There’s less than a month till the biggest gathering of nostalgic autos in the US! And this year, the JCCS crew is teaming up with Enkei Wheels and Yokohama Tire to offer a free set of vintage barrels and the new shoes to go along with them. Like we said, there are new old school wheels coming down the line for us old schoolers. Go to the JCCS contest page for details. Also, if you have an old school car (up to 1989) that Enkei can use to shoot their new re-issued old school wheels (right now, the samples are 15×7 & 15×8 4×100 +25), please let us know!
