Choro-Q Zero to Re-Launch with Vintage Lineup

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Ben Hsu

Walk into the toy section of any Japanese department store back in 2005 and you’d see shelves stocked aplenty with Choro-Q. Older JNCers may recognize these small pullback toys as Penny Racers when they were sold in the US in the 1980s. Drop a one cent coin (or ten yen piece) into a slot on the back and the car would perform all manner of stunts across your kitchen floor.

However, despite their vast lineup of super-deformed (yet surprisingly detailed) Japanese autos, in recent years Choro-Qs have dwindled and disappeared from store shelves. Some blamed the lack of interest in toy cars among Japanese youth. Continue reading →

Posted in honda, minicars, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Best Motoring & Hot Version Era Comes to a Close

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Ben Hsu

The renowned Japanese automotive video series Best Motoring and its spinoff publication Hot Version have been canceled. According to its publisher 2&4 Motoring, the parent company Kodansha could not justify its continued existence citing declining sales figures for the past three years.  Continue reading →

Posted in japan, media | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Friday Video: Hakosuka vs Cedric in Seibu Keisatsu

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Ben Hsu


We just got done watching the North American premiere of Fast Five in Los Angeles, and yes, there is a hakosuka in it. No, it’s not this airborne one with the rally lights and giant roof rack. It’s hard to believe but in all the clips of Seibu Keisatsu we’ve shown, we’ve yet to witness a single C10 Skyline taking part in the Western Division’s many pursuits. So here’s one, albeit a short-nose four-door, chasing down — what else? — a Cedric sedan. Trust us, this scene is much more action packed than any involving the hakosuka in Fast Five. That’s not to say there isn’t wall-to-wall vehicular mayhem, because there is. Though we can’t show you Paul Walker’s box, fear not for it emerges unscathed — which is more than we can say for 95% of the cars in the best of the “Fast” series yet. Continue reading →

Posted in nissan, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Restored TS B310 Sunny Preparing for Battle

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Ben Hsu


Yesterday’s post about the Tomei exhaust manifold reminded us of the Restored KB310 Sunny sharing the paddocks at Fuji Speedway with a Porsche. However, whereas the latter is revered in classic car circles the world round, the Datsun is appreciated by only by those in the know. But if you ask us, those red Advan A3As don’t look at all out of place parked lugnut-to-lugnut by a set of blue Fuchs.

Posted in motorsports, nissan | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tomei Racing Exhaust Manifold for B310 Sunny

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Ben Hsu


In recent years vintage races inspired by the old TS Cup series has surged in popularity. Ever the popular choice, the Datsun Sunny has been a formidable opponent, both then and now, and it’s about to get a bit more formidable with a new exhaust manifold by OG tuning house Tomei. Continue reading →

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Checking Godzilla for Radiation

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Ben Hsu


Apparently Japanese automakers have had to put their customers’ minds at ease, by conducting radiation tests on cars built since the Tohoku quake and tsunami for radiation. At Nissan’s Oppama plant, which is 225 miles southwest of the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, and its Honmoku port facility in Yokohama, random cars are plucked from each shipment and checked. Readings are taken from the hood, wheel housings, and the steering wheel. So far, none of the cars have been found to emit any harmful atomic particles, not even (surprisingly) the GT-R.

[via Autoblog]

Posted in japan, nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Liquid Hydrogen Powered KB210 Nissan Sunny

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Ben Hsu

Was the Tama Truck‘s source of energy not alternative enough for ya? Check out this little number. With a name like Sunny you might expect an enviro-friendly power source — and you’d be right, but it ain’t solar. This 1974 Datsun B210 is powered by liquid hydrogen! Only recently have cars like the Honda FCX and Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE been put on the streets in limited testing, but Nissan was experimenting with it decades before either one. Continue reading →

Posted in nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

EARTH DAY: 1947 Tama E4S-47-1 Electric Car

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Ben Hsu

Right after WW2, petrol was scarce in Japan. The Tachikawa Aircraft Company responded to this shortage by developing the car you see here, the Tama E4S-47-1, in 1947. The fully-electric car had a top speed of 35 kph (22 mph), a range of about 65 km (40 miles), and was powered by an array of batteries accessible from a panel below the door. Can you guess which legendary Japanese classic can trace its ancestry back to the Tama? Continue reading →

Posted in nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Meet Your New AE86: Scion FR-S Concept Announced

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Ben Hsu


Yes, it’s a Scion, but who cares? It could be called a Toyopet and it’d still be downright sexy. Hot. A stunna. Unveiled in New York today, the Scion FR-S Concept is infinitely sleeker and more purposeful than the Toyota FT-86 Concept II that was shown last month in Geneva. Casting off extraneous plumage such as spoilers, LED banks, and more venting than your catty girlfriend on a bad day for a no-nonsense FR sports profile, Toyota’s born-again AE86 hits the mark on the head and cracks its skull wide open. Continue reading →

Posted in toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

JNC Forum is Freshly Resto-Modded

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Ben Hsu


The JNC Forum has been stripped down, blasted, and completely rebuilt from the ground up with a modern drivetrain. This should get rid of the pesky database timeouts and various other annoyances with the old site. We may have a few bolts left to torque in the coming weeks, but please bear with us and let us know if you’re experiencing any issues. In the meantime, there’s a lot of new features under the hood, so go forth and enjoy the best place on the web to talk about your vintage Nihon steel.

Posted in jnc | Tagged | 1 Comment

Nissan 610 Bluebird-U on SSR Star Sharks

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Ben Hsu


Sharknose on Sharks. It’s Shark Day on JNC! Actually it’s not, but we don’t post enough 610s so here’s a bad-arse sedan for all you sameburu freaks.

Posted in nissan | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

New Retro Rims: Work Meister CR01

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Ben Hsu

You may have noticed a snazzy new rim gracing the arrest-me red kenmeri in our Nos2Days coverage. In case you were wondering, that’s the new Work Meister CR01, exuding what the wheelmaker calls “Nostalgic Competition Racing Style.” Now that’s an awesome slogan if we’ve ever heard one. Continue reading →

Posted in honda, wheels | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Friday Video: Mazda Story – The Challengers

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Ben Hsu


Mazda released a video this week called “The Mazda Story – The Challengers”, which is all about Hiroshima pride. You can see glimpses of the Genbaku Dome (the only building to survive the A-bomb) and glimpses of the Mazda Museum. If you ever find yourself in Hiroshima, both sights are highly recommended. The Mazda museum and factory tour is free, though it’s unlikely they’ll let you paw a Cosmo Sport like the kids in this video. Continue reading →

Posted in Friday Video, mazda | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Datsun 510, the Second Most Popular Car in Forza 3

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Ben Hsu


The Datsun 510, beloved economy/race/nostalgic/tuner car, is the second most popular chariot for virtual racers in Forza Motorsports 3.  Slotting just under the million-dollar Bugatti Veyron and ahead of a slew of Ferraris, Alfas and Porsches, the good ‘ol 510 has raced over 11 million times on Forza‘s online community. Sadly, we at JNC are easily confused by any technology newer than a carburetor and do not have a box of X on which to run this doohickey, and thus no frame of reference to explain why. Luckily Jalopnik does, and according to them it’s Forza‘s capacity for insane engine swaps that make the lightweight box a crowd favorite. In other words, just like real life! See the list of top 99 cars below the fold. Continue reading →

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

Kidney, Anyone? Mitsubishi Fuso AR470 Bus Scale Model for $17,741

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Ben Hsu


Yesterday we showed you model car on the small side. Today we look at a model bus that’s anything but, especially when it comes to price. This Mitsubishi Fuso AR470 recently sold on YJA for over ¥1.5 million, or $17,742! Continue reading →

Posted in minicars, mitsubishi | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

MINICARS: The World’s Smallest Car is a Toyota AA

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Ben Hsu

We’ve talked about minicars here before, but this nano-sized Toyota AA takes it to a whole ‘nother level. Built by Denso to demonstrate its ultra-precise machining and semiconductor capabilities, this micro-model of Toyota’s first car, the 1936 AA, is 1/1000 the size of the actual car, or about the size of a grain of rice. What’s even more amazing is that it actually runs! Continue reading →

Posted in minicars | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

EVENTS: Nos2Days 2011, Part 03

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Ben Hsu


Nos2Days is filled with wondrous machinery, but one of the mind-blowing cars on display was the legendary Dome Zero. Conceived during the supercar boom, the mid-engine marvel had the power-to-weight ratio of a Porsche of the era and was supposed to be the first Japanese exotic since the Toyota 2000GT. Continue reading →

Posted in events, honda, isuzu, mazda, mitsubishi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Friday Video: Toyota Corona Mark II vs Mitsubishi Galant GTO & Canter Tow Truck Toyota in G-Men ’75

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Ben Hsu


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 →

Posted in mitsubishi, toyota, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Events: Nos2Days 2011, Part 02

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Ben Hsu


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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

EVENTS: Nos2Days 2011, Part 01

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Ben Hsu


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 →

Posted in events, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments