Happy Fourth of July from JNC

Posted on July 4, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Yes, we know, My Name is Earl has been canceled, but where else are you going to find a nostalgic car painted in the Stars and Bars? Sure, it seems a bit incongruous, but this surely remains the most famous Subaru BRAT ever made — even more so than Ronald Reagan’s. And can you really put a price on fame?

Apparently, yes! Earlier this year Mecum Auctions sold the Subie Ute for $3500, which is pretty standard for a decent-condition BRAT that does not include Jaime Pressly on the hood. Have a safe and fun-filled Fourth of July, everyone!

[Image: IMCDB]

Posted in subaru, Video Games | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Friday Video: Quite Possibly the Only Car Chase Ever Filmed Involving a Nissan Sunny Cab

Posted on July 2, 2010 by Ben Hsu

Just when we thought we’d seen it all, here’s an episode of Seibu Keistatsu in which a standard police issue Cedric 330 unmarked does battle with a Datsun Sunny Cab… and loses! Maybe the rare cab-over trucklet was cool enough that the producers didn’t couldn’t bear to see it destroyed.

There are also glimpses of a 2+2 Fairlady Z, Mazda Luce Hardtop (RX-4) and an early-’80s Cadillac Eldorado. Have a safe and happy 4th of July, everyone! Video below the fold. Continue reading →

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

Event Horizon for the Weekend of July 2, 2010

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Dan Hsu

If you know of or would like to publicize an event, send us a tip at the feedback address at the bottom of this page.

This week:

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JCCS 2010 Registration is Now Open

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Ben Hsu

Registration for the 2010 Japanese Classic Car Show is now open! By popular demand, the 6th annual JCCS will be back at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California and will take place on Sunday, September 12, 2010.

If you are new to the nostalgic scene or have been living in a cave for the past few years, the JCCS is simply the biggest and best kyusha extravaganza on the continent. It includes all Japanese marques, stock, resto-mode and race, from the popular to the rare/obscure/JDM. It’s a gathering of cars you will not see anywhere else unless you fly to Japan.

It’s open to any Japanese cars that were first built in 1985 (meaning 1986 MR2, Starion, Z31 300ZX are ok). Spaces are extremely limited, and are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis, and there will be more registrations than spaces, so sign up early! Register here.

Click on these links for extensive coverage of the 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 shows.

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JNC 04 Is On The Way!

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Ben Hsu


We know you’ve been waiting patiently, and it’s finally here! JNC 04 has been sent to the printers and proofed and is being rolling off the presses as you read this. Here’s a behind-the-scenes peek at the layout process.

We print each page on high-quality paper and put it up on the wall so we can move them around for the best order and insert ads where appropriate. The yellow Post-Its mark items that need further attention (and believe us, there were a lot of those!), including typos, graphics and fonts that need to be tweaked, page numbering, color correction, “widows and orphans,” kerning, specks of dirt that need to be Photoshopped, and so on.

Expect to receive it around July 9. Date may vary depending on your location.

Posted in jnc, jnc mag | Tagged | 16 Comments

SPOCOM Show Adds Old School Category

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Ben Hsu

As the nostalgic car movement gains speed, we are making in-roads into mainstream tuner shows. Case in point: the SpoCom Super Show that takes place every summer at Long Beach has added an Old School category for the first time ever.

It used to be that the only Old School categories were for the Big Three – Ford, Chevy, and Mopar. Now they’ve added a general category for Old School Japanese (1985 and older, but any body style that starts in 1985 is ok, like 1986 Cressida or AE86).

The wonderful people behind JCCS and TORC, who have done so much for our hobby, are making a big push to fill up the show with as many nostalgics as possible, and we want to help! They have a special discounted entry fee ($45 per vehicle includes 2 tickets, regularly $55. Regular admittance is $22.50 for each ticket) that is for old school rides ONLY. So if you’re interested in representing the classics, let us know. The cutoff is July 9. Click here for the coupon code.

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Friday Video: Another Bosozoku Crackdown

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when the keisatsu put up an all-night road block and bring out the windowless paddy wagons on New Year’s Eve to clamp down on bespoilered bosozoku rides? Some tear off their aero parts and smash them right there on the spot, some leap from moving bikes, others blow right through the blockade, and at least one vandalizes a police van. It’s just another night in Hachioji. Video below the fold. See a previous police encounter here. Continue reading →

Posted in bosozoku, datsun, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Event Horizon for the Weekend of Jun 25, 2010

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Dan Hsu

If you know of or would like to publicize an event, send us a tip at the feedback address at the bottom of this page.

This week:

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Unloved Cars of Tochigi

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Skorj


Location scouting North of Tokyo, we were surprised to pass a yard not filled with the usual rural kei cars — or farming implements — but one filled with an enormous range of nostalgics. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, honda, kei, nissan, subaru, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Top Toyota Test Driver Killed in Lexus LFA Crash near Nürburgring

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Ben Hsu

Toyota master test driver, Hiromu Naruse, was killed in a crash on Highway 410 near Germany’s Nürburgring circuit today. He was test driving a Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition and was 67 years old. Naruse has been a driver for Toyota since 1963, involved with the development of cars such as the 2000GT, Sports 800, 1600GT, the Toyota 7, AE86, AW11 MR2, Supra, and many others. Toyota employs 300 test drivers, but Naruse was known as the “Meister,” the highest-ranked among them all.

Details are not clear yet; all we know at the moment is that the LFA and ad BMW collided, killing Naruse and seriously injuring the driver and passenger of the BMW as well. Most haunting is his quote from a recent interview in Lexus Magazine: “When we raced the LFA in Nardo, Italy, I thought I might not return to Japan alive.” RIP, Naruse-san. German news report below the fold Continue reading →

Posted in toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? Bellatrix Yellow 1967 Toyota 2000GT

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Hang on to your organs. This one might cost a kidney, lung and an eyeball or two. You all know the rarity of the Toyota 2000GT, but here is one of 62 originally sold in the US. What’s more, Bellatrix Yellow is not only one of the prettiest 2000GT colors, but one of the rarest as well. According to the seller, who purchased it from a Japanese collector that had brought the US-sold LHD car to Japan years ago, it’s immaculate in every way. Asking price? $375,000. For those who keep track of such things, the serial number is MF10-10147. Find it on BringATrailer.com.

In 1999, we saw a Bellatrix Yellow car on eBay (possibly the same one?). We contacted the seller, who told us the reserve was a cool $150,000. Alas, it appears we’ve missed our chance to get one at a bargain price. Stupid concern for internal organs.

Hat tip to Erik L. and grndfx.

Posted in for sale, toyota | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Viva Libre! VTO Performance Retro 4

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Ben Hsu


There’s a new retro wheel on the horizon. The VTO Performance Retro 4 replicates the look of the original American Racing Libre made famous by the BRE Datsuns. Right now the only two sizes available are 13×5.5 and 14×5.5, but they say more are coming. You can order them at FutoFab. UPDATE: FutoFab says, “When the 13×7, 15×7 and/or 16×7 sizes are available we will be looking seriously into having stock on hand.” So it looks like deep dish Libres are coming!

This comes on the heels of the Volk TE37 Vintage, and we have it on good authority that there are more old school barrels being resurrected, though we are sworn to secrecy at the moment. Old school lives!

Posted in datsun, nissan, wheels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Green with Envy: Midori Melon the Rarest Datsun 280ZX?

Posted on June 20, 2010 by Ben Hsu

Forget the Black Gold, Black & Red, or even the Activision Pace Car, this must be the rarest of all the 280ZXs. We’ve been talking about the S130 chassis a lot lately, but if you can indulge us here’s one more mention. In 1983, Midori Melon Liqueur sponsored a contest in which the grand prize was a Midori Green Datsun 280ZX. The tie-in makes sense because although the melon liqueur hails from Mexico, it’s actually a product of Suntory, the Japanese brewery (“midori” is the Japanese word for “green”). However, this isn’t the only rare, green S130.  Continue reading →

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

Friday Video: Hamanako to Haneda Airport with the Nippon Datsun Club of 1961

Posted on June 18, 2010 by Ben Hsu

Rather than showing you clips of Nissans cold catapulting over construction sites and Sgt. Daimon blasting fools in the face this week, here’s some footage of real life Nissans and Datsuns just doing what they were built to do.

Recorded on the ancient technology of 8mm film, this video shows the NDC (Nippon Datsun Club) of 1961 driving from Hamanako to Haneda Airport. This 180-mile (290km) trip is more difficult than it sounds. In 1961, Japan had no expressways to speak of, so the journey was taken along Japan National Route 1, which runs along the southern coast of Honshu before snaking through the Hakone Mountains, the birthplace of drifting. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, Friday Video, nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The New and Improved(?) Elderly Driver's Mark

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Ben Hsu

As we reported last October, the Japanese government is changing the time-honored Koreisha Mark. Problem was, senior citizens deemed the current design — a teardrop shaped leaf in fall colors (center) — rather insulting and complained to the National Police Agency, who oversees driving symbols.

Apparently, the elderly did not like to be reminded of their impending mortality. However, even when the autumn leaf is replaced, the Wakaba Mark for beginning drivers will still remain a green and yellow spring leaf.

The four Koreisha Mark finalists are, starting from the top left:

  • A four-leaf clover with a stylized “S” for senior
  • Circles of various colors, symbolizing the many years lived by our elders
  • A bird, heart, and hand combined into one symbol
  • Palms symbolizing a harvest of rice

What does this mean for the JNC logo? Nothing, except that it’ll be even cooler to say that the leaf was the old school (well, 1997 old) elderly driver’s mark. Which design do you like the best?

[Asahi Shimbun] Hat tip to Satoshi,

Posted in japan | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Shakotan Sedans: Toyota MX32 Cressida and MS65 Crown

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Ben Hsu


JNCer toji004 posted this photo of his butame Cressida and theShaz’s kujira Crown with nothing but the caption “sexy pic.” Not only is it sexy, but sinister too. If these shakotan sleds don’t make all the neighborhood kids run and hide, we don’t know what will.

Posted in toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Event Horizon for the Weekend of Jun 18, 2010

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Dan Hsu

If you know of or would like to publicize an event, send us a tip at the feedback address at the bottom of this page.

This week:

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Mazda Familia 1200 Van, Ozzie Style

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Ben Hsu


The Australians’ love for old Mazdas is exceeded only by their love for Venetian blinds and windscreen visors. Perhaps in the Outback it’s the only protection one has from becoming a steam-cooked dingo snack. Continue reading →

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Datsun Dealership from the 1970s

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Ben Hsu


From the age of film cameras comes these photos of Chilliwack Datsun in British Columbia.  Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Why Daimon Is a Total Badass

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Ben Hsu


A bad guy guns down his partners in crime in cold blood. There’s nothing standing between him and freedom except Sgt. Daimon, his gullwinged S130 Z, and his shotgun. Video below the fold, with bonus senseless Fairlady Z destruction! Continue reading →

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