Happy Thanksgiving from JNC!

jnc thanksgivingWell, for obvious reasons Japan doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. So here’s a nice autumnal scene chock full of J-tin. And on this special day we’d like to quote the words of JNC reader Dachshund, who composed this beautiful piece of prose in response to seeing a Toyota Crown 2-Door Hardtop Royal Saloon in our JNC Sightings thread. We wish all JNC readers a safe and bountiful Thanksgiving!

I’m [thankful] that we can still today, say we live in a world where an ancient Japanese man can turtle around in the La-Z-Boy of an immaculately maintained, anti-socially-large-for-having-only-two-doors, decades old Crown pretending to be Elvis. He’s even managed to use his station to wrangle himself a wife young enough that her hair is rendered in color.

The Japanese have officially redefined, and refined, the meaning of “only in America”. We should be ashamed of this.

For some reason I get the impression that the windows of that thing are probably tinted to just the degree necessary, to make all youth culture and hentai around you disappear.

…They probably make the world around you appear ten percent poorer than it actually is, too. It’s the kind of car I’d love to drive through a seedy alleyway, just to lightly shoo away all the bums who would try to wipe rags across the windshield.

Someday, we will all be this.

What are you thankful for?

[Photo Credit: Wild West Riders Club]

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Mooneyes Crown Picnic Celebrates 20 Years

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It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite nostalgic, but if I had a tanto against my finger I’d probably yell out “Toyota Crown!” at the last minute. Show me photos of the annual Mooneyes Crown Picnic and you might as well siphon the drool directly from my salivary glands.  Continue reading

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JCCS x JNC T-Shirt Contest

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Listen up, those of you with torsos. We hereby declare the start of the JCCS x JNC T-shirt contest! This year was the fifth anniversary of the gathering that kick-started the entire nostalgic car movement, and due to high demand all the shirts were sold out at the event.

However, the Japanese Classic Car Show crew has made a limited run of JCCS 2009 T-shirts available for purchase. Cars featured include the Toyota Celica, Datsun 620, Mazda R100 and Honda Civic. Regular price is $15 plus shipping, but they have also generously donated three shirts to JNC readers to be selected at random!

Please send an email to the feedback address at the bottom of the page with “JCCS T-SHIRT CONTEST” in the subject line. The contest will run until 11:59pm Pacific Time December 1, 2009. Gokouun o inorimasu!

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Import Bible x JNC T-Shirt Contest Winner

import bible nissan fairlady z s30 datsun 240zCongrats to Micah J. for winning Import Bible x JNC T-shirt Contest! Your new threads depicting a flared S30 Zed on deep dish Wats will arrive shortly. If you didn’t win, don’t despair. You can still order them at ImportBible.com. There’s even a group buy! And we will be starting another T-shirt contest momentarily. Stay tuned.

Thanks to David from IB for supplying the shirt.

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Hakosuka Skyline a Crack Pipe?

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A Nissan Skyline KGC10 2000-GTX appeared on Jalopnik’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe the other day, and for the asking price of $20,000 it got a barrage of the pipe. The long-running series asks readers to vote whether a particular vehicle is worth the asking price based on an ebay auction or craigslist ad. Unfortunately, that presupposes that its readers actually know anything about hakosuka Skylines. Continue reading

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Datsun Cherry 100A in Up And About Again

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“On the horizon, a sweet graceless creature appears, a Datsun 100A, propelled by a cloud of dust.” This is the description of the Finnish art film called Up and About Again, in which said Datsun meanders through some kind of 10-minute artistic statement too abstract for us to get. Those more trained in the ways of modern art can learn more here.

Hat tip to mikko1200.

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Friday Video: Bollywood Love in Tokyo

The 1966 Indian movie Love in Tokyo contains this toe-tappin’ Bollywood song and dance number that meanders through the streets of 1960s Tokyo. As a result, cameras inadvertently captured the very beginning of the era of Japanese prosperity in which average citizens started to own and drive cars. And thus we are treated to an insane number of nostalgics appearing in their natural habitat, in full technicolor scenes that could never be recreated today.

Keep in mind, this was pre-Celica, pre-Hakosuka, pre-510, and pre-Mazda RX cars. Instead, we find a bustling cityscape full of S40 Toyota Crowns, 30-series Nissan Cedrics, RT40 Toyota Coronas, Isuzu Hillman Minxes, and Toyoace trucks. Toyoaces! When was the last time you saw one of those in motion?

Whoever can identify all the cars in this clip, we will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams (or at least send you a Tomica or something).

Hat tip to banpei, where you can watch a clip with a brief Datsun Fairlady Roadster cameo.

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Toyota Celica Drifts Through Norwegian Milk Ad

There have been examples of J-tin used in non-Japanese advertising before. However, this is the first time we’ve seen a Norwegian anime chick drift an A40 Toyota Celica through a wet obstacle course. These commercials sing the praises of the Q-Milk cartons’ new screw-on cap and plastic window. We can’t stop envying the car’s skinny chrome bumpers. Another ad after the jump.

Continue reading

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Reader Build: Gypsy’s 1973 Mazda RX-3

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We really appreciate and enjoy all the JNC readers out there sharing their projects with us. Occasionally one goes above and beyond in bringing back a car otherwise be destined for the crusher, investing way more time and money than what the market deems worthwhile for the car. But that’s the sign of true J-tin love! So if you haven’t already seen Gypsy’s 1973 Mazda RX-3 project, take a look. We can all learn a thing or two from him about both dedication and metalworking. We can’t wait to see the finished product!

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Nostalgics on the Washington DC Mall


It may surprise you to know that two nostalgic cars currently reside in museums along Washington DC’s famed National Mall. And why not? Nostalgics have become part of American life and history, just like any other vehicle. Continue reading

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Mitsubishi's Erimaki Mirage Creates Frill-Necked Lizard Boom

We know what you’re craving: more Mitsubishi ad campaigns from 1984! Stunned by our mind-reading abilities, aren’t you? Far from an Orwellian nightmare world, that year turned out to be a resounding success for the triple diamond mafia’s marketing department.

You might think that getting album cover artist Shusei Nagaoka to draw mind-blowing posters for the Starion and Cordia would be an epic publicity coup good enough for a single model year. But one ad agency had the genius to double down and compare the 1984 Mitsubishi Mirage with a frill-necked lizard. Continue reading

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Friday Video: Nissan Skyline Japan vs. Ford Torino


For this week we have another Seibu Keisatsu clip pitting Daimon’s KGC210 Nissan Skyline Japan against a Blue Oval product. This chase is almost too painful to watch, as the ’71 Ford Torino barrels through a used car parking lot full of J-tin any JNCer would kill to get his hands on. Don’t say we didn’t warn ya.

Hat tip to cesariojpn!

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JNC on Enkei Wheels' Official Blog

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JNC got a shout out on Enkei Wheels’ official blog! Awesome.

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Shusei Nagaoka’s Space Funk Mitsubishi Ads

It must be art week here at JNC. Having visited the tranquil papercraft of Ohta Takashi, we shall now blast off in a spaceship shaped like an electric guitar to the world of Shusei Nagaoka. Continue reading

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Event Horizon

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If you know of or would like to publicize an event, send us a tip at feedback(at)japanesenostalgiccar.com

This week:

Continue reading

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The 3D Nostalgic Artwork of Ota Takashi

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We know you’re all craving the soothing flavor of carrot shochu, but alas, limited edition bottles of Kimi Kurasu Machi have either sold out or were unavailable in your prefecture to begin with. What now? Calm your nerves with the lovely artwork of Ota Takashi. Continue reading

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SoCal Roadsters Toy Drive @ Datsun Heritage Museum

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The SoCal Roasters Owners Club held their annual charity toy drive at the Datsun Heritage Museum last weekend. We’re always looking for an excuse to head down to the DHM, so Dan and I hopped into the Toyota and away we went (we really need a Datsun one of these days). Continue reading

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Isuzu, Subaru and Daihatsu Label Liquor

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The beauty of Kimi Kurasu Machi carrot shochu is that it combines three Japanese crazes — that of regional delicacies, alcohol, and limited edition products — and wraps them all in a label illustrated with nostalgic cars. Continue reading

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JNC Contest: 1965 Toyota EX Dream Car

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Last week’s contest in honor of the Tokyo Motor Show was a tough one. We got a lot of submissions but only one person got it right. Unprecedented! Continue reading

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SEMA 2009: OS Giken TC24-B1 Twin-Cam L-Series Head

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Behold what has been described as the holy grail for Datsun maniacs, the OS Giken TC24-B1! Imagine the sheer mad scientist insanity that must have flowed through Osamu Okazaki‘s brain for him  to conjure up an entire bolt-on twin-cam head, complete with valvetrain, for the Nissan L-series motor. Continue reading

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