Honda Releases "CR-X – A Nod to Legend" Video

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Ben Hsu


It’s really amazing how Japanese automakers are suddenly all about their heritage. When the JNC Blog started two years ago, we basically bitched non-stop about how they were sitting on an untapped gold mine of good will. Though we would like to, I don’t think we can take credit for this change of heart. But we like where this is going.

Whether the Honda CR-Z is really a worthy successor to the CR-X remains to be seen. Grapevine word today revealed it was not originally intended to be a hybrid. Perhaps there will be a petrol-only version down the line. In the meantime, we’re working with Honda to secure an example for a future JNC Next Version piece.

Posted in honda | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

No Pistons, No AWD: Mazda RX-7 Rally Car

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Ben Hsu

The first-gen Mazda RX-7 has competed in many forms of motorsport, from IMSA enduros to drag racing to touring car challenges. Here it is on dirt, with gratuitous helicopter tracking shots.  Video after the jump.

Hat tip to Andrew P.

Continue reading →

Posted in mazda, motorsport | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Ben Hsu

If a Tree Falls on a Nissan…: Today’s zen koan comes from Australia, where, as Kev informs us, there are indeed trees. And sometimes they upend themselves on some poor sheila’s newly restored Datsun 610. Zoe Michalski had just purchased her “pride and joy” a three months ago and finished some paint and body work. Unfortunately, she then parked it under an unstable 20-meter shrubbery. This happened in a place called Woolloomooloo. We are not making this up.

[Daily Telegraph]

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

Father & Son: AE86 and Toyota FT-86

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Ben Hsu


At long last, Toyota is bringing out the nostalgic guns. Accompanying the Toyota FT-86 Concept‘s arrival at the Geneva Motor Show last week comes these official images. Unless you’re steeped in Toyota history you might have missed the significance of the concept’s 86 designation, but here’s visual proof of where Toyota is going with this. Continue reading →

Posted in toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Add JNC to your iPhone

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Dan Hsu

If you’re on the road a lot like we are here at JNC, you can get your daily fix of nostalgic car news right on your iPhone or iPod Touch.  Best of all, you can have the JNC stamp logo adorn your iGadget’s home screen by following these easy steps: Continue reading →

Posted in jnc | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Quick Pic: R30 Nissan Skyline Descends from Heaven

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Dan Hsu


The streaks of sunlight are a perfect compliment to the angular 80s design of the R30 Skyline.  This pic was taken during the closing minutes of the 2008 JCCA New Year Meeting in Odaiba, Tokyo.

Posted in nissan, quick pic | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Friday Video: Mitsubishi Starion vs Toyota Crown

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Poor Sgt. Daimon. It seems that no matter what TV series he’s in, he is always called upon to dispatch a ridiculously over-armed bad guy with a single shot worthy of Vasily Zaytsev, after which he must solemnly watch their last gasps from behind his aviator shades. Continue reading →

Posted in mitsubishi, toyota, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Event Horizon for the Weekend of Mar 5, 2010

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Dan Hsu

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

This week:

Continue reading →

Posted in event horizon | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

South Australia's All Japan Day

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Ben Hsu


The license plate on this Datsun 1600 says it all. If you have a penchant for Simmons wheels, oddball two-door wagons, and rear window blinds, then head to the JNC forums for photos from South Australia’s All Japan Day. Ta to JNC readers B1500boy and jdmrx2 for posting their images from this incredible event last weekend!

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? 1974 Mazda RX-4 Hardtop

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Ben Hsu


This is going to be an expensive week for endocrine organs because this 1974 Mazda RX-4 is as mint as they come. The pre-facelift RX-4 is arguably the prettiest of all the early rotaries, and it’s hard enough finding an example in any condition.

This one has an interior as white as the clean fallen snow and still wears plastic sheeting on the rear panels and sun visors. The dash is shiny, the suspension paint is still largely in tact, and it comes with both the original steelies and hubcaps, or a set of factory Toyo Kyogo alloys. The only downside is that to obtain your precious, you must retrieve it from Mordor New Zealand, where it currently resides. But hey, when you’re paying $20,000 what’s another couple thou for a boat ride? More photos after the jump. Continue reading →

Posted in for sale, mazda | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? 1972 Datsun 1200

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Datsun 1200s of any condition are rare enough, but gaze upon the minty freshness of this 1972 example of the USDM Sunny B110 on craigslist. According to the seller, the previous owner worked at a Datsun/Nissan dealership for 33 years. Everything is in supposed perfect working order like it was on Day One. This Florida orange sure looks clean enough from the photos, and considering some of the prices on “ran when parked” 1200s, $15000 doesn’t really seem that ridiculous. More photos after the jump. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, for sale, nissan | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Honda CR-Z Ad Glimpses Soichiro's Genius

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Ben Hsu


The Honda CR-Z went on sale in Japan last week. It may not be the long-awaited reincarnation of the CR-X, but the accompanying commercial gives us glimpses of past greats like the Super Cub, T360, S600s both roadster and coupe, and Civic. There’s even a shot of the original bullet train, the 0 Series Shinkansen. The Impossible Dream it’s not, but the sequel is rarely as good as the original.

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

Shinkansen 500-series takes a final bow

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Kevin San

shinkansen-500-nose

The dramatic-looking Shinkansen 500-series was the very first train in the world to break 300km/h on its regular route (between Tokyo and Osaka), and after 13yrs blasting flat-out across the Japanese countryside, it was retired from ultra-high speed service on the weekend.  As reported on the Muza-Chan blog, lots of fans gathered in Tokyo and Osaka to bid farewell to the mighty train.  The Tokyo-Osaka run will continue to be serviced by the less elegant, duck-billed 700 series Shinkansen (which is equally fast).

The 500-series will remain in service, but on a slower line which won’t require it to stretch its 320km/h legs. Have a rest, big fella.

Posted in Japan Stuff | 9 Comments

Toyotafest 2010 Registration Open

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Mark your calendars, Toyotaku — Toyotafest 2010 is open for registration. Come gather at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California for the biggest Toyota show in the US! Meet your fellow Toyota enthusiasts! You will not see a bigger collection of Toyota’s history anywhere else in this hemisphere. It all starts on Saturday, May 8 at 9am!

For a taste of Toyotafests past, here’s coverage of the 2009, 2008, 2007 shows

Posted in events, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Is Your JNC Sticker Real?

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Dan Hsu

Look what we spotted on our Facebook page – someone tagged JNC in a pic of a car sporting a fake series 1 JNC sticker!  The picture hails from Indonesia, so we don’t have any solid info on the counterfeit piece but the most popular theory here at JNC is that an underground Indonesian crime syndicate is making millions by printing and selling these phony stickers to unsuspecting nostalgic enthusiasts in dark alleys and abandoned garages.

If you think a friend or family member might have fallen victim to Fake Sticker Syndrome (FSS), send a picture of the suspected sticker to feedback(at)japanesenostalgiccar(dot)com and our team of experts will pour over every detail, and notify you of the diagnosis.  If the worst case scenario turns out to be true, seek help immediately.  With proper treatment (available here) even the most severe cases are curable.

Posted in nostalgic gear | Tagged , , | 57 Comments

Event Horizon: The Show Must Go On Edition

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Dan Hsu

This week’s Event Horizon is a little late due to our site hiccup earlier in the week, but there are a number of different events available to lucky Aussies and Southern Californians.  The picture above is from the 2008 All Japan Day show.

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

This week:

Continue reading →

Posted in event horizon | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Friday Video: Pontiac's The Bug and the Beetle

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Ben Hsu


The Bug and the Beetle was a 1972 propaganda film by GM meant to whip workers into shape by stoking fear of foreign competition. How can you take a day off work when Germans and Japanese are pouring their cars onto our docks by the boatload? Franz and Hiro aren’t resting. If we don’t sell these Pontiacs, we’ll have to fire you, which means you’ll have no money with which to buy Pontiacs!

Of course, within a decade Japanese automakers would begin construction on US factories staffed with American workers. Times sure have changed, particularly at 5:50 when the company man voiceover says, “We cannot hope for the government to save us.” But if this film has taught us one thing, it’s that those minty fresh 1200s and 240Zs look mighty tempting. Then again, so do those Venturas. And those awesome Sony alarm clocks with the flip tiles!

The thrilling conclusion after the jump. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

JNC Site Running on All Cylinders Again, Hopefully

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Ben Hsu

So as you probably have noticed, the JNC site experienced some technical difficulties this week. Our webhosting service claims it was a software issue with the blog. We think it was a spam attack, as virtually nothing of importance changed between our normal operation and the sudden spike in server CPU usage that caused the freakout. In any case, we’re re-opening the blog and letting the hounds loose with fingers crossed.

But since we’re at the mercy of the Webhosting Gods, we’ve taken some of the precautions they’ve recommended. You’ll notice that you need to enter a captcha confirmation before commenting. This should be a one-time thing unless you switch computers or browsers. Let us know if this isn’t working for you, or if you see any other odd behavior/broken links/UFOs. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Posted in jnc | 20 Comments

Volk TE37V on Impulse AE86 Corolla Levin

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Ben Hsu


The Volk TE37V is an exciting development because it shows that companies like Rays Wheels are keen on making new products  for the nostalgic scene. However, the JNC staff is still torn between whether these are proper wheels for old school rides. Continue reading →

Posted in toyota, wheels | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

RIP David Brown, Datsun Cherry 100A Pilot

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Ben Hsu

Sorry to start the week with a bit of sad news. The South Canterbury Car Club of Timaru, New Zealand lost a valued and beloved member last week. David “Brownie” Brown was the driver of a 1976 Datsun Cherry 100A, an ex-Trans-Am 1600 from imported from the US. In fact, Brown was driving his “pride and joy” in a vintage race at the Timaru International Motor Raceway when he left the track and struck a tire wall, causing his death. Club members and family remembered him as a generous man eager to help fellow enthusiasts with their cars and “an unofficial ambassador for Datsun, choosing that brand ahead of all others.” His family plans to restored the damaged Cherry and donate it to a museum.

More photos of Mr. Brown’s car after the jump. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, nissan | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments