We’ve talked enough about retro themed cars at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, so here are some actual vintage cars from the event. Makuhari Messe has two main halls, where Japan’s automakers reveal to the world their next supercars and latest motorcycles.
But away from the glitz there’s a quiet arena that showcases the history of the Tokyo Motor Show itself. That means a selection of interesting vehicles that once occupied slowly rotating pedestals, like this Mazda RX-500. Continue reading
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This weekend:
As far as Tokyo Motor Show news goes, it could be hard to top Toyota‘s heartstopper Lexus LFA from yesterday. Honda, however, may kill you with cuteness instead. We told you about the Honda EV-N Concept and resurrected CR-X recently, and now more details have come forth. Continue reading
The media days of the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show are in full swing and you know what that means. The Toyota FT-Hachiroku Concept has been photographed and nitpicked ad infinitum. It’s a familiar drill by now: AE86 revival, lightweight RWD coupe, Subaru 2.0 boxer, metallic monkey-butt red.
But perhaps Toyota has been feeling guilty for neglecting the enthusiast market for so long. That would explain why it’s bestowing us with the simultaneous debut of the long-awaited supercar known as the Lexus LFA. No more pulled punches for the Big T, baby! The new supercar heralds the company’s take-no-prisoners charge towards the head of the automotive kingdom, a segment Toyota has not visited in 44 years. Continue reading
Hey gang, David from Import Bible has a new T-shirt design with another old school design. This time, its the S30 Fairlady Z, and he is generously offering one free to a lucky JNC reader!
This contest will be a brain-free one, just a simple random drawing. Just email the feedback address at the bottom of this page with the subject “IMPORT BIBLE CONTEST.” The contest will end 11:59pm Pacific Time, Nov. 12, 2009. You can see the rest of the Import Bible line here. Good luck!
Art students have Rome. Fashionistas, Paris. For car nuts, there’s Germany. No speed limits, giant glass museums for famed automakers, and legendary race circuits. If we ever make it to Deutschland though, we’re headed straight for Hartkirchen, located on the German-Austrian border, for the Toyota Museum there. It’s a two-story building dedicated to archiving the Toyotas sold in the German domestic market. Continue reading
Hey hey, Friday Video is back! In our barrage of JCCS coverage we neglected to post the solution to our last contest, where we asked readers to identify the song playing at 15:48 in Part 1 of Crayon Shin-Chan: The Adult Empire Strikes Back. If you watched the scene, in which Shin-chan’s parents are watching vintage J-tin cruise by, a clue comes in the form of a blue kenmeri Skyline.
The answer, of course, is “Ken & Mary – Ai to Kaze no Youni (Like Love and the Wind)” by the Japanese folk group Buzz. Its smooth beats were synonymous with the Nissan’s groovy, gauzy Skyline KGC110 commercials of the early 70s, so much so that the entire generation became known as the kenmeri. If you didn’t think you could find beauty in something bone stock, watch this clip. Also, this seems to be the perfect tune for an autumn drive, is it not?
Congrats to Mike C!
Nissan has just announced that a special edition model 370Z to commemorate 40 years of the Z-car. Although the Datsun 240Z we all know and love was introduced on October 22, 1969, the Nissan 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition will go on sale sometime next spring for an as of yet undetermined price.
The basis of this special edition will be your standard issue 370Z Touring model, equipped with the 3.7L twin-cam V6, 6-speed SynchroRev manual and Sport Package, and adds an exclusive “40th Quartz” paint job and red leather interior. Oh, and copious 40th Anniversary badging, naturally.
Nissan draws (somewhat loose) connections between this car and the 240Z in its press release, comparing luxuries like the 370Z’s laundry list of electronic gewgaws to indulgences like roll-up windows and an actual in-dash radio found in the 240Z. Hey, that was high-end stuff at the time! And the press release even gives a shout out to Mr. K’s and his recent 100th birthday.
[Source: Nissan]
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This weekend:
We were brainsstorming business card designs recently and came across this Nissan Skyline PGC10 themed one. Turns out it’s for Intersection Magazine, which does not necessarily have a lot of J-tin content, but does have killer photography and art direction. As far as we know, the hakosuka never raced in gulf colors, but apparently this is what it’d look like if it did. And was made of origami.
Well folks, we’ve come to the end of our JCCS 2009 coverage. Honestly, we’re getting a bit misty eyed just thinking about it. Organizers Koji and Terry Yamaguchi told us that out of 400-plus cars displayed, 120 were first-timers. That’s great news, because it means that the nostalgic car scene is still growing strong despite these difficult economic times.
We tried to split our coverage into themes, but as when reassembling a project after a long hiatus, there’s always some leftover bits that don’t seem to fit anywhere. Continue reading
Okay guys, just a couple of more JCCS posts and we’ll be done. Today we’ll cover diametric opposites – the trucks and the race cars. The Mazda Rotary Engine Pickup is something that could almost be both. It’s the opposite of a mullet — business-like bed in back, 13B party up front. And in a cruel twist of fate for our Japanese brethren, it was never sold in Japan. Continue reading
Just a brief intermission before continuing with the JCCS barrage. Recently, both Gran Turismo for PSP and Forza Motorsport 3 racing sim franchises have announced the master lineups. Here are all the cars that may be relevant to the interests of JNC readers: Continue reading
As John is fond of saying, “Anyone can restore a car. It takes a real man to cut it up.” In Part Four of our week-long JCCS blitz we highlighted some of the faithful restorations that even Sherlock Holmes probably couldn’t piece together. Now it’s time for low down speed bump scrapers. Out of all the impressive things we saw — and there were many — we were most impressed by the devotion and accuracy to the JDM street bomber look. Continue reading
MotorMavens has posted up a feature on one of our favorite cars from the recent Japanese Classic Car Show, the Mad Max Z. We gave you a little taste of it in Part One of our JCCS coverage, but here’s the owner’s full story. This car makes us non-Z owners crave one like there’s no tomorrow. And if there really is no tomorrow, this 1973 Datsun 240Z looks like it’s ready to plow right through a marauding gang of desert bikers. Oh, and you might even catch a cameo by Dan in the photos. Check it out.
We interrupt your regularly scheduled Friday Video to bring you more Japanese Classic Car Show sweetness. We love the fact that, like muscle cars, J-tin is ripe for modification. But sometimes it’s nice to see a faithfully restored example or an original survivor. Here were some of the best from JCCS. Continue reading
One of the surprising things about JCCS this year was the sheer volume of Nissan Skylines. Partly, this is because there are now shops in the US dedicated to the importation and restoration of these wondrous machines. One such shop is JDM Legends, who brought this Nissan Skyline GT-R KPGC110 clone. But they did more than just toss it on a freighter. Check out what’s under the hood. Continue reading
If you know of or would like to publicize an event, send us a tip at feedback(at)japanesenostalgiccar.com
This weekend, October 9-11:
Continuing with our JCCS 2009 coverage, here are the cars from my personal favorite category — the wagons! This restored orange Datsun 510 was gorgeous, and aside from the re-upholstered interior it looks like it could have driven off the lot circa 1970. But this was just the first of many family freighters we saw last weekend. Continue reading
The Gran Turismo series has apparently been working so closely with automakers that every time a concept is revealed, a supplemental GT5 driving video accompanies it. Here, they’ve even included some brief scenes of the newly announced Toyota FT-86 Concept drifting with a panda AE86 Sprinter Trueno. Full video after the jump: Continue reading
