Loss Of An Automotive Journalism Icon

Posted on August 25, 2009 by John Roper
The author (in 2008) with his son, E. John Thawley III

The author (in 2008) with his son, E. John Thawley III

John Thawley (aka Bob Waar) 1937-2009 – Author and motor journalist John Thawley died last month of complications from pneumonia. He was 71.

How to Hot Rod Small Block Chevys, How to Hot Rod Big Block Chevys, the Off Road Handbook and the cult classic How to Modify Datsun 510/610/240Z Engines & Chassis were all written under Thawley’s pen-name, Bob Waar. Those and the books that followed under his own name totaled some twenty titles over his career. John raced in Baja and Bonneville. He worked at Indy, Irwindale, Daytona, Pikes Peak and Riverside. He served time on the payrolls of Buick, Chevrolet, Nissan, Toyota and numerous performance industry manufacturers.

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

EVENTS: The Very Last Nisei Showoff

Posted on August 24, 2009 by Ben Hsu

niseiShowoff2009_007_toyota_corolla_te72_wagon
Way, way back in the day, nisei (the Japanese word for second-generation Japanese Americans) held informal cruise nights all over the greater Los Angeles area. They were some of the first guys ever to modify 510s, Celicas and the early Mazda rotaries. Eventually, that evolved into an actual show, the Nisei Showoff, sometime in the early-to-mid 90s. There’s a lot of history there, but sadly, this will be the last one.
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Posted in datsun, events, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Finland Japanese Auto Extravaganza 2009

Posted on August 24, 2009 by Matt De Mangos

finn_japanese_car_extravaganza1
Mikko, our JNCer in the land of the Finn, has kindly uploaded a few pics of the recent Finland Japanese Auto Extravaganza.

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Posted in events | 4 Comments

Friday Video: Mitsubishi Action in Guerrilla Group 8

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Ben Hsu

Despite the presence of Tetsuya Watari, gunfights, and a gull-winged Japanese sports coupe, this is not Seibu Keisatsu. Mitsubishi fans, rejoice! It’s Guerrilla: Tokyo Police Group 8, starring Watari-san (who played our beloved Sgt. Daimon in Seibu), a Mitsubishi Starion 2600GSR-VR, Pajero, and a Debonair V 3000 Royal AMG. That’s right, kiddos, a Debonair AMG. As police car. If they could somehow work Giga Pudding into the equation Kev could die a happy man.

Guerrilla followed the adventures of a covert division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Called Group 8, the elite squad specialized in the atrocious crimes regular cops couldn’t touch, with each member carrying a licenses to kill.

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Posted in mitsubishi, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Event Horizon – End of Summer Edition

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Dan Hsu

niseiShowoff2009

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

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More Vintage Wheel Ads: Techno, Yayoi, Etc.

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Ben Hsu

techno phantom 2
We posted some vintage Japanese wheel ads a while back. Here’s some more spotted on Riverside. Many have a similar theme: modified OG J-ride, night time shot, the wheel in question and a glimpse of asphalt lit dramatically. The message is clear, get out there and race, foo! This Techno Phantom-shod RX-7 just beckons. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, mazda, mazda rx-7, nissan, wheels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

JNC Contest Answer: 1925 Otomo

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Ben Hsu

taxi2Congrats to Brad D. (TSiSS350), who guessed correctly that the yesterday’s JNC Contest Car was a 1925 Otomo! Here’s a brief history of the car and Brad’s prize after the jump.

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Posted in jnc, pre-war | Tagged | 6 Comments

JNC Contest: Call This Car!

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Ben Hsu

jnc contestI have been criticized for making my “guess the car” type contests too easy, so here’s one for ya’ll. Identify this car and win a diecast nostalgic from Japan!

Posted in jnc | Tagged | 12 Comments

Toyota Celica Speedster at Woodward Dream Cruise

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Ben Hsu

celica-convertible speedster
Since 1995, the Woodward Dream Cruise has taken over the streets of Detroit each August and is one of the biggest gatherings of muscle cars and hot rods on the planet. J-tin is a pretty rare sight at the WDC, but we’re not sure if that’s because photographers focus on the domestics or because there really isn’t any.

Motor Trend‘s article on this year’s cruise showed this Toyota Celica speedster, a custom job that lopped the roof off a first gen coupe – a scalped daruma, if you will. There’s also a droptop Datsun 260z in their gallery. They’re not exactly our cup of cha, but we’re glad that people are paying attention to them and that nostalgics are welcome at the WDC.

Posted in toyota | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Friday Video: Tokusou Saizensen Intros

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Ben Hsu

This week’s video shows the collected opening sequences for Tokusou Saizensen, which translates (we think) to “Special Investigation Frontline”. The long running Japanese police drama aired from 1977 to 1987, but the intro had to be re-shot each time Nissan redesigned the Cedric, Gloria or Skyline.

That’s because the cars are featured prominently driving in formation through the sprawling concrete jungle that is Tokyo, and the Nissan sponsorship juggernaut dominated cop shows of the era. As a result, you can see not only Nissan’s bread and butter sedans, but the capital city itself, evolve over the better part of a decade.

Thanks to cesariojpn!

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

Shako Hako

Posted on August 13, 2009 by Ben Hsu

nissan skyline hakosuka kgc10Shakotan means simply “low-down” in Japanese, but this shako hako is a superlative example. There is such a thing as going too far though. Suffice it to say, you won’t be seeing this on the JNC project car.

[via KaZato Racing]

Posted in datsun, nissan | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Mitsubishi Lancers Rallying in Rio

Posted on August 12, 2009 by Ben Hsu


We are seriously behind in showing Mitsubishi love so here’s a double dose of commercials for you.

Japan is such a small country that it was often fashionable for automakers to ship their cars overseas and drive them across exotic continents, starting with Toyota and Nissan sending cars to compete in Australia’s Mobilgas Rally in the 50s.

Mitsubishi had tremendous success rallying their Lancers in Africa in the 70s, but curiously, this 1978 ad makes no mention of it at all. Instead, they show the cars on a South American expedition that ends up in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The signs on the cars seem to indicate this was a promotional tour to demonstrate the car’s mettle and not an actual race, though precious little information can be found about this trip.

The second commercial in the video is for the Mitsubishi-sponsored Mirage Bowl, which was an annual US college football game held at the Tokyo Dome from 1977 to 1986.

Posted in cm, mitsubishi | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? Datsun 280ZX 10th Anniversary Edition, Number 1 of 3000

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Ben Hsu

datsun 280zx black gold 10th anniversary 1of3000 01

Automakers often release limited edition cars, but it’s not necessarily enthusiasts or collectors who buy them. More often than not, they’re simply snatched up by buyers who need a new set of wheels. Which begs the question: what happens to, say, number 1 of 3000 thirty years later? Does it get totaled in a crash, end up as scrap, or is it languishing in a backyard somewhere?
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Posted in datsun, for sale, nissan | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Japanese Classic Car Show 2009

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Ben Hsu

JCCS_2009 There’s less than a month left to register your car for the 2009 Japanese Classic Car Show. This is going to be a special one, as it is the 5th anniversary of the show that finally brought kyusha fans a venue to share, show and enjoy their cars with the rest of the community and country. Limited numbers of anniversary items will be available to registrants, so hurry!

The organizers have also informed us that one of the issues at the Hidden Valley Park location, the dust from the dirt trail near the entrance, has been solved. They have reconfigured the show for a new entrance and a water truck will be standing by.

Also, be sure to check out the JCCS newsletter for deals on hotels and a photo gallery from one of Japan’s most prolific auto photographers, Akio Hirano.

The 2009 JCCS will be held on October 3 from 9am to 3pm at Hidden Valley Park in Irvine, California. See you there!

Posted in events, jccs | 6 Comments

Bonus Vid: Wangan Midnight 2009 Movie Trailer

Posted on August 7, 2009 by Ben Hsu

Speak of the Devil Z! Here’s the trailer for Wangan Midnight, the manga, movie, video game and anime series that is now being rebooted with yet another remake on the big screen.

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Posted in datsun, nissan, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Friday Video: Seibu Keisatsu's Water Cannon Patrol

Posted on August 7, 2009 by Ben Hsu

Sgt. Daimon manning a Nissan Patrol-mounted water cannon leads to a flipped Datsun 620 pickup (on Enkei Bajas – SK was sponsored by Enkei) and senseless wagon destruction. Have a good weekend!

Posted in nissan, seibu keisatsu, trucks, Video Games, wagons | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Event Horizon: August Redemption Edition

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Dan Hsu

nym2009There were no events the first weekend of August, so to make up for it, the second weekend of August brings you three quality events to choose from.

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

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Posted in events | Tagged | 5 Comments

First Look Inside Nissan Gallery Yokohama

Posted on August 5, 2009 by Ben Hsu

Last week we mentioned that Nissan was opening a gallery at their recently relocated headquarters now in Yokohama. The grand opening was on Monday, and here are some photos of the new digs.

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

Toyota Says Crush Your Cruiser for Cash

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Ben Hsu

This is an actual commercial from Toyota in which they encourage you to crush your classic Land Cruiser in exchange for a Cash for Clunkers voucher.

Obviously a two-door FJ60 is a nonexistent beast, so was Toyota USA just creating a generic SUV from one of their own models in order to avoid using another automaker’s product? Or is the marketing department so far removed from Toyota’s heritage that they think nothing of slapping the Toyota faithful across the face with this suggestion?

This clip was put up under Toyota USA’s own YouTube account, so you can click on the video above and let them know what you think.

As a side note, if any real FJ60 owners are considering this, it’d be a pretty stupid idea since all but the most rusted out hulks can fetch more than the $4500 C4C rebate.

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Posted in cm, laws, toyota | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Giga Pudding FAQ

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Kevin San

433_Gigapudding1It is a little-known fact that JNC Magazine correspondents are, in fact paid in ramen and Giga Pudding. But outside of the JNC editorial team, there has been very little said about this mysterious dessert, except for what can be learned from its rather irritatingly catchy commercial.

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Posted in Tokyo Daze | 28 Comments