Honda’s new Insight hybrid went on sale in Japan earlier today, accompanied by a minisite covering the history of their ecologically-minded vehicles. Starting with the Super Cub motorcycle’s OHC four-stroke motor in 1958. The first car is the kei-class N360 of 1967, followed by the 1972 Honda Civic CVCC, which stands for Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion and made the Civic the first car to meet US 70s emission standards without a catalytic converter. Interestingly, there’s then a 27-year gap between that and the 1999 Insight. Surely they could have inserted a CR-X HF or something in between, right? The Insight goes on sale in the US on Earth Day, April 22.
A Very Brief History of Green Hondas
Posted in honda
Tagged honda, honda civic cvcc, honda insight, honda n360, honda n600, honda super cub
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Mitsubishi Ends Dakar Participation
Another day, another cutback. As the worst ecomonic climate in decades hits the auto industry and everything connected to it, Mitsubishi announced today that they are ending participation of the Dakar Rally citing exactly that reason.
It’s a shame, too, because the epic race, which started in 1979 as an off-road enduro stretching from Paris, France to Dakar, Senegal, was one of the most brutal motorsports competitions on earth. It tumbles through the harshest African sand dunes, and almost never finishes without claiming a life or two.
And Mitsubishi dominated. It won the race outright a total of 12 times and held an unbroken a record of seven straight victories from 2001 and 2007, a streak that would have likely continued if the 2008 running had not been canceled due to threats of terrorism. All of these championships were won with various generations of the Pajero (aka Montero) SUV, starting in 1985 with the one shown above.
So far we’ve already seen Subaru and Suzuki pull out of WRC and Honda leave Formula 1. Here’s to hoping that the triple diamond mafia returns to Dakar domination once the economy recovers.
Full press release after the jump: Continue reading
Posted in mitsubishi, motorsports, rally
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A Visit to Daisuke Shoten
Our buddy over at Nori Yaro posted on a visit to Daisuke Shoten, a shop specializing in mad bosozoku style cars. It sits in a field of grass as tall as your shoulders and the only sign signifying its existence is spraypainted on the side of a decrepit old van. Inside, you get works like the masterpiece above. Continue reading
Posted in bosozoku, tuning shop
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Honda: The Power of Dreams Animated Film
It’sa me, Soichiro! Honda: The Power of Dreams is a new Italian animated short film about the life of Soichiro Honda, founder of the motorcycle and car company that bears his name.
It become obvious when his sketches come to life and operate magic assembly line robots that this isn’t necessarily a 100 percent accurate telling of young Honda-san’s life. To be perfectly honest we were completely lost during much of it though it’s beautifully drawn.
To watch it, go to writer/director Michele D’Auria’s website and click “Shortfilm.” You can see a behind the scenes video after the jump. Continue reading
Posted in honda, JNC Theater, Video Games
Tagged honda, honda animation, honda short film, honda: the power of dreams, soichiro honda
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Sayonara, Isuzu
Well, it’s February. That means Isuzu’s passenger car division has quietly exited, stage left, from the US auto market as we reported would happen year ago.
The end of an era! Our brief time with Isuzu began in the 70s when General Motors, desperate for a small car, sold Geminis rebadged as Opels. The Isuzu brand itself eventually did make it stateside, most well-known for its SUVs like the Trooper, Rodeo, Amigo and the bizarre VehiCROSS. Ultimately, as market share decreased, it was relegated to selling rebadged GM trucks.
Isuzu’s most popular – a relative term, to be sure – car was the Impulse, which in later generations was also rebadged as the Geo Storm. We always thought that if the company had only ventured into US sales earlier, with its pioneering JDM models like the twin-cam Bellet GT-R (pictured above) or the 117 Coupe, it would have fared better.
In memoriam, we have posted some old Isuzu USA ads, starring middling sit-com star David Leisure as your prototypical slimy car salesman, Joe Isuzu. Continue reading
Posted in cm, isuzu
Tagged isuzu, isuzu gemini, isuzu impulse, isuzu trooper, joe isuzu, opel gemini
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Ronald Reagan, Subaru BRAT Owner
We got our latest copy of Subaru’s Drive magazine recently and in it was a feature story on Ronald Reagan’s 1978 Subaru BRAT. That’s right, our 40th President drove a Brumby!
Reagan used the 4WD pickup-style car primarily on his 688-acre Santa Barbara ranch until 1998, when the family sold the ranch. The car was gifted to a friend but appeared on eBay a number of years later. The well-worn car was then re-purchased by the ranch’s caretakers and fully restored with the help of Subaru of America. The finished product is complete with rear-facing jumper seats in the pickup bed, BRAT decals, white wheels and camper shell You can see more photos at Subaru’s website.
Grandma Hoon in a Datsun Bluebird
Australia’s fastest grandma, Barbara Colllier, age 70, co-pilots a Datsun Bluebird with her grandson John, age 14. He needed a certified passenger to compete at Toowoomba’s Charlton Speedway but his grandfather Jack failed a mandatory medical exam. That’s when Barbara donned a full race suit and helmet to step in. Now she hits the track for four races at every meet. Good on ya, granny!
Posted in datsun, motorsports, nissan
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All Datsun Beach BBQ & Food Drive
The folks from Dime Quarterly put on a great gathering today for all Datsun and J-tin fans at Doheny Beach today. They provided excellent barbecue and collected food for the San Diego Food Bank. Click here for more photos from zetozeto99 and Dan.
Posted in datsun, events, nissan
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Car Chase Combat: Toyota Corona vs. Mazda RX-3
If Tuesday’s Subaru-on-Subaru action left you wanting more nostalgic car chase excitement, you’re in luck. Most Japanese films had a manufacturer sponsor that supplied them with cars, so all the main cars – and sometimes even the chase fodder – were usually of the same brand. But 1979’s No Grave for Us featured a multi-marque mix of J-tin doing what they do best!
In this scene our baddie absconds with a bag full of ill-gotten yen in a RT80 Toyota Corona, only to have our hero (played by total badass Yusaku Matsuda) hunt him down in a beautiful Mazda Savanna RX-3. Throw in a Nissan President for good measure and you have one awesome pursuit.
What’s more, the footage seems much more raw. When you can see suspensions bouncing up and down like paddleballs you know these cars are being driven hard.
Posted in mazda, toyota, Video Games
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Cash For Clunkers, German Edition
Achtung! Ze Germans are getting in on the cash for clunkers program as well. The government is giving people who trade in an old car for scrap up to 2500 euros. In the first two days of the program’s existence, 420,000 people called in. Mein Gott! And lest you think there’s no J-tin in the land of BMWs and Benzes, think again.
[Autoblog]
Posted in laws
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All Datsun Beach BBQ and Food Drive
This weekend the folks at Dime Quarterly are holding another one of their great barbecue food drives! Bring some canned grub to donate and check out some old cars. The event takes place Jan 31 at Doheny State Beach. That’s right, everybody… SoCal nostalgists can go to the beach in January! Details here.
Posted in datsun, events, nissan
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Kidney, Anyone? 22,800-mile Celica Liftback
We thought we’d seen all the clean California Celicas at JCCS and Toyotafest, but here’s an amazing 1977 Liftback that only has 22,800 miles on the clock. Apparently it came from a Texas dealership showroom last year and, according to the seller, still smells like a new car. That’s 1977 molecules wafting into your nostrils, folks! The only downside is the automatic transmission, but you probably wouldn’t really drive it anyway, right? More pics after the jump. Continue reading
Posted in for sale, toyota
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RS Watanabe TV Commercial
How unbelievably cool is it that RS Watanabe actually aired TV commercials back in the day? Of course, they’re so expensive we’d never slap them on a rally-going 910 Bluebird and sandblast them to smithereens. You could always go with some Black Racing lookalikes, which is what drifters used to do because they too found Wats too pricey. But the pure simplicity of this ad makes us want to go out and get some nice, black 8-spokes, stat. There’s no music at all, and only the briefest of voiceovers at the very end. Racing Service… Watanabe!
[Banpei]
OG Shirt from Import Bible
Our friends at Import Bible have released another Series 2 shirt that is sure to appeal to nostalgists. The front says “OG” in big red letters and on the back, a closeup of a hakosuka grille. Killer! You can buy them here.
Posted in nissan, nostalgic gear
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Goertz Myths Will Never Die, Part II
Oh, snap! Sound Classics has responded to our post titled “Goertz Myths Will Never Die” in which we took issue with the supposed designer of the Toyota 2000GT. Nissan/Datsun fans, you’ll want to stick around for this too.
The question that started it all goes like this:
Question: This auto company contracted Yamaha and stylist Albrecht von Goertz in 1963 to create a two seat sports car. (1 pt)
Answer: Although Toyota eventually built the 2000GT, it was Nissan which originally contracted Yamaha and stylist Albrecht Goertz in 1963 to create a two seat sports car. Backing out after the initial prototype, Yamaha approached Toyota.
Sound Classics stands by their statements and says their quiz was “worded very carefully.” Well, okay. So they don’t say “Goertz created the 2000GT!” but it sure does lead the average reader to believe so. Their wording really, really makes it seem like Toyota eventually built the car Nissan backed out of.
The real designer, Satoru Nozaki, isn’t mentioned at all. Continue reading
Random Honda 50 Years Ad
Here’s a random web banner ad we came across the other day. It’s Honda USA’s 50th anniversary and it looks like they’re starting to promote it. We’ve got our party hats on. Don’t harsh our buzz, Honda!
Posted in honda
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Krazy Kiwis and Their Rotaries
Speedhunters has some great coverage of the “V” 4 and Rotary Nationals down in New Zealand. Peep the blower on this RX-4. It could swallow a pair of low-flying geese! All it needs is switch activation supercharging and it’ll be ready to chase down those post-apocalyptic biker gangs in no time. Check their posts here and here.
Posted in events, mazda
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Honda S-Series, Dead Again
Honda has just announced that 2009 will the the last year for the S2000 and there is no known replacement in the works. R.I.P. Honda’s brief statement acknowledged that the S2000 was originally conceived as a limited edition model for the company’s 50th anniversary back in 1999, and we were thrilled with the revival of the high-revving S-series roadsters after the last S800 was built in 1970. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another 30 years.
[Image: Honda User’s Voice]
JCCA New Year Meeting 2009
Happy Year of the Ox, everybody! It’s time for the 2009 JCCA New Year Meeting. Loyal JNCer dsh4 took 600 pics and has posted some of them here, but he is still going through them and will add more so keep checking back. This year, the featured marques were Hino and Isuzu.
The New Year Meeting is the biggest classic car show of the year in Japan, a must see for anyone into nostalgics. If you’re planning a trip to Japan you must schedule it around this event or we will personally send the JNC ninja squad to put you out of your foolish misery. Here are some links for coverage of the 2007 (featured marque: Mitsubishi) and 2008 (featured marque: Toyota) shows.
Posted in events, new year meeting
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