Last month, Toyota launched the iQ city car, to much fanfare amongst the green-machine crowd. Within days, speculation began on a sporty two-seater roadster based on the same small platform. Naturally, the first thing we noticed was its resemblance to the 1965 Toyota Sports 800, itself based on a lesser commuter car, the Publica. If built, the yet-unnamed iQ-based convertible could be powered by a 1.0 or 1.3-liter gasoline or diesel engine. Sadly, unlike its predecessors, both this roadster and the iQ are front wheel drive. Expect to see a prototype at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show.
Toyota Sports 800 Styled iQ Roadster
Game Over for Sport Compact Car
This is sad news. Sport Compact Car, one of the most authoritative and well-written magazines about small engines and tuning tips for compact cars has been killed off by its parent company, Source Interlink, along with Truck Trend, with 115 employees cut loose. It’s one of the few import scene titles out there that had informative articles about the import scene, with no fluff about bikini girls and rap albums to distract from its core content. They even did the occasional story about an old school ride. This comes hot on the heels of Source Interlink discontinuing Turbo magazine as well, and rumor has it that more are on the chopping block. This kind of thing makes us uneasy, being small-time publishers still in the process of starting a new magazine. Continue reading
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Subaru 50th Anniversary Continues in Full Swing
We’re getting on our favorite hobby horse again and talking about how Japanese automakers don’t talk about enough their past products. We’re lookin’ at you, US subsidiaries! For example, this year was Nissan USA’s 50th anniversary, but you wouldn’t know it from attending the LA Auto Show. The event was dominated by Nissan, but at no point, not in CEO Carlos “Mr. Bean” Ghosn’s keynote address, or the debuts of the Nissan 370Z, Cube or Infiniti G37 convertible did the speakers give any hint of this milestone.
On the other hand, if you have Issue 2 of Japanese Nostalgic Car magazine, you’ll know that Subaru’s 50th birthday party in Japan has been one year-long bash. In fact, they won’t shut up about it. Here’s a cute post titled “Grandfather and Grandson” from the company’s blog, talking about a photo shoot that paired up a 360 with a new Impreza STI for Cartopia, their monthly magazine. Here they are teaming up with toymaker Tomica for vintage Sambar Fire Truck and FF-1 models. Continue reading
Posted in japan, minicars, subaru
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World Micro/Mini Car Meet in 2010
This is a ways off, but we thought you Subaru 360, Honda N/Z/S and various kei-car owners might be interested in making plans for the World Micro/Mini Car meet. It’s the brainchild of Ken & Sylvia Weger, owners/curators of the Small Wonders Microcar Museum and will take place in downtown Crystal Lake, IL at the University Center, located at 100 S. Main Street, on August 21-22, 2010.
From the website:
This will be the first ever WORLD MEET of its kind. Microcar and Minicar owners and their cars, will gather from all over the world to share their enthusiasm for these small wonders. The Weger’s are expecting over 500 Micro and Mini cars. Those cars under 500cc are considered to be “Microcars”, and those between 500-1500cc are considered “Minicars”. Many marques are expected to fill the lush lawns surrounding the University Center. Vendors will provide food and beverages. Alongside the car show, workshops and classes/seminars are being planned.
[Edmunds]
Posted in kei
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LA Auto Show: Retro Nissan Z, Nostalgic Mitsubishis
Today at the LA Auto Show, Nissan finally revealed the 370Z to the world, finally, at long last, and for reals. Mitsubishi also brought out a couple of classics to show the world, “Hey, we’ve been doing this since waaay before rebadging ourselves as Plymouths!” Continue reading
Posted in datsun, mitsubishi, motorsports, nissan
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Mazda and Ford Break Up, Remain Friends
Mazda has announced last night that it is breaking up with corporate partner Ford. Until now, Ford owned a 33.4 percent of Mazda’s stock, giving it control over the company under Japanese law. But now it’s selling off 20 percent, worth approximately $540 million, to raise desperately needed cash.
The alliance began back in 1979, when Mazda spent much of the decade developing the fuel-thirsty rotary engine, even after the 1973 oil crisis. Ford purchased a 27 percent stake then and slowly increased its share during the 80s and early 90s. Together, they shared many platforms such as the Mazda MX-6/Ford Probe, 323/Escort and 6/Fusion. The two companies have said they will continue to save costs by working together on more platforms in the future.
This news follows GM’s announcement yesterday that it would sell its remaining 3.02 percent stake in Suzuki.
[AP]
Posted in mazda
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Cars of the World Show in Oz this Weekend
Here’s a quick reminder for our Aussie JNCers in Melbourne, Australia. This Sunday November 23 is the Cars of the World show, and the featured marque is Nissan. There will be a concours type show and a charity auction. See these posts Go Baby Go and ajax240k for details.
Posted in datsun, events, nissan
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EVENTS: Norm Reeves Honda Show
Posted in events, honda
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Nissan 370Z on Display
The Nissan 370Z doesn’t officially debut until the LA Auto Show next Wednesday, but Datsun Z owners were invited to bring the car’s forefathers down to a special sneak preview event in LA that just ended an hour ago. Sponsored by Edmund’s Inside Line and Nissan, the purpose was to have older Z-cars on hand for comparison and photo shoot opportunities, so we tagged along with some members of Group Z. Continue reading
Posted in nissan
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EVENTS: Datsun Heritage Museum Toy Drive
Last week there was a car show and charity toy drive at the Datsun Heritage Museum. Click on the image above to see the gallery.
Posted in datsun, events, museum, nissan
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Do the JDM Burnout Dance! G-Works Magazine review
Pay your local Japanese bookshop a visit and you’ll see that one of the new JDM magazines catering to the new boom in nostalgics is G-Works. It’s one of my favourite Japanese magazines: it’s chock full of modified classic cars, real hardcore DIY articles and reports on local meets and clubs.
They also have an ongoing drag racing competition, held at Sendai, which flushes out all the uber-fast nostalgics. We’re talking 350+hp all-motor L-series Zeds, Skylines and Bluebirds pulling 11s over the quarter.
Posted in Websites
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Skyline and Z Hoonage, Japanese Style
Seriously, folks. If this video doesn’t make you want to get a nostalgic car of your own and tune the living crap out of it, you’re deader than Abraham Lincoln. Watch as a bunch of old school Nissan nuts shake out their Skylines, Fairladys, Bluebirds and Sunnys on Japan’s immaculate roads. The exhaust notes bouncing off JDM tunnel walls are pure auditory sex. These are definitely not trailer queens!
We think this has been posted more than once, but dsalni‘s was the latest. Thanks!
Posted in datsun, japan, nissan, Video
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Design Study: Datsun 240Z Vs Nissan 350Z
Here’s an good design comparison between the Datsun 240Z and the soon-to-debut Nissan 370Z on Jalopnik. Rumor has it that the 370Z is 300lbs lighter than the outgoing 350Z, and will produce more horsepower, 332 to be exact. Though it’s hard to tell from photos, the 370Z is also shorter than the 350Z, with a wheelbase of 99 inches. We’re not as fond of the new look as our friends at Jalopnik are, but we’ll reserve judgment until we see it in person at the LA Auto Show next week.
[Jalopnik]
Posted in datsun, nissan
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EVENTS: SEMA 2008
Norm Reeves Honda Show This Weekend
Old school Honda-heads don’t often have the opportunity to show off their cars, so come and check out the show this Sunday, November 16, sponsored by Norm Reeves Honda. It’s the third annual event and it’s open to Hondas old and new, so come educate the youngin’s about Honda history. The address is 18500 Studebaker Road, Cerritos, CA 90703 it goes from 10am to 1pm. Here’s some pics from the 2007 NRH show.
Posted in events, honda
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Morning Cruising in Yokohama
We’re still trying to go through the hundreds of SEMA photos we took, but in the meantime here’s a small set of photos from Satoshi, our man in Japan, from one of the Morning Cruises sponsored by Barracuda. Here are two more galleries from some of their past cruises in our Events Section. Continue reading
EVENTS: Crown Picnic 2008
We’re still recovering from SEMA and will be posting up the backlog of events that have accumulated. First up, the Mooneyes‘ Crown Picnic 2008!
Posted in events, toyota
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Got a few hours to kill on JDM websites?
The Japanese Society of Automotive Engineers is a huge organisation with over 40,000 members. It’s been going for over 50yrs and if you want to join, you have to be working in the automotive field. Cruise through JSAE’s website and you’ll find lots of info on engineering and stuff.
But one of the more interesting things on JSAE’s site is its article on the top 240 landmarks of Japanese auto engineering.
SoCal Datsun Event This Weekend
This weekend promises to be another one full of Datsun goodness for SoCal. First up, on Saturday Nov. 8 is the Southern California Datsun Roadster Club’s Show & Shine Toy Drive at the Datsun Heritage Museum. There is no entrance fee for the museum or the car show, but please bring a toy valued at at least $10 to donate to charity. The address of the DHM is 41610 Date St, Murrieta, CA 92562 and the event goes from 10am to 3pm.
Then, on Sunday Nov. 9, there’s a Datsun swap meet happening at Superior Nissan of Puente Hills. The location is 17621 East Gale Avenue, City Of Industry, CA 91748, and will lasts from 10am to 4pm.
Sorry for the short notice. Now it’s back to the chaos of the last day of SEMA!
Hot Rod Nissan
If you’ve been to SEMA you know that the vast majority of vehicles are either classic American or new Japanese. Here’s one that manages to combine both: a ’32 Ford Highboy powered by a VG30DE from a 1996 Nissan 300ZX with its accompanying 5-speed. Much of the running gear – spindles, brakes, hubs, diff, halfshafts – were also from a Z32, mated to a custom 5-link suspension. Follow the jump for a closeup of the engine. Continue reading
Posted in events, nissan, Spotlight
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