Friday Video: Nissan President Getaway

Posted on May 22, 2009 by Ben Hsu

This video has all the signs of Seibu Keisatsu, such as a fleet of Nissan Cedric police cars led by an S30 Z, but it’s not: Daimon doesn’t make a heroic appearance at the end to dispatch the enemy with a single blast of his shotgun. Our closest guess via Google Translator is that these are scenes from a movie called Big City, or something like that. Whatever it’s called, it proves that nothing can stop a big steamrollin’ Nissan President except maybe lighting its gas tank on fire. Have a great weekend!

Posted in datsun, nissan, Video Games | 4 Comments

Why We Love the Mazda T2000

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Ben Hsu

mazda_t2000

Since we reserve most of our drool for Fairlady Zs and TE27s here at JNC, some of you may have wondered why we went ga-ga over the Mazda T2000 that appeared on eBay earlier this week. Well, because it was a monster. Continue reading →

Posted in mazda, mitsubishi | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

Texas Nissans Meet, June 6

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Ben Hsu

texasnissans
For those of you in the Lone Star State, Texas Nissans is having a meet in Austin on June 6. It’s a Nissan meet but they want some Datsuns to represent old school! The car show will start at 10am and there’ll be a cruise through scenic Austin afterwards. You can find more details here.

Posted in datsun, events, nissan | 2 Comments

Honda & Acura Show, June 7, New York

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Ben Hsu

honda_acura_show
On Sunday, June 7 This Old Honda will be hosting a Honda & Acura Car Show at Formula H Motorworks in Middletown, New York. It’ll be the perfect opportunity to check out classic S600s, JDM Beats, and more! Doors open at 10am. For more information visit the links above. Admission is free!

Posted in events, honda | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Mysteries of the Datsun 810 Maxima Voice Box Revealed

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Ben Hsu

nissan_datsun_810_maxima
In the early 80s, the dawn of the personal computer age, no form of electronic gimmickry was considered too pointless. The family coach for a friend of mine was none other than a 1982 Datsun 810 Maxima wagon, nearly identical in appearance to the Cressida wagons I love so dearly today, except it had one very important feature: the Maxima spoke! Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, nissan | Tagged , | 13 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? Mazda T2000 3-Wheeler

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Ben Hsu

mazdat2000This could be the coolest thing we’ve seen on ebay in months. Three-wheelers were the workhorses of choice in 1950s Japan and the Mazda T2000 was king of the road. You aren’t gonna be popular with the ladies in this behemoth – in fact, if there was such a thing as chick repellent a 50-year old mutant tricycle with a nice sheen of rust would surely qualify – but it is so unbelievably rare it makes hakosukas look like Camrys. Continue reading →

Posted in mazda | Tagged | 9 Comments

Toyota RT40 Corona Fetches $36,000 at Mecum

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Ben Hsu

toyota_corona_rt40

Remember the Jack Safro collection we told you about last month? One of the cars at the Mecum auction was an original 8,769-mile 1966 Toyota Corona so new the plastic wrap was still on the door panels. Back in 2007 when JNC was only a month old this exact car sold for just $16,740, a record price for its time. But when the gavel dropped this time the highest bid was a whopping $36,000. With the economy the way it is, a better deal than AIG stock! The value of nostalgics is really going up. Continue reading →

Posted in toyota, trucks | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Z-Car Club of Inland Valley Show

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Ben Hsu

zcciv02
While Matt was down at the imG Old Skewl Meet in San Diego yesterday yours truly was at the Z-Car Club of Inland Valley‘s annual car show at Quality Nissan in Temecula. Despite the name of the club all manner of Datsuns were welcomed with open arms, and the results are here: Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, nissan, trucks, wagons | 11 Comments

imG Old Skewl Meet

Posted on May 17, 2009 by Matt De Mangos

img_oldskewlmeetMay 17, 2009, Mission Bay, San Diego, CA

Southern California hardly ever disappoints for the sheer number of nostalgics it contains. Case in point is the Old Skewl Meet today in gorgeous (overcast) Mission Bay in San Diego. This was just a get together, a free event, but it attracted not only locals, but a few guys from Los Angeles and even the Bay Area!

510’s and Ae86’s always show up to these events, but there were a few other surprises as well. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, events, mazda, mitsubishi, toyota, trucks, wagon, wagons | Tagged | 13 Comments

Friday Video: Pixar's Tokyo Mater

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Ben Hsu

If you thought the one thing missing from Pixar’s Cars was some JDM flava, then this is the video for you. In this animated short Mater and Lightning McQueen hit the mean streets of Tokyo for some street racing action with a plot following the tails of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift as closely as the best tandem drifters. There isn’t much of a nostalgic car presence unless you count the fender mirrors on the big sedan that is some kind of Century/Cedric mashup but it’s still entertaining. Enjoy, you import punks!

Posted in japan | 9 Comments

Oh Crap, Japan Adopts Cash for Clunkers

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Ben Hsu

celicagtv_junkedWell it was bound to happen. The Cash for Clunker program has hit the motherload, in the motherland of our favorite cars. Japan is now offering citizens ¥250,000 (about $2500) towards the purchase of a new car if they trade in any car 13 years or older.

When we first started following the Cash for Clunkers saga the program was a misguided attempt at ecology. But then the world economy turned to poo and any environmentally minded pretense was flushed down the toilet faster than a spider in a tissue. Continue reading →

Posted in japan, laws | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Lotsa (Mitsubishi) Lambdas

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Matt De Mangos

In my never ending effort to source old school Mitsu material for you guys, I came across these random images of Galant Lambdas ready to find new owners.

sapporo1

Unless my mind is playing tricks on me, I believe I see a “Challenger” badge on the fender. If so, then these were meant for the States, or some other export country where the car was badged as such. Continue reading →

Posted in mitsubishi | 8 Comments

EVENTS: All-Toyotafest 2009

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Ben Hsu

cover_toyotafest2009

If you happened to see a blue Cressida wagon and blue AE86 pulled over on the 710 by the California Highway Patrol on the way to Toyotafest last Saturday, that was yours truly at JNC. We were running late and, shall we say, briskly, but an irate Officer Poncharello thought we were street racing. Somehow, we were able to convince him we weren’t and made it to the show to take the photos in this gallery. Unfortunately, each of us still got one of these: Continue reading →

Posted in events, toyota, trucks | 9 Comments

JNCer's Datsun 510 Rant Makes Us LOL

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Ben Hsu

datsun5101
We get a lot of strange letters in our inbox here at JNC headquarters and most of them just leave us scratching our heads. But once in a while a shining gem rises above the chaff to make our bellies ache with laughter. Marcus H.’s rant was so well-written and funny that we cannot improve on it at all, so we’ll just print it in its entirety: Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, nissan | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Classic Motor Show in Lahti, Finland

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Matt De Mangos

classicmotorshow_lahti

We wanted to share JNCer mikko1200’s photos of the Lahti Classic Motor Show with you despite the fact that it wasn’t just a show of J-tin. It was held in Finland, a country that appears to have a healthy amount of respect for nostalgics, enough so that they are displayed alongside European and American marques. Continue reading →

Posted in events | 6 Comments

Events for Sunday, May 17

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Matt De Mangos

Just a little heads up on some local events coming up this weekend, in SoCal and Pennsylvania.
Continue reading →

Posted in events | Leave a comment

EVENTS: Z Car West Coast Nationals

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Ben Hsu


cover_zcarnatls2009

More Zs than a week’s worth of transcripts from a beehive.

Posted in datsun, events, nissan | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Happy 510 Day 2009!

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Ben Hsu

datsun510This Sunday we celebrate the one without which we would not exist, the one who brought us into the world… Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, nissan | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Bonus Vintage JNC Car Chase Video

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Matt De Mangos


While Seibu Keisatsu may be the quintessential JNC cop show, here’s another zany vintage car chase video floating around the internet. The following selection is from a movie but we’re not sure which title, so if you figure it out, be sure to reply.

With this one we get a little more graphic with a Crown HT in the role of a bank robbery getaway car. Watch for the for the bad guy taking off his sunglasses… it’s classic.

Posted in toyota, Video Games | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Friday Video: Mazda Luce Legato Smash!

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Ben Hsu

Who knew that Mazdas could slice open a Nissan like a knife through hot butter? We have absolutely no idea what movie or TV show this is from, nor what is going on here, but it sure is zany! However, the fun times implied by a bright yellow Mazda Luce Legato surgically bisecting a Cedric down the middle seems to take a darker detour when the final crash engulfs several cars – and presumably their occupants – in flames and a (um, spoiler alert?) child’s red cap falls from the sky. If you know from where this clip originated, let us know in the comments.

Posted in mazda, nissan, toyota, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments