GrandJDM Migration 90% Complete

Posted on June 2, 2008 by Ben Hsu

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Over the weekend, we finally migrated the grandJDM posts over to JNC. You can find all the archived fabulousity by using the search box to your left. All of the info-rich text is there, but eagle-eyed techies have noticed the pictures, while visible, are still on the grandJDM server.

That’s cause WordPress (which both sites used) has a stupid system for image management. If anyone is interested in the issue and can possibly help us with a solution, please read on. We’d be greatly appreciative and may even send some nifty JDM swag your way. Continue reading →

Posted in jnc, Nuts and Bolts | 14 Comments

Really Cheap AMG Vehicle: $3900!

Posted on June 2, 2008 by Kevin San

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A little while ago, we profiled the short-lived dalliance between AMG and Mitsubishi on GrandJDM. And just in case you didn’t believe us that AMG would put its name on a mid 80s FWD Japanese luxobarge (that otherwise would have had doillies on the seatbacks), here’s one for sale!

The car in question is at classic car dealer Musashino (check out the rest of their stocks) for a very reasonably priced Y390,000, or way less than 10% of the AMG Debonair’s shockingly expensive original sticker price. So if you’ve always wanted one, now’s your chance to plonk your butt into those sumptuously padded velour chairs.

…anybody?

Posted in mitsubishi | 3 Comments

H is for Honda, Hot Wheels, and Happy Childhood

Posted on May 30, 2008 by Ben Hsu

We’re not sure how we became unhealthily obsessed with automobiles, but having kind parents who bought us Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars probably helped. It’s hard to believe that the little metal furniture scratchers will be 40 years old this year, but it’s true. And to celebrate, Mattel issued a Designer’s Challenge to stylists from actual car companies to come up with vehicles that represent the spirit of Hot Wheels.

We first saw them at the SEMA show last November, where one in particular caught our eye – the Honda H Racer. The red on Championship White paint job and tangle of exhaust pipes instantly evoked Soichiro’s F1 racers of the 60s in our one-track minds. Designer Guillermo Gonzalez also gave it a generous sprinkling of other Honda cues like red valve covers topping off the dual cams of a monster V10. In fact, the entire car is shaped like a Honda logo, with a driver and navigator sitting in each leg of the H. Time to break out the orange track.

Posted in honda, minicars | Leave a comment

Datsun Sunny A Poster Child for Pollution

Posted on May 30, 2008 by Ben Hsu

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Here’s a bummer of a leftover from our NorCal photo reel. This billboard for California’s Bureau of Automotive Repairs, DriveHealthy.com, was spotted in San Jose and features a clapped out Datto Sunny as an example of a polluter. It turns out that The Man will give low income drivers up to $500 towards a repair if their car fails a smog check or, scarily, $1000 toward “retiring” (read: scrapping) the offending vehicle. Poor little Datto.

UPDATE: More discussion in our forums here.

Posted in cm, datsun | 5 Comments

WANT: 28,700-Mile '69 Corona on eBay

Posted on May 29, 2008 by Ben Hsu

corona Once in a blue moon, something comes along that makes you want to sell your organs to black marketeers. In 2007, we saw a 1966 Toyota Corona sedan with 8700 original miles sell at auction for $16,740.

Now, a similarly mint mint green 1969 two-door model is on eBay with only 28,699 original miles. According to the seller, it’s always avoided inclement weather, which is quite the task considering it’s from New York. The two-door models are rarer and sleeker than the sedans, and this light green color suits the period perfectly. It was listed before, but it looks like the winner backed out. Amazingly, the reserve was met at only $5500. A bargain! Anyone want to buy a kidney?

[eBay via BringATrailer]  Thanks to Alex K. for the tip.

Posted in for sale, toyota | 6 Comments

JNC in NorCal Prizes

Posted on May 28, 2008 by Ben Hsu

prize

kousokuyuen

Congrats to Daniel and Zeb, who correctly guessed that two of the cars we were photographing for an upcoming issue of JNC were a Datsun 1600 Fairlady Roadster and a Dodge Challenger (aka Mitsubishi Galant Lambda). Actually, Kev’s post was a big clue for the second one ;). Your mystery box Bow’s Art Puzzle and back issue of Japan’s Kosoku Yuen will be arriving in the mail shortly, along with some JNC stickers.

Thanks to reader “Agent T” for donating the puzzles!

Posted in contests, jnc | 6 Comments

EVENTS: Motoring J Style

Posted on May 27, 2008 by Ben Hsu

We’ve been in NorCal manning the JNC booth at Motoring J Style and doing some photo shoots for upcoming issues of JNC magazine. We’re back now and, as promised, here’s a report from the show. There’s more photos in the forum as well. Thanks to all the JNC’ers who stopped by say hi in person. It was great meeting all of you!

Posted in events | 3 Comments

Chocolate, Like Shaving Body Is Very Cool: JNC Contest! (Sorta)

Posted on May 27, 2008 by Kevin San

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One of the challenges (hoho pun) for the keen internet JDM-hunter who is translating all of those wonderful JDM websites using Altavista Babelfish or Google Translator. But try this, and you’ll see that there are lots of words that don’t translate…but the beauty of the Japanese language is that these untranslatable terms are usually modified versions of the English equivalent. Our good friends at J-Spec Imports have a kooky sense of humour, which might explain this Google-translated offering on their mailing list: http://www.j-spec.com.au/list/index.php?ID=12827

So here’s the contest. once you get past the rather bizarre opening sentence about chocolate and body shaving, the challenge (hehe) is to translate all of the words in caps. For example DATCHICHARENJA = Dodge Challenger and obviously BIKKUBUROKKU = Big Block!

So get translating guys! If anyone gets a lot of the correct answers, we may put up a prize 🙂

Posted in contests | 7 Comments

What Heaven Looks Like: Nostalgic Car Show Vids

Posted on May 27, 2008 by Kevin San

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A couple of weeks ago we travelled to Japan to take in the Tokyo Nostalgic Car Show and quite a fine event it was too. Check out our coverage in the forum here. But the event organisers haven’t been resting on their (Nissan) laurels and have released their own coverage.

Check out the official photogallery, a promotional vid and here’s some vids we found of their awesome “Engine Start Demonstration” (in which I am sure you will agree they went a little bit further than just starting the engine).

There are quite a few events around Japan on the Nostalgic Car Show calendar throughout the year, so if you’re planning a trip to Japan, why not plan it around a show?

Posted in events, japan | 1 Comment

JNC Greetings from NorCal, Part III

Posted on May 27, 2008 by Ben Hsu

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Today we were all over the place, from Concord to San Fran to San Jose. The most exciting moment came when one of our subjects’ cars ran out of gas on I-280 and coasted to a stop in the middle of the right lane. We helped the owner push it onto the almost nonexistent shoulder as SUVs flew by at 80mph and went off to buy a gas can and some fuel. When we returned, one of California’s finest was offering to shove the mint nostalgic to the next exit with his standard issue CHP Crown Vic’s push bar. Luckily, we were able to gas the car up and drive it under its own power. The whole experience was quite scary when you think about all the cars that get hit while pulled over.

Anyway, here’s another sneak peek at an upcoming JNC magazine feature car, which is not the one that ran out of gas. Again, first one to guess the car (make and model) wins a prize when we return. Tee hee!

Posted in jnc | 20 Comments

JNC Greetings from NorCal, Part II

Posted on May 25, 2008 by Ben Hsu

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Today we went up to beautiful Marin County to photo shoot a nostalgic for an upcoming issue of JNC magazine. First person to guess the make and model of the car will win a prize once we return to JNC HQ.

Posted in jnc | 20 Comments

JNC Greetings from NorCal

Posted on May 25, 2008 by Ben Hsu

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Just before were were about to leave for the Motoring J Style show on Friday, the official JNC wagon experienced a technical malfunction. As a result, in a frenzied last minute decision we had to take a decidedly un-nostalgic car to the show via a another all-nighter drive. Here’s a picture of yours truly at our booth attending to a loyal new subscriber with only 3 hours of sleep. Thankfully, MJS organizer David Swig graciously lent us the Euro-spec 18RG ’75 Celica Liftback so we’d have some eye candy at the JNC booth. Even though the weather didn’t cooperate, the event itself was great, and we got to see some fantastic cars (pics coming shortly) and meet Peter Brock. We’ll be hanging around the Bay Area for the next few days to do some photo shoots for the magazine and we’ll have a full article and gallery when we get home.

Posted in events, jnc | Leave a comment

Beauty Is in the Eye of the Expressway Interchange

Posted on May 22, 2008 by Ben Hsu

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Our man Kev is in Japan right now seeing the sights. And oh what sights there are. Tokyo is so densely packed that expressways don’t run through it, they run over it. Legendary road systems like the Shuto and Wangan are all elevated, the walls on either side the only thing keeping you from realizing that you’re driving 10 stories above Tokyo Bay.

And you might not think that a tangle of rebar and concrete could be beautiful, but you’d be wrong. Just take a gander at Ken Ohyama’s gorgeous photographs of Japan’s expressway interchanges. Then imagine yourself hauling through them with your exhaust roar bouncing off the barriers like a superball and streetlights inducing seizures as they whiz by in your fender mirrors. More pics after the jump: Continue reading →

Posted in japan | 6 Comments

WANT: Nissan President Hearse on eBay

Posted on May 22, 2008 by Ben Hsu

nissanpresidenthearseWe mentioned Japanese hearses the other day, and as luck would have it, there happens to be one on eBay right now. And this one guarantees safe passage into the underworld because there’s a giant f’in golden dragon on it. That makes it quite a bit more ornate than the already-ornate examples from the original thread. But if you think that’s fancy, you should see how the dearly departed are ridin’ on the inside. Pics of the interior after the jump. Continue reading →

Posted in nissan | 5 Comments

Reminder: Motoring J Style This Weekend

Posted on May 20, 2008 by Ben Hsu

motoringjstyle
For those of you spread around this vast nation of ours, we just wanted to let you know that not all vintage Japanese car events are in SoCal. In fact, some are in NorCal. Check out Motoring J Style this Saturday, May 24. The day of Japanese automotive fun will kick off at 9:30 at the Solano County Fairgrounds in Vallejo, just north of San Francisco. Events include drifting and rallying demos, a guest appearance by BRE legends Peter Brock and John Morton, and lots of nostalgics on display. Also, we’ve got a reliable source telling us that a JNC booth will be on the premises. Be there or be square, mon frére!

Oh, but SoCal will still have something going on: San Diego Meet and Cruise. Man, they have it good!

Posted in events | 2 Comments

Bring Out Ye Dead: Japanese Hearses

Posted on May 20, 2008 by Ben Hsu

nissanpresident_hearse
When Japanese people die, it’s not enough to go out in a big, black, velvet-lined station wagon. You have to arrive at the afterlife party in style. That’s why we’re glad that alert reader Toyotageek posted a link to pictures of Japanese hearses. This one pictured here is based on a Nissan President, which is probably what an actual president would take his final ride in, but for the Japanese rice farmer there’s even a Toyota Hilux pickup. Enjoy, you morbid sickos!

[Image: Al’s Car Page]

Posted in japan | 10 Comments

EVENTS: Tokyo Nostalgic Car Show

Posted on May 19, 2008 by Ben Hsu

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Mission accomplished! Check out our mind-warping coverage of the 2008 Tokyo Nostalgic Car Show!

Posted in events, japan | 1 Comment

Tokyo Photo Diary

Posted on May 17, 2008 by Ben Hsu

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Our international man of mystery known only as “Kev” has infiltrated Tokyo on a recon mission. His objective: the Tokyo Nostalgic Car Show. But, before he breaches that perimeter, he’s hitting the streets and sourcing materials for Project Hakosuka. From seedy pachinko parlors to deep cover at a Japanese game show, he’s doing it all and documenting every step of the way in these sensitive images relayed back to HQ. As you can see, the target is employing a host of diversionary tactics such as tasty food and positioning something cool to photograph every three feet along the way. Will our agent secure the mark and extract himself without being compromised? Stay tuned!

Posted in japan, jnc | 1 Comment

Nissan 370Z Picture Leaked

Posted on May 15, 2008 by Ben Hsu

A couple of months ago we told you about this speculative drawing of the next iteration of Nissan’s iconic Z car. Now, what appears to be an official Nissan rendering of the final design has been leaked to the world. It looks like the sketch from March wasn’t too far off, but do you notice something? No, the 2009 Maxima headlights and bulging fenders were already identified in the March rendering. Look closer. That’s right, baby – the side glass and C-pillar is a nod to the original 240Z! Yeah, it’s not much but we’ll take what we can get. At least someone in the design department knows Datsun history. A comparison pic after the jump. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, nissan, retro | 4 Comments

Front Drive Toyota Defies Convention, Gravity

Posted on May 15, 2008 by Ben Hsu

Why yes, that is an airborne 1980 Toyota Tercel leaping over a herd of the now-extinct species Compactus domesticus. Plus a Honda. Though it began life in Japan in 1978, the Tercel arrived on our shores for the 1980 model year. It was the Big T’s first attempt at a front wheel drive vehicle, and apparently they really hadn’t nailed down the whole concept of FWD because the 1.5L inline four was still mounted longitudinally. Yet, unaccountably, they rub Honda’s nose in it.

Did the Tercel herald the coming of a revolutionary new layout to Toyota’s lineup or tragically symbolize the beginning of the end for rear wheel drive? Also, our readers ask in this forum thread, whether in 2020 the Tercel will be a classic or merely an old car. All we know is, any stuntwoman who can catch that much air in a car of any drivetrain configuration turns the keys to our hearts.

[Source: Youtube via Jalopnik]

Posted in cm, honda, toyota | 2 Comments