Toyota quietly made if official late last night. The venerable Land Cruiser is making a comeback to the US market. After departing our shores at the end of 2021, it will be returning for what is likely the 2024 model year. Toyota announced its return on social media with a post showing classic Land Cruiser badges and the caption, “Nothing better than a comeback story. The legend returns…” Continue reading
Forza Motorsport promises 80s Group 5 vs IMSA crossover
The official trailer for Forza Motorsport has dropped, giving us a glimpse of the racing action contained within. What’s most compelling is that the game seems to lean heavily into actual racing machines, which leads to some interesting match ups, like seeing the IMSA Z31 Nissan 300ZX and FC Mazda RX-7 race on the same track as the Super Silhouette Group 5 DR30 Skyline and Bluebird. Continue reading
Posted in Video Games
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QotW: How would you spend $10,000 on a car in the year you were born?
Recently I was tapped to play out this game on another site. The rules there stated I had to spend all 10 grand on a single car, which put my top choice, a 1976 Celica GT Liftback, out of the running (All Japanese cars were out, so I ended up with a BMW 530i, though as a kid I would’ve picked a Corvette L82. If asked which of the three would be most valuable today, I doubt many would have predicted the Toyota have the highest selling price, followed by the Corvette and the BMW dead last). We’re going to modify the question a bit so that you don’t have to spend the full amount. But you still have 10 thou and a time machine, and you have to buy a new car that was available for sale somewhere in the world.
How would you spend $10,000 on a car in the year you were born?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your favorite Japanese car logo?“. Continue reading
A Quiet Greatness is a gorgeous, must-have book about Japanese cars
As much as Japanese cars have permeated automotive culture, they’ve been lacking in one important aspect: the coffee table book. Walk into any bookstore (if you can still find them in your town), and you’ll see gorgeous volumes on Italian, British, French and American cars. There’s no shortage books dedicated to entire marques such as Ferrari or Porsche, books about certain eras like the golden age of muscle cars, or even books devoted to a single model like the Corvette. But there has never been an English-language title that confers the same kind of reverence onto Japanese cars until Mark Brinker and Myron Vernis’ A Quiet Greatness. Continue reading
New Toyota Automobile Museum exhibit spotlights classic Japanese trucks
A newly opened exhibit at the Toyota Automobile Museum puts the focus on Japanese trucks of the Showa Era. “Road Transporters” hosts a number of workhorses from Toyota’s collection, ranging in age from the 1930s to the 1990s, with special attention paid to the 50s and 60s. It’s a compelling peek in to the early days of Japanese trucking and an opportunity to see some very rare vehicles that’ll make a Hakosuka GT-R seem downright common. Continue reading
The Mitsubishi Fuso Canter turns 60 years old
Among the oldest nameplates in Japan’s auto industry is the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter. Though perhaps not as exciting as Nissan’s Skyline or Toyota’s Crown, the Canter has been a staple of Japanese roads for 60 years. The cabover light-duty truck has lasted for nine generations since its original mid-century robot face debuted in March 1963, on the eve of Japan’s first expressway opening. Continue reading
Mazda Rotary cars on display in Ginza, circa 1971
The curved glass San’ai Dream Center in Ginza has been a major advertising platform in Tokyo for decades. The building at times has been home to the Nissan Gallery, worn a Mitsubishi triple-diamond logo and, in 1971, hyped Mazda’s latest rotary engines. The two cars in the tower appear to be a Mazda Capella Rotary Coupé and a Capella Rotary 4-Door DX, which we would’ve known as the RX-2 in the US. The glow of its lights is so warm, just begging you to go check out one of these new pistonless wonders. Continue reading
QotW: What’s your favorite Japanese car logo?
Today is Logo Day in Japan. The date was chosen as a pun formed by the first syllable of roku (ro/lo), Japanese for “six” and go, Japanese for “five”. The purpose of the day is to promote effective logo design. In Japan, it’s still not uncommon to find not only the make logo on every car, but a unique model-specific logo as well. As a result there’s no shortage of cool badges to be found.
What’s your favorite Japanese car logo?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Would you import a JDM car that you could get in America?“. Continue reading
Toyota 86 coupes drift through new Japanese cop show
A new Japanese police series promises a throwback to classic shows chock full of shootouts and car chases. Farewell, Gun: Metropolitan Police SGU is an 8-episode streamer that harkens back to old school standards of the genre like Seibu Keisatsu or Abunai Deka. Only in this case, instead of Nissan Skylines and Leopards, we have drifting matte black Toyota 86es. Continue reading
Toyota Stout name could be revived for sub-Tacoma pickup
Compact pickups are coming back. Former compact trucks have gotten so large that there’s now room at the low end of the market for smaller offerings. The catch is that this new crop of vehicles like the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz are unibody, not body-on-frame. As the undisputed king of mid-sizers, Toyota is well-positioned to offer a rival that slots below the Tacoma. Rumor has it they’re reviving a name from the past and calling it the Stout. Continue reading
Wanton Toyota MR2 Spyder destruction proves takeovers aren’t about the cars
A couple in Tolland, Connecticut were heading home from a dinner in a Toyota MR2 Spyder when they passed through a street takeover on May 21. The crowd of supposed car enthusiasts ended up surrounding their mid-engined roadster and deliberately and maliciously destroying it as the couple, driver Stephanie and passenger Dennis Sargisian plead with them to stop. Continue reading
Nissan R90CK that set “the greatest lap at Le Mans” is for sale
At the peak of Group C racing, this Nissan R90CK set what is considered one of the greatest laps in modern racing. At the qualifying session of the 1990 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, newcomer Mark Blundell put the hammer down on its V8 with malfunctioning twin-turbos and set a pole position qualifying lap beating the next closest Porsche 962C by over six seconds, a gap that’s still not been bested. Continue reading
Happy S30 Day from JNC
The Nissan Fairlady Z is still the one. The original game-changer from the Land of the Rising Sun that set a new bar for sports cars in the 20th century. It’s beautiful from every angle, spanked not only the competition but cars that weren’t even in the same price bracket, and forever changed the world’s outlook on Japanese cars. That’s why on today, 5/30 we wish everyone a happy S30 Day from JNC!
Posted in Holidays
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QotW: Would you import a JDM car that you could get in America?
There are many degrees of JDM-ness, but we think it can be classified into four main categories. If we were to list them in order from most JDM to least, something very JDM like a Skyline GT-R that has absolutely no US equivalent would be a JDM4. Next up, a JDM3 would be a car that has the same body but a powertrain that is not offered in America, like a GC WRX STi. A JDM2 car would have unique options or colors that were only available on Japanese variants, like an AE86 Black Limited. And finally a JDM1 car would be a car that has minimal differences from its US counterpart, stuff like lights, folding mirrors, and the steering wheel on the other side. We’ve seen quite a few JDM1 cars here in the US, and it’s always made us wonder what made someone to go through the trouble.
Would you import a JDM car that you could get in America?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What will my 3-year-old’s first car be?“. Continue reading
The seventh-gen Mazda Familia wagon only existed as a Ford
Talk about a genre of car that’s gone completely extinct. The compact wagon used to be a staple of American roadways, but first wagons vanished and now compacts are gone. The charm and sheer functionality of compact wagons is unmatched, though. Fuel efficient, easy to park, capable of hauling a ton, they’d be the perfect car if drivers weren’t so image conscious. Continue reading
The R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R NISMO is right at home in Gran Turismo 7
If there’s anything Gran Turismo is known for, it’s having a zillion variations of the Nissan Skyline. The tradition continues with the latest Gran Turismo 7 update, which adds the R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R NISMO to the list of playable cars. The homologation special is a worthy addition to the many Group A-derived street cars that are already in the game. Continue reading
RIP Tina Turner, singer, actor, DSM spokesperson
Japan is known for poaching American celebrities for car commercials, and at first glance this spot for a DSM starring 12-time Grammy winner Tina Turner could easily be mistaken for that. But no, it’s a home-grown all-American ad for the Plymouth Laser, the Mitsubishi-built Eclipse twin that was never sold in Japan. Turner passed away on May 24 at the age of 83. Continue reading
Mitsubishi Electric, which put the world’s first in-car GPS in the 1990 Mazda Cosmo, is leaving the nav business
Mazda’s Eunos Cosmo was a car of many firsts, one of which was the world’s first in-car GPS system over three decades ago. The so-called CCS (Car Communication System) was developed by Mitsubishi Electric, a trailblazer in car-based nav systems. Last month, however, the company quietly announced it would be leaving the automotive GPS business altogether. Continue reading
Overtake, a new racing anime, is coming this fall
The world is still waiting for the next Initial D, the last racing anime to really take the globe by storm. Could a new series about open wheel racing take the mantle? Titled Overtake, the series focuses on Formula 4, a junior league designed to put promising young drivers on the path to the F1. Continue reading
QotW: What will my 3-year-old’s first car be?
My son is three. I’ve always had dreams about passing down my AE86 to him someday. But by the time he turns 16 in 2035, a car built in 1986 will be nearly 50 years old. That would be like me, who came of age in the 90s heyday, inheriting a car from the 1940s when I got my license. And I can tell you that I had zero interest in a pontoon-fendered streamliner at 16. I’m hoping that my son will transfer his love for Hot Wheels into love for real cars, and that he’ll have one that teaches him the joy and art of driving in a fun and safe way. If gasoline and human-driven cars have not been outlawed by then…
What will my 3-year-old’s first car be?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Should being celebrity-adjacent add to a car’s value?“. Continue reading
Posted in Question of the Week
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