Rear Wheel Resurrection Update

Posted on June 4, 2008 by Ben Hsu

toyobaru_testmule
As you probably know, FR is coming back in a big way. Nissan, Toyota and Subaru (having joined forces with the Big T), all have lightweight RWD coupes in the pipelines.

First, let’s check in with the Toyobaru joint venture that we’ve been following since last year. This Subaru Legacy-lookin’ test mule was spotted by spy photographers in da UK wearing a lot of camouflage and a Toyota badge. All signs point to this being the much ballyhooed AE86 (and possibly Celica) successor. Sorry, Toyota fans, Latest rumors swirling around the interwebs say that it will be sold as a Toyota only in Japan and as a Subie elsewhere in the world. Maybe that’s just as well since by all accounts it’ll be powered by Subaru’s flat four, which many swear will not make it a true Toyota.

As for Nissan, Continue reading →

Posted in nissan, subaru, toyota | 10 Comments

GPS Navigation Bear Is Your Co-Pilot

Posted on June 4, 2008 by Ben Hsu

This may look like an ordinary stuffed bear, but what we have here is the convergence of at least three wildly popular Japanese trends – cuteness, robots, and completely useless technology. Meet Japan’s robotics firm iXs Research‘s latest product, the teddy bear navigation system.

It may bear (har har) a striking resemblance to Teddy from A.I., but its main purpose, like any navi system, is to guide you to your destination via polite auditory direction. However, because it has the added bonus of arms, it can gesture and point too. A built-in alcohol sniffer will even prompt it to ask, “You haven’t been drinking, have you?” if it detects an excessive amount of sake on your breath.

Unfortunately, Teddy has a dark side. Continue reading →

Posted in japan | 3 Comments

Creepy Guy in Van Stalks Woman Z Driver

Posted on June 4, 2008 by Ben Hsu

deathcarz
From the Disco Ain’t Dead Bureau comes this video clip from devout reader SR-Fairlady Z. It’s part of a 1979 made-for-TV movie called Death Car on the Freeway in which a guy who looks like someone Chris Hansen might confront on Dateline: To Catch a Predator uses a van to run innocent motorists off the road.

We’ll overlook its obvious flaws – such as how a Datsun 240Z is unable to outrun a 1977 Dodge Tradesman – because of the rockin’ 70s soundtrack and the fact that any nostalgic car, especially one in manual shift, has the power to make the woman driving it instantly ten times as hot. Instructional video after the jump. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, nissan, Video Games | 7 Comments

More Datsuns With Strange Drivetrains

Posted on June 3, 2008 by Ben Hsu

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Yesterday we saw an unlikely off-roader built in part from a small Japanese sports car in the 4×4 Datsun Fairlady Roadster mudder. Perhaps it was an omen for GM’s statement today that the entire Hummer brand is on the chopping block. Also coming down the wire today from the strange drivetrain bureau is a Datsun Fairlady Z with a jet engine. Sure, the time it takes to get started will cause conniptions in people behind you at the light, but one blast-by and they’ll be wondering what hit them.

Besides the Honda Z, we can’t recall any other nostalgic car that’s been the subject of such a wide array of Frankenstein engine jobs as the Datsun Z. Just go to any Z-car event and you’ll see Z’s motivated by everything from SR20s to domestic V8s to batteries. There must be something about the final letter of the alphabet.

Video after the jump. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, nissan | 1 Comment

Datsun Fairlady Off-Roadster

Posted on June 2, 2008 by Ben Hsu

datsun_off-roadster
O-kaaaaay. You don’t see this every day. And by this we mean a mud-splattered Datsun Roadster mounted on a Jeep CJ5 drivetrain. Here’s some videos of it doing it’s thang. Fairlady? More like bearded lady.

[CarDomain Blog]

Posted in datsun, nissan | 4 Comments

GrandJDM Migration 90% Complete

Posted on June 2, 2008 by Ben Hsu

grandjdmjnc
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

datsunbillboard
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

dachicharanjabanner

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

560_banner27may08

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

japanhighway9
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