Won't You Adopt a Honda Too?

Posted on January 15, 2008 by Ben Hsu

sm600.jpgIf you don’t know by now that comedian and late night talk show host Jay Leno is a car collector extraordinaire, then we hope the alien probing wasn’t too painful and welcome you back to planet Earth. The great thing about Leno is that he’s not just some rich guy who throws money at the latest horsepower-soaked auction queen to pad his collection. The man knows and loves machines, and works on everything he owns, from Stanley Steamer to Fiat Topolino.

His latest acquisition is a 1965 Honda SM600, which, under his care, promptly underwent a meticulous frame-off restoration with the help of Brian Baker of Formula H Motoworks. “If this had ‘Porsche’ written on it, it’d be worth $250,000, but because it’s Honda, for some reason they don’t get the respect they deserve,” spake His Chinliness. Word up, Mr. Leno. If you’ve never heard a Honda S-car revving to its 9,500rpm redline through a Flowmaster during a fly-by, you need to drop everything and watch this video on Jay Leno’s Garage. It’s absolute music.

Thanks to dear reader tkmedia for the tip.

Posted in honda | 6 Comments

JNC Magazine Sneak Peek

Posted on January 14, 2008 by Ben Hsu

premiere.jpgIt’s official, Japanese Nostalgic Car magazine subscriptions are now open! You may have noticed some strange activity on the website over the weekend as we prepared for the launch, and here it is, with a pic of the cover to preview what’s in store for the first issue.

Some of our lightning quick readers parted with 9.99 hard-earned dollars as soon as the subscription was added to the Shop section. That’s awesome! We simply cannot thank you enough for your support, but we’ll try – Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!

We have one last favor to ask, though – please help us spread the word. We wouldn’t be here without you, and niche magazines like this sink or swim by the hands of its readers. If you think the world might be even the slightest bit better with a magazine about vintage Japanese cars in it, tell your friends, tell your family, post it in your favorite car forum, spraypaint it on your neighbor’s dog, or shout it into a megaphone in crowded places. Anything to get the party started. Arigato!

Now just sit back, relax, and wait for page after glossy page of achingly cool classic machines to arrive at your doorstep.

To our friends overseas, we haven’t forgotten about you. We’ve received your inquires, and we’ll open up international orders as soon as we get a quote from the printers, who are mailing straight from the press since they have access to bulk mailing rates. Otherwise, shipping can get expensive real fast. Sorry for the wait, but it’ll be worth it, we promise!

Posted in jnc | 3 Comments

Tokyo Autosalon ‘08: GrandJDM reports…

Posted on January 13, 2008 by Kevin San

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Saturday: it was a very, very cold and drizzly day today (so no carpark pics, sorry) but it was a great day at TAS08. Maybe the lousy weather kept the crowds away, but it was considerably less crowded than last year, which made it a much more relaxed experience than TAS07.  But even so, TAS is as always, a sensory overload, an overdose of the kind of JDM cars which we like best.  Often you have to pinch yourself that all of this is really in one spot. 

Japanese fashions change in a hearbeat, and so TAS is always a barometer of where JDM automotive trends are heading.  So where is the JDM scene going in 2008?

Continue reading →

Posted in events, Japan Stuff | 9 Comments

Nostalgic Luxury

Posted on January 12, 2008 by Ben Hsu

For those of us who grew up in the 80’s, it’s hard to imagine a time when Acura did not exist. According to some, planning for Honda’s luxury brand started as early as 1976 (imagine an Acura based off of the 1st gen Civic or Accord).

Although not quite as soul-stirring as Honda’s Impossible Dream commercial, it’s still a pretty good ad, and it’s nice to see Acura paying tribute to its old models, even if it’s only a brief 2 seconds.

Posted in cm, honda | Leave a comment

Happy Birthday Mr. Shelby

Posted on January 11, 2008 by Ben Hsu

Today (January 11) is racing legend Carroll Shelby’s 85th birthday. Although mostly known for his hopped up Mustangs, AC Cobras and cowboy hat, his racing contract with Ford ended in 1967. For the 1968 season, he helped prepare three Toyota 2000GTs for competition in SCCA C-production class.

Unfortunately, Toyota discontinued the program after just one year. In that year, however, the cars Toyotas racked up a slew of podium finishes and ended the season second in points only to long-established Porsche.

We will be featuring the #23 car in the Spring 2008 premiere issue of Japanese Nostalgic Car magazine. Click here for more images from our Monterey Historics gallery. Happy birthday, Mr. Shelby!

Posted in racing, toyota | Leave a comment

Subscription Now Open

Posted on January 11, 2008 by Ben Hsu

Hi all, just a quick note to say that subscriptions for our American and Canadian readers are now available. International subscriptions will be available soon.

From our humble beginning almost exactly one year ago, to our exciting venture into print, it’s indeed been one helluva strange trip in 2007 and we just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who’s been along for the journey.

More to come…

Posted in jnc | 5 Comments

Nissan and Chrysler Sittin' in a Tree

Posted on January 11, 2008 by Ben Hsu

lancerceleste.gifLike, holy frick! You turn your back for one second and Nissan and Chrysler are in talks to join forces. Reuters is reporting that Chrysler, perhaps rebounding from its recent divorce with Mercedes-Benz, is seeking solace, comfort, and a fuel-efficient small car in the welcoming arms of Nissan.

Talk about deja vu! During the fuel crisis, (um, the other fuel crisis, in ’73), Chrysler was caught completely off guard, lacking any small cars in their lineup. Japanese dealership chains were charging across the US like an astronaut in diapers, and poor Mitsubishi was late to the game. Rather than building a network of showrooms from scratch, they cooked up a plan to just rebadge some products and sell them through Chrysler’s stores.

The result was that cars like the Mitsubishi Lancer, Lancer Celeste, Galant Lambda and Forte were sold as the Dodge Colt, Plymouth Arrow, Dodge Challenger, and Plymouth Arrow Truck here in the States. This collaboration continues even today, with the Dodge Dakota/Mitsu Raider pickups. Unfortunately, this arrangement diluted later flagship models like the 3000GT, but the good thing is that we got some excellent cars that we otherwise would have never seen at all.

[via Autoblog]

Posted in mitsubishi, nissan | Leave a comment

Jalopnik Hearts Tercel Wagon

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Ben Hsu

tercel.jpgThere’s a virtual lovefest going on today over an unlikely object of affection, the 1985 Toyota Tercel 4WD Wagon (aka Sprinter Carib in Japan). This is probably why Jalopnik is the best automotive site out there today (um, other than JNC, that is). Where else can you find site with 1.9 million readers a month whose commenters pretty much all have good things to say about a 20-year-old station wagon with drivetrain that zig-zags from a longitudinal engine to a V-drive tranny then back under the oil pan and finally to the rear wheels?

Posted in toyota, wagons | 7 Comments

Normal Transmission Will Re-Commence in a Few Days

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Kevin San

250_japantrip015.jpgApologies in advance for a bit of a quiet period on GrandJDM over the next couple of days, be we’ll be incommunicado for a short while because we’ll be travelling to JDM-Land for the Tokyo Autosalon.

Of course we’ll take lots of pictures while we’re there, so we’ll see you in a couple of days’ time with our Autosalon coverage!


Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous | 1 Comment

Happy Bosses Drive Super 6s!

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Ben Hsu

We know by our hits that the vast majority of you are reading this when you should be working hard. Fine by us! In fact, if your boss is kind of a hardass, then perhaps a Prince Gloria Super 6 will turn him into a more likable guy. After all, this car did usher in age of the straight six luxury sedans, prompting Toyota and Nissan (not yet merged with Prince) to create their own inline six-powered Crowns and Cedrics. Seeing as how this is 1964, however, the ad fades instantly and without irony from the bossman taking a swig of brandy to footage of him rowing his column shifter in Japan’s first overhead cam six with a goofy grin on his face, probably somewhere near the sedan’s 96mph top speed. Now quick, get back to work, there’s footsteps behind you!

Posted in cm, nissan, prince | Leave a comment

Boso Bikes: Violent Running Tribe!

Posted on January 9, 2008 by Kevin San

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Lately we’ve been featuring a lot of lowdown/garuchan cars, and why not? They’re cool and old school. But there is another side of the whole bosozoku scene, and that’s the bikes.

Continue reading →

Posted in Lowdown/Garuchan | 2 Comments

Cafe MOCA

Posted on January 9, 2008 by Ben Hsu

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UPDATE: Although Mazda USA and Mazdaspeed are supportive of MOCA and in fact emailed its own members about it, they are not affiliated with MOCA. Except in a love for all things Mazda, that is. Sorry for the confusion!

Heads up, Mazdafarians! On January 4, 2008, Mazda USA announced the establishment of a new organization to support their zealot-like devotees – the Mazda Owners Club of America. They promise events, track time, and “great prizes”. There’s a corresponding website, MazdaOCA.org, that has news and a forum, so brap on over there and check it out!

[via WhoWon]

Posted in mazda | Leave a comment

Mr. K Is Our Co-Pilot

Posted on January 8, 2008 by Ben Hsu

mrk.jpgFrom now on, whenever we are lost, feeling depressed, or simply in need of a spiritual supercharge, we can turn to Mr. K. Or at least a plastic facsimile of him with a spring-loaded head. You may know Yutaka Katayama as the former president of Nissan USA, the man who put Nissan on the American map, and the guy responsible for both the Datsun 240Z and 510, but now he also comes in handy desktop tchochke form. After watching that barbaric Anglo Saxon/Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson decapitate one of these bobbleheads, we knew we had to have one that was, uh, capitated. To give you an idea of the scale of this miniature Mr. K, he’s standing next to a 1/24 scale Muscle Machines hakosuka. You can order your own at Courtesy Parts. Now we need one of Soichiro Honda.

Posted in datsun, nissan, nostalgic gear | Leave a comment

Chevy RX-7….or Mazda Corvette….or whatever

Posted on January 8, 2008 by Kevin San

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So, are you one of the people who were pissed off that GM never produced the rotary-engined Corvette? Wanna take matters into your own hands? Wanna show GM how it’s done? If so, then we have a solution for you!

Continue reading →

Posted in mazda | 4 Comments

English Wheels

Posted on January 7, 2008 by Ben Hsu

wheels.jpgFasten your safety belts make sure your seatbacks and tray tables are in the full upright position, and all electronic devices are off. We’re going back across the pond to visit Ratdat.com, another British bloke with an absolutely brilliant website. In his latest post, he compiles a positively jaw- dropping list of wheels made for old school J-mobiles, putting our own meager attempt to shame. Well done, Ed!

Posted in wheels | Leave a comment

More Seibu Keisatsu!

Posted on January 7, 2008 by Kevin San

200_daimona.JPGJust for all you Seibu Keisatsu fans out there, here’s a follow-up to our earlier articles (here and here) on everyone’s favourite 70s Japanese TV cop show. We’ve found some older pics of the crazy modified cars that they used in the series, including interior shots of the criminal-catching gadgets!

Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Stuff | 6 Comments

CLASSIC CM: Honda’s “Impossible Dream”

Posted on January 7, 2008 by Ben Hsu

While we’re on the subject of the UK and adverts, here’s one of the best, Honda’s “Impossible Dream”. In fact, we can safely say that all artists can just retire now, because never will anything so beautiful be created again. The soaring music, the cinematography, the exhaust note of a 1965 Honda RA272 – it’s all an epic symphony of internal combustion. Seriously, turn up the volume and get your tissues ready because if this doesn’t stir your soul, we’ve got some bad news – you don’t have one. In fact, we like it so much we’re adding it our permanent Video section. Watch the hi-res version here and visit the corresponding website here.

Posted in cm, honda, racing | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Honda Goes Retro

Posted on January 6, 2008 by Ben Hsu

Honda CB1100F.jpgMotorcycle News is reporting that the Honda CB1100F concept unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show will see production as a 2009 model. In a move that seems contrary to the current trend in motorcycle engines, Honda will stay true to the concept and equip the production version with an air-cooled inline-4. Unfortunately, the article also states that the CB1100R, also unveiled last year at Tokyo, will most likely not make it into production.

According to the article, the CB1100F has been in the works for a long time, with patents for it’s innovative air-cooling system filed as early as 2003. In typical Honda fashion, however, no information about this project was leaked in the past four years. Let’s hope Honda has something planned for us on the auto front as well.

[via Motorcycle News]

Posted in honda, retro | Leave a comment

GT-R Pants!! They’re GT-R…..PANTS!

Posted on January 5, 2008 by Kevin San

150_label.JPGAges ago we shone a light onto a JDM clothing label which had a lot of hot rod influences, mixed in with cool old school JDM car touches. It was Samurai Motor Club. But checking their website today, we find that they have a special on their latest creation in soft indigo denim: the SM5000 GT-R!

Not cheap at A$260 a pair, but full of cool touches like pocket linings with old JDM cars on them.

Continue reading →

Posted in Businesses, Japan Stuff | 1 Comment

When the sharknoses come out to play…..bring earplugs

Posted on January 4, 2008 by Kevin San

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Yesterday we did a piece on a rarely-seen Hakosuka sharknose, and while we’re on the subject of these of lowdown/garuchan/yankee/bosozoku sharknosed cars, let’s look into the culture a little bit further.

When we see these cars parked up, it’s easy to conclude that they’re just cosmetic projects that are built for a bit of a laugh, just for the look. And it’s easy to assume that these things would fall apart if they so much as exceeded 20km/h. Well, we have some video evidence to suggest that this is not so.

Continue reading →

Posted in Lowdown/Garuchan, Video | 8 Comments