Japanese Nostalgic Car

This week is Thanksgiving (if you’re reading from the US), that time of year when we talk about the things in life that, big or small, we are grateful for. In the very futuristic sounding year of 2023, we are thankful for many things, but chief among them is the fact that carmakers like Toyota, Subaru, Mazda, Nissan, and Honda still make sports cars. That’s more than one would expect in a class that conventional wisdom says is dying, and it gives us hope that the next generation will still have fun with cars.

What car-related things are you thankful for?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What technology made modern cars less interesting?“. Continue reading →

To the average consumer the formula is pretty straightforward: new = good. But JNC owners know better than that. The last couple of decades have seen an in-car technology boom, but if you’re reading this you likely long for the days when technology enhanced driving performance, not digital convenience; fuel injection, not
blind spot monitoring. Modern cars are faster than ever but arguably less fun. What was the turning point? CVTs? Drive by wire? Touchscreens? Mandatory traction control? Let us know when tech began detracting from the driving experience rather than amplifying it.

What technology made modern cars less interesting?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What works from your childhood fueled your love for cars?” Continue reading →

Last week I visited the home of some distant in-laws who were meeting my 4-year-old for the first time. They’re grandparents already and asked my kid if he’d like to play with some toys that once belonged to their now-adult son. To my surprise, they went into the garage and pulled out a giant box of first-generation Transformers complete with original instruction manuals and weapons still attached to the plastic sprues.

My son was stoked, but I think I was more excited. I had maybe a dozen Transformers as a kid but this collection was expansive, with nearly an entire archive of full-size Autobots, Decepticon jets, several combiners, and a couple of the transforming cities. I’d always loved cars, and cars that turned into robots were ultra cool to me. Memories of the watching the cartoons on UHF and poring over the catalogs came flooding back. This, along with MASK, Turbo Teen, Knight Rider, and Dukes of Hazzard, it was a great time to be a petrolhead kid.

What works from your childhood fueled your love for cars?

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 most terrifying car story?” Continue reading →

Boo, it’s Halloween! Gather around the campfire and tell us your spookiest tales of automotive terror. Was it that time a simple repair turned into a months-long jack stand occupation? A near miss on the road? A 10mm nut disappearing into a dark and unreachable crevice?

About a year ago I was driving my original, 67,000-mile factory 5-speed SC300, a car I have babied for over 20 years. Suddenly, a truck tire came bounding over the freeway jersey barriers, bouncing a good two stories high and headed right towards me. Luckily traffic was light and I swerved two lanes to get out of its way.  In the rear view mirror I saw it obliterate the front end of the Prius behind me. I don’t think my heart moved for a good three minutes afterwards.

What’s your most terrifying car story?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What Toyota model is the most Toyota?” Continue reading →