QotW: If you could magically merge the body of one car with the hardware of another, what would you choose?

Posted on January 29, 2024 by Steve Chang

One of the coolest things about the FJ40/J70 Franken-Cruiser from the Tokyo Auto Salon was how it looked. It was indistinguishable from a classic FJ40 to all but the most dedicated Land Cruiser enthusiasts. Yet it rode on a modern (well, as modern as a J70 can be) chassis and drivetrain. What other cars can you combine to create your ultimate dream machine? In the real world you’d have wheelbase and packaging issues, but let’s pretend those can be solved by magic. Your Nissan Figaro will look exactly the same as its factory counterpart but will drive like a GT-R.

If you could magically merge the body of one car with the hardware of another, what would you choose?

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

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Mazda Familia Van with rotary engine swap shines at Tokyo Auto Salon

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Ben Hsu

The RE Amemiya booth at the Tokyo Auto Salon always gathers a special display of rotary-powered cars. The legendary Mazda tuner typically has a fleet of heavily modified RX-7s and RX-8s to display with one old school Hiroshima sled thrown in. This year that came in the form of a 1979 Mazda Familia Van, known in the US as a GLC Wagon, with a rotary engine swap. Continue reading →

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Why Toyota had a used Suzuki Jimny at its Tokyo Auto Salon booth

Posted on January 25, 2024 by Ben Hsu

The main stage at Toyota’s 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon booth is a strange place to find a Suzuki. Or a Yamaha. But this year Toyota surprised attendees with a showcase of seemingly unrelated cars. In lieu of a formal press conference, Toyota instead chose to offer New Year Greetings from “Morizo” the racing alter ego of retired president Akio Toyoda, who used the opportunity to display some of his favorite cars. Continue reading →

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Restored S13 Silvia, Nissan Bluebird Cube, Toyota S-FR roadster: Incredible creations by Japan’s tech school students

Posted on January 24, 2024 by Steve Chang

NATS always has a big presence at the Tokyo Auto Salon but it’s not the only school with cars to display. There are many technical colleges across Japan that all get to display their projects at the country’s biggest custom car show. The projects range from serious to seriously wacky, but here are some of our other favorites from 2024. Continue reading →

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An FJ40 on a J70 chassis kicks off Toyota’s Land Cruiser customization business

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Ben Hsu

If you have an old Land Cruiser there is probably no better place to get it customized than Toyota itself. At the 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon what appeared to be a yellow FJ40 was displayed, but it was no ordinary Land Cruiser. The FJ40 body was mated to a J70 chassis, and it was there to promote a semi-official customization shop run by Toyota. Continue reading →

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QotW: What JNC is perfect for any occasion?

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Steve Chang

Life circumstances have made it so that you can have only one car that needs to do it all. It has to take you to work every day, look dignified enough as to not embarrass your boss/date/HOA, and be fun enough to take on a spirited drive or whatever leisure activity you prefer. Money isn’t an object but space is.

What JNC is perfect for any occasion?

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 best/worst police encounter story?“. Continue reading →

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TOM’s launches Toyota restoration business to mark 50th anniversary

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Ben Hsu

Tachi Oiwa Motorsport, better known as TOM’s, has been modifying the latest and greatest Toyotas for 50 years. To mark the occasion, the famed tuning house announced at the 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon that it has started its own restoration business. To kick things off, TOM’s showed an A80 Toyota Supra restomod based on the TRD 3000GT first shown at the Tokyo Auto Salon 30 years ago. Continue reading →

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Mini Kenmeri Skyline, Corona lowrider, slammed Jimny: the wild Tokyo Auto Salon customs by NATS

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Ben Hsu

One of the most reliably entertaining booths at the Tokyo Auto Salon is that of NATS, the Nihon Automobile Technical School. The college teaches auto repair, but each year students get to indulge several far-out projects that end up on the floor of the Auto Salon. For 2024 the NATS creations were especially noteworthy, and each of the four showcase cars had some kind of nostalgic car angle. Continue reading →

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Mazda launches Spirit Racing as spiritual successor to Mazdaspeed

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Dave Yuan

Mazda’s big news out of the Tokyo Auto Salon was the fact that CEO Masahiro Moro let slip that he was reassembling the rotary engine development team. That overshadowed the launch of Mazda Spirit Racing, but perhaps it shouldn’t have. The sub-brand is now being billed as the successor to Mazdaspeed. Continue reading →

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Mazda Miata Roadster ND in “V-Special” BRG looks pretty sharp

Posted on January 16, 2024 by Ben Hsu

There are lots of outlandish custom cars at the Tokyo Auto Salon, but sometimes it’s the simple ones that catch your eye. For example, a Tokyo shop named Cabana Racing has created an ND Mazda Roadster tribute to the NA Eunos Roadster V-Special edition. Americans may recognize it as the 1991 Special Edition MX-5 Miata that came exclusively in British Racing Green. Continue reading →

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QotW: What’s your best/worst police encounter story?

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Ben Hsu

For the average law-abiding citizen the most likely encounter you’ve had with police involves a car. Today, January 15th, is the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, the famed department that has been the star of so many Japanese TV shows and movies. In the US, most of the JNC staff is old enough to remember when having a modified Japanese car was akin to having “Pull Me Over” painted on the back. But as times have changed and in our experience these days officers are just as likely to be fellow enthusiasts of Nihon steel themselves. Perhaps one day we’ll tell the story of when six Tennessee State Troopers took intense interest in the 3,700-mile Infiniti Q45 we had borrowed from Nissan USA.

What’s your best/worst police encounter story?

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 automotive resolution for 2024?”. Continue reading →

Posted in Question of the Week | 18 Comments

Mazda rotary engine development team will reunite, CEO accidentally reveals at Tokyo Auto Salon

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Dave Yuan

The Tokyo Auto Salon is happening right now, and Japan’s carmakers have flocked to the event to show off their enthusiast-oriented offerings. Mazda was there to show off race and street modified Roadsters and 3 hatchbacks, but accidentally revealed some much more important information. According to CEO Masahiro Moro, he has quietly reunited the rotary engine development team for the first time in six years. Continue reading →

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Honda displays S800 rally car at 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Ben Hsu

The 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon has kicked off, and Honda’s booth is overflowing with modified current-gen Civics and Civic Type Rs. One of the unexpected treats hidden among them, however, was a bright yellow 1966 Honda S800. The subject of a nearly two-year project, the roadster was refurbished by students at the Honda Technical College, which educates future technicians to work on Honda cars, and entered into two rallies upon completion. Continue reading →

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Mitsubishi Pajero reportedly being revived for 2027

Posted on January 11, 2024 by Ben Hsu

Reports out of Japan say that Mitsubishi is getting ready to bring back the Pajero (aka Montero for us Americans). The SUV was killed off in 2021 to the disappointment of die-hard Mitsubishi fans, but if the reports are correct the company is reversing the decision. Continue reading →

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Honda’s new “H” logo looks a lot like the one from the 1970s

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Dan Hsu

Honda revealed a new logo today, and it looks a lot like one from decades ago. The new “H” mark removes the square frame that has surrounded the logo for the last 43 years. The framed H was introduced in 1981, but prior to that Honda used a few different versions of the un-framed H with legs angled outward at the top. The new logo, revealed at CES in Las Vegas, is very similar to that. Continue reading →

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HKS teases Group A R32 Skyline GT-R for Tokyo Auto Salon

Posted on January 9, 2024 by Steve Chang

HKS is teasing its upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon booth with a look back at its 50-year history. Founded in 1973, the tuning house has a long history of building incredible street and race cars. One of its most iconic is the Group A R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R, arriving during the peak of the R32’s dominance of the Japan Touring Car Championships. It wasn’t a massively successful race car, but the memorable livery and its association with a prolific tuner made it a crowd favorite. Continue reading →

Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon | 4 Comments

QotW: What’s your automotive resolution for 2024?

Posted on January 8, 2024 by Steve Chang

New year, new beginnings. 2024 is when you’re finally going to get that back burner project finished, or perhaps started, or at least cleared out so that it’s no longer surrounded by cardboard boxes. We believe in you. Commit your dedication here, in writing, so that you can look back in January 2025 and be proud of your progress in life.

What’s your automotive resolution for 2024?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What 1999 car would you import from Japan?“. Continue reading →

Posted in Question of the Week | 10 Comments

Honda Super Cub art from around the world celebrates the iconic bike

Posted on January 5, 2024 by Steve Chang

At what point does a mass-produced consumer product become art? The Honda Super Cub has been in production since 1958 and proliferated the landscape of humanity by selling over 100 million units. There’s no arguing that the Super Cub is worthy of a place in any design museum as a form of industrial art, but is the Super Cub also worthy of being in art? Honda recently celebrated a milestone anniversary of the Super Cub by asking artists from around the world to interpret the iconic bike on canvas. Here’s what they came up with. Continue reading →

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Shaking Toyota Land Cruiser demonstrates force of 7.5M earthquake

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Steve Chang

Rescue and relief efforts are still under way in Japan after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan on New Year’s Day. Demonstrating the force of the tremor, an eyewitness video shows a parked Toyota Land Cruiser being rocked on its suspension. The short video clip shows the J80-generation’s body suddenly being thrown side to side, articulating its double solid axles as if it’s traversing a rock-strewn trail. Except, of course, the SUV is completely stationary. Continue reading →

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Toyota releases map of drivable roads after New Year’s Day earthquake

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Steve Chang

This is not how we wanted to start off 2024, but on New Year’s Day a 7.5 magnitude earthquake occurred in Japan. The epicenter was in the Sea of Japan, just off the Noto Peninsula near Ishikawa Prefecture. The death toll is at 55 and many more people are trapped under collapsed structures. Many roads have been damaged, but one novel solution has come from Toyota. Continue reading →

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