Japanese Nostalgic Car

Today is ET Day in Japan, commemorating the day in 1982 when the movie E.T. The Extraterrestrial was released there. Using that as a jumping off point, let’s say you encounter a curious and benign life form that has traveled millions of light years to our little backwater pre-warp planet. The humanoid being knows nothing about cars, as their civilization is so advanced that they just teleport everywhere and thus have no concept of wheeled transport. But just because they’re unnecessary doesn’t mean they’re not interesting. We still marvel at the pyramids, after all. Clearly this species is missing out on the fun, beauty, and engineering that automobiles offer.

What car would you show an alien to help them appreciate cars?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What car-themed series should we binge over the holidays?“. Continue reading →

In 2014 a new trilogy of Initial D movies came out. Called New Initial D Movie — Legend, It was a reboot complete with new animation style, a retelling of the earlier chapters of the beloved series. We watched the original in the early 2000s, but we’ve never seen this one. The coming holidays might be a good time to catch up on what is now a nearly decade-old ode to underground drifting. We’ve also heard that Stranger Things and Archer, while not about cars per se, have pretty good background cars.

What car-themed series should we binge over the holidays?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What car-related things are you thankful for?“. Continue reading →

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 →