QotW: How has car ownership affected your love life?

Holidays are times we spend with our loved ones. But that time in the garage, on the road, or at the track can create conflict, because some of us also have spouses or significant others. Or, maybe your better half is the type that shares the same enthusiasm for automotive adventures as yourself. For this Valentine’s Day QotW, we ask:

How has car ownership affected your love life?

The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s the next Japanese car to cross the six-figure mark?“. Continue reading

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Happy Valentine’s Day from JNC

There needs to be more pink cars. Look how great this Datsun 510 looks in sakura pink. It even has a pink JAF grille badge to match. Just something to consider on February 14. Happy Valentine’s Day from JNC!

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This Toyota 2000GT model in 1/8 scale will cost $1,700 and take two years to complete

The latest classic from Japan to get the 1:8 treatment is the Toyota 2000GT. Issued by Hachette Collections Japan, the subscription kit will consist of 100 installments received weekly by mail with a retail price of ¥1999 ($17.25 USD) each. At the end of the nearly two-year project, the completed diecast model car will measure over 20 inches long and will have cost ¥195,401 ($1690 USD). Continue reading

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Nissan Hardbody and Datsun 720-inspired Frontiers debut at Chicago Auto Show

Nissan is going HAM on the throwback stuff these days, and we’re not talking about the new Z. For the Chicago Auto Show they’re bringing not one, but two concept trucks with a decidedly flavor based on new Frontier pickup. The concepts take inspiration from two predecessors that bookend the 1980s, a Datsun 720 and a D21 Nissan Hardbody. Continue reading

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Happy C210 Day from JNC

Sorry, Yamaha AR210, we are going to celebrate the Nissan Skyline C210 today, February 10, in the year of our overfender, 2022. Sure, the Yamaha might cost $50,000 and can travel on water, but it will never be half as stylish as the Skyline Japan. Happy C210 Day from all of us at JNC!

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Classic Toyota Celica and Truck appear in 2022 Superbowl commercial

Toyota has released their 2022 Superbowl ad, and it features a couple of classics. Toyota has chosen to focus not on the cars, but on two real-life brothers, Brian and Robin McKeever, who are Olympic and Paralympic medalists. Much of the ad takes place in flashbacks to their childhoods in Canada, where Daruma Celica and an N100 pickup can be seen in the background. Continue reading

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The iconic Kawasaki Z1 celebrates 50 years with anniversary models

Everyone’s awaiting the heritage-infused Nissan Z, but there’s another iconic Z that is celebrating its history this year. The Kawasaki Z1 was the most powerful bike in its class when it debuted 50 years ago, in 1972. It was technologically advanced too, with a 900 cubic centimeters of DOHC fury, pushing the bike to a top speed of over 130 mph. We called it the Kenmeri Skyline of bikes, but in reality it was more like the JZA80 Supra, if such a thing existed half a century ago. Continue reading

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QotW: What’s the next Japanese car to cross the six-figure mark?

The classic car market is going bananas right now, leading to some sky-high prices for Japanese cars. The $112,000 Integra Type R is just the latest example of it, but we’ve already seen plenty of others cross the six-figure threshold. Then there are cars that are just on the precipice. All it’s going to take is a low-mileage cream puff with the righht color code and options to push it over the edge.

What’s the next Japanese car to cross the six-figure mark?

The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What movie or TV car scenes have angered you most?“. Continue reading

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Happy TE27 Day from JNC!

It’s good to see that these old ‘Rollas, supplanted and long-forgotten by front-driving commuters, are still out there, doing their thing. This Mango was spotted at the 2022 Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique last weekend, one of two Japanese entrants (the other was a Datsun 240Z) in a field of Lancias, Porsches, and Alfa Romeos. Happy TE27 Day from JNC!

Posted in Holidays | 1 Comment

That new Nissan Z Superbowl ad is not like the old one at all, because it’s terrible

Nissan misled us big time when they released a trailer for their upcoming Superbowl ad. The trailer promised big stunts and chases with motorcycles, helicopters, and Max Maxian Firebirds, but it wasn’t about that at all. In fact, it’s not really clear what it was about at all, except perhaps a big waste of money. Continue reading

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Damn straight the Acura Integra Type R is worth $112,000

History was made on January 29, when a 7,000-mile Acura Integra Type R sold for $112,112 on Bring a Trailer. This stunning result was the highest figure ever achieved for an ITR on BaT, and possibly the highest price paid for the model anywhere. Predictably, the auction’s comments section was peppered with the usual litany of disbelievers shouting “crazy!” but surprisingly, they were outnumbered by those singing the car’s praises, congratulating the buyer and predicting even higher ITR prices in the future. Continue reading

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See the nose-jobbed Nissan Z Customized Proto in action

Cars always look different in motion than they do standing still. Nissan has released a video of the Z432-inspired Customized Proto with its new and improved nose, and it’s worth a look. Well, technically it’s more of a computer render, but it still gives you some more (and dynamic) angles than the one we saw on the Tokyo Auto Salon stage. This is what it would look like on the road. Continue reading

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Happy TA22 Day from JNC

Toyota made 411,815 first-generation Celicas. It was a huge hit. You sure don’t see many around but, then again, it is more than 50 years old. Toyota sold 83,775 Scion FR-S/86 in the US and Canada during the car’s entire lifespan, 135,917 if you include the Subaru BRZ for both markets. We can’t find global sales numbers, but North America was its largest market, so total figures will fall a couple hundred thousand short of the Celica’s. We wonder how many of those will still be on the roads by the time it turns 50. Something to think about as we celebrate Toyota’s original sport coupe. Happy TA22 Day from JNC!

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Let the Toyota Carina ED help you celebrate the Year of the Tiger

Four-door coupes might be all the rage today, but the Toyota Carina ED debuted as one way back in 1985. It was a style-setting car in Japan, a pillarless four-door that shared a platform with the sporty Celica. When the second-generation launched, commercials showed it driving alongside a stripe-less albino tiger — something about grace and performance. Continue reading

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Happy Year of the Tiger from JNC

Today is the Lunar New Year and we have now left he Year of the Ox and entered the Year of the Tiger. Unfortunately, the only Tiger cars we know of are the Sunbeam Tiger and the Opel Tigra, neither of which are Japanese. So, we’re going to pick the next closest thing, a Nissan Leopard, to usher in the new year. The zodiac symbol is supposed to represent bravery, strength, and hope (as in, let’s hope this pandemic is over soon). Happy Year of the Tiger from JNC!

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2023 Nissan Z Superbowl ad starring Eugene Levy recalls Ridley Scott’s 1990 Z32 TT spot

Nissan has teased its upcoming Superbowl ad starring the 2023 Nissan Z. Called “Thrill Driver”, it also features some human stars in the form of Eugene Levy, Danai Gurira, and Dave Bautista. The bulk of the action, however, appears to take place with a Z being chased by black-suited motorcyclists. If that sounds like déjà vu, that’s because 32 years ago Nissan released another star-powered Superbowl commercial to promote the then-new 300ZX Twin Turbo. Continue reading

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QotW: What movie or TV car scenes have angered you most?

As car enthusiasts, we’re familiar with the cycle of excitement and disappointment that accompanies car movies. Typically, you’ll see a trailer that promises incredible stunts and lots of action. Then after you’ve bought your ticket and popcorn, the actual movie delivers some total bullcrap like driving backwards down a freeway at 75 mph. This particular sin even happens in movies that supposedly to cater to car enthusiasts. But it doesn’t have to be something so egregious; even a simple joke in which one of Soichiro’s greatest is played for laughs boils the blood of a few readers we know.

What movie or TV car scenes have angered you most?

The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which seven cars would be in your dream garage if money was no object?“. Continue reading

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VIDEO: It’s easy to forget how weird import drag racing was

Back in 1996 the idea of a front-wheel-drive Honda being anything but an economic commuter was still an alien concept to most Americans. But, it had grown big enough that even a public broadcast show like Motorweek was reporting on it. This was many years after Japanese cars, or “imports” as they were called at the time, had begun illicit street races on the streets of California, but also many years before The Fast & The Furious became a nationwide hit. Continue reading

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Mazda RX-3 Wagon at Tokyo Auto Salon gives off Katayama vibes

While not quite as ambitious as the 6-rotor Eunos Cosmo, another Mazda that caught our attention from the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon was the show’s sole RX-3 Wagon. Done up in a touring car style that evokes the Savanna RX-3 race cars from the 1970s, it answers the question of what Yoshimi Katayama’s grocery getter might look like. Continue reading

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Mazda Cosmo 6-rotor makes waves at Tokyo Auto Salon

One car that made a splash at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon was a JC Mazda Cosmo with a 6-rotor motor. Built by Anniversary Racing Factory, a rotary specialty shop in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, the engine consists of three 13Bs sandwiched together and measures over one meter long. Amazingly, the car looks stock from the outside — from the front three-quarters view, at least. Continue reading

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