Subaru has revealed Travis Pastrana’s next steed for the Gymkhana video series, and it’s a good one. The long-time Subie collaborator is going full retro with a 1983 Subaru GL Wagon that’s got, perhaps, a few modifications under the skin. For comparison, a factory stock 4WD wagon with US Ski Team paint scheme was helpfully provided. Continue reading
In a show where copious horsepower and dazzling bling overshadows less shouty cars, a humble Subaru 360 Custom has taken the Grand Prix for kei cars at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon. Called the Subaru 360 Beach Van, it might be light on tire-smoking ability but makes up for it with loads of charm. Continue reading
One of the most notable displays at each year’s Tokyo Auto Salon belongs to NATS, the Nihon Automobile Technical College. As students there learn automobile maintenance, repair, and customization, they get to build some of the coolest (and most fun) school projects of all time. This year, one such creation, an insane Toyota Century limousine lowrider, took the top prize in the sedan category, beating out a slew of professional shops for the honor. Continue reading
Over the weekend the production Japanese-spec Nissan Fairlady Z was finally unveiled at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon. Joining it on stage at the custom car extravaganza, in addition to the standard yellow and blue, was one very orange customized version evoking thoughts of the legendary Fairlady Z432-R. Continue reading
On January 17, 1953, the first Chevrolet Corvette made its debut at the GM Motorama at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. In the nearly 70 years since, the world has come to know it as a symbol of the good ol’ US of A. Our question this week is about what car best fits that mold for Japan. We don’t mean a front-engined, RWD 2-seater with a V8, but a car that represents the engineering, performance, or spirit of Japan’s auto industry.
What is Japan’s Corvette?
The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What car from 1997 do you want to import?“. Continue reading
As a carmaker Isuzu peaked early, but as a result we have the beautiful Isuzu 117 to admire and cherish. The Giugiaro-penned lines were said to have followed the curves of a woman. We’re not entirely sure we see it, but it definitely makes grassy fields a lot more interesting to look at. Happy 117 Day from JNC!
The Toyota GR GT3 Concept has just been unveiled at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon, signaling the Big T’s intention to enter the GT3 class of touring car racing. The car is absolutely gorgeous, hands down the best looking Toyota in the carmaker’s entire portfolio right now, and that’s because it’s essentially a reskinned Mazda RX-Vision. This is a significant development is so many ways. Continue reading
Toyota has just announced a significant expansion of new items for its Gazoo Racing Heritage Parts program. Most cover the FJ40 Land Cruiser and, surprisingly, the A70 Supra. However, the AE86, A80 Supra, and 2000GT also get some love. The latter three receive fewer, but major, hardware in this significant update. Continue reading
Back in September, Nissan released some illustrations of an electric Silvia revival. Penned by Matthew Weaver, a vice president at Nissan’s European design studio, it pays homage to the original Silvia, the 1965 CSP311. At the time, it was just an assignment where Weaver was asked to come up with an electric car based on something from Nissan’s past. Now, the electric Silvia is apparently being seriously considered. Continue reading
Mazda has filed a patent application for a 3-rotor hybrid drivetrain configured for a rear-wheel-drive layout. Obviously, if built, it would be the first rotary-engined car since the 2012 death of the RX-8, and the first triple-rotor production car since the JC Eunos Cosmo ended production in 1995. Just as obviously, though, it would totally buck prevailing market trends. The rotary, great as it was, was never as clean or as thrifty as a piston engine, and even those are phasing out. What’s going on in Hiroshima? Continue reading
It’s January 10, the day we honor the Nissan Skyline C110 chassis. It’s the car that in Japanese culture became synonymous with the romance of the open road. Why not take your JNC for a drive today to celebrate? Happy Kenmeri Day!
It’s 2022, which means that America’s 25 year rule now applies to cars from 1997. That opens the doors to a new slate of once-forbidden machines. Let’s say money and rarity are not factors. The imagination swirls with visions of something sporty like a Tommykaira ZZ or EK9 Honda Civic Type R. Or, you can go ultra-luxe with a V12 Toyota Century or 2JZ-powered Toyota Aristo V300. Maybe you just want something unique, like a Toyota Caldina 2.0GT-T.
What car from 1997 do you want to import?
The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your automotive New Year’s resolution for 2022?” Continue reading
We promise we are not turning into an Initial D blog, but this was too cool not to share. We’ve not been shy about crapping on Toyota’s terrible ads before. So consider us flabbergasted that the same company, just before the holidays, quietly released one of the greatest car commercials we’ve ever seen to shill the 2022 Toyota GR86. Continue reading
We last wrote about MF Ghost in 2017, when Shuichi Shigeno had but published one chapter in Young Weekly, the same manga serial that Initial D ran in from 1995-2013. Back then, little was known about the plot, but now that enough chapters have been published to make an anime adaptation, there have been some interesting plot developments. That’s especially true for fans of Initial D, as MF Ghost takes place in the same universe, just several decade later. Here’s what happened to the main characters of Initial D. Continue reading
The Japanese Classic Car Show Association dropped their official 2021 JCCS video yesterday. While it doesn’t feature all the cars, trucks, and motorcycles that were present (you can see our own coverage for that), it does a great job of capturing the feel of the event. Continue reading
Turn up the Eurobeat. Successor to the beloved Initial D, Shuichi Shigeno’s MF Ghost has been in publication since 2017. With four years of weekly stories under its belt, publisher Kodansha announced today that, like its forebearer, MF Ghost would be adapted into an anime. Continue reading
It’s a brand new year, and that means an opportunity to start anew. What are your automotive goals for 2022? Finally get that dormant project on the road? Finally make a dent in the pile of 1:24 scale plastic model kits you’ve been hoarding? Or simply vowing to get out and drive more? Remember, anything you post is contractually binding!
What’s your automotive New Year’s resolution for 2022?
The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What automotive heartaches are you most eager to forget?“. Continue reading
Some time off can do funny things. It can act as a reset. The in-person Japanese Classic Car Show was forced to go into a hiatus because of the pandemic last year, and forced to move to a new location this year. In the two years since we last had a live event a lot has happened. Upon its return to a new venue, Angel Stadium, where perhaps our lifetime’s greatest baseball player suits up, things felt different. Like Shohei Ohtani, who hails from Iwate Prefecture, Japanese cars feel like they’ve made it. Continue reading
To close out 2021, a year where things were finally opening up again, we’re going back to the Japanese Classic Car Show. After a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic, JCCS was back in full form. Perhaps trying to make up for the lost year, owners turned out en force, making it one of the biggest gatherings in recent memory, with about 100 more cars, trucks, and motorcycles from the 1960s to the 1990s filling the venue. Continue reading
This year marked a milestone for the unassuming Toyota Corolla. The bestselling nameplate in history sold over 50 million units. In Japan, Toyota celebrated by releasing a trio of special edition cars and a series of Corolla-oriented comic strips that tell a story in each decade of the model’s existence. Continue reading
