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
Happy Kenmeri Day from JNC
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!
Posted in Holidays
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QotW: What car from 1997 do you want to import?
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
Toyota AE86 meets 2022 GR86 in stunning Initial D-inspired commercials
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
Posted in cm
Tagged ae86, corolla, GR86, Initial D, keiichi tsuchiya, sprinter trueno, toyota
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Initial D‘s beloved characters: “Where are they now?” according to MF Ghost
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
VIDEO: Japanese Classic Car Show 2021
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
Initial D successor MF Ghost anime in the works
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
QotW: What’s your automotive New Year’s resolution for 2022?
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
Japanese Classic Car Show 2021, Part 02 – Our Faves
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
Japanese Classic Car Show 2021, Part 01
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
Posted in events, jccs
Tagged 240Z/260Z/280Z, 3000GT, 411, 4runner, 510, 521, 610, 620, 720, a10, a20, a60, a70, accord, Accord 2G, Accord CA, Accord Wagon, acty, acura, ae86, Alto Works, aw11, az-1, b110, b120, beat, Bighorn/Trooper, bluebird, c10, c110, CA77 Dream 305, camry, cappuccino, cb1100, CB700SC, CB92 Benly, celica, celsior, civic, Civic EA, Civic EF, Civic EG, civic wagon, corolla, cressida, crown, Crown Majesta, crx, CRX EA, CRX EF, CT90, Daniel Wu, dc2, del Sol, DT250, e100, e20, e70, e80, fairlady roadster, fairlady z, fc3s, fj60, Fugu Z, galant, Galant VR-4, glc, greddy, GT750B, Hakosuka, hilux, Hilux Surf, honda, Honda N-Series, honda z, HT1, impreza, impulse, infiniti, Infiniti J30, Infiniti M30, integra, Integra 1G, Integra 2G, Integra Type R, isuzu, J200, J80, japanese classic car show, kei, kp61, L10, L25, land cruiser, legacy, Legacy Wagon, legend, Legend 1G, Legend 2g, lexus, Lexus LS, lexus sc, mazda, miata, Miata NA, mitsubishi, monkey, mr2, MX-3, n10, N30, N60, nissan, nsx, NSX NA1, pao, prelude, Prelude 2g, Prelude 3g, Prelude BB6, pulsar, QA50, r100, r30, r31, r32, r33, r34, rx-2, rx-3, rx-7, Ryu Asada, RZ350, s12, s120, s13, s130, s14, s30 z, s50, S500/S600/S800, s800, sa22c, sambar, Sera, silvia, skyline, soarer, sports 800, st185, st205, starlet, subaru, Subaru 260, Sung Kang, sunny, sunny truck, Super 90, SuperCub, supra, suzuki, sw20, T160, T180, te27, te37, tercel, toyota, TT500, U11, v10, wagons, x30, x60, x80, XS650, yamaha, z31, z32, Z34B
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Toyota Corolla celebrates 50 millionth sold with manga series
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
Toyota’s MegaWeb showroom in Tokyo is closing so here’s a video tour of the History Garage
This will be the last week you’ll ever get to visit Toyota’s sprawling MegaWeb gallery in Tokyo. It will close for good on December 31, 2021, after 22 years. That includes not only the main showroom of new cars, but the enthusiast-oriented History Garage located in the adjacent Venus Fort mall. Ironically, Toyota released what is probably the most in-depth video of the History Garage earlier this year. Continue reading
Posted in News
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QotW: What automotive heartaches are you most eager to forget?
At year’s end, the Japanese tradition of bonenkai takes place. These “forget the year parties” are held to drink away the heartaches of the previous 365 days and hope for better luck the next time ’round the sun. For me personally, it’s not what I did but what I didn’t do. With work and family duties, I didn’t get to wrench/drive/hang out at car events as much as I wanted to. There’s also the massive hole in my heart left by how I didn’t spend more time with a dear friend before he passed away. Well, the turning of the calendar gives us all the opportunity to start anew and kaizen ourselves in 2022.
What automotive heartaches are you most eager to forget?
The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What are you asking Japanese Santa Claus for this year?“. Continue reading
Mazda Roadster-driving Santas bring joy to kids in Japan
The Mazda Roadster Club of Japan recently held their annual end-of-year Santa Drive. The event sees owners of Mazda Roadsters decorate their cars in tinsel and dress up as Santa for charity, bringing some joy to disadvantaged kids by letting them ride through town in a parade of Japan-market Miatas. Continue reading
Shunji Tanaka, Mazda Miata chief designer, 1946 – 2021
Shunji Tanaka, chief designer of the original Mazda Roadster/Miata, has died. He passed away at the age of 75 on December 12 at, according to a close friend and member of a Japan Roadster Club, who posted the news over the weekend on his social media profile. Tanaka-san was instrumental in bringing to life one of Japan’s most influential cars, shaping it into the icon we know today. Continue reading
Suzuki 100th Anniversary helmet goes on sale in January
Suzuki Motor is commemorating a century of business with an extremely limited production motorcycle helmet. Based on an Arai RX-7X, the helmet is finished in Suzuki’s MotoGP racing colors with the words “100th Anniversary” printed along the chin guard. It’s also limited to 100 pieces worldwide. Continue reading
Posted in Motorcycles
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My wife’s Hakosuka Skyline races for JNC glory in the world of diecast motorsports
When we started racing with YouTube’s premiere diecast motorsports league, we had no idea it would come to this. My wife Carrie took the JNC team trophy, after ruthlessly decimating every writer on the staff and also our own two-year-old son. Her Hot Wheels Nissan Skyline gave no mercy to our Toyotas, Mazdas, or Datsuns. Now, her JNC tournament-winning Hakosuka is taking on the winners of 3DBotMaker‘s other tournaments, going up against everything from a BMW M3 to Vin Diesel’s blown 1970 Dodge Charger from the Fast & Furious movies. Continue reading
QotW: What are you asking Japanese Santa Claus for this year?
It’s a well known fact that Japanese Santa Claus, a magical yokozuna in a red and white yukata, travels all over the world to in a flying Hino Ranger dekotora to bring those on his “nice” list. You can ask him for anything you want, from a $1 Hot Wheels car to a 1 of 1 priceless race car currently in the possession of an automaker’s museum collection.
What are you asking Japanese Santa Claus for this year?
The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What made you fall in love with cars?“. Continue reading
Nissan T12 Bluebird becomes 80s retro-electric “Newbird”
Eighties culture and fashion is, like, so rad these days. Nissan has gotten in on the fun by 80s-fying a T12 Nissan Bluebird — what we would have called a Stanza 5-door in the US — with a modern powertrain. The so-called “Newbird” was built to mark the 35th anniversary of Nissan’s Sunderland plant in the UK, where European-market versions of the Bluebird were originally built. Continue reading
Suzuki Samurai, Mazda RX-7 are classics to watch for 2022, says Hagerty
Hagerty Insurance has come out with their list of top ten classics to watch in 2022. The list is a reflection of how many customers ask for classic car insurance quotes for a particular model, with a focus more on the monetary — rather than historic or performance — value. This year there are two Japanese cars on the list: The first-generation Mazda RX-7 and the Suzuki Samurai. Continue reading
