Japanese Nostalgic Car

It’s a problem that never crossed our minds before children, but it’s a real one. Many JNC staffers have kids and we are happily giving them lots of cool Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and other automotive toys (while also reliving our own childhoods). The tots like cars, which is great. Unfortunately, they also have many well-intentioned friends and relatives who know they like cars. The issue here is not so much the gifters, but the fact that there are far too many dumb car toys out there. Most are four wheels under an amorphous blob, but those aren’t even the worst. The worst are cars non-car people think car people like — the Lamborghini Venenos, chrome-wheeled DaimlerChrysler Chargers, and yellow Hummer H2s — or toys that are flat-out wrong, like a V8 RWD Honda Civic.

The kids don’t know any better and are pumped to get them, and soon they start to accumulate piles of unavoidable plastic crap, taking the place of actual good car toys. But you can’t tell people, “Hey, stop buying us crap toys,” and  because they were gifts our spouses have deemed we can’t throw them out. With the holiday season upon us, we’re bracing for another avalanche of bad cars.

What do you do with dumb car toys?

The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your fondest auto show memory?“. Continue reading →

It seemed like only yesterday but it was February 28, 2020 when the Geneva Motor Show was canceled. With millions in booth displays already spent and cars shipped from around the globe, the show was axed just four days before doors opened on March 3 due to the pandemic. All major international auto shows have had to cancel at least one (Detroit hasn’t been held in traditional form in almost three years) since then.

This past week the Los Angeles Auto Show opened, but it was a sad affair. Only 16 major brands had booths, compared to 31 in 2019. Many are predicting the death of the auto show. The dealer-run tire-kicking type will probably still exist, but the kind where OEMs flashily unveil breathtaking cars and the let the public view them on rotating turntables — the kind where many of us felt our first pangs of automotive love — is probably over.

What’s your fondest auto show memory?

The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your fondest memory of the Acura Integra?” Continue reading →

Recently, the Daihatsu HiJet received a lifetime achievement award from Japan’s top design institution. There haven’t been many cars to receive this honor. Past recipients have included the Nissan Cube and Toyota HiAce. While these vehicles are surely deserving, they’re just all so, well, practical. Sure, they’ve done a lot for the delivery drivers of Japan, but what about driver drivers? Certainly there is a car that evokes joy, elegance, refinement, or some other form of vehicular excellence. Cars are meant to be driven, and is carving a touge pass or carrying occupants in luxury not just as pure an expression of the automobile as cargo capacity?

For the purposes of this question we’ll adhere to the rules of the HiJet’s prize, the Good Design Long Life award. That means it will have to have been on the market for more than 10 years (multiple generations are okay) and must endure in some way as a marker of Japan.

What JNC should receive a lifetime achievement award for design?

The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Tell us you’re a JNC owner without telling us you own a JNC.” Continue reading →