Japanese Nostalgic Car

On this day 70 years ago, the first Japanese commercial jingle was broadcast. The song “I’m an Amateur Cameraman” made its radio debut on September 7, 1951 on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting (CBC) and New Japan Broadcasting (NJB) as an ad for Sakura Film by Konica Minolta (then called Konishi Roku Photo Industry Co., Ltd.). Curiously, the song never mentioned the company or the product name, but was written by Toriro Miki, a popular composer at the time. That’s why September 7 is known as Commercial Jingle Day in Japan.

There have been a great number of captivating car commercials from both sides of the Pacific. Japan’s often made use of surreal situations, celebs and, of course, unique songs composed just for the ad. The American spots leaned towards humor or cars speeding through the desert. Any format can be memorable, impactful, perhaps even immortalized as a piece of pop culture.

What’s your favorite car commercial?

The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Why do you love (or hate) the Fast & Furious movies?” Continue reading →

We have to admit, the car in the photo above, which is featured in the latest Custom Car magazine, is kind of cool. Obviously, it’s a homage to the Supra from the original The Fast & the Furious, which leads us to this week’s question.

We’ve been doing the Japanese car thing for a long time, and one thing that has persistently baffled us is the continued popularity of the Fast & Furious franchise. And we’re not talking about the general public who can’t tell a manifold from a hubcap. Over the years we’ve met a lot of car guys, who can do miraculous things like weld together an entire subframe or set the engine timing by ear, guys who should know better, yet still adore these movies. Personally, it’s hard for me to sit through even 10 minutes of these cringe-fests. Is it a matter of so bad it’s good, just taking it as mindless entertainment, or do people really like the car content?

Why do you love (or hate) the Fast & Furious movies?

The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What would you like to know about the new Z?” Continue reading →

Nissan is giving us the opportunity to see the new production Z in person this week. This will be an indoor viewing so we won’t be able to drive the car, but anything else is fair game. Ask a question, and we’ll try to get some answers for you. The earlier you can submit your question in the comments below, the better. We’ll try to answer as many as possible.

What would you like to know about the new Nissan Z?

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

Late last week Acura dropped the news bomb about the rebirth of the Integra. No details about the car were given other than 1.) the name was coming back, and 2.) it would have a debossed logo like the beloved 1994-2001 sport coupe. However, that name carries a lot of weight, and any time such a revered name is invoked expectations will be high. We don’t think Acura is dumb enough to pull a Mitsubishi, but there are still many directions this could go in.

What are your hopes for the reborn Acura Integra?

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 ideal touge weapon?” Continue reading →