Here’s a photo from one of the best classic car events out of Japan, the New Year Meeting (RIP). At the 2012 show, a 910 Bluebird was parked among the vendors, unassuming but with evidence of having lived a full life as a well-maintained driver. That itself lent it a certain charm. Hopefully it’s still out there, a decade later, living its best life. Happy 910 Day from JNC!
What we learned from seeing the production Nissan Z in person
We recently got the chance to see the new production Nissan Z in person. Nissan let us pop the hood, sit in the car, talk to its chief engineer — everything short of drive it. But despite the lack of road time, we learned many new things that are impossible to glean from simply judging it by its photos. And for the first time in many years, it feels like Nissan has finally listened to enthusiasts. Continue reading
Toyota thanks fans for 70 years of the Land Cruiser
The first Toyota Land Cruiser went on sale in August 1, 1951. This year, they celebrated 70 years of the well-traveled beast by not only launching the all-new J300 Land Cruiser, but announcing that the FJ40 would be the first Land Cruiser to join Toyota’s Heritage Parts Program of reproduction parts. More recently, Toyota has released a couple of videos thanking Land Cruiser fans for 70 years of support. Continue reading
QotW: What’s your favorite car commercial?
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
VIDEO: The Mazda 323 Protegé LX was good, but not Honda Civic good
Poor Mazda. Even though they typically make great cars that should sell far better than they actually do. This was even true in the late 80s, when the well-reviewed sixth-generation BF 323 was completely overshadowed by, as Motorweek found, by its Japanese competitors. Sure, okay, maybe it was hard to argue against taking the 323 over a Honda Civic, but even the Mitsubishi Mirage got higher marks. So, for the seventh-generation BG 323, Mazda came out with guns blazing. Continue reading
RS Watanabe’s classic 8-spoke wheels will soon come in 18-inch fitments
RS Watanabe announced today that the iconic 8-spoke wheel is now available in 18-inch diameters. Widths will range from 7.0J to a massive 10.5J, and they’re available only in a in 5-lug pattern. The offsets on some of the deeper fitments have yet to be determined and the company says it is taking requests, so now is your chance to influence what sizes will be available when they come to market. Continue reading
Take an in-depth tour of the Bride Racing Seat factory
Chances are if you’ve been a fan of Japanese cars, you have admired Bride products for many years. As the preeminent racing seat from Japan, there’s always been a mystique about them, one that’s been fomented in part by their lofty prices. Now, Bride has provided a rare all-access tour of their racing seat factory. After witnessing the process, though, one can’t help but wonder how Bride is able to offer the seats at such a reasonable cost. Continue reading
Sonny Chiba gave the Mitsubishi Galant GTO a star turn in Key Hunters
Sonny Chiba, who passed away earlier this month, was synonymous with the Toyota Carina in Japan. For two decades the action star appeared in Carina commercials, and drove Carinas in real life (provided by Toyota, of course). However, there was a brief period in the early 1970s during which Chiba could be found behind the wheel of a Carina competitor, the Mitsubishi Galant GTO. Continue reading
Posted in JNC Theater
Tagged colt galant, crown, datsun, fairlady roadster, galant gto, Key Hunter, mitsubishi, ms51, toyota
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VIDEO: The 1991 Toyota Land Cruiser was ahead of its time
No one could’ve known when the J80 Land Cruiser was released just how insane the SUV market would become. And we’re not talking about the popularity of Toyota 4Runners and Ford Explorers that helped killed off sports cars like the Mazda RX-7 and Toyota Supra. We’re talking about today, when vintage 4x4s are shooting up in price and everyone and their mother is going off-grid to do the overlanding and vanlife thing. Continue reading
QotW: Why do you love (or hate) the Fast & Furious movies?
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
Acura files for Integra Type S trademark
Acura has filed for a trademark for the name “Integra Type S”. It’s been just two weeks since they melted the internet by surprise-announcing the return of the Integra nameplate in 2022, and now they’ve taken the additional step of appending the Type S sport performance moniker to it. Continue reading
Happy National Dog Day from JNC
There once was a time when the nose of a Honda was lower than the eye-line of a medium-large dog. Maybe there’s some weird camera angle thing going on here, but the truth is not too far off. It’s no wonder they were known for excellent visibility (the car, that is). Happy National Dog Day from JNC.
Mitsubishi revives Dakar Pajero livery for Rebelle Rally
Mitsubishi has never had great marketing in the US. They never really leaned into their illustrious rally heritage to promote vehicles like the Pajero. Now they’re reviving a historically significant Dakar Rally livery to compete in a modern rally. Well, better late than never, we suppose. Continue reading
Posted in motorsport
Tagged Dakar Rally, mitsubishi, Outlander, pajero, Rebelle Rally
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Sonny Chiba, actor, action hero, Toyota spokesman, 1939—2021
Legendary Japanese action hero Sonny Chiba died on August 19 of pneumonia resulting from a COVID-19 infection. Known for his on-screen tough-guy persona, he often played martial arts masters, samurai, and yakuza. The actor in such films as The Street Fighter, Hunter in the Dark and, more recently, The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift, had an illustrious career in Japan, where he was also a singer, stuntman trainer, and Toyota spokesman. Continue reading
The Toyota Celica Supra and Mazda RX-7 make amazing transforming robots
You will soon be able to get highly detailed toys of two iconic Japanese sports coupes that transform into robots. Incredibly faithful to the 1980s Transformers they’re paying homage to, these recreations have super realistic automobile likenesses. However, due to licensing reasons, the Mazda RX-7 and Toyota Celica Supra cannot be called Transformers, even though that’s they’re clearly what they are. Continue reading
Posted in minicars
Tagged a60, ferrari, Leonardo Fioravanti, Matasaburo Maeda, mazda, Pininfarina, rx-7, sa22c, supra, toyota, transformers, XTransbots, Yukihiko Yaguchi
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QotW: What would you like to know about the new Z?
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
A rare 1941 Kurogane Model 1 fire trike is being restored in Russia
A motorcycle museum in Russia is painstakingly restoring a very rare Kurogane Model 1 fire trike. Believed to be the only surviving example, it was uncovered in decrepit state in Malaysia, where it fought fires after being exported from Japan. Continue reading
Why the 2023 Nissan Z is still a Z34, not a Z35
Before we knew what the newly launched 2023 Nissan Z would be named, we’d been calling it the Z35. That seemed like a natural progression, as Nissan chassis codes have maintained a consistent and logical progression since the big revamp in the early 1980s. However, a Nissan representative has confirmed that the new Z will in fact not have a Z35 chassis code, but continue on as the Z34, the same chassis code as the 370Z. Why? Continue reading
The 2023 Nissan Z might just be the last pure sports car from Japan
Front engined, rear-wheel-drive. Twin turbos. Manual transmission. It’s everything fans of Japanese sports cars have been demanding for years. The Miata and 86 are too underpowered? The Z has 400 horses. Subaru BRZ needs a turbo? The Z has two of ’em. Supra doesn’t come in a manual? The Z has six speeds. Mazda needs to build an RX-9? The Z, despite all odds, actually exists. You might have just watched the launch of the last pure FR, internal-combustion, stick-shift Japanese sports car in history. Continue reading
Watch the Nissan Z35’s big reveal live right here
The production seventh-generation Nissan Z debuts tonight. They’re also streaming it on YouTube, and we’ve embedded link below. The big unveiling starts at 8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific. Continue reading
