On March 11, 2011 a devastating earthquake and resulting tsunami struck eastern Japan. Nearly 16,000 people were killed and almost 2,600 went missing in what was the fourth strongest earthquake ever recorded. Masayuki Watanabe was one of the lucky ones, but both his house and his beloved 1971 Toyota Corolla were swept away when ocean waves encroached as much as six miles onto land. However, despite the devastation, photos of his red Corolla amidst the wreckage inspired car enthusiasts across the country to band together and help him restore the car. Continue reading
VIDEO: There will probably never be a car like the SW20 MR2 again
The Toyota MR2 was one of those rare Japanese cars that evolved constantly throughout its life. There were five distinct revisions, called Type I through Type V, made to hone the small mid-engined runabout into a better driver’s car. We in North America missed out on the final two, but the last variant we got was still incredibly good. Continue reading
Before Toyota sells you its next supercar, it wants to know if you’ve ever owned a 2000GT
This year the FIA plans to kick off new Le Mans Hypercar class and Toyota will be there, ready and waiting with its Gazoo Racing Super Sport. The class homologation rules require 20 road cars to be built, and Toyota’s 986-horsepower sports car is one of the most highly anticipated. Toyota is taking applications to buy one right now, but it has a few questions on the form. Among them, have you ever owned a Toyota 2000GT? Continue reading
Happy 310 Day from JNC
Posted in Holidays
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KIDNEY, ANYONE? 15k-mile Unmolested AE86 Toyota Corolla Levin GT Apex Coupe
A one-owner, unmolested 1984 Toyota Corolla Levin GT Apex Coupe has turned up for sale in Essex, UK. Hunted nearly to extinction due to the popularity of the chassis in drifting, this surviving example only has 15,000 miles. It also rocks the iconic panda theme we all know and love. Continue reading
MOTORSPORT: Mami Ayukawa, singer and racing driver
Mami Ayukawa is probably best known as a singer, but she was also a well-known racing driver in her time. She holds an FIA A-class racing license and competed in numerous races in Japan throughout the late 80s and early 90s driving for teams such as Tomei, all while maintaining her main career as a performer. Continue reading
QotW: What’s your favorite automotive game?
Coming this week is March 10 (aka Mar 10, aka Mario Day), and 2021 also happens to be the 40th anniversary year for Nintendo’s plumber mascot. In the decades since his debut in Donkey Kong games have had a huge influence on the automotive world, and vice versa, from the ultra-realistic Gran Turismo series to the stupid-fun Mario Kart (in which Mario drives something clearly based on the 1965 Honda RA272 Formula One race car).
Most of us have a favorite car-themed video game, but we’re not going limit this question to digital distractions. Nintendo traces its roots back to 1889 as a playing card manufacturer, so pre-pixel amusements are also allowed. If your jam is I Spy, then tell us why.
What’s your favorite automotive game?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “How did you learn to drive a manual?” Continue reading
VIDEO: Watch an R32 Skyline GT-R undergo NISMO’s $433,000 bare-metal restoration
Late last year, we were in awe when Omori Factory gave us a glimpse into NISMO’s unparalleled restoration program for the R32 Skyline GT-R. Re-issued factory parts matched with meticulous nut-and-bolt attention to detail has culminated in the rebirth of one very lucky BNR32. To kick March off to a good start, NISMO dropped a video showcasing the magic behind the factory doors. Continue reading
Against all odds, Mazda still innovates to make cars fun
It’s no secret we at JNC, along with most enthusiast publications, have a special fondness for a small carmaker from Hiroshima. In an age when most carmakers have all but given up on the internal combustion engine, Mazda is still innovating. It’s drawing on a long history of pushing the technology envelope, and by tech we mean the actual hardware of the engine, turbo, and suspension, not turning your car into a giant smartphone. Better yet, Mazda’s doing it to make even a vehicle like the new CX-30 Turbo unlike any other CUV on the road — fun. Continue reading
MINICARS: There’s a very good reason why this Toyoda AA model from the Toyota Automobile Museum costs ¥3,350
If you’ve been to the Toyota Automobile Museum’s gift shop, perhaps you’ve seen a 1:43 scale model of the company’s first production car, the 1936 Toyoda AA. It’s available in two colors and you can buy it for ¥3,350 (approx. $31 USD) which is actually quite inexpensive compared to the typical 1:43 cars you find in Japan. But there’s a very good reason Toyota kept the price this low. Continue reading
VIDEO: Even the budget performance cars of 1991 Japan were incredible
God, 1991. It was a magical time for Japanese machinery. Every carmaker was offering an extraordinary car in their lineup, sometimes several. The abundance was so great that even at the low end of the price ladder, you could get cars so fantastic you’d sing their praises from mountaintops if anything remotely similar was available today. Just look at these eight budget brawlers and tell us we didn’t have an embarassment of riches when it came to motoring fun. Continue reading
Posted in Video
Tagged Akihiko Nakaya, best motoring, familia, Familia BG, fc3s, galant, keiichi tsuchiya, legacy, mazda, mitsubishi, mr2, N14, nissan, pulsar, r32, rx-7, skyline, subaru, sw20, Takashi Ohi, toyota
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Happy Z31 Day from JNC
Nissan cruelly left out the Z31 from the lineup when they talked about the Z Proto’s design inspirations last year. Don’t worry, Z31 stans. There’s a whole day devoted to celebrating the third-generation Nissan Z, and that’s today, 3/1. We’ll soon have an article on one of the coolest Z31 builds we’ve ever seen, in which the owner specifically said he wanted to elevate the Z31 to the level of reverence people feel for other Z generations, so stay tuned for that. Happy Z31 Day from JNC!
QotW: How did you learn to drive a manual?
The conventional wisdom is that Americans don’t buy manual transmission cars. While that’s largely true for vehicles like a Nissan Sentra, it turns out Americans do overwhelmingly prefer stick-shifts when the right car comes along. For example, 90 percent of Subaru WRX and 76 percent of Mazda Miata soft-top buyers choose to row their own gears. The purer the car, the more standard transmissions are selected. The Porsche 911 GT3 has a 70 percent take rate, while non-GT3 911 models hover between 20 to 25 percent. And then there are oddbal stats, like the fact that 78 percent of Subaru BRZ customers get the manual, as opposed to only 33 percent of Toyota 86 buyers.
These figures give us hope that the desire to learn how to drive stick will exist as long as carmakers give us cars worth driving. It might be a good time to see how we can pass this skill along (We’re assuming that if you’re reading JNC you know how to drive a manual. If not you can still answer the question; just tell us why you haven’t learned).
How did you learn to drive a manual?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What do you actually drive?” Continue reading
MOTORSPORT: How the Datsun 510 revolutionized sedan racing in America
The Datsun 240Z is rightfully remembered as Nissan’s most competitive sports car, for sweeping 10 out of 10 National SCCA C-Production Championships between 1970 and 1979. However, the humble Datsun 510, initially expected to be nothing more than an econobox when first released in 1968, nearly matched that record in what was then called sedan racing. What’s more, it truly opened the doors for Nissan and other Japanese manufacturers to be taken seriously as competitors against their European rivals. Continue reading
Posted in motorsport
Tagged 510, Bob Sharp Racing, brock racing enterprises, datsun, imsa, john morton, nissan, scca, Walt Maas, yutaka katayama
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VIDEO: Chip Foose reimagines the AW11 Toyota MR2
We recently learned about Chip Foose’s new video series, in which he applies his designer’s touch to popular classics, when he drew his interpretation of an FJ40 Land Cruiser. Turns out, he drew an AW11 Toyota MR2 as well, reimagining it as a fastback. First, though, a trigger warning. If you like your A-dub, you’re not going to like what Chip Foose has to say about it. Continue reading
ART CORNER: Takashi Matsuyama’s Motor Panic
Takashi Matsuyama is a Japanese artist that creates wonderfully rich automotive landscapes in his art. Densely packed with cars, pop culture references, and easter eggs galore, his works are like a vehicular Where’s Waldo? Many of his illustrations were supposed to be on display at Toyota’s MegaWeb showroom in Tokyo starting with the 2020 Olympics, but the pandemic threw a wrench into those plans. So instead, MegaWeb has filmed a virtual tour of Matsuyama’s exhibit. Continue reading
MINICARS: Help us identify this grotesque Datsun 240Z toy car
Recently we received a bizarre toy that has us puzzled. It looks like a Datsun 240Z or S30 Nissan Fairlady Z that, instead of rolling on four wheels (which it has), walks on human feet. There are a few markings on it, but none to denote who made it or when it was made. Maybe you can help us figure out this mystery. Continue reading
QotW: What do you actually drive?
Self-described car enthusiasts on the internet love to tell car companies what kind of cars should be made. And if all of them really put their money where their keyboards are, the world would be flush with 400-horsepower manual sports cars that cost $25,000. That’s clearly not the case.
Personally, the car I drive the most is our 2018 Mazda CX-5, which we got used (in 2019; the previous owner traded it in after owning for just three months and it was a smoking deal) while my wife was pregnant. It’s got enough room for a car seat, stroller, diaper bags, and grandparents, while still exhibiting good enough handling that I don’t feel like I’m captaining an oversized shopping cart. I still have my fun cars that I rarely get to drive, especially with the lack of car events this past year. If you are in a position in life where you can daily your classic, consider me envious. Our plan is to trade it in for a new Mazda FR sedan when it comes out, so we can support good carmaking.
What do you actually drive?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What would you have bought if you were rich in 1990?” Continue reading
There’s a Honda Civic on the cover of Stephen King’s new book
We don’t know anything about horror master Stephen King’s new book, Later, except that there’s an early first-generation Honda Civic on the cover.
We can’t seem to find out if the car is even in the story, but King has a history of having more than a passing interest in cars. There’s the serial killer who used his car as a weapon in Mr. Mercedes, the 1953 Roadmaster that’s actually a trans-dimensional portal in From a Buick 8, the sentient trucks in Maximum Overdrive and, of course, the 1958 Plymouth Fury in Christine.
A summary of Later appears to draw heavily from King’s well. There’s a boy with secret supernatural powers, a dead killer, and maybe his ghost. Hopefully the Civic is part of the story and not just a random car chosen for the cover art. It will be released March 2, 2021.
Posted in Books
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VIDEO: The 1990 Isuzu Impulse deserved better
The second-generation Isuzu Impulse never got enough love. It was cheap, but not quite cheap enough. It was sporty, but not quite sporty enough, especially compared to the competition from Honda or Toyota. Isuzu was more of a truck brand than a car brand, and no one turned to them for a sports coupe. They were also under GM ownership so even the badge-engineered twin, the Geo Storm, had a bigger US presence than the Impulse. Continue reading
