Tetsuya Watari, one of Japan’s most famous crime drama stars, died from pneumonia on August 10. His death was announced on Friday after a private funeral with family members. Watari played the leading man in several movies and television programs cherished by car enthusiasts, and was best known among that cadre for his role as Sgt Keisuke Daimon in the long-running Seibu Keisatsu TV series. Continue reading
RIP Tetsuya Watari, 1941 — 2020
Posted in Legends
Tagged c210, datsun, fairlady z, nissan, r30, s130, seibu keisatsu, skyline, tetsuya watari, the big city
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50 YEAR CLUB: Tomica
Fifty years ago today, car culture in Japan was forever changed with the introduction of Tomica, the country’s first authentic diecast miniature cars in the 3-inch range. Launched on August 18, 1970, they quickly became the most popular diecast toys in Japan, inspiring generations of car enthusiasts. As of January 2020, 670 million have been sold, or one every two seconds. In the half-century since the launch, there have been over 1,050 Tomica models produced, and the basic Tomica car still comes in the same-sized 78mm cardboard box that the originals did. Continue reading
NEWS: Japan’s government tried to merge Nissan and Honda
It’s no secret Nissan is not doing well, hit with already flagging sales before its CEO was arrested in a high-profile case of corporate scandal before COVID-19 crisis even entered the picture. In an effort to rescue it, Japanese officials reportedly floated a plan to merge Nissan with Honda, which would have combined Japan’s second- and third-largest carmakers. The proposal was promptly rejected by both companies. Continue reading
QotW: What will your favorite cars be like when they become robots?
In the 22nd century rotary-powered Mazdas will have taken the form of mobile suits of armor, and these RX-78s will agile and intuitive to operate, not unlike Mazda cars of today. We could also see an Infiniti G3000 covered in tasteless mods, or Toyota just cold giving up on building the A190 Supra and letting aliens build it instead. The possibilities are endless.
What will your favorite cars be like when they become robots?
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 best story involving a small car?” Continue reading
Next-gen Subaru BRZ seen testing with Mustang Turbo
A camouflaged version of the next-generation Subaru BRZ has been seen undergoing testing with a Mustang Ecoboost. It’s common practice for automakers to benchmark their cars against competitors’ offerings, and although we don’t know any stats on the BRZ yet, the fact that they’re putting the it up against the 310-horsepower turbo-four Mustang offers a clue to where Subaru plans to position it in the marketplace. Continue reading
That new life-size Gundam robot in Japan is basically a Mazda RX-7 from the 22nd century
Giant robots are serious business in Japan. Construction has just finished on a 59-foot Gundam robot in Yokohama, and it’s not even the first. If you’ve been to Odaiba, Tokyo where Toyota’s MegaWeb showroom is located, you have probably seen the life-sized Gundam robot standing in the front plaza of a nearby shopping mall. The original one, erected in 2009, was called the RX-78, and if you think that name sounds suspiciously similar to the name of a certain Mazda sports car, you’d be onto something! Continue reading
Posted in Nihon Life
Tagged gt-r, Gundam, mazda, nissan, r35, rx-7, sa22c, Shiro Nakamura
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Why Toyota’s Heritage Parts Program for the 2000GT was so challenging
Toyota announced in 2019 that it would reissue parts for the A70 and A80 Supra. Last month, they added the 2000GT to the GR Heritage Parts Program. The initial list for each model is pretty short, to be honest, and a recent interview with Toyota employees working on the program reveals why. Continue reading
JCCS to go virtual and worldwide for 2020
Of all the events on the auto show calendar, the Japanese Classic Car Show ranks as one of our favorites. Unfortunately, it cannot be held this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the organizers have something special planned that will let us to continue celebrating classic Japanese cars without having 10,000 people congregating in one place. Continue reading
Here’s what modern cars would look like with their predecessors’ wheels
There’s a new Facebook page that seems to have nothing but photochops of new cars with old wheels. Specifically, the images on the aptly named Unnecessary Wheel Swaps are of modern vehicles wearing the wheels of their predecessors. The ND Mazda Miata, for example, looks a bit friendlier with the 7-spoke rims of the NA. It works surprisingly well, even though these wheels would have to be enlarged to 16 inchers at least. Here are some others. Continue reading
VIDEO: The Honda Collection Hall’s S800 and NSX in action
Honda periodically posts videos of cars from their museum at Twin Ring Motegi going out for a spin. All the cars at the museum are kept in running condition, as these videos demonstrate, and as it happens the most recent cars the Honda Collection Hall are also some of Gordon Murray’s favorites — the S800, whose transmission inspired the H-pattern manual of the new GMA T.50, and the NSX, whose driving feel and suspension inspired that of the McLaren F1. Continue reading
Posted in Video
Tagged acura, Benly C90, honda, honda collection hall, motorcycles, nsx, S500/S600/S800
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QotW: What’s your best story involving a small car?
Small cars are going the way of the dodo. Toyota has killed the Yaris, Honda has killed the Fit, and Mazda has killed the 2. Only in the US market, of course; all those cars are alive and well in other markets. Still, it’s sad that its getting increasingly harder for those who want (or need) affordable, reliable transportation to get it. Cramming all your friends or worldly possessions into a cheap, tiny car is practically a rite of passage. As is squeezing herculean feats out of a car that just shouldn’t be able to do that, or getting butterflies in your gut when you introduce a date to your econobox for the first time. These are things RAV4 drivers with power everything will never know the joys of.
What’s your best story involving a small car?
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 fondest Pajero/Montero memory?” Continue reading
How Hondas from the S800 to the NSX have inspired our greatest living supercar builder
Gordon Murray, perhaps the world’s greatest living supercar builder, came out with a new car this week, the GMA T.50. This isn’t typical JNC fare, but we are very much admirers of Murray’s car-building philosophy. Murray’s notions of ideal car design aligns very closely with what we love about some of the greatest classic Japanese sports cars, and in turn Murray is a great admirer of Honda’s. So, it’s worth taking the opportunity of the game-changing T.50 to look at what makes a car great in this day and age. Continue reading
Posted in Legends
Tagged acura, Formula One, Gordon Murray, honda, McLaren Honda MP4, nsx, s800
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VIDEO: Can you identify 100 years’ worth of Mazda interiors?
Mazda has released a video called “The Evolution of Mazda Interiors” as the latest installment of their 100th anniversary celebrations. As you might expect, it’s a series of driver’s-view shots from Mazda cars over the decades. While I can do a pretty good job usually of identifying cars by their exteriors, I’m terrible at identifying them from their interiors. Can anyone name them all? Continue reading
Happy 86 Day from JNC
Since the announcement of the Toyota 86’s production end will likely come any day now, let’s celebrate this year’s 86 Day with a flashback to 2010. Remember those heady days, when Toyota showed off the FT-86 Concept along with an original AE86? JNCers were positively stoked — stoked — that a giant, future-obsessed company like Toyota was planning a lightweight, RWD, compact sports coupe referencing the original Hachiroku. And, of course, it was always good to see another well-preserved AE86 Coupe, even if it was on the other sie of the pond.
Everyone was saying sports cars were dead, but it kept affordable, fun, driving around for a decade longer than it probably should have (and even longer in the used car market). And now we’re actually getting a successor, despite the fact that total 86 sales are rounding error in RAV4 sales numbers. And that is a cause, even in a horrible year so far, for celebration. Happy 86 Day from JNC!
Posted in Holidays
Tagged ae86, corolla, corolla levin, sprinter trueno, Subaru BRZ, toyota, toyota 86
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BIKES: Honda patent for electric Super Cub discovered
A patent for an electric Super Cub at the US Patent and Trademark Office has been unearthed. The patent looks like it was filed back in 2016, but was discovered by Autoblog this week. It contains an swapable battery pack where the gasoline engine would normally be. With news of an electric Motocompo in the air, perhaps Honda is considering a push into electric bikes based on two of their most iconic two-wheelers. Continue reading
NEWS: Subaru has stopped production of the BRZ
After eight years shining a bright ray of sports coupe hope into the a bleak crossover world, the Subaru BRZ has ceased production. The lines at its Ota, Gunma Prefecture plant have churned out their last BRZs as they prepare to manufacture the next generation. Toyota is expected to make a similar announcement regarding the 86 twin soon. Continue reading
BIKES: Honda trademark filing could mean a new Motocompo
Honda has submitted a trademark application for the name “Motocompacto” with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The name immediately conjures visions of the 1981-85 Honda Motocompo, a folding scooter designed to fit in the cargo area of the Honda City hatchback. Could this mean a new trunk-mounted suitcase bike for a modern Honda car? Continue reading
NEWS: 2021 Mazda 3 Turbo will destroy all comers with a $29,900 base price
There are few new cars more hotly anticipated around the JNC offices than the Mazda 3 Turbo. The non-turbo is already an absolute hoot, and on paper the forced-induction version looked to be even better, with 250-horses, 320 lb-ft (on 93 octane fuel, 227 horsepower, 310 lb-ft on regular), but we feared that the boosted 2.5 SkyActiv-G would bump the price too high. Well, now Mazda has announced that it will start at an extremely reasonable $29,900. Continue reading
Toyota is building a Motorsports Village at Fuji Speedway
Toyota, which owns Fuji Speedway, is planning to turn the facility into a world-class motorsports destination. It has announced plans to a motorsports village that will include a luxury hotel, museum, and facilities for both racing teams and privateers to wrench on and develop their cars. Continue reading
QotW: What’s your fondest Pajero/Montero memory?
The death of the Mitsubishi Pajero has hit us pretty hard here here at JNC. So, we’ve been watching old Dakar videos and trying to remember the fond times we had with Pajeros. For me, it was the time a friend’s parents lent us a brown LWB first-gen to move. It was slow but it swallowed an entire apartment’s worth of stuff with room to spare. I recall us chuckling like idiots every time the tall body leaned into a corner at what seemed like a 45 degree angle. For other JNC staffers, it was a layover at the Dakar airport (voted the world’s worst), spotting a Pajero in Operation Condor, or the time when someone in San Gabriel opened a JAOS store and did up a Montero to the nines with what must have been 1,000 pounds worth of JDM off-road gear.
What’s your fondest Pajero/Montero memory?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “At what point do you fly instead of drive?” Continue reading
