QotW: What did your dad teach you about cars?

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Ben Hsu

We hope you had a good Father’s Day yesterday. The JNC family welcomed three babies over the last year or so, my son included. Personally speaking, I can’t wait until he is old enough to hang with me in the garage, and it has made me think a lot about what I will share with him when he’s ready (We don’t want to exclude anyone whose mothers were the wrenchers in the family, so feel free to respond with mom lessons too).

What did your dad teach you about cars?

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 store in a Global JNC Vault?” Continue reading →

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Happy Father’s Day from JNC

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Dan Hsu

Being a dad is a thankless but ultimately rewarding job. Now, there’s the 1980 Honda Ballade — it even rhymes with “dad”! — in 1300 and 1500 cc engine sizes. The katakana even offers a cheers “To the nicest family.” the one that you made! Happy Father’s Day from JNC!

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Happy 620 Day from JNC

Posted on June 20, 2020 by Dan Hsu

Speaking of how some owners go through incredible effort and expense and just for a small, barely noticeable change? Hayato Muramatsu did that with his 1979 Datsun 620 by shaving the bed and combining it with the cab. The resulting “ute” is simply stunning. Happy 620 Day from JNC!

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That time a Honda Prelude raced an F1 car at Suzuka Circuit

Posted on June 19, 2020 by Ben Hsu

“How would a 1990s Formula 1 car stack up against a contemporary sports coupe of the era?” is something you were surely pondering over your Corn Flakes this morning. Luckily, a pair of Hondas answered this exact question back in 1992 at Suzuka Circuit. A then-new fourth-gen Prelude, used as a pace car at the Honda-owned track, was pitted against a Tyrrell 020 powered by a RA101E Honda V10, and that was just one of the reasons it was an unfair fight. Continue reading →

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MOTORSPORT: How Ikaten bridged illegal and professional drifting, with silver cephalopods

Posted on June 18, 2020 by Ben Hsu

Drifting went pro in 2000 when the D1 Grand Prix series was founded. But long before D1GP, there was the Ikasu Hashiriya Team Tengoku (roughly translated to Ikasu Racer Team Heaven), an amateur drift series that bridged the era between completely illegal night-time touge drifting of the 1980s and the professionally sanctioned D1GP of the early 2000s.  Continue reading →

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The insane details on this Mugen CR-X Pro shows how hard-core tuners can be

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Ben Hsu

The level of detail on the best Japanese customs can be mind-blowing. Take Kenichi Iizuka’s Mugen CR-X Pro, for instance. The aero kit from the Honda specialists at Mugen is already a Bubble Era aftermarket classic, but it was much more than simple ground effects. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

DESIGN: In another dimension, the Mitsubishi 4000GT

Posted on June 16, 2020 by Ben Hsu

In our dimension, the once mighty Mitsubishi Motors has been relegated to just a few unremarkable models for penny pinchers. In an alternate dimension, a futuristic sports car, a true successor to the flagship 3000GT VR-4 of the 1990s, exists. This is one designer’s vision of what could have been. Continue reading →

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Ultra rare 1960 Prince Skyline found in Idaho scrapyard

Posted on June 16, 2020 by Ryan Senensky

A true unicorn has surfaced in a junkyard in Nampa, Idaho when a 1960 Prince Skyline found its way into the inventory at Jalopy Jungle. What’s more, it is an unobtainable left-hand-drive example of an already extremely rare specimen. While this vehicle is far from a prime example of an ALSI-1 Skyline, it is one of only a handful of export models known to exist. Continue reading →

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SHOWA SNAP: An Isuzu escapes a flood of taxis in 1966 Tokyo

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Ben Hsu

With the popularization of the motorcar by the mid 1960s, Tokyo’s pre-war narrow streets could become quite crowded. Even today, there are many side streets where no sidewalks exist and cars simply whiz by as pedestrians side-step street signs and utility poles. Here, a shopping lance is already packed with Toyota Crown taxis as a Kokusai Kogyo bus enters the scene. “Sweet freedom!” the people in the Isuzu Bellett must be thinking as they escape the chaos.

Images: 2ch

Posted in Showa Snap | 1 Comment

QotW: What would you store in a Global JNC Vault?

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Ben Hsu

On this day in 2006, construction began on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, an international bank that stores the building blocks of important plants in case of a global catastrophe. The seeds tell the story of Earth’s flora, and is intended to last 1,000 years. What if there was a similar vault for JNCs? A place to store important items, information, and actual cars that future generations will be able to admire, learn from, and maybe even replicate so they can comprehend this one shining moment in automotive and industrial history.

What would you store in a Global JNC Vault?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What JNC from 1984 would you buy new today?” Continue reading →

Posted in Question of the Week | Tagged | 14 Comments

The history of Toyota’s insane dealer networks, explained

Posted on June 12, 2020 by Ben Hsu

“Why does Toyota have so many dealership chains in Japan?” you may have asked yourself at some point, “And why do certain dealers sell only certain models?” It’s all very confusing. Well, as of last month, if you’re buying a Toyota in Japan, you will no longer have to go through its byzantine network of showrooms to figure out who sells what. Say goodbye to the various Netz, Toyopet, Corolla, and Toyota Store chains. At last, everything is being unified under the Toyota brand, as the last vestiges of Japan’s Bubble Era auto sales traditions dies for good. Continue reading →

Posted in Nihon Life | Tagged | 34 Comments

MOTORSPORT: Touring car classes mix it up at the 1973 Japan Grand Prix

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Ben Hsu

While open-wheeled cars were the main event at the 1973 Japan Grand Prix, the supporting Touring Car races were where the action was. Take the TS-a class, for example. Here were racers based on cars that anyone could afford. Nissan Cherrys and Sunnys, Toyota Celicas, Corollas, and Publica Starlets. Continue reading →

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MINICARS: Peep this incredible 1:64 scale Japanese parking garage

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Ben Hsu

We’ve mentioned before that the Chinese website AliExpress is great for finding weird gems of miniature car greatness. Take this Japanese-style parking garage for 1:64-scale diecast cars, for example. The two-story playset looks like the type of scene where street racers would gather at night before a blast on the Wangan or Shuto. Continue reading →

Posted in minicars | Tagged | 10 Comments

Happy 610 Day from JNC

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Dan Hsu

You have a Bluebird Wagon. You have a set of Enkei Bajas, turbine-looking wheels with Datsun fitment. Might as well lift the rear end up in the air to get that 70s funny car look! Happy 610 Day from JNC!

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SHOWA SNAP: Everyone come see the brand new 1966 Toyota Corolla

Posted on June 9, 2020 by Ben Hsu

The debut of the Toyota Corolla was a big deal in 1966. Though, it’s quite likely that even Toyota didn’t know how big of a deal the new model would be. The idea was a small but sporty compact that would slot between the Publica and Corona, but no one could have predicted that it would by 1974 become the world’s best selling car model and by 1997 break the Guinness world record for sales, outselling the VW Beetle. Did any of the salarymen passing this new Corolla display know the success they were gazing upon? Would they, as old men seeing “Corolla” become a household word around the globe recall, “I saw the first one on the way to work in 1968.”? Continue reading →

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Mississippi man saves total stranger’s Mazda RX-7 from flooding

Posted on June 9, 2020 by Ben Hsu

Here’s an uplifting story, centered around something we can all agree on: love for the FD3S Mazda RX-7. Mississippi has been hit hard by Tropical Storm Cristobal. During the storm, someone posted on Facebook photos of an orange FD parked on the bottom floor of a flooded parking garage, already up to its rocker panels in water. That’s when Gulfport resident and Japanese car fan Austin Owens leapt into action, even though he had no idea who the owner was. Continue reading →

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VIDEO: This is why there’s a drift tax

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Ryan Senensky

RIP to the fallen.

If the video doesn’t work, click here.

Posted in motorsports | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

QotW: What JNC from 1984 would you buy new today?

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Ben Hsu

On June 8, 1949 George Orwell published his seminal dystopian work 1984. It’s an excellent book everyone should read, even though I don’t recall any cars being in it. Luckily, the real 1984 had quite a few cars, especially a rich selection from Japan in the midst of the Bubble Economy. Let’s say you have a flatbed-sized time machine that can carry one car back to the present.

What JNC from 1984 would you buy new today?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What are your thoughts, hopes, and fears for the new Z?” Continue reading →

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? A Honda Civic Si has sold for $50,000

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Ben Hsu

It was just a few short years ago that two low-mileage EM1 Honda Civic Si coupes sold for a just under $25,000. Turns out, that was an excellent investment because their values have just jumped up quite a bit. Today, another one sold for $50,000, and in fact, when you add on the auction fees, it actually adds up to $52,500. Continue reading →

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A Honda-themed race track built entirely out of Legos

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Dan Hsu

Honda Australia has created, out of Legos, an entire racetrack populated with Hondas old and new. Called “Mount Hondarama,” it’s a replica of Mount Panorama, also known as Bathurst. While Lego Civic Type Rs race around by radio control, other Hondas dot the landscape, including everything from a Honda lawn mower to a first-gen Civic to the HondaJet. Continue reading →

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