Japanese Nostalgic Car

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 →

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 →

Today, Japan’s Nikkei stock index surpassed 30,000 for the first time in over three decades. The last time it was that high was August 1990, right before the bursting of the asset bubble, an event that would slowly sap the fun out of Japanese auto companies by the end of the decade. But let’s imagine for a moment that you’re back in 1990, with the economic boom seemingly unending. Money is flowing like sake at a karaoke bar, and all fiscal responsibility is cast out the window.

What would you have bought if you were rich in 1990?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What JNC would you take for a race around the world?” Continue reading →

Today, February 8, is the birthday of Jules Verne, one of the first science fiction authors, born in 1828. One of his most famous works is Around the World in Eighty Days, in which a Londoner takes a bet of £20,000 that he can circumnavigate the world in under 11 and a half weeks. Keep in mind, the book was published in 1872, so air travel was not yet possible.

So, let’s say for the purposes of this exercise, that as was the case with Phineas Fogg, air travel is also off  limits. You have to start and end with the same vehicle, and you will have to traverse every continent except Antarctica and over varied terrain. A truck with plenty of parts support in remote regions might be the obvious choice, but Fogg was quite well off. That wager would be worth $3.2 million today, so you might want to travel in luxury and stay in nice hotels, or with speed accompanied by an army of support vehicles.

What JNC would you take for a race around the world?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What should Toyota do with the Celica name?” Continue reading →