QotW: What should the Emperor of Japan have in his garage?

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Ben Hsu

Today is the day when Japan celebrates the Emperor’s birthday. Though the Japanese royals are just figureheads, they can still own pretty much any car(s) they want. The previous Emperor, Akihito, kept it 100 with a low-spec Honda Integra sedan. He stepped down last year, presumably to spend more time cruising around in his Teggy, so this is the first time the country is celebrating the birthday of the new Emperor, Naruhito. Toyota already gifted him a fleet of four Centurys, including a bespoke vert, but why should the patriarch of the Imperial Family settle for just four cars? A birthday seems like a good a time as any to request automobiles from your subjects.

What should the Emperor of Japan have in his garage?

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 Toyota Corolla story?” Continue reading →

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VIDEO: Watch the Isuzu Trooper take a slalom without rolling over

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Ben Hsu

In the 90s at the dawn of the SUV takeover, truck-based people haulers were trying to move upscale while still retaining their off-road cred. Also, Isuzu still existed as a purveyor of passenger vehicles. Their entry into the segment was the second-generation Trooper (or Bighorn, Jackaroo, Horizon, or Monterey depending on which country you lived in). Continue reading →

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Honda brings back Phoenix Yellow for limited edition Civic Type R

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Ben Hsu

We all know that the most proper color for any Type R Honda is Championship White, but Phoenix Yellow ranks as a close second. Well, Honda has just announced that it’s bringing back the color on a limited edition Civic Type R for the 2021 model year. Continue reading →

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Toyota won’t bring the GR Yaris to the US, but will deliver another hot hatch

Posted on February 19, 2020 by Ben Hsu

Toyota USA is adamant that the bonkers GR Yaris won’t be coming to the US. However, even if the car doesn’t, the WRC homologation special’s engine could, according to Toyota’s Bob Carter, executive vice president of sales, in the form of a new hot hatch. Continue reading →

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TUNE UP: A Mazda RX-7 appears in a Japanese boy band video

Posted on February 18, 2020 by Ben Hsu

Once again we remain utterly clueless about the song or the artist portrayed in the video called “44 Raiders” by the Ballistik Boyz from Exile Tribe. We can only tell you that there is a Mazda RX-7 in it, and it looks very similar to a recent Tokyo Auto Salon winner. Continue reading →

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QotW: What’s your best Toyota Corolla story?

Posted on February 17, 2020 by Ben Hsu

On this day in 1972, the Volkswagen Beetle overtook the Ford Model T as the best-selling car in the world. However, the Toyota Corolla has long since obliterated both combined, with over 44 million sold. Unless you’re living in an Amazonian tribe untouched by modernity you’ve owned, known someone who has owned, or ridden in a Corolla. And while we are eager to talk about our AE86s, TE27s, or FX-16s, some of the best tales can come from your run-of-the-mill DX sedans, Geo Prizms, or NUMMI Novas, all of which we will count for this week’s question.

What’s your best Toyota Corolla story?

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 most romantic JNC story?” Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 17 Comments

Happy Presidents’ Day from JNC

Posted on February 17, 2020 by Ben Hsu

No amount of lawmen can stop this President, a Nissan President H150, to be exact, in a clip from the crime drama The Big City, Part III. The authorities come at it hard, with countless Cedrics and even a Fairlady Z trying their best to bring it and its gang of thugs to a halt, but they are helpless to stop the steamrolling President. Continue reading →

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Toyota is already giving the A90 Supra significant updates

Posted on February 14, 2020 by Ben Hsu

Supra sales are not great. Toyota sold just 2,884 of them in 2019, fewer than the number of 86es in same year (3,398). That’s not a good sign for a halo cars like the Supra, whose sales curves usually start out strong and diminish as time goes on. With Toyota’s announcement yesterday that it would jack up the power of the six-cylinder Supra and introduce a 4-cylinder model less than a year into the launch, it seems like the company is hoping to attract more interest. Continue reading →

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Happy Valentine’s Day from JNC

Posted on February 14, 2020 by Dan Hsu

Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all. Show your loved ones some TLC today, but don’t forget your spouses!

Original Post

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The winners and runners up of the 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon

Posted on February 13, 2020 by Ben Hsu

The 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon was, like SEMA, largely a big ol’ Supra-fest. However, after the trophies were handed out there were a few highlights from the awards categories that defied convention. Like the teachers said in English class, you have to appreciate the classics. Continue reading →

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VIDEO: How Hiroshima’s unique past made Mazda what it is today

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Ben Hsu

Mazda is celebrating its centenary this year, so expect to see a lot of historical content from them this year. The latest is a video about the company’s early history and its origins in Hiroshima, an area far removed from the Tokyo-Osaka corridor that all other Japanese carmakers operate out of. As we’ve mentioned before, Mazda’s ties to this region run deep, and this video shows how the history of Hiroshima has uniquely influenced the company. Continue reading →

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Japan’s postal service celebrates 50 years of the Skyline GT-R with a commemorative stamp set

Posted on February 11, 2020 by Ben Hsu

On Monday Japan’s postal service released a set of commemorative stamps honoring the Nissan Skyline GT-R’s 50th anniversary. Technically, the 50th anniversary took place almost exactly one year ago, but better late than never, no? Of course, with this being a Japan Post commemorative set, it doesn’t end with just stamps. Continue reading →

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PIXELATED: Acura video game matches its graphics with the car’s era

Posted on February 10, 2020 by Ben Hsu

We pooh-poohed Acura’s “Beat That” ad when it came out last October. A video game based on that spot, though? Well, that’s just undeniably cool. Here’s how you can play. Continue reading →

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QotW: What’s your most romantic JNC story?

Posted on February 10, 2020 by Ben Hsu

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, and you know you have some romantic, steamy, or downright heartbreaking stories involving a JNC and a significant other. Maybe there was a date, relationship, or marriage that turned out particularly well (or ended in spectacularly bad fashion) because of your car. Now is the time to share your tales of love.

What’s your most romantic JNC story?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “How should Mazda celebrate its 100 birthday?” Continue reading →

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VIDEO: Chevy’s captive import Isuzu and Suzuki turbos were the bee’s knees

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Ben Hsu

The 1980s were heady times. Even the smallest econoboxes coming out of Japan had sport-ified versions lavished with tech and gear that would have seemed at home on much higher-priced sports cars. Plus, both Isuzu and Suzuki were still operating in the US, and bringing these tiny, turbocharged compacts to our shores. Even if they were badged as a Chevy, they still offered loads of fun and personality for a rock-bottom price of entry. Continue reading →

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Happy TE27 Day from JNC

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Dan Hsu

Metal bolt-on fender flares should be a factory thing again. Happy TE27 Day from JNC!

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MINICARS: Hot Wheels ’89 Mazda Savanna RX-7 FC3S test shot

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Ricky Silverio

A few months go we showed you an early prototype for one of the most exciting Hot Wheels releases for this year, Mazda’s second-generation turbo rotary flagship. According to our friends at Mattel, the official name will be ’89 Mazda Savanna RX-7 FC3S. Now, we have several photos of an early test shot in addition to those released on the Hot Wheels Dream Team Instagram account. Continue reading →

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Toyota brought out stock and rally Celica GT-Fours to the GR Yaris debut

Posted on February 5, 2020 by Ben Hsu

The Toyota GR Yaris seems like it will be an insanely awesome hot hatch, even if its connection to the Celica GT-Four is dubious. We said it smelled like a retcon, but we have to admit, when Toyota put all four cars on the stage at Makuhari Messe for the GR Yaris’s debut, it did look downright cool. Continue reading →

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The Toyota 86 Black Limited Concept could mark the model’s final edition

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Ben Hsu

At the Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota had a pretty killer display that included a trio of Hachiroku. The purpose of the display was to show off a new prototype version of the Toyobaru 86 called the Black Limited Concept. For those familiar with the original AE86 from which the Toyota coupe gets its namesake, that is an extremely significant name. Continue reading →

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VIDEO: Battle of the Japanese one-box vans

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Ben Hsu

The sheer variety of Japan’s one-box vans are as mind-melting as their ubiquity. There are so many trims, options, and configurations that we could launch a sister site, JNV, to cover them all. Luckily, during the brief moment that they were available in the US, English-language reviewers were able to assess the American-spec versions back to back. Continue reading →

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