The Hot Wheels Honda hits just keep on coming. The latest diecast incarnation of a quintessential 90s Honda is the EG Civic hatch, a tuner favorite and yet another Japanese icon that was incredibly difficult to come by in miniature form. Continue reading
2019 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 04 — For Nissan, it’s the fans that make the marque
For Nissan, it was supposed to be a huge year. 2019 marked the 50th birthday of not only two nameplates iconic for Nissan, but for the automotive kingdom as a whole, the GT-R and the Z. However, Nissan is also having a terrible year, with two presidents ousted on financial impropriety, and plunging sales. What should have been a glorious, golden anniversary celebration was just alright. Thank goodness for the fans. Continue reading
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MINICARS: At long last, a fifth-gen Honda Prelude is coming to Hot Wheels
The fifth-generation Honda Prelude was a phenomenal car, but until now it was nearly impossible to find one in diecast form. It wasn’t a popular car in Japan and thus doesn’t really exist in diecast form there, and when it was the new new the mainstream American-based diecast companies weren’t terribly interested in Japanese castings. Now, at long last, there is one coming to Hot Wheels. Continue reading
2019 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 03 — Zoom Zoom
The Mazda booth is always a classy affair at JCCS, and this year they brought a who’s who of classics and late model cars from their North American collection. Right off the bat was one of the first Mazda RX-7s ever built — a replica of the Yoshimi Katayama, Yojiro Terada, and Takashi Yorino-driven GTU class-winning Mazda RX-7 from the 1979 24 Hours of Daytona — and a the only LHD FD3S Spirit R in existence. Continue reading
MINICARS: Get humming with NISMO-tune Hot Wheels R33, R34 Skyline GT-Rs
Those of you who stopped by our booth at the 2019 JCCS may have caught a glimpse of some upcoming Hot Wheels. Here’s the deets on two of the most eye-catching models, an R33 and R34 Skyline GT-Rs in NISMO livery. Continue reading
QotW: What’s your best advice for a JNC road trip?
Driving an old car for any distance can be a challenge. It’s not like hopping into a late model Camry with a cup of coffee and a bag of beef jerky and pointing that Toyota logo where you want to go. There’s aging parts, elevation changes, and comfort to consider.
What’s your best advice for a JNC road trip?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “How should Japanese carmakers honor their history?” Continue reading
Toyota has sold its 10 millionth Land Cruiser, celebrates in Japan and Europe but not US
Toyota is celebrating the sale of its 10 millionth worldwide sale of the venerable Land Cruiser. The longest serving nameplate not only in the Toyota lineup, but among all Japanese marques, it has taken 68 years for the go-anywhere truck to reach this notable milestone. Perhaps ominously, both Toyota Japan and Toyota Europe have launched campaigns to celebrate the accomplishment, but Toyota USA has so far remained quiet. Continue reading
2019 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 02 — JDM, yo
This year marked the 15th anniversary for America’s premier gathering of Nihon steel. To put that in perspective, at the first JCCS in 2005, the newest Japanese cars allowed for import under America’s 25-year import ban were built in 1980. The original Mazda RX-7, Toyota Celica XX (Supra), and S130 Nissan Fairlady Z (280ZX) were barely eligible. Now, the cutoff is 1994, and the spectrum of what’s allowable into the States is staggering. In our previous installment, we saw the rare USDM cars that JCCS had to offer. Here are some JDM ones. Continue reading
MOTORSPORT: A new historic racing group for Datsun 510s and other compact sedans of the 60s and 70s to race this Saturday
This weekend, October 4-6 2019, Classic Sport Racing Group (CSRG)’s Charity Challenge will feature an exhibition of historic sedan racing through its John Morton Cup Series, named after Datsun racing legend John Morton himself. Joining the cars of the John Morton Cup will be the Historic B&C Sedan class, under which the Datsun 510, Alfa Romeo GTV, BMW 2002 and others raced some 40 to 50 years ago. With a grid of about forty cars, paired with the truly legendary Sonoma Raceway (formerly Sears Point), fans are guaranteed a memorable flashback to the days of wheel-to-wheel small bore sedan racing. Continue reading
Watch some classic Acura sports cars get abused for a mediocre ad
For its last several generation cycles, Acura has been trying to find a brand identity. The cancellation of the Integra/RSX, the long hiatus of the NSX, and the adoption of various corporate grilles haven’t done it any favors. More recently, though, Acura’s been trying to integrate (ha!) some classic sports cars into its advertising in the hopes of rekindling that enthusiast flame. Continue reading
Suzuki’s retro concept revives the dream of the Pulsar EXA
Suzuki has released images of its upcoming concepts for the Tokyo Motor Show, and they are pretty much bonkers. The most interesting one to JNCers will no doubt be the WakuSpo Concept, a small retro car that picks up where the Nissan Pulsar EXA left off. It’s a call-back to Japan’s whimsical Bubble Era aspirations, and Suzuki should build this car immediately. Continue reading
2019 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 01 — USDM Rare
Even in the 15th year of the wonderful and ever-growing Japanese Classic Car Show in Long Beach, California, after so many iterations, there are still new things for the casual Japanese car enthusiast to discover. The phyla of Japanese cars is nothing if not vast, and we’re not talking rare, never-sold-here slabs of Nihon steel (though there is plenty of that too). There are plenty of delightful specimens to be found simply among old, US-spec machines lost to history and memory. Continue reading
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Tagged 626, brat, charade, daihatsu, datsun 710, Dodge Challenger, dodge colt, galant, Galant Lambda, Galant VR-4, impulse, isuzu, jccs, kei, lancer celeste, luce, mazda, mitsubishi, n10, nissan, p30, publica, pulsar, sambar, starlet, subaru, subaru 360, svx, toyota
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QotW: How should Japanese carmakers honor their history?
Last week, Nissan opened a long-overdue permanent heritage gallery at the heart of their Yokohama headquarters building, allowing millions of casual visitors to experience the company’s history. Some carmakers have museums, some have hidden collections, some have heritage parts programs. In general, though, the European brands and select American models enjoy much stronger factory support than the Japanese marques. Take the Guggenheim-like Porsche museum in Stuttgart, or the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center’s restorations, or even Jaguar’s future-proofing of its own vintage icons.
When we’ve talked to representatives of Japanese manufacturers regarding why they don’t have more programs like that, the typical reasons given have related to lack of funds and the pressure to succeed in new car sales (and the fact that heritage programs would sap resources from that goal). These are valid concerns for any business, but perhaps there’s room for both.
How should Japanese carmakers honor their history?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which influential person in the JNC world, living or dead, would you like to meet?” Continue reading
Nissan opens permanent heritage gallery at Yokohama headquarters
Those who have been to Nissan’s headquarters building in Yokohama have no doubt experienced the gleaming showroom on the ground floor. The area displayed new, classic, and race cars, but whether visitors were welcomed by a fleet of vintage Skylines or a late-model Leafs depended on a constantly changing schedule. On September 26, Nissan has opened the doors to a new section dedicated to cars from its rich 86-year history and, most importantly, it’s permanent. Continue reading
Posted in Galleries
Tagged csp311, datsun, Datsun Type 14, masahiro hasemi, nissan, nissan gallery yokohama, prince, silvia, skyline sport
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How to eat a GT-R for lunch: The R32 sandwich grill
Even if you absolutely love Nissan Skyline GT-Rs, and I think most of us do, it can still be difficult to incorporate them into every single aspect of your life. For example, it’s not really possible to enjoy GT-R life and toast bread at the same time. Or is it? A company in Japan has just released a GT-R sandwich grill. Continue reading
NEWS: Mazda teases rotary engine announcement
It seems that Mazda is about to reveal some news about the rotary engine. The company published the above graphic of a 1967 Cosmo Sport, Mazda’s first rotary-powered car, along with a countdown indicating that there was some rotary goodness coming our way. There’s only one catch — all the information was in Chinese. Continue reading
BIKES: Honda is selling a retro CB1100 RS cafe racer
To mark the 50th anniversary of the game-changing CB750, also known as the world’s first superbike, Honda UK is selling a limited run of retro motorcycles based off the CB750’s successor, the CB1100 RS. Only 54 of the cafe racer-inspired bikes will be made, and they include some very cool custom touches. Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? Almost brand new “New Silvia”
The S10 Nissan Silvia is an already rare car. Sold in the US as the Datsun 200SX, American-spec safety bumpers marred its clean lines, giving it an undeserved reputation as one of the ugliest cars Nissan ever made. Few in the US thought it worthy of preservation. This one currently for sale in Japan might be the cleanest, most original example left on planet Earth. Continue reading
QotW: Which influential person in the JNC world, living or dead, would you like to meet?
History is full of influential men and women whose training, decisions, and determination conceived of and built the things we love today. Engineers, designers, CEOs, race car drivers, tuners, and so on. If someone had a magic machine through which we could talk to these figures, living or dead, with no language barrier, who would you like to meet? I would love to be able to chat with Ichiro Suzuki, the father of the JZA80 Supra and Lexus LS, to ask what it was like to be entrusted with building not just a car, but a brand, that would challenge the world’s best (and also, you know, what he’d think of the new Supra).
Which influential person in the JNC world would you like to meet?
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 ultimate JCCS build?” Continue reading
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JCCS Preview: Come check out some new 2020 Hot Wheels at the JNC booth tomorrow, and maybe win a Super Treasure Hunt R32 Skyline GT-R
Our friends at Hot Wheels have some amazing Japanese cars in the works, and they will be giving a sneak peek at our booth at JCCS tomorrow, September 21. There will be some never-before seen Japanese castings, as well as some new recolors of existing castings, about a dozen cars in all: Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, and more! Also, we will be posting on our Instagram page tomorrow morning on how you can win one of the 2020 Super Treasure Hunt Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R models at our booth, so be sure to follow us. See you in Long Beach!
