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 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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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!
One of the best selling items in the JNC Shop has been the Z Generations shirt, depicting all six iterations of the venerable Z chassis. However, this year marks the 50th anniversary for this game-changing car, and we wanted to honor it in a special way. We’ve changed it up a little, and will be using a reflective gold leaf instead of the regular white ink. We’ve also created a special sleeve logo inspired by the advertising of the original Fairlady Z. And due to strong demand, we are offering women’s sizes as well. As usual we will offer the shirts at the JNC booth at JCCS first, then put the rest for sale in the JNC Shop if there are any left. See you on Saturday in Long Beach!
The 30-year Heisei Era came to an end and the Reiwa Era began with the official transition of royal rule on May 1 of this year. However, the new emperor’s actual coronation ceremony, which expects foreign dignitaries and envoys from 190 countries, doesn’t take place until October 22. On September 19, photos were released of the car that the royal family will be taking to the succession ceremony — a convertible Toyota Century. Continue reading
Nate Wade Subaru of Salt Lake City, Utah is the oldest Subaru dealer in the United States. It just celebrated its 50th anniversary, and recently had the honor of selling Subaru’s 10 millionth car in the US. That car was a 2019 Impreza, but also joining in the festivities was a little Subaru 360, the company’s first and only model offered when it opened its doors in 1968. Continue reading
With Tokyo Tower looming in the background, the streets in front of the Imperial Palace were absolutely teeming in 1967. Four lanes of traffic in each direction couldn’t keep the stream of Crowns, Cedrics, Glorias, Bluebirds, Publicas, and Minicas flowing. For the sporting driver, there’s even a Sora Blue Fairlady Roadster in the bottom right. This postcard from the era showed just how quickly Japan was motorizing in the Golden 60s.
Image: eBay
The 15th annual sapanese Classic Car Show is this Saturday, September 21. For many, it has been the one place in America where you can see the vast range of Japanese cars all in one spot. There is always something new to see, and where many people debut long-awaited projects that have never been seen. Whether is the most carefully preserved Mazda RX-4 wagon, a 100-point restoration Subaru 360, a bosozoku Toyota Mark II imported directly from Fukuoka, or a classic Datsun skin with the running gear of a 600-horsepower Nissan powertrain, there is something for everyone. But if you had an unlimited budget:
What’s your ultimate JCCS build?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What kind of JNC stuff can you find for a baby?” Continue reading
