The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy is perhaps the world’s most famous motorcycle race. Honda won its first constructors’ championship there in 1959, thanks to their RC141 and RC142 race bikes. It’s been 60 years since, and today the marque with the most victories at the TT — 183 in all — has been Honda. Continue reading
QotW: What should we do with the Subaru X-100
Recently, we wrote about the Subaru X-100 concept currently in the care of the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. Subaru has decided to loan Fuji Heavy Industries’ record-setting 100 mpg experimental car for a whopping five years. The museum director would like to display it at concours events. As the guy who keeps the cars running at the museum, I can tell you we’re planning on going through the car mechanically so that it’s safe to drive in a closed setting — at least by the standards of experimental three-wheeled cars, a genre in which we have more than our fair share of experience. Personally, I would like to do something with the X-100 and another of our Tremulis-designed cars, the 1967 Gyro-X.
What should we do with the Subaru X-100?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Has anyone tried to buy your JNC?” Continue reading
The real reason why Toyota didn’t build its own Supra from the ground up
The fifth-gen Supra is an incredibly capable sports car, but it isn’t a full-on Toyota. The previous-generation A80 was a legend in its own time. The instant it left the market, demands for its return were universal among enthusiasts. When their prayers were answered, no one could have been prepared for what, to the Toyota faithful, seemed like the ultimate betrayal — a flagship built almost entirely by another automaker. Why would Toyota, perhaps the world’s most successful automaker, do such a thing? We spoke to the Supra’s Chief Engineer Tetsuya Tada to find out. Continue reading
SHOWA SNAP: Ginza, Tokyo, 1971
The clock tower of the Wako department store has seen countless cars pass beneath its face. Standing over one of the busiest intersections of Tokyo, the 4-chome crossing in Ginza, since 1932, it even predates times when cars were common in Japan. In 1971, these cars included plenty of Toyota Crown taxis, a Honda N360, and a then-new Nissan Bluebird 510. At the end of the corner from where this photo was taken stands the Nissan Crossing showroom, a landmark since 1963. For many, Ginza is a must-visit area thanks to its plentiful retails stores. Just know that it’s also an excellent place to car watch while the rest of your traveling companions shop.
Image: tansaisuketti
Happy S30 Day from JNC
2019 is a very special year for the Nissan Fairlady Z. The iconic sports car turns 50 this year, a huge milestone for the iconic sports car that changed the very notion of what a sports car could be. Along the way, it also changed the idea of what a Nissan — or a Japanese car in general — could be. We may like other marques and other cars, but none of us would be here if it weren’t for the S30. Happy S30 Day from JNC!
The 2020 Supra raises the question, what is a car?
There probably hasn’t been a single car in Japanese automotive history more controversial than the fifth-generation Toyota Supra. What had come before had been so good, so genre-breaking, that it put Toyota in a difficult, maybe impossible spot. Like Game of Thrones‘ final season, it was always going to be a tough act to follow, and with a long hiatus building expectations to fever pitch, the result was probably destined to disappoint in some way. Is the Supra a good car, though? How you look at it probably depends a lot on what a car means to you. Continue reading
NEWS: Acura might bring back the Legend
A beloved Acura nameplate might be making a comeback. Honda has filed a trademark application for the word “Legend” in the category of vehicles with the Europe’s intellectual property office. The speculation, of course, is that it would be applied to an upcoming flagship sedan, possibly one that would replace the current RLX or come in even higher on the ladder. Continue reading
MINICARS: Hot Wheels celebrates Nissan’s 50th anniversary of Z and GT-R
Hot Wheels is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Z and GT-R nameplates this year. There’s an entire Nissan-only series in the main line, a first for a Japanese marque. On the official Hot Wheels YouTube channel, each series gets its own stop-motion video for kids, and the Nissan one was just released, titled “Nissan Horsepower Legends.” Continue reading
Posted in minicars
Tagged 300zx, fairlady z, hot wheels, nissan, r32, r33, r34, s30 z, skyline, z32
6 Comments
QotW: Has anyone tried to buy your JNC?
My AE86 sits across the ocean from me, tucked under a cover on the side of my folk’s house. From time to time, they tell me they’ve turned away wishful buyers, and it’s understandable. A few times the rejected try again after a few months, likely spotting the rust on the calipers grow. One gentleman comes by every month with new pitches, new ways to “help take the vehicle off their hands.” I admire his perseverance, but that car will be with me to the end. Who’s tried to buy your JNC? I mean really buy it. Any interesting stories, newfound friendships? Especially with prices climbing, surely this kind of thing is becoming more common.
Has anyone tried to buy your JNC?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “How would you spend $1 million on your JNCs?” Continue reading
MINICARS: Hot Wheels is making an EG Honda Civic
In what is certain to be one of the most earth-shattering bits of diecast news this year, Hot Wheels has revealed that it will be making an EG Honda Civic. Hondas have been the logical go-to for attainable classics as of late, and there has been a strong resurgence in its popularity. We’ve been very pleased with the presence of the EF Civic in the lineup since 2014, but while it was popular in its day, the in terms of tuner culture the EG was ground zero. Continue reading
JNC THEATER: Sarah Connor saves the day with an 80-Series Land Cruiser in the new Terminator: Dark Fate trailer
If you’re going to spend your life fighting unstoppable robots from a post-apocalyptic hellscape, there’s probably no better vehicle to drive than a Toyota Land Cruiser. It’s tough as nails, can go anywhere and, most importantly, is dead reliable. There’s nothing worse than suffering some terrible electrical malady as you’re trying to escape a mindless killing machine. And of all the Land Cruisers, the 80-Series might just be the ideal generation. Continue reading
JNC THEATER: Hot Version is coming to Amazon Prime with English subtitles, floodly!
Hot Version, the Best Motoring spinoff about Japan’s top tuner cars, is headed to Amazon Prime with English subtitles. They might not be good subtitles per se, if the promo video in which they promise “Episodes will be added floodly on Amazon Prime” is any indication, but we could all use a few new words in our vocabularies. Continue reading
CONCEPTS: The Subaru X-100 was designed to cross the US on a single tank of fuel
One of the big leaps to JNC popularity worldwide came as a result of the 1973 oil embargo. The crisis inspired designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs to think of ways to push the automobile’s fuel efficiency limits. One such person was no less than Alex Tremulis, designer of the Tucker 48, the Gyro-X, and bits and pieces of the Subaru BRAT. With the embargo, the time seemed right for Tremulis to execute an idea he’d long wanted to try: An extremely aerodynamic three-wheeled car. His dream, as he put it, was “eliminating the sadistic torture of innocent air.” With this idea in mind, he approached Subaru of America at their Technical Center in Garden Grove, California. Continue reading
NEWS: Toyota will produce parts for the A70, A80 Supra again
There’s some great news coming down the pike for Toyotaku. Toyota will soon make parts again for the A70 and A80 Supra. The news was revealed by none other than Shigeki Tomoyama, head of Gazoo Racing and A80 owner, at the Japanese launch of the new Supra on May 17. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged a70, A80, A90, GR Heritage Parts Project, Shigeki Tomoyama, supra, toyota
32 Comments
Happy 521 Day from JNC
The Datsun 520 and 521 were the first real compact pickups to make it big for Nissan, and their endless charm is still readily apparent today. In age where pickups are mostly gigantic and laden with the bells and whistles of the priciest luxury cars, the no-nonsense functionality of these honest little workhorses is quite refreshing. Happy 521 Day from JNC!
NEWS: It’s the end of the road for Mitsubishi Owners’ Day
For all the hardship Mitsubishi Motors has been going through, it was the only Japanese carmaker to officially welcome its owners and fans to its US headquarters for a big car show and party every year. Sadly, after 15 years, Mitsubishi Owners’ Day is no more. Mitsubishi has announced via a press release that the event has been canceled for 2019, and its is future uncertain. Continue reading
QotW: How would you spend $1 million on your JNCs?
It seems strange that someone would mark May 20 as National Be a Millionaire Day because, frankly, every day would seem like a holiday with that much money. Still, we can dream about how we would spend that kind of cash on our four-wheeled hobby. For the purposes of this exercise, your $1 million not only has to pay for your cars, but all the parts, shipping, and storage space they would need. Would you import a boatload of JDM gems? Build a giant barn? Buy every single diecast car ever made?
How would you spend $1 million on your JNCs?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Do you prefer a certain size of JNC?” Continue reading
SHOWA SNAP: Amago Bridge, Iwaki Prefecture, 1977
For our first Showa Snap of the Reiwa Era, let’s go back to Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture in August of 1977. The Amago bridge traces its origins back to the times of the samurai. It was part of the Hama Road, which was designated part of Japan’s National Route 6 during the Meiji Era, and until 1951 was still made out of wood. It rebuilt in concrete to accommodate increasing automobile traffic of the times. Initially two lanes, by 1970 it was seeing 30,000 cars per day so the city widened it to four lanes in 1972. Continue reading
Posted in Showa Snap
Tagged 610, 710, b110, bluebird, c10, c110, c30, cedric, cedric 230, cedric 330, corolla, crown, datsun, e20, fairlady z, Hakosuka, isuzu, isuzu 117, kei, kenmeri, kujira, laurel, Minica Skipper, mitsubishi, nissan, s30 z, s60, Skylines, sunny, toyota, violet
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VIDEO: Don’t underestimate the 1986 Mitsubishi Galant
The 1986 Mitsubishi Galant occupied a strange space in the 1980s Japanese sedan segment. It was only offered with a four-cylinder, so it would have made sense to cross-shop it with an Accord or Camry. But, it was catapulted it into heights shared with cars like the Cressida or Maxima thanks to an insane slew of high-tech options that are only becoming commonplace on cars today. Continue reading
NEWS: Arkansas changes historic plate cutoff from 25 to 45 years
We at JNC have always had a rolling 25 year cutoff for what is considered a classic. That’s because 25 years is when the US allows cars to be imported, and when most states allow for historic registration plates. Sadly, that is no longer the case for Arkansas, as the state has passed a new law that moves the cutoff for historic registration from 25 to 45 years. That means the state no longer considers any car made after 1973 to be a classic. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
14 Comments
