It’s almost Thanksgiving (here in America, at least), a time when we reflect on the things we’re grateful for in life. In an automotive landscape that can often look bleak, what are some of the silver linings and rays of light that make you glad to be a car enthusiast or owner? Or maybe your perspective is that everything is already awesome. We’d like to hear about that as well! Let’s share some high notes to make this odd community of petrolheads feel some warm fuzzies.
What automotive things are you thankful for this year?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your favorite feat of civil engineering?“.
When you stop and think about all the wondrous things humans have built, it simultaneously makes you feel helplessly small as an individual, but grand and accomplished as a member of the species. It’s amazing just how many people take poblano‘s pick of the US Interstate system for granted. The highways let you go thousands of miles without interruption across the entire country! Others called out specific sections of road in the US, like ra21benj‘s choice of the Eastern span of San Francisco Bay Bridge, or Taylor C.‘s nomination of PCH and Bixby Bridge or I-70 through Glenwood Canyon. Frederick C. Langille‘s selection of Wheeling, West Virginia makes us nostalgic for the many times we’ve driven though there. Sadly we’ve never had the pleasure of seeing in person Brett‘s pick of the track built on the roof of the Fiat factory in Turin, or TheJWT‘s of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, but we’re certain they’re amazing.
The winner this week was Negishi no Keibajo‘s choice of Japan’s bullet train, a marvel when it was built in 1964 as it is today:
Though not automotive, the rewards from the Shinkansen are far & wide. From catching the imagination of toddlers to think of mobility to the granular science of metallurgy, countless other industries benefitted from this civil engineering triumph to this day. Often copied but always associated with Japan, it’s a well deserved source of pride.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
I’m thankful I won the YAJ bid on this set of Southern Ways Glids II mesh sitting next to my desk right now. Sure, they’re only 14×6.5j +11 in size, but they are 5×114.3, and once freshened up, they will look great on my GS130G Crown wagon.
I just need to send them off to get built to my desired specs………….. one day.
Checkout @smol__bois on instagram if you need some visuals.
GS130G Crown wagon: Good lord, what an awesome ride!!!
Thanks buddy! It was truly a barn find, although in a very sad state, but with some TLC I brought it back to life and now it’s a great cruiser again.
If we’re strictly talking automotive of course, and if we’re also speaking of vehicles/parts themselves and not of being grateful for safety while driving for myself & loved ones –caveats out of the way – the biggest thing this year would have to be that I’m very thankful to have an st165 Celica again.
I’m sure I’ve mentioned countless times that my first car back in 1997 was a red 1986 Celica ST 5-speed, and that I’ve loved Celicas ever since. After learning more about Celicas and their rally heritage, I started dreaming of owning an All-Trac. Back in 2003, I purchased a red ’88 st165 which I absolutely loved. I’ve probably mentioned also that I very stupidly sold it in 2005 and regretted it from that day forward.
In an attempt to be brief, I will say that in July of this year I was able to pick up another red ’88 All-Trac in reasonably good, mostly original condition (though needing some TLC). I feel very blessed to be one of the few who get to own & care for one of these uncommon homologation specials.
It’s also a relief to get a “redo” after almost 2 decades of regretting letting the first one go.
I am a merit badge counselor for both my kids’ Scouts Troops. I have been trying to find time to teach a merit badge, and ultimately made time to teach the scouts the Automotive Maintenance Merit Badge. The requirements for this badge are pretty extensive, ranging from familiarity with all the subsystems of the car (power, drivetrain, fuel, electrical, brake, etc.), as well as hands-on. There will also be two projects the Scouts will take part in: changing out to spare tire a doing an oil change.
My daughter is in an all-girls troop within association, and I am currently teaching her troop. There are seven scouts enrolled, and they continue to express a genuine interest in the subject. They ask questions out of curiosity, and have inquired on when we’d do the hands-on project. The light shines bright when they understand the concepts I teach them. The Scouts also (as part of my assigned homework to them) have showed their parents how to pop the hood, what type of engine they have, where the oil fill / dipstick is, AND relayed their actions back to me. Best part is that this merit badge is not a requirement for their Eagle Scout ranking, so the fact these Scouts are taking it means a lot.
I was on a camping trip with my son and his trip, and have asked if they’d be interested in pursuing an Automotive Maintenance Merit Badge. They all expressed a desire to learn more, and those were were within earshot joined our conversation to learn more about it.
How am I thankful? For the fact that there’s a future generation who, besides all the social media and electronics that surround them, are still interested in back-to-basics and gaining knowledge / experience through hand-on, curious to understand how things work, and looking to break well-known stereotypes.
Gosh this is so wholesome. I want to do that one day with kids/students. Great work on keeping the automotive spirit alive with the next generation.
I’m thankful for the first road trip I got to take in the Miata in late October through Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire (and back) to go see my dad and family in NH. It took weeks coming up with the best route to take that kept me off highways and allowed me to find windy back roads that made the trip take 2 full days. I stopped in Cooperstown NY for the night and got to see the baseball hall of fame before continuing on. It was a really fun drive – but I’m glad I decided to go alone so I didn’t have to worry about someone else.
Additionally, I’m thankful for my friend who does paintless dent repair since we got hit by a hail storm on 8/29 with hail over 2″ in diameter wreaked havoc on all 5 of our cars parked outside at the time – including the Miata, Celsior, Legacy GT wagon, Forester XT, and ’06 Pontiac GTO. And while my friend has been tied up ever since the storm, I know he’ll help make it look like it never even happened. And fortunately no glass broke which kept them all from being totaled. And thanks to my insurance company for not raising my rates for the renewal policy after cutting me the checks to fix everything.
I am thankful the malaysian govt does not mandate E85 petrol in malaysia. We still get 100% gasoline.
I think the Japanese makers are on the leading edge of R&D for the next leap in battery technology. The development & production of the Solid State Battery will be a quantum leap in bring the EV to the masses. The biggest challenge in electrical aeronautics is weight. If it truly offers a meaningful change, it will be huge. Presently, all EV aircraft can only haul their own, heavy batteries.
Automotively, I am thankful for incredible community of motoring enthusiasts around the world, and on the internet, whose tastes and cars are infinitely varied, but all of whom share the passion for the car and driving; and I am thankful for people like Ben, who unendingly gives time to create and run websites like this, which are a source of interest, information and pleasure to all who, like me, come here every day to take a moment of respite in the world of JDM cars and all things cars in Japan. It adds a lot to my life, and I am sure for many others as well. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
The Prelude, Integra, and Celica are back.
Of course, today’s cars may not be the same cars we once loved.
Some people may say, “I don’t like the hybrid Prelude,” and others may say, “I hate the 5-door Integra.”
But the cars we once loved have been reborn in modern times.
This is a very lucky and miraculous thing, considering the crazy SUV trend that threatens to turn every car in the world into an SUV, like the Capri and Eclipse, and the niche market for sports cars.
What could we be more excited about and grateful for?
I am grateful for all of the support received … whichever car, be it our new Mercedes-Benz or, our Nissan S-Cargo van. With the former, if it weren’t for the diligence in the beginning, we would not have such a high-end sports coupe. As for the S-Cargo, our local Chevrolet dealer (we had a Trax at the time we got the van), serviced the van without any problems. In fact, they enjoyed working on it! I will be taking it to another dealer, a Nissan now, for the needed upgrades and, they look forward to getting him back on the road properly again. In any case, it is not so much the BRAND but, the BRAND SUPPORT that we are grateful for having. Without them … from sales to parts to service … without them, we would not have two excellent cars. By the way, this also spills over to the car parts dealers and, enthusiast shops. So, whatever, the marque, we would not be where we are with the cars without the vehicular support and guidance. Thanks again … fellas and gals … ya done gud!
Snow tyres, brakes and turn signals, even if most people in the local area don’t seem to know what those 3 even are.
Bear with me cause i’m a shaved dome away from going full Dominic Toretto here but yeah, i’m grateful for my petrol headed family and everything we’re building together.
Just over a year ago i met a very tall dude obsessed with weight reduction in the parking lot of the local supermarket, in about two years i’ll be master of ceremony at his wedding.
past summer my neighbour, one of our friends and I lifted the engine out of a Mitsubishi Pajero on the side of the road in the pouring rain.
this fall I’ve decided to work fulltime in my workshop and quit my engineering job.
to focus on our own businesses, we’ve got a brand of JNC inspired car styling parts like steering wheels, shift knobs and more.
I also have my restauration shop, My wife’s got a Daihatsu Hijet mobile bar/foodtruck.
we’re building a local community of petrolheads, our own style and try to make some money along the way.
the amount of (non alcoholic) coronas and barbeque consumed don’t do much to help my case but yeah, automotive family is what i’m most grateful for.