For half of the United States it is winter and that means the cool JNCs have been stowed away as winter beaters roam the streets. While people in places like California continue to enjoy weekly magazine coverage worthy car shows, we enthusiasts in the north might as well hibernate with our machines. As such, we begin to itch for some excitement on the roads. We get twitchy and do weird things, like get inordinately excited about seeing a V20 Camry in traffic. Which. brings us to our question:
What’s the coolest JNC you’ve spotted in the cold dark of winter?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which 25-year-old cars are you most excited about?”
The winner’s nomination was an unusual one, but it did make us think. It also illustrated just how far automobiles have evolved over the last quarter-century. The modern version of the car proffered bears practically zero resemblance to the original, and indeed the original does evince a certain charm lost in the vehicle’s class 25 years on. We’ll let the winner, Ant, tell the story:
No 25-year import rule for us Limeys! I’m gonna throw in a curve-ball anyway though, as this year the Toyota RAV4 officially becomes a JNC.
In some ways you could consider the RAV4 the beginning of the end, given it was among the first cars to popularise SUVs that drove more like cars, a category that’s all too busy today…
…but its significance can’t be understated for the same reason. It’s easy to forget that back in the day it was pretty unique too, unlike its modern equivalents today. And while SUVs drove terribly as a rule back in 1994, the Toyota was pretty nimble in the corners.
I’d give the thumbs-up to anyone rocking a JNC sticker on an original RAV4.
Omedetou! Your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop.
The coolest – almost the only – JNC I see during winter is my own one. Everytime I go downstairs and admire my own hibernating JNC in the garage. That´s all, sadly. It´s a cheerless life in Austria…
Just some rotted out pedestrian model Civics, Accords, Corollas, and Camrys, nothing I would consider a “classic” by any means. Hey, it’s winter in northwest Ohio, the real classics are all tucked away in garages.
Like Lucas above, nothing here in the North East of the USA, near NYC, unless I go to my garages. Most here wouldn’t dare take our JNCs’ out with all the darn sand, etc. they spread out on the streets, and highways in case of snow. I only take mine out on a real nice day, and the road conditions are perfect. I can’t wait for Winter to END!
Just this past weekend here in NE Ohio, I saw a clean Chevy Sprint (Suzuki Cultus/Swift) puttering around. Most have long rusted away around here, along with most newer cars, too.
A dusty but pristine Mazda K360 quietly sitting in a garage in a back alley of Tokyo. Kinda like Hachiko, waiting for the owner for a Sunday spin in spring.
Coolest JNC I ever saw during winter- Besides my own, because the Z doesn’t enjoy snow- Here in Oregon, December of 2017, I went up to Timberline Lodge, on Mt. Hood, and I saw a 1988 or 1989 Subaru Justy going up towards the lodge, with white steelies, a graphics package proudly proclaiming it was 4WD, a roof rack, and two pair of skis. Car looked garage kept, but the driver knew what the car was built to do, and they were out doing it.
??
None. As there is no winter here!
I mean I stumbled upon a 1972 LHD Suzuki carry, but It was parked… i did however end up buying the thing 😀 Just happened over christmas!
https://i.imgur.com/mjgwj8G.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/JnrfVCD.jpg
Im pretty excited to say the least
Congrats! Looks awesome. That’s quite the horn on top. There are enough Kei’s coming here. There should be a separate Kei section in the forum garages to share parts sources and advice…
Well, that goes to the Mitsubishi Pajero- a late ’80s JDM model I spotted on the sand and salt-ridden streets of Winnipeg, Canada. It was in gold and black two-tone with the very 1980s orange and red pinstriping down the sides. Initially I wanted to confront the owner about driving a JDM car on the roads here in the winter……but then again, their car, their life and also they were going the other way and was on the bus.
My current job has me up and down neighborhood streets in Detroit, so I spot a lot of interesting cars- sadly, JNCs weren’t sold here in great numbers when new, so spotting something fascinating decades on is kind of slim. Still, a few interesting cars lately-
-3 1990 Nissan Prairies. Honestly, I had to look it up, as I don’t ever recall seeing them new. Two sit together in someone’s front yard, the 3rd is a street behind it so likely related as well. None move. I’m assuming they’re 90s, as Wiki says it’s the only year they were sold in the US.
-A completely gutted shell of an S30 Z (literally anything removable is gone- no suspension, trim, bodypanels, or windows), with roof damage, being used as a firewood storage shed
-2 first gen Civics, one with an interesting and fairly 80s bodykit/ground effects setup. I got a picture of it, but it’s blurry as hell.
This is not a car I’ve seen this winter season, or even recent seasons past…
I remember as a wee lad in the 90’s during a bone-chilling winter rainstorm…a set of tail-lights. So strange…so unique…so 80’s. At the time I obviously had very little knowledge of cars and knew nothing about the model that had captivated me so completely from the back seat of my parent’s Tercel. For some reason that short moment struck me and I kept the image of those glowing ruby lines in the back my mind for years, always wondering what car I had actually seen that night. A LOT (I’m talking over a decade) of time went by before I solved the haunting mystery those tail-lights left me with, and after a little research I recently discovered they belonged to an N13 Nissan Pulsar NX: An astoundingly cool JNC I spotted once as a kid in the cold dark of winter so many, many years ago.
~Nihonnotekko
I was real excited to see a brown Toyota Cressida (x70) with 3rd generation Celica gtr coupe wheels!