Tag Archives: corona

Nissan Skyline tops Japanese survey about dream cars

Monday, September 19, was Respect for the Aged Day in Japan. To mark the occasion Kinto, a car sharing service, held a survey to ask drivers of three generations about their motoring habits, including what their dream cars were when … Continue reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Toyota Corona runs from the law in Assassin

Almost exactly 40 years ago, on September 15, 1982, the movie Assassin was released in Japan. The plot was loosely based on the Setouchi Seajack Incident of 1970, one of the country’s most notorious hostage situations at the time. In … Continue reading

Posted in Film/TV | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

In its 26th year, Toyotafest is still going strong — a brief history of TORC, the Toyota Owners and Restorers Club

We’ve been attending Toyotafest every year since JNC started in 2006, and it’s consistently one of our favorite events. Last year was the 25th Toyotafest, which means the show itself is now old enough to wear historic plates, buy collector … Continue reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Toyota South Africa celebrates 60th anniversary

Toyota South Africa is celebrating its 60th anniversary today. The subsidiary was established in 1961, just four years after Toyota got a small foothold in California with the S30 Toyopet Crown. It shows just how rapidly — and perhaps optimistically … Continue reading

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Japan brought out its best cars for the Tokyo Olympics in 1964

The 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo was a turning point for Japan. They were the first Olympics to be held in Asia, and Japan was ready to rejoin the world as a symbol of modernity. As a show of its … Continue reading

Posted in Nihon Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

VIDEO: Behold, a loop of Tokyo’s Shuto Expressway in 1986

While most people are downing large quantities of Netflix right now, here’s something a bit more relevant to our interests: Home videos of driving through Tokyo in the Showa Era. It’s a clockwise loop of Tokyo’s Shuto, and speaking of … Continue reading

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

SHOWA SNAP: The old school face of Niigata Station will soon be torn down

The north side of Niigata Station is a Showa Era relic that will soon be no more. It might not look like much, but the nondescript rectangular building screams Showa Era, specifically the time when Japan was emerging from its … Continue reading

Posted in Showa Snap | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

SHOWA SNAP: Kawaramachi-Sanjo, Kyoto, 1972

Kawaramachi-Sanjo, a shopping and nightlife district just northeast of the historic Gion section of Kyoto, was a lively spot after the sun went down. Sharp cars would cruise down Kawaramachi street, past a Fujiya Grill. On this particular 1972 evening, … Continue reading

Posted in Showa Snap | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The new Corona Pandem kit is here

The widebody masters at Rocket Bunny are preparing to launch a new kit for the T40/T50 Toyota Corona. The latest subject for their popular line of Pandem-branded kits may seem like an odd choice, but we think it’s one that … Continue reading

Posted in Holidays | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

ART CORNER: Stuck at home because of the corona virus? Download a papercraft diorama for your Toyota Corona race car

The Japanese website of Brother, the printer company, has an astounding array of things you can do with paper. There are coloring books, greeting cards, forms, business card templates, and a whole lot more. Naturally, there is also an insane … Continue reading

Posted in Art Corner | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Toyota closes museums, Megaweb, for coronavirus

COVID-19 is no laughing matter, but sometimes the jokes write themselves. Toyota has closed several of its facilities in Japan, including the Toyota Automobile Museum and Megaweb showroom, due to the coronavirus.

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? A well preserved 1968 Toyota Corona

The RT40 Corona is easily one of the most underrated Toyota classics, which is why it was the subject of one of our illustrious Consider the Following articles. Given how instrumental it was for getting the Toyota name into the … Continue reading

Posted in for sale | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Tan Toyota Corona Liftbacks are the car of choice for broke lawyers trying to do the right thing

Recently Patrick sent me a link to the trailer for Dark Waters and wrote, “The magic happens at 0:08.” That magic, it turns out, was Mark Ruffalo’s character driving a tan T130 Toyota Corona Liftback. I didn’t really think anything … Continue reading

Posted in JNC Theater | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

RIP Syd Mead, 1933 — 2019

On December 30, 2019, Syd Mead passed away at the age of 86. The legendary concept artist almost single-handedly shaped our visions of tomorrow, having designed the futures seen in films such as Blade Runner, Alien, Tron, and the Star … Continue reading

Posted in Legends | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

See some rare Showa Era trucks at Mega Web right now

If you’ve been to Tokyo you’ve likely visited MegaWeb, Toyota’s showroom in the Odaiba shopping district. The History Garage section has a rotating collection of classics, and typically you’ll be able to see a Toyota Sports 800, Mazda Cosmo Sport, … Continue reading

Posted in Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Japanese Classic Car Show 2019, Part 09: Trucks, Vans, and Wagons

We have arrived at what could be our favorite part of JCCS, the vans, trucks, SUVs, and wagons. And now, in addition to seeing amazing US-market builds of such cars, their Japan-market counterparts are flooding in. No longer are the … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

2019 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 05 — Toyota fans save the day

Before Toyota moved to Texas, their displays were always a centerpiece of JCCS. A massive enclosed trailer would bring a truck-full of the Toyota USA Museum’s rolling treasures to the show. Now, with the company’s headquarters several states away and, … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

EVENTS: Japanese Automotive Invitational 2019

Now in its second year, the Japanese Automotive Invitational seeks to introduce the idea of collectible Nihon steel to a crowd that considers a 1954 Ferrari 375 MM not classic enough. Located at the Infiniti booth that sits just outside … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

EVENTS: 2019 All-Toyotafest, Part 03 — Classics that Started It All

It’s hard to believe, but this year’s Toyotafest was the 24th of annual shows held by the Toyota Owners and Restorers Club. It’s been almost a quarter century since the first one took place, and at that first one all … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

KIDNEY, ANYONE? Toyota hoarder selling off entire collection

It appears we have found the answer to what lies at the end of the rainbow: a collection of old Toyotas in various states of disrepair. Just outside of Las Vegas, a seller is purging a literal lot of Aichi … Continue reading

Posted in for sale | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments