Tag Archives: e30
Happy TE37 Day from JNC
The TE37 Toyota Corolla had one of the cleverest US side marker light adaptations in the automotive universe. In Japan, the TE37 had three vents on the rear of the car. The US market mandated side marker lights, which often … Continue reading
Happy TE51 Day from JNC
One of the oddest Corolla body styles must have been the SR-5 Liftback, or what hipsters today would call a shooting brake. Essentially, it’s a wagon, but sporty because it has two doors. I still see one in my neighborhood … Continue reading
VIDEO: How Japan’s best-selling compacts stacked up against the Ford Pinto
Here is a 1977 Ford commercial that is great on several accounts. First, it pits a Pinto against the best-selling Japanese compacts, which include an E30 Toyota Corolla, first-gen Honda Civic, and Datsun B210 (Honey Bee!). Second, it has none … Continue reading
Japanese Classic Car Show 2019: Upping the Game and Best in Show
We are 60 percent of the way to the point where the JCCS itself, if it were a car, would be eligible for classic status. In its 15 years in existence, the Japanese Classic Car Show has grown from a … Continue reading
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
Happy TE37 Day from JNC
Since we are mourning the loss of the New Year Meeting this year, here’s a sexy Corolla Coupe from happier days, capping off a long row of TE27s. A standout from its predecessors here in both chassis and color, the … Continue reading
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
SHOWA SNAP: Fastbacks abound in 1975
Every time you see a new crossover ambling down the street, clogging your view, remember what life could have been. In this 1975 Japanese street scene, fastbacks are everywhere. In the car park to the right there’s a Corona Mark … Continue reading
SHOWA SNAP: Los Angeles in the early 1980s
Welcome to the first Showa Snap from the US. Taken in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, it contains a glorious sampling of Nihon steel. Right in the foreground there’s three sporty coupes from three major manufacturers, all lined up … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 02 — Toyotas
For the first time since the show’s beginning, Toyota didn’t have a booth or any of its museum cars at the Japanese Classic Car Show. Mazda, Nissan, and Honda all had an official presence, but not the Big T. That’s … Continue reading
EVENTS: All-Toyotafest 2018, Part 05 — A whole lot of RWD
Toyota still makes large sedans, economical cars with transversely mounted engines, and powerful sports cars (at least in V8 form), but the once plentiful species of lightweight, rear-wheel-drive compact has dwindled to just one model. Toyotafest might be the last place in the … Continue reading
TUNE UP: Instead of your typical rap video cars, “This is America” is filled with Toyotas and Hondas
In case you were under a rock all weekend, you probably know Childish Gambino’s video for “This Is America” debuted on Saturday and has already garnered over 18 million views. The work is fraught with commentary on violence and slavery, but … Continue reading
Happy TE37 Day from JNC
If you were a child of the 80s, you might remember a time when E30 Corollas were just about everywhere. Today, they’re mostly gone, and don’t even get as much love amongst collectors as TE27s and other Corollas. That is … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2018 New Year Meeting, Part 03 — Seventies and Eighties
Our first two installments of the 2018 New Year Meeting featured cars from 1960s Japan. Those beautifully crafted machines from the early days of country’s motorization served a specific purpose, but the 1970s is when the modification culture became truly widespread.
EVENTS: 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 08 — Best Booths
JCCS has become an international show. For years, the event has been growing, with ever better builds and spectators coming from farther reaches of the globe. This year, however, many top companies from Japan attended, while US-based ones upped the ante with … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 04 — Shakotan Sleds
We’ve shown you the JDM rarities, competition machines and museum pieces of JCCS, but we know what you really came here for — Nihon sleds slammed on some vintage barrels. It’s the quintessential Japanese modified car look, and there was plenty of it on … Continue reading
VIDEO: Jay Leno gifts Magnus Walker a Toyota Corolla Liftback
In a recent episode of Jay Leno’s Garage on CNBC, the Denim Prince gives a car to clothing designer Magnus Walker. Magnus melted the internet a few years ago when he began quietly posting his huge Porsche collection on an internet forum. Since … Continue reading
EVENTS: All-Toyotafest 2017, Part 04 — The rise of the E30 Corolla
There is never a shortage of Corollas at Toyotafest, and for years the best builds in the field belonged to the AE86, TE27, and TE72 contingents, maybe even a front-driver AE92. This year, however, the 1975-79 E30 Corolla has emerged as a new … Continue reading
EVENTS: Old School Reunion Las Vegas
When a new car show for classic imports sprang up Las Vegas, it was an opportunity for our friends in the Wild Cards car club to reunite. Usually it’s the Las Vegas cohort that has to travel to SoCal, but in this case … Continue reading