Tag Archives: familia

SHOWA SNAP: Fastbacks abound in 1975

Posted on December 4, 2018 by Ben Hsu

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged a20, b110, celica, cherry, corolla, corona mark II, datsun, e10, e20, e30, familia, honda, mazda, nissan, sunny, super cub, toyota, x20 | 2 Comments

SHOWA SNAP: Fukuyama Station, 1975

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Ben Hsu

Fukuyama Station in Hiroshima Prefecture is located right by the 399-year-old Fukuyama Castle. Bullet trains whiz in and out of the station on a daily basis, and over 20,000 people pass though it every day. Back in 1975, parking at … Continue reading →

Posted in Showa Snap | Tagged carina, corolla, crown, familia, Fukuyama Station, honda, kujira, Life StepVan, mazda, mitsubishi, ms75, s60, toyota | 8 Comments

VIDEO: How the Mazda Familia evolved into the Mazda 3

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Ben Hsu

Here’s an interesting little video about the evolution of the Mazda Familia, now known as the Mazda 3. In it Mazda chassis engineer and former editor-in-chief of Sport Compact Car Dave Coleman describes the link between the Mazda GLC and … Continue reading →

Posted in Video | Tagged 323 GTX, familia, glc, mazda, mazda 3, protege | 6 Comments

SHOWA SNAP: Meiji Jingu, 1967

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Ben Hsu

We’ve covered a few car shows at Meiji Jingu Park in Tokyo, but here is what it looked like as a normal, everyday street in 1967. Look at all the Showa Era cars (Toyota Crown, 411 Bluebird, Prince Gloria, Mazda Familia, etc.) and trucks … Continue reading →

Posted in Showa Snap | Tagged 411, bluebird, crown, datsun, familia, gloria, mazda, miler, minica, mitsubishi, nissan, prince, s40, sports 800, toyoace, toyota | 3 Comments

EVENTS: Automobile Council 2017, Part 02 – Mazda, with heritage guns blazing

Posted on September 8, 2017 by San Mamiya

Now in its second year, Automobile Council gives car companies a chance to flex their heritage a bit. Some seized the opportunity better than others, but none came out with more guns blazing than Mazda.

Posted in events | Tagged 787b, Automobile Council, cosmo, cosmo sport, eunos roadster, familia, familia rotary coupe, le mans, mazda, miata, motorsport, mx-5, r100, rotary engine, rx-5, rx-7, sa22 | 12 Comments

VIDEO: You could tune pretty much anything in Japan

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Ben Hsu

In the 90s, Japan was so high on octane that you could find aftermarket parts for just about any car imaginable. In this Best Motoring video, the hosts step out of NSXes and GT-Rs for a second and test drive tuned … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged a60, ae92, carina, corolla, familia, mazda, toyota | 6 Comments

BACKROADS: 1988 was Mazda’s Year of the Turbo

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Dave Yuan

It’s an old trope among JNC enthusiasts in North America: we never get the good stuff like they do in Japan. From the obvious to the obscure — the Skylines, the City Turbo, the AZ-1 — the list never ends. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Back Roads | Tagged 13b, 1988, 323, 4WS, 626, capella, familia, GT, GTX, mazda, mx-6, rotary engine, rx-7, turbo | 14 Comments

Touge California: Honoring 50 years of the rotary engine

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Ben Hsu

Our commemorative poster for this year’s Touge California commemorates the calling card of our title sponsor, Mazda. It has been 50 years since the world’s first production dual-rotor engine debuted on the 1967 Cosmo Sport. Our poster honors the historic achievement with … Continue reading →

Posted in Touge California | Tagged cosmo sport, familia, mazda, r100, rotary engine, Touge California | 6 Comments

BACKROADS: Mazda’s Great Little Car

Posted on June 9, 2017 by Dave Yuan

As we gear up for the next annual Touge California in the hills of Southern California, we are reminded of the cars that came with us last year. We had a truly eclectic mix ranging from built track beasts to pristine grand tourers — and … Continue reading →

Posted in Back Roads | Tagged 323, Backroads, familia, glc, mazda, Touge California | 16 Comments

PROFILES: Dr Hitoshi Kato’s Mazda R100 vintage racers

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Dave Yuan

Racing is an extraordinary human endeavor. It encompasses brains and brawn, heroics at the individual and team levels, with huge amounts of synergy and coordination. And the machines are both technologically advanced and visually magnificent, catapulting us beyond our natural human abilities. For spectators, … Continue reading →

Posted in profiles | Tagged 24 Hours of Spa, familia, Familia Rotary, familia rotary coupe, mazda, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, monterey historics, motorsport, r100, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, rotary engine, spa francorchamps | 10 Comments

TOUGE CALIFORNIA: The Cars and Teams of 2016

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Ben Hsu

The Touge California is done. We’ve covered how the epic, 8-hour, 200-mile rally went, but we also wanted to recognize all the fearless drivers, stalwart navigators, and gorgeous machines that participated. Here are the cars and teams of the 2016 JNC Touge … Continue reading →

Posted in Touge California | Tagged 240z, 510, a20, Albert Medrano, bluebird, capella, celica, century, civic, corolla, cvcc, daruma, datsun, e20, fairlady roadster, familia, galant gto, glc, gsl-se, honda, leone, luce, mazda, mitsubishi, mr k, nissan, Randy Rodriguez, repu, rx-2, rx-4, rx-7, s30 z, sa22, subaru, subaru gl, te27, tim mings, Touge California, toyota, wagons, yutaka katayama | 14 Comments

VIDEO: James May goes to Japan

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Ben Hsu

In the latest episode of James May’s Cars of the People, the former Top Gear host travels to Japan and drives some JNCs. Specifically, he gets behind the wheel of a Mazda Familia (aka 323) hatchback in its hometown of Hiroshima, … Continue reading →

Posted in Video | Tagged 240z, 323, a20, celica, datsun, fairlady z, familia, James May, mazda, nissan, s30 z, toyota | 11 Comments

ART CORNER: The superdeformed model kits of Ryu Asada

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Ben Hsu

Most of you know the name Ryu Asada from his work at Mattel designing hit diecast cars. The talented and creative veteran of both the Matchbox and Hot Wheels brands as penned some truly memorable castings, including JNC favorites like the Honda CRX, EF Civic, ’90 Acura NSX, and ’72 … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Corner | Tagged 323, city, familia, Gunze, hilux, honda, hot wheels, mazda, model kits, motocompo, nissan, r30, Ryu Asada, skyline, superdeformed, toyota | 6 Comments

ART CORNER: Beautiful dioramas of model cars from Japan

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Ben Hsu

Takuji is a Japanese artist who places 1:43 and 1:64 scale minicars into beautifully constructed dioramas. From AE86s on touge roads to Mitsubishis tearing through a rally stage to mechanics tuning Skylines in a garage, each scene is a slice of … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Corner, minicars | Tagged 200sx, 323 GTX, 510, a70, ae82, ae86, alto, Art Corner, aw11, az-1, b110, beat, bluebird, c110, carol, carry, colt, corolla fx, fairlady z, familia, fj60, fronte, fto, Galant VR-4, Hakosuka, honda, Honda N-Series, jimny, K10, kei, kenmeri, lancer celeste, land cruiser, march, mazda, miata, minicars, mirage, mitsubishi, mr2, mx-5, nissan, rally, rx-3, s12, s30 z, safari rally, silvia, skyline c10, sprinter trueno, starion, starlet kp61, stepvan, subaru, subaru 360, sunny, supra, suzuki, toyota, violet, Vivio | 14 Comments

COLLECTIONS: Inside Mazda North America’s Basement

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Dave Yuan

Talk to Mazda employees about their cars, past and present, and it immediately becomes clear that the company is comprised of people passionate about what they’ve built. This is no small feat, and we have peeked behind the walls of enough automakers to … Continue reading →

Posted in Collections, Galleries | Tagged 24 Hours of Daytona, 787, 929, atenza, Bonneville Salt Flats, capella, demio, familia, fc3s, fd3s, glc, imsa, le mans, luce, Luce Rotary Coupe, mazda, Mazda Basement, Mazda2, Mazda6, miata, mx-5, mx-6, MX-R01, r130, repu, rx-2, rx-4, rx-7, rx-792p, rx-8, sa22, savanna | 22 Comments

EVENTS: 2015 New Year Meeting, Part 08 — Parking Area Finds

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Ben Hsu

Closing out our coverage of the 2015 New Year Meeting, we make a quick run through the show’s parking area. Thanks to the Japanese protocol of backing into their parking spaces, we were able to get full views of spectators’ rides to the show unobstructed … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 510, 910, ae86, alcyone, bluebird, c10, city, corolla, crown, datsun, fairlady z, familia, gemini, Hakosuka, honda, isuzu, levin, mazda, new year meeting, nissan, prince, r100, r30, r31, s110, s120, s30, s40, silvia, skyline, soarer, sprinter, subaru, svx, toyota, trueno, xt, z10, z432 | 19 Comments

JNC RADIO: Sing along to the The Auto Show Song

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Ben Hsu

Originally released in 1964, “The Auto Show Song” was composed by famed Japanese songwriter Tetsuro Hoshino and performed by action movie star/singer Akira Kobayashi (there are a lot of crossover entertainers in Japan). It was an old standard of the Showa Era, and sounded … Continue reading →

Posted in JNC Radio | Tagged Akira Kobayashi, alto, Austin, axela, bellett, bluebird, carol, cedric, celica, charade, civic, colt, contessa, corolla, corona, crown, datsun, debonair, delica, demio, estima, fairlady, familia, fit, Freed, galant, gloria, hillman, honda, impreza, jimny, JNC Radio, juke, land cruiser, Lapin, legacy, march, mazda, minx, mira, mirage, mitsubishi, montero, Move, nissan, Odyssey, pajero, prius, roadster, Serena, Stella, subaru, Tanto, The Auto Show Song, toyopet, vitz, Wish | 1 Comment

EVENTS: 2014 Nostalgic2Days, Part 02

Posted on March 27, 2014 by David Lovett

Welcome to Part 02 of our Nostalgic2Days coverage, as we make our way across the Pacifico Convention Center on Yokohama’s historic waterfront. In this installment we’ll see the displays kyuusha tuning houses, some of the famous cars that have graced Nostalgic … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 110s, 323, 510, a20, a60, autech, beat, Biko Works, bluebird, c10, c110, c130, capella, celica, corona, cosmo sport, crown, datsun, Datsun Type 15, fairlady roadster, fairlady z, familia, Hakosuka, honda, kenmeri, laurel, mazda, nissan, nos2days, prince, publica, Red Megaphone, rt40, rx-2, s30, skyline, stelvio, supra, toyopet, toyota | 11 Comments

EVENTS: Classic Japan 2012, Part 04: Never Seen in the USA

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Guest Writer

Part 04 of Adam Laws’ Classic Japan 2012 coverage from Melbourne, Australia covers a whole bunch of J-tin that is rarely spotted in the USA. —Dan In Australia the Mazda range in the 70s included both the RX-3 and its … Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, events, isuzu, mazda, nissan, prince, Prince, toyota | Tagged 808, australia, b10, b110, b120, beams, bellett, classic japan 2012, compagno, compagno spider, corolla, crown, daihatsu, datsun 1000, familia, gloria, isuzu, isuzu 117, ke15, KE55, luce, markII, mazda, mazda 1300, mazda 1500, MS85, MX41, prince, rx-3, RX3, s50, s54, s80, savanna, skyline, sprinter, sunny, toyota, wagon | 16 Comments

EVENTS: Classic Japan 2012, Part 02: Totally Awesome 80s

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Guest Writer

In Part 02, Adam Laws continues his coverage of Classic Japan 2012 from Melbourne, Down Under. —Dan Our second installment of Classic Japan coverage from Australia is focused on some quintessential 80’s classics. Bring on the boxes! 1986 saw the … Continue reading →

Posted in events, honda, mazda, nissan, suzuki, toyota | Tagged 1uz, 200sx, 323, 323 gt-x, 4age, 929, ae86, aw11, city, city cabriolet, corolla, cressida, cresta, datsun, familia, fj60, fx-16, honda, ken watanabe, land cruiser, levin, luce, mark II, mazda, mighty boy, mr2, mx73, nissan, r31, rs watanabe, s12, silvia, skyline, sprinter, superlite, suzuki, toyota, trueno, x70 | 16 Comments