Tag Archives: kei

OH, KEI! The Jimny Santa Monica was a cute beach cruiser based on Suzuki’s mini-4×4

Posted on May 29, 2020 by Ben Hsu

With summer is upon us, so are dreams of beachside cruising. In the history of kei cars, there was perhaps no vehicle more fitting for that purpose than the Jimny Santa Monica (it’s right there in the name!). Built upon … Continue reading →

Posted in kei | Tagged JA71, jimny, kei, suzuki, trucks | 2 Comments

VIDEO: Every Honda S-car, driving

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Ben Hsu

Every iteration of Honda’s S-series cars has been a hoot to drive. In a newly released video, the Honda Collection Hall in at Twin Ring Motegi compiles runs by each of their S roadsters around the narrow footpath behind the … Continue reading →

Posted in Video | Tagged honda, honda collection hall, kei, s2000, S500/S600/S800, s660 | 3 Comments

There was a Subaru 360 on The Sopranos, youse guys

Posted on April 27, 2020 by Ben Hsu

Last week we asked what show had the best background JNCs. I had no idea at the time that I would find one of Japan’s iconic kei cars on HBO’s groundbreaking Y2K-era mobster drama, The Sopranos.

Posted in JNC Theater | Tagged F20, kei, lexus, Lexus LS, subaru, subaru 360 | 1 Comment

VIDEO: More of the Daihatsu museum in a virtual tour

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Ben Hsu

Daihatsu has uploaded more videos continuing the virtual tour of curiously named Humobility World, the company’s museum in Osaka. In part one, we saw the earliest Daihatsu products, a 5,842-pound diesel engine that’s likely the heaviest thing in Humobility World, … Continue reading →

Posted in Galleries | Tagged charade, copen, daihatsu, Daihatsu Humobility World, Fellow, kei, midget, mira, Taft. Rocky | Leave a comment

Mazda 100th Anniversary Edition models include a nod to the R360 Coupé

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Ben Hsu

Mazda is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year, and they are marking the milestone with a series of 100th Anniversary Special Edition cars. Announced this morning in Japan, the lineup draws inspiration from Mazda’s very first passenger car, thee 1960 … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged CX-3, cx-30, cx-5, CX-8, kei, mazda, mazda 3, mazda 6, Miata ND, mx-5, r360 | 6 Comments

Here’s how Mazda celebrated its 100th anniversary

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Ben Hsu

Turning 100 years old is a tremendous milestone for anyone. Mazda celebrated with an understated gathering at their headquarters in Hiroshima. The entrance was arranged with two cars from Mazda’s past, and two from its present. Around them, the lobby … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cosmo sport, hiroshima, kei, mazda, r360 | 3 Comments

100 YEAR CLUB: Mazda, Part 01

Posted on January 30, 2020 by Dave Yuan

Exactly 100 years ago today, on January 30, 1920, Toyo Cork Kogyo was founded. This company, whose name translates to Oriental Cork Industries, would go on to build cars under the name Mazda. Thus, today marks the 100th anniversary of … Continue reading →

Posted in 100 Year Club | Tagged 24 Hours of Daytona, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Spa, carol, cosmo sport, Jujiro Matsuda, kei, Kenichi Yamamoto, marathon de la route, mazda, Mazda-go, motorcycles, r360, rotary engine, Tsuneji Matsuda | 13 Comments

Here’s a kit to make the new Suzuki Jimny look like its great-grandfather

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Ben Hsu

It should come as no surprise that the Suzuki Jimny is a popular car in Japan. It’s one of the coolest new cars you can buy there, and a vehicle whose purposeful engineering is at the core of its appeal. … Continue reading →

Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon | Tagged JB74, jimny, kei, suzuki, tokyo auto salon, trucks | 2 Comments

The Honda Beat Parts program reveals why it’s so hard for carmakers to produce old parts

Posted on January 7, 2020 by Ben Hsu

It’s been a while since we checked in on Honda’s Beat Parts program, which once again produces parts for Honda’s popular mid-engined, kei roadster. Since the program was announced in August 2017, the list of parts available has grown. And, … Continue reading →

Posted in Restoration | Tagged beat, honda, kei | 17 Comments

VIDEO: And the best Japanese car of 1995 was…

Posted on December 10, 2019 by Ben Hsu

By 2020 the 25-year threshold of what constitutes a classic car will cut off at 1995. What was the best Japanese car of that year? Back then, Japan’s Best Motoring sought the answer in a series of videos pitting several … Continue reading →

Posted in Video | Tagged 3000GT, A80, accord, Accord 5g, alto, best motoring, camry, capella, cappuccino, Cefiro, Celica GT-Four, celsior, daihatsu, estima, F20, familia, fd3s, fto, gto, honda, impreza, infiniti, Infiniti I, kei, lancer evolution, mazda, mira, mitsubishi, mr2, nissan, nsx, Odyssey, r32, RAV4, rx-7, s14, silvia, skyline, st205, subaru, supra, suzuki, sw20, toyota, Vivio, wrx | 1 Comment

NEWS: NA Mazda Roadster, Mitsubishi Model A inducted into Japan Automotive Hall of Fame

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Ben Hsu

The 2019 inductees for the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame have been announced. The ceremony took place earlier this month, welcoming four historically significant vehicles and three important individuals for their impact and contributions to Japan’s automotive industry.

Posted in News | Tagged B1500, B360, carol, elf, eunos roadster, isuzu, japan automotive hall of fame, k360, kawasaki, Kawasaki Z1, kei, KZ1300, mazda, miata, mitsubishi, mitsubishi model a, motorcycles, MX5, r360, Silver Pigeon, SR400, t2000, yamaha | 1 Comment

SHOWA SNAP: Akita Prefecture, circa 1965

Posted on November 5, 2019 by Matt De Mangos

Akita Prefecture, where Japan’s bear-hunting dogs get their namesake, once boasted the northernmost tram on Honshu, Japan’s main island. In this cool shot, all the greats of the early Sixties are seen. A Toyopet Crown waits for pedestrians in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Showa Snap | Tagged 210, 410, B360, bellett, bluebird, crown, datsun, isuzu, kei, mazda, mitsubishi, Mitsubishi 500, nissan, s30, subaru, subaru 360, toyopet, toyota | 4 Comments

The new Lupin III trailer has Bluebird-Cedric police cars

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Ben Hsu

There’s a new Lupin III movie coming out, and the latest trailer shows a car chase with some classic Japanese police cars. At first glance they appear to be 510 Bluebird Coupes, but of course, it would be kind of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 310, 510, a20, accord, bluebird, c110, c30, cedric, celica, datsun, fairlady roadster, Fiat 500, g1, gloria, honda, Honda N-Series, kei, kenmeri, Lupin III, mazda, nissan, prince, rx-3, s54, skyline, sports 800, ta22, toyota, yonmeri | 1 Comment

2019 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 02 — JDM, yo

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Dan Hsu

This year marked the 15th anniversary for America’s premier gathering of Nihon steel. To put that in perspective, at the first JCCS in 2005, the newest Japanese cars allowed for import under America’s 25-year import ban were built in 1980. … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 230, 510, Alto Works, az-1, bluebird, c110, celica, Celica GT-Four, century, civic, Civic EG, F30, figaro, gloria, honda, japanese classic car show, kei, kenmeri, leopard, mazda, nissan, r30, r31, r32, r33, s13, silvia, skyline, soarer, suzuki, T205, z20 | 7 Comments

2019 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 01 — USDM Rare

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Dan Hsu

Even in the 15th year of the wonderful and ever-growing Japanese Classic Car Show in Long Beach, California, after so many iterations, there are still new things for the casual Japanese car enthusiast to discover. The phyla of Japanese cars … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 626, brat, charade, daihatsu, datsun 710, Dodge Challenger, dodge colt, galant, Galant Lambda, Galant VR-4, impulse, isuzu, jccs, kei, lancer celeste, luce, mazda, mitsubishi, n10, nissan, p30, publica, pulsar, sambar, starlet, subaru, subaru 360, svx, toyota | 14 Comments

A Subaru 360 came out to celebrate Subaru USA’s 10 millionth sale

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Ben Hsu

Nate Wade Subaru of Salt Lake City, Utah is the oldest Subaru dealer in the United States. It just celebrated its 50th anniversary, and recently had the honor of selling Subaru’s 10 millionth car in the US. That car was … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged impreza, kei, subaru, subaru 360 | 2 Comments

EVENTS: Radwood NorCal 2019

Posted on August 16, 2019 by Glenn Chiou

Just a week after my colleagues were at SpoCom in SoCal, Radwood returned to its ancestral home in NorCal. The traveling show of 80s and 90s nostalgia started in the Bay Area in 2017, and has been expanding rapidly. There … Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged 240sx, 300zx, 4runner, acura, ae86, aw11, cappuccino, celica, corolla, crx, CRX EF, fc3s, fd3s, fj60, honda, impulse, isuzu, kei, land cruiser, lexus, lexus sc, mazda, mr2, N60, nissan, nsx, piazza, rx-7, s13, s14, sa22, silvia, soarer, st185, suzuki, sw20, T180, toyota, z31 | 9 Comments

NEWS: Honda releases retro StepVan-inspired N-WGN

Posted on August 14, 2019 by Ben Hsu

At a glance the all-new Honda N-WGN might look like any number of kei vans zipping along the streets of Japan, but the design is actually much more clever. It’s never explicitly mentioned in Honda’s 1800-word press release, but Hondaheads … Continue reading →

Posted in Next Version | Tagged honda, kei, N-WGN, Ryu Asada, stepvan | 6 Comments

SHOWA SNAP: Amago Bridge, Iwaki Prefecture, 1977

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Matt De Mangos

For our first Showa Snap of the Reiwa Era, let’s go back to Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture in August of 1977. The Amago bridge traces its origins back to the times of the samurai. It was part of the Hama … Continue reading →

Posted in Showa Snap | Tagged 610, 710, b110, bluebird, c10, c110, c30, cedric, cedric 230, cedric 330, corolla, crown, datsun, e20, fairlady z, Hakosuka, isuzu, isuzu 117, kei, kenmeri, kujira, laurel, Minica Skipper, mitsubishi, nissan, s30 z, s60, Skylines, sunny, toyota, violet | 4 Comments

VIDEO: Cringe at these old Subaru crash tests

Posted on March 28, 2019 by Ben Hsu

Do you want to see a bunch of classic Subarus crash into walls? Just a warning, they are doubly horrifying, because it’s always sad to see some now-rare cars get destroyed, but also because of the primitive safety standards of … Continue reading →

Posted in Video | Tagged ff-1, kei, subaru, subaru 360 | 3 Comments