Tag Archives: lexus
QotW: What car should my fiancée get?
My fiancée is buying her first car. Having lived in New York City for 17 years, where cars are nothing more than two-ton magnets for parking tickets and dents, she’s had no reason to own one. Now in LA, without wheels, she can’t … Continue reading
VIDEO: A street-legal, AWD, 1100hp Celica
At this point Lexus 1UZ swaps into lightweight classic J-coupes that weigh almost nothing are not a new thing. However, squeezing 1,100 horsepower out of the 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo turned up to 27 psi necessitated a GT-R’s AWD drivetrain for Jamie … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2016 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 01 — Movin’ On Up
We’ve been going to the Japanese Classic Car Show for over a decade, but this year was undoubtedly the best one yet. In its twelfth year, the JCCS, which took place this weekend at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, has grown … Continue reading
EVENTS: Nostalgic2Days 2016, Part 04 — Odds and Ends
One of the excellent things about a show like Nos2Days is that there are plenty of things for sale. You never know what you’ll come across, which can make browsing the aisles rather dangerous to your wallet. From new-old-stock center … Continue reading
60 YEAR CLUB: Happy birthday to Akio Toyoda
Today is the 60th birthday of Toyota Motor Corp’s head honcho Akio Toyoda. Even at six decades old, the great-grandson of Toyota founder Sakichi Toyoda shows no signs of slowing down. Over the weekend, he was seen donning a racing suit and getting … Continue reading
REMINDER: Toyotafest 2016 is this Saturday
Just a friendly reminder. The 21st annual Toyotafest is this Saturday, May 7. The celebration of Toyota, Lexus and Scion cars returns to the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Gates open at 9 am and close at 3 pm, and admission is … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon, Part 03 – Tunertopia
When it comes right down to it, the Auto salon is all about tuning. Sometimes, that can be downright cringeworthy when it comes to the classics we know and love. Other times, the result is inspired. And sometimes it’s just about … Continue reading
DETROIT: Aisin’s 1961 2-speed Toyoglide
This crusty old transmission seems like it should be sitting in the back of an old Japanese garage in some rural prefecture but it was displayed proudly, behind glass, at the Aisin booth at the Detroit Auto Show.
DETROIT: Soul Red is the new white
Despite our decree that white was the best color for Japanese cars, Nihon automakers are still continuing to make cars in other colors. One hue that seems to be surpassing the traditional white is Soul Red.
EVENTS: 2015 All-Toyotafest, Part 02
Registration for over 400 Toyotafest spaces sold out in under 24 hours this year, a new record. Perhaps it was the fact that it was the show’s 20th anniversary, or that in Japan it was already May 3, Akio Toyoda‘s birthday, or … Continue reading
EVENTS: Akio Toyoda shows up at Cars & Coffee Tokyo
At a recent Cars & Coffee event in Tokyo, the usual proceedings were disrupted when a formation of Lexus supercars arrived on the scene. Emerging from the fleet was the most famous man in Japan’s auto industry: Akio Toyoda, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Corp, … Continue reading
REMINDER: 2015 All-Toyotafest, May 2, 2015
Toyotafest is less than 48 hours away. This year, the show will be celebrating its 20th anniversary. All Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles, old and new, will be welcome. The show begins 9:00am on Saturday, May 2, 2015, at the Queen Mary in … Continue reading
EDITORIAL: Why 2014 is the Year of the JNC
Ever since we founded JNC way back in late 2006, we’ve been waiting for this year. We knew it would be an important milestone, but this particular orbit around the sun has exceeded even our wildest expectations. Here’s why 2014 is the year of the … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2014 SEMA, Part 02 — Bosozoku style comes to America
If there was one thing we learned from SEMA this year, it is that you must widebody all the things. From Beetles to Benzes, everything is being massively flared, often with bolt-on over-fenders, ducktail spoilers and turaichi shakotan stances. Bosozoku style has finally come to America.
EVENTS: 2014 SEMA Show, Part 01
Toyota’s SEMA presence this year was all about the Baja 1000. Ivan “Ironman” Stewart and his perfect hair were hanging around at the booth along with a ground pounding Toyota truck in the old tricolor racing livery.
25 YEARS of LEXUS, Part 01: The Lexus LS 400 is officially a Japanese nostalgic car
In honor of yet another landmark vehicle turning 25, let’s all raise a champagne glass to Lexus, Japan’s most luxurious marque. Now, set that glass down atop a pyramid of other glasses stacked on the hood of a dyno-strapped LS … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2014 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 03 — The Sixties
The Sixties were a time of rapid growth and optimism for Japan. Automakers just built whatever they felt like with no cares given to what western markets would bear, and before the companies themselves settled into a comfortable pattern of four-year lifecycles. There is probably no … Continue reading


