Tag Archives: mazda

Friday Videos: Sayonara, Rotary Engine

This week Mazda announced the death of the RX-8. That means that for the first time since the Cosmo 110S debuted in 1967, there will be no rotary powered car sold anywhere in the world. Currently about 300 unsold RX-8s … Continue reading

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Nostalgics at the 2011 Historic Acropolis Rally

Watch a parade of Corolla, Celica, Starlet, Gemini, and Mazda RX-7 rally cars rip through the dusty roads of Athens alongside Lancias and Porsches in the 2011 Historic Acropolis Rally.

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EVENTS: Eagle Rock Swap Meet

Aaah, SoCal. We know the rest of the country hates it when we gloat. But sorry, it’s just damn nice to be able to take a leisurely Sunday morning cruise to an old school Japanese car bazaar. The Eagle Rock … Continue reading

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Monster Tajima’s Suzuki SX4 Breaks 10-Minute Barrier at 2011 Pikes Peak Hill Climb

We don’t often get to write about Suzukis, but this past Sunday, one made history. Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima has smashed the storied 10-minute barrier at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The long-time Suzuki rally racer clocked a time of … Continue reading

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What the Mazda 787B Sounds Like

We mentioned a few weeks back that the Mazda 787B was making a return to Le Mans for the 20th anniversary of its victory there. One of its drivers, Johnny Herbert, was on hand to take it for another spin … Continue reading

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Kidney, Anyone? 6,757-Mile Mazda RX-7

The Mazda RX-7 is one of the few cars that can truly be called iconic. When it debuted in 1979, it rocked the motoring world with its sleek looks, rotary powerplant, and stellar handling. It also came out of the … Continue reading

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Friday Video: KPGC10 Nissan Skyline GT-R vs Mazda Savanna RX-3

Last week we saw a meeting of some Japan’s best road-going GT cars. This Friday let’s look at two no-limit track machines. The KPGC10 Nissan Skyline GT-R and the Mazda Savanna RX-3 are old rivals, and Best Motoring brought them … Continue reading

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Mazda 787B Returns to Le Mans for 20th Anniversary of Victory

Twenty years ago, the Mazda 787B became the first and only rotary-powered car to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s also the only Japanese car to win overall what has been called “the most demanding endurance race in … Continue reading

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Friday Video: Mazda Story – The Challengers

Mazda released a video this week called “The Mazda Story – The Challengers”, which is all about Hiroshima pride. You can see glimpses of the Genbaku Dome (the only building to survive the A-bomb) and glimpses of the Mazda Museum. … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Nos2Days 2011, Part 03

Nos2Days is filled with wondrous machinery, but one of the mind-blowing cars on display was the legendary Dome Zero. Conceived during the supercar boom, the mid-engine marvel had the power-to-weight ratio of a Porsche of the era and was supposed … Continue reading

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Friday Video: Zero-4 Fighter Trailer

Add another title to Japan’s long tradition of guerrilla-shot movies about street racing. Zero-4 Fighter is all about late night drags in the metric system, where 400 meters is the interval by which you live your life. The presence of … Continue reading

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Pre-Digital Camera Kobe Kyuusha Meeting

We here at JNC love photos taken in pre-digital days. Clearly it’s not the photo quality, it’s that these authentic time-warp photos probably lived in some Japanese bloke’s personal photo album until one fateful day when it met with a … Continue reading

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Toyo Kyogo Instructional Video on the Mazda Rotary Engine

What starts out like an episode of Schoolhouse Rock is actually a 1960s Toyo Kyogo video about the Mazda rotary engine. We get a lesson in the operation of the Wankel, and its advantages over its piston counterpart. Best of … Continue reading

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Narusawa Village Showa Version 2 Gallery

Reason number 4,197 why Japan is awesome. No matter how miniscule the meet, wicked metal still shows up. Here’s a small gathering called Showa Version 2 that took place at the base of Mt. Fuji last November.

Posted in mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota, trucks, wagons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Gallery of Japanese Concept Cars

We’ve talked about many of these cars individually, but Pink Tentacle recently collected a bunch of Japanese concept cars all in once place. Here are some of Nihon’s wildest from the golden age of show cars. Above is the 1971 … Continue reading

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Friday Video: Zokusha Cruise Osaka

As Japan recovers, let’s visit a simpler time. Here’s a nice evening commute through Osaka. Judging from the cars the background, it’s mid-1980s. Fun times. Watch the video below the fold.

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How the Earthquake is Affecting Japan’s Automakers

In the aftermath of the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake of March 11, the Japan’s great automakers are mostly at a standstill.  Supply chains, transport and shipping facilities have all been affected by the quake and subsequent tsunami.  There’s also rolling … Continue reading

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Friday Video: Pentax Commercial Starring Honda N360 and Japan’s 1960s GT Legends

Check out this commercial for Pentax Cameras, which has many things making it awesome. Let’s see: chick is cute drives a mod looking rally-modified Honda N360 Toyota 2000GT Mazda Cosmo Sports Nissan Fairlady Z Toyota S40 Crown police car vintage … Continue reading

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EVENTS: New Year Meeting 2011 Part 08: Sights & Sounds

We’ve shown you a lot of cars from the 2011 New Year Meeting, but the event is much more than that. It’s a celebration of kyuusha kulture, and as you might expect, there’s all sorts of car-related goodies dotting the … Continue reading

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EVENTS: New Year Meeting 2011 Part 07: Wagons & Commercial

Surf’s up, JNCers! Since today’s installment of our 2011 New Year Meeting coverage coincides with Valentine’s Day, let’s take a look at some of the vehicles with a little more volume in the back. You know, something that Ken and … Continue reading

Posted in events, honda, mitsubishi, nissan, subaru, suzuki, toyota, wagons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments