Tag Archives: minicars

QotW: What is the most influential Japanese car?

The western world has often overlooked the influence of Japan’s cars. So this week we put to you the question, one that is bound to stir up plenty of debate. What is the most influential Japanese car? There are so … Continue reading

Posted in mitsubishi, Question of the Week | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 63 Comments

The astoundingly detailed custom Hot Wheels of ScaleMaster

Please allow me to introduce our two newest JNC contributors — Ricky Silverio, an unquestionable nostalgic car guru who will be writing regularly about Japanese collectibles, and Mark Jones, the man behind these custom toy cars. Enjoy Ricky’s first article. – … Continue reading

Posted in honda, minicars, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

MINICARS: 2012 Hot Wheels Mad Manga now in red and gold

Grease up your rizento because second color of the Mad Manga is coming. Earlier this year, Hot Wheels shocked the minicar world by creating what is almost certainly the first diecast zokusha outside of Japan. A recolor in red and gold is … Continue reading

Posted in bosozoku, minicars | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

2012 Hot Wheels X JNC Mazda RX-7 now in white, Kroger’s mystery pack

Sorry to do this to you guys, but there is now a third Hot Wheels Mazda RX-7 to be look out for, and it’s a beauty. The latest recolor is an ultra-Japanese pearl white with our JNC inkan in classic red on … Continue reading

Posted in mazda, minicars | Tagged , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

QotW: What’s the coolest kei car?

Seeing some excellent examples of kei jidosha on the way back from Nagano last week got our brains churning. These uniquely Japanese micro machines are what put the island nation on the road and have been around for over 50 … Continue reading

Posted in kei, Question of the Week | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

QotW: What Japanese concept should have been produced?

The Tokyo Motor Show is known across the auto industry for having the most crazed concepts in auto-dom. Future is what Japan does best, but last week Toyota debuted a concept at a toy show to get Japanese kids off … Continue reading

Posted in concepts, minicars, nissan, Question of the Week, toyota, wheels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

Toyota Camatte concept debuts at Tokyo Toy Show

This charming, retro-looking contraption is the Toyota Camatte, a real car that ToMoCo unveiled today at the Tokyo Toy Show. The venue may seem odd, but the concept’s goal is to spark children’s interest in cars, a noble cause if … Continue reading

Posted in concepts, minicars, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Question of the Week: What is the most overrated nostalgic car?

We’ve asked what the most underrated nostalgic was, but we neglected to find its flip side.  Thus we ask you this week. What is the most overrated nostalgic car? The one car which we had high expectations for — because of … Continue reading

Posted in manga, minicars, nissan, Question of the Week | Tagged , , , , , , , | 39 Comments

MINICARS: Hot Wheels’ mid-engined Honda CR-X

In 1981 Hot Wheels debuted the Hot Ones, a line of diecast cars with an articulating suspension and thin axles for a smooth, frictionless ride across your tabletop. Mattel has been busy re-launching many of the iconic cars from this series, as well … Continue reading

Posted in honda, manga, minicars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

MINICARS: Hot Wheels bosozoku-style Mad Manga

Holy effing crap. If you had told us a year ago that one day Hot Wheels, the most red-blooded American toy there is, would have a takeyari-equipped bubble-flared shark-nosed zokusha in its lineup, we would have called you baka. And … Continue reading

Posted in bosozoku, minicars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Question of the Week: What is the ugliest Japanese car?

Without even reading the title, you can probably guess what this week’s QotW is just by photo alone. What is the ugliest Japanese car? Sorry Kev, but I’m going to have to make an executive decision on this one. The … Continue reading

Posted in mazda, nissan, Question of the Week, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 38 Comments

Friday Video: Subaru commercials want your heartstrings tugged

ToMoCo has plenty of FR heritage to capitalize on as they gear up for the Toyota 86 launch, but what about its Subaru BRZ twin? Instead of drifting XT coupes we get a  disowned son reuniting with his father over a … Continue reading

Posted in cm, Friday Video, subaru | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Hot Wheels Datsun 510 Bluebird in Metallic Gray

The latest iteration of Hot Wheels‘ ever-popular Datsun 510 Bluebird is going to be metallic gray. It has the same graphics as the red one that came out late last year, but racier wheels. It’s still part of the “Faster … Continue reading

Posted in minicars, nissan | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Aoshima Gurachan Collection Nissan Fairlady 240ZG

Yesterday we showed you some Aoshima 1/6 models of vintage Japanese racing barrels. On the opposite end of the scale scale Aoshima offers these bosozoku sleds from the 1/64 Gurachan Collection. The series has been out for a while, but … Continue reading

Posted in minicars, nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Aoshima’s “The Wheel” 1/6-Scale Vintage Barrel Model Kit

Welcome to 2012! As we await our Mayan apocalypse let’s enjoy what time we have by enjoying some holiday goodies received at the JNC office. Reason #3,811 of why Japan is great is because you can not only buy a … Continue reading

Posted in minicars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

In Toyota’s new ad, diecast Celicas and 2000GTs inspire the FT-86

What are you thankful for this holiday season? We, for one, are grateful that after teasing us with years of speculation and countless concept iterations, Toyota is finally ready to reveal the production FT-86 at the Tokyo Motor Show on … Continue reading

Posted in minicars, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Friday Video: No Honor Among Stop-Motion Diecast Thieves

Our friend Luxe37 is back with another brain-churningly awesome action short, creating with stop motion animation what was really going on in our childhood minds as we made vroom-vroom noises across the kitchen floor. Well, actually this is quite a … Continue reading

Posted in minicars, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Low Approval of H150 Nissan President

How do you prove that your H150 Nissan President is low enough?

Posted in minicars, nissan | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

John Morton’s BRE Datsun 510 to Appear in Hot Wheels Vintage Racing Line

Hot Wheels has a new lineup called Vintage Racing for 2011, which will feature highly detailed race machines from the 60s and 70s with authentic livery. Nostalgic car fans will be pleased to know that the BRE Datsun 510 driven … Continue reading

Posted in minicars, nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

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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