Tag Archives: prius

Motorcycle racing pioneer, father of Prius, and more inducted into Japan Automotive Hall of Fame

The Japan Automotive Hall of Fame has selected its 2024 inductees. In addition to four vehicles of historical importance to Japan’s automotive history, the JAHoF has also selected five individuals whose work in the field are considered significant contributions to … Continue reading

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The Toyota USA Museum is crushing a classic Cressida and record-setting Prius

We are sad to report that the Toyota USA Museum appears to be sending two of its cars to the crusher. A gold 1978 Cressida and a 2003 Prius with a very distinct livery have surfaced in a recycling yard … Continue reading

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Toyota 86 wagon revealed in never-before seen concept photos

Toyota has shared some photos of concepts that have, until now, never seen the light of day. Their public revelation comes as part of the 50th anniversary of Toyota’s pioneering CALTY design studio in Newport Beach, California, the first of … Continue reading

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Japan Automotive Hall of Fame welcomes Nissan 510 Bluebird, Mitsubishi Pajero, Mazda 787B, and more

The Japan Automotive Hall of Fame has announced the inductees that will honored in its Historic & Heritage Vehicles category. The vehicles chosen have each determined to have contributed to the development of Japan’s automobile industry and car culture, and … Continue reading

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Japan Automotive Hall of Fame welcomes Fairlady Z, Prius, and more

The Japanese Automotive Hall of Fame has announced their 2022 inductees. Each year three vehicles representing milestones in the country’s auto industry are selected for the honor. This year, they include a sports car classic, a technological turning point, and … Continue reading

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Initial D taxis are here to take you around Takumi’s hometown

The city of Shibukawa, Gunma is promoting itself as the home town of Initial D protagonist Takumi Fujiwara. The real-life town is where all the action of the series began, and even now, 27 years after its debut, fans of … Continue reading

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EVENTS: All-Toyotafest, Part 05 — Big Sedans

There’s nothing like a big Toyota sedan, and Toyotafest was full of ’em. Whether you’re talking about the brilliant luxury of a Lexus LS or the deadbolt reliability of a Camry, each one had its fans and fastidious owners. With … Continue reading

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MINICARS: A beginner’s guide to JNC Legos, Part 03

In the final installment of our beginner’s guide to Lego JNCs, we are going to focus on the prevailing style of builds in Japan. In Part 01 we admired highly complex creations comprised of hundreds of pieces where the sky’s the … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Walk through Toyota history with this new Crown ad

Not content to update a mainstay of Japanese culture with the debut of the new Century last week, Toyota has now unveiled a redesigned version of Japan’s second-most time-honored model, the Crown. The fifteenth generation goes on sale today, marking an … Continue reading

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NEWS: These are your one-owner barn finds for 2028

A new study has revealed which cars are bought new and kept by their original owners the longest. So, if you’re looking for a well-preserved one-owner car in 2028, this is what you’re likely to find. The good news is, … Continue reading

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NEWS: Toyota launches new GR performance line

Toyota has launched a new performance line in Japan. Called GR, it offers performance parts and complete cars, with six models offered at launch. Four more will follow and hit the roads of Japan by spring 2018. Toyota hopes to “gradually” bring the … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Automobile Council 2017, Part 01

Japanese automakers seem to have a newfound passion for their heritage. In the past six months, Nissan, Mazda and Honda have all announced programs aimed at restoring iconic models. We’re not sure if the Automobile Council show has anything to do with it, but the … Continue reading

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NIHON LIFE: Stumbling across random car shops in Tokyo

It’s easy to get lost in Tokyo. The streets aren’t laid out in a grid and often have no signs on them, or if they do, they’re in Japanese. As a car otaku, the problem is compounded because rather than looking at … Continue reading

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Shanghai Motor Show: China’s long history with Toyota

China is not a place you would immediately think of when Japanese nostalgic cars are mentioned. The country was largely closed off from imports until the 1980s, and wounds both psychological and physical, caused by Japanese actions during World War II, were not … Continue reading

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SEMA 2016: Toyota brings out the classics

For the 50th anniversary of the Corolla, Toyota brought out one of its best SEMA displays ever, which included one example of every generation of the world’s best-selling nameplate. That alone would have been a pretty awesome display already, but Toyota … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2016 All-Toyotafest, Part 01 — A preview of what’s to come

Now in its 21st year, the All-Toyotafest has become quite possibly the most popular Japanese car show in southern California. How popular? Online registration for the 2016 gathering — all 450 spots — sold out just eight hours after going … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon, Part 04 – JNC Staff Picks

For our final installment of our 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon coverage, we asked some of our JNC team Tokyo staff to identify the coolest whips they encountered at the annual mega-fest of Japanese automotive excess. Here’s what they came up … Continue reading

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Tokyo Motor Show: The wild and wonderful Big Sights

Though the exciting debuts of the Tokyo Motor Show have been covered, you didn’t think we’d go all the way to Tokyo and and not show you around, did you? Here’s what it’s like to attend the press days of the maddest Motor … Continue reading

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ART CORNER: Bosozoku Cats and Kyuusha by San Mamiya

San Mamiya is a brilliant artist from Japan that operates mainly on Instagram. With an apparent fondness for old cars, bosozoku cats and the superdeformed style that populates manga, his illustrations exhibit a unique Nihon style that can probably be loosely described as Japanese Ed Roth. 

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MINICARS: Happy Valentine’s Day from JNC

It’s become a tradition for Tomica to release a series of chocolate cars every year, just in time for Valentine’s Day. In years past we’ve seen chocolate classics like the Toyota 2000GT, S30 Nissan Fairlady Z, hakosuka GT-R, TE72 Corolla Levin, and … Continue reading

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