Tag Archives: sprinter trueno

EVENTS: AE86 Nights 9th Anniversary

What started as a small gathering of enthusiasts of the last RWD Corolla eight years ago has grown into a gathering that attracts hundreds of cars from all over southern California. It all started with the beloved Hachiroku, and the types of … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

EVENTS: Club TE27 Meeting

Japanese owners of the TE27 Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno recently gathered for their annual meeting, held at the Toyota Automobile Museum in Aichi Prefecture in central Japan. Ninety-six cars in total came from all over the country, forming a sea of moss green and orange. 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 24 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 All-Toyotafest, Part 05 — Editors’ Choice

For the final installment of this year’s Toyotafest we share the JNC staff favorites. In a show packed with prime Aichi steel, it wasn’t easy to narrow down the field, making the results probably over-long. But hey, it’s a good problem to have, … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

EVENTS: Nostalgic2Days 2016, Part 02 — Tuning Houses

For our second installment of the 2016 Nostalgic 2 Days event coverage, we’ll take a look at some of Japan’s kyusha tuning houses, beginning with our friends at Star Road. The Tokyo-based specialists of classic Skylines and Fairlady Zs typically holds court … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 All-Toyotafest, Part 03 — Sporty Fours

As we saw in Part 02, Toyota has had no shortage of grand, powerful machines powered by the legendary straight-six. However, the company built its fortunes on millions of inline-fours. Using its vast production reserves, it has over the years been able to bestow … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

VIDEO: Toyota Corolla 50th Anniversary

Last week Toyota threw a party in New York celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Corolla. This is a copy of the video that was playing on loop on TVs during the event. KE10, TE37, TE51, AL10, AE86, and a bunch of … Continue reading

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

EVENTS: 2016 New Year Meeting, Part 04 — The Streets

In the last two installments of our 2016 New Year Meeting coverage, we prowled the parking area to find as much diversity in marques and models as there were in customization styles. In our final installment of the 2016 New Year … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

EVENTS: Old Car Heaven, Part 01

Recently I was invited to accompany the Prince Driver’s Club to Kyuusha Tengoku, or Old Car Heaven, on the outskirts of downtown Tokyo. With many cars expected, we were asked to assemble on site at 06:00 in the morning. The early … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

ART CORNER: Beautiful dioramas of model cars from Japan

Takuji is a Japanese artist who places 1:43 and 1:64 scale minicars into beautifully constructed dioramas. From AE86s on touge roads to Mitsubishis tearing through a rally stage to mechanics tuning Skylines in a garage, each scene is a slice of … Continue reading

Posted in Art Corner, minicars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

VIDEO: Drifting Hakone in 1992

Imagine a winding touge packed with Japanese drift machines — Silvias, RX-7s, Supras, Fairlady Zs and AE86s. So. Many. AE86s. Last year we showed a video proving that underground drifting was already reaching fever pitch by the late 80s. By 1992, Hakone Pass — one of … Continue reading

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

VIDEO: 40th Anniversary of TRD

Founded in 1976, Toyota Racing Development is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. At the Tokyo Auto Salon a video played on loop, showing highlights of the last four decades. From Starlets to AE86s to Celicas to Supras, this is … Continue reading

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

EVENTS: Hachimaru Meeting at Fuji Speedway

If it wasn’t for its glorious motorsports history, Fuji Speedway would be just about the worst place to hold a car show. It rains seemingly half the time there, and while that makes for cool photography, it can’t be pleasant for the … Continue reading

Posted in events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Celebrate the holidays with your own JNC AE86 cookie cutters

Want a JNC-themed activity you can do with your family this holiday season? We at JNC have created an AE86 cookie cutter that you can download, 3D print, and use to make delicious, rear-wheel-drive cookies that will drift their way right … Continue reading

Posted in jnc | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

NIHON LIFE: How to park your car in Japan, Part 01

Finding public or street parking in Japan’s major cities is sometimes chotto muzukashii — a Japanese saying for “a little difficult,” said through clenched teeth with a trailing “iiiii…” it essentially means, with typical Japanese subtlety, impossible. So there is naturally … Continue reading

Posted in Nihon Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

VIDEO: Club-level race at Nakayama circuit in 1985

This video of a club-level race at Nakayama Circuit in 1985 has got everything: AW11, Gemini, Bluebird, R30, SA22, multiple generations of Truenos and Levins, and the smooth jazz of a Gran Turismo menu screen. Watch the video below.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

EVENTS: 2015 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 03 — Made in the 80s

Have chrome-bumpered bullies been making you feel bad that your urethane-capped car isn’t truly a classic? Tell them to take a chill pill. Now that 1990 is the 25-year cutoff, everything that was built in the Eighties is officially a classic.

Posted in events, jccs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

KIDNEY, ANYONE? 14,500-mile Toyota AE86

The march of AE86s coming out of the woodwork continues. Now what could very well be the lowest-mileage Toyota Corolla GT-S left in the world has surfaced in Waxhaw, North Carolina. With just 14,500 miles on the clock, this USDM version of … Continue reading

Posted in for sale | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

EVENTS: 2015 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 02 — Shakotan Boogaloo

In Japan, shakotan is simply means a lowered car. Many different styles of car can technically qualify as shakotan, but if we’re going to steal a traditional Japanese term, we might as well apply it to traditional Japanese cars. You know it when … Continue reading

Posted in events, jccs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

VIDEO: Cruising and drifting Hakone in 1989

Talk about time travel. What were you doing in 1989? In Japan, car enthusiasts were lining up at Hakone Nanamagari Touge like it was a playground slide. A notoriously twisty section of mountain road, it is part of the most famous of Japan’s touge, the birthplaces … Continue reading

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

A Brief History of the Toyota AE86 Corolla

In the second of a series, JNC is teaming up with our friends at Petrolicious to launch simultaneously a video and an article about historically significant Japanese cars. Be sure to check out the excellent Petrolicious and their beautiful short … Continue reading

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments