Tag Archives: toyota
MINICARS: 2012 Hot Wheels ’87 Toyota Pickup
The latest nostalgic Hot Wheels to roll from the mad minds at Mattel is a 1987 Toyota Pickup. When it was first announced last December, we envisioned for reasons unknown a slammed minitruck, but instead it’s a lifted 4×4 that would … Continue reading
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
EVENTS: 2012 Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, Part 01: Coupes, Two-Doors & Utes
As you can guess by the name, the Street Car Nationals put on by Mooneyes each year is a festival of Amesha — American car — culture. Instead of usual Japanese fare like step-lipped SSRs and racing livery, this show is all about chromed … Continue reading
Friday Video: Kamikaze Road V
And now for something completely different, one of the many home-grown videos of Japan’s car culture from the age of VHS. This one’s called Kamikaze Road V, and shows of the somewhat unrefined side of 1980s bosozoku style, when people … Continue reading
Four new Choro-Q Zero models spotted at Shizuoka Toy Show
The discontinuation a few years ago of Choro-Q, also known as Penny Racers or Turbo Tricksters to USDM fans, will remain one of the great injustices of modern Japanese society. Last year the line was relaunched as Choro-Q Zero with a focus on … Continue reading
Project Neo86: Introducing the JNC Scion FR-S
When the original AE86 and Silvia were killed, no one expected that Japan would simply walk away from its automotive roots. But walk they did, and light, agile, affordable RWD cars remained absent from the market for what turned out … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2012 Fuji Jamboree, Part 02
In Part 01 of our 2012 Fuji Jamboree coverage we focused on machines that took to the Speedway. Blood red hakosuka with Okamoto logos? You know those black Wats are ready to cut loose on Fuji’s tarmac. However, as every … Continue reading
Question of the Week: What’s Japan’s most luxurious car?
From the world’s first production GPS system in the JC Eunos Cosmo to the Cressida’s redundant stereo volume dial next to the steering wheel, Japan has always been a pioneer of automotive luxury. That is why this week we ask, … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2012 Fuji Jamboree, Part 01
If the sight of a Skyline and Savanna in nostalgic warpaint doesn’t stir your soul, we’ll go ahead and notify your next of kin. Add to that a sprinkling of Starlet, Sunny, and a snazzy Japanese-colors retro racing helmet perched just so, … Continue reading
Akio Toyoda’s favorite cars built by Toyota’s rivals
In case you needed more proof that Akio Toyoda is a car nut of the highest order, yesterday the ToMoCo head honcho rattled off his favorite cars that are not Toyotas. The occasion was Toyoda’s inauguration as chair of JAMA, the Japan … Continue reading
Vintage Toyotas spotted on the set of Ron Howard’s Rush
Hollywood doesn’t exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to movies for the die hard car nut but hope looms on the horizon. Ron Howard’s Rush, a biopic about the legendary rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda … Continue reading
Question of the Week: What Japanese car was the biggest manga star?
You knew it was coming. After last week’s QotW about the best Nihon car movie star, we now grill you about the Japanese art form known manga and its in-motion equivalent. What Japanese car is the biggest manga/anime star? Being the hachi-head … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 02
Part 02 of our 2012 All-Toyotafest coverage starts off with a pair of our favorite neoclassic Celicas. Moises Rivera (white) and Jesse Ortiz‘s (blue 1JZ-swapped) wedge-shaped A60s are the very definition of 1980s knife’s edge styling, and the US-spec GT-S flares … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2012 All-Toyotafest, Part 01
The 2012 All-Toyotafest was abuzz with the excitement generated by the neo-hachiroku. After a decade and a half of supposedly sporty front-wheel-drive offerings, the lightweight FR Toyota is back with a vengeance. For throngs of Toyotaku in attendance it was cause … Continue reading
Question of the Week: What Japanese car was the biggest movie star?
Not counting the Fast and Furious franchise, cars of Japanese origin don’t usually feature too prominently in Hollywood productions. But that makes their rare appearances all the more special, which brings us to this week’s question: What Japanese car was … Continue reading
Kidney, Anyone? 22,000-mile 1974 Toyota Celica ST
In Ashland, Kentucky right now there sits a gorgeous 22,000-mile daruma waiting for a new owner. The 1974 Toyota Celica ST is as mint as mint can be and swathed in a period brownish-green. Everything is original except for the Cragar wheels, but … Continue reading
JNC “RWD Toyota” shirts will debut at Toyotafest this weekend
Three letters — RWD. That says it all for the shirt we’re debuting at Toyotafest this Saturday, May 5. The lightweight rear-wheel-drive sport coupe is the magic formula that made us fall in love with old school Japanese cars in … Continue reading


