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Friday Video: Guerilla Group 8 Mitsubishi Sigma Clown Car

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Fri, 04/06/2010 - 07:13
As we’ve mentioned before, Guerilla Group 8 was Mitsubishi’s attempt at throwing vehicle sponsorship behind an action cop show to spice up their image (a la Nissan and Seibu Keistasu, Abunai Deka, and many others). Since Mitsubishi was footing the bill, we learn that: a). a convertible Galant Sigma makes a great clown car; b.) the [...]

Skylines at the Gates

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Thu, 03/06/2010 - 07:41
Outside of Japan, any one of these nostalgic Nissans would make heads explode. There, it’s par for the course. Just a little inspiration for Skorj.

Nostalgic Car Shopping in Yokohama

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Wed, 02/06/2010 - 07:47
The first real hot day of summer. I’m looking at a few options in buying a nostalgic car, so we took a quick drive on the Shuto to a reasonably well stocked shop near Yokohama. While I’m interested in one of their hakosuka Skylines, I was also taken by a few of the other options [...]

EVENTS: 2010 Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, Part II

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Tue, 01/06/2010 - 07:47
Welcome to Part Two of our coverage of the Mooneyes Street Car Nationals. As we mentioned in Part One, this show often blends American and Japanese customization styles, as evidenced by this army-themed van. If you think a US military motif, complete with kill markings indicating bombs dropped, is a bit incendiary for a Japanese car, count [...]

Friday Video: Abunai Deka’s F31 Nissan Leopard vs. Boat

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Fri, 28/05/2010 - 07:06
Put on your shades and slick back your hair because it’s the 80s, and the dangerous cops of Abunai Deka simply will not tolerate your lousy escape attempt to escape by boat. Perhaps Infiniti would have sold more M30s if Crockett and Tubbs drove an F31 Leopard instead. Full video below the fold.

EVENTS: 2010 Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, Part I

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Thu, 27/05/2010 - 07:09
You can tell by its name that the Mooneyes Street Car Nationals is an event heavily influenced by American hot rod culture. You won’t find much, if any, of the typical stuff we crave from JDM shows. Sorry, no negative offset 14×9 barrels, ground-scraping shakotan sleds, or sky-high takeyari pipes here. Instead, as automotive trends ping-pong [...]

Event Horizon for the Weekend of May 28, 2010

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Thu, 27/05/2010 - 07:01
If you know of or would like to publicize an event, send us a tip at the feedback address at the bottom of this page. This week: Thursday, May 27 – September 27 / San Diego: Datsun/Nissan, The American Story @ San Diego Auto Museum Sunday, May [...]

Wednesday Wall: Lucha Libre 1967 Datsun Sports 1600, Squealing Tires Not Included

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Wed, 26/05/2010 - 07:53
You don’t have to see Michael Emery’s face to know that he’s grinning from ear to ear in this picture.  His road-rally prepped Datsun Sports 1600 was born to carve down steep mountain passes, so coming up with the concept behind this photo was easy.  Finding a suitable location was another matter.  There’s no [...]

2010 Tokyo Nostalgic Car Show

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Tue, 25/05/2010 - 07:28
The Tokyo Nostalgic Car Show took place at the bizarre inverted ziggurat known as Big Sight convention center last weekend. The annual event isn’t limited to Japanese classics, and this year focused on high end Italian exotics. Ho-hum, right? But like the trooper he is, Skorj was on location with a camera getting up close and personal [...]

“Datsun/Nissan: The American Story” Exhibit Opens at San Diego Auto Museum

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Mon, 24/05/2010 - 07:03
If you’re going to be in southern California this summer, be sure to stop by the San Diego Automotive Museum for an exhibit called “Datsun/Nissan: The American Story.” In addition to classic Datsun and Nissan cars, there will be tons of memorabilia on display, including racing footage and vintage advertising materials. The museum has never devoted [...]

Nissan Cedrics Speed Through Daitokai, The Big City

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Fri, 21/05/2010 - 07:26
You may recognize some of the faces here, but this is not Seibu Keisatsu. Rather, it’s Daitokai (“The Big City”), a Japanese television series that preceded the car chase-filled antics of Tokyo’s western district. Tetsuya Watari (Sgt. Daimon in Seibu) plays Raisuke Kuroiwa, a different Nissan-driving, sawed-off shotgun-toting, aviator-wearing badass. Although the big city has no shortage [...]

Vintage Japanese Car Show at Laguna Gamagori

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Thu, 20/05/2010 - 07:40
Laguna Gamagori is a seaside amusement park in Aichi Prefecture. JNC reader Nakazoto went to a vintage car show there recently and snapped a metric buttload of photos. Somehow, a light blue hakosuka looks simultaneously oh so wrong and oh so right. Some of our favorites are below, or you could click here to see [...]

Event Horizon for the Weekend of May 21, 2010

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Thu, 20/05/2010 - 02:11
If you know of or would like to publicize an event, send us a tip at the feedback address at the bottom of this page. This week: Saturday, May 22 / Fountain Valley, CA: So Fresh All Car Monthly Meet Sunday, May 23 / Sydney, Australia: Sigma-Galant [...]

The Abandoned Cars of Ageo Bedroom Town

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Wed, 19/05/2010 - 08:18
Thirty-five kilometers north of Tokyo is Ageo. A once semi-rural area, its main inhabitants are now mostly daily commuters to Tokyo — the famous Japanese salaryman and the odd OL — trudging off via their packed trains to slave away in the data-mines of mindless corporations. The change in demographic from a vibrant, self-contained community, to [...]

Jay Leno’s Honda SM600 on My Classic Car

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Tue, 18/05/2010 - 08:35
If you’re a regular viewer of SPEED Channel on cable/satellite, well… you’re probably not reading this blog. They do seem to go overboard to cater to the NASCAR crowd these days. But one of their regular programs is called My Classic Car and on last week’s episode they stopped by Jay Leno’s shop and took [...]

510 Day Observed, in San Diego

Latest Classic Japanese Car News - Mon, 17/05/2010 - 07:30
The first ever Datsun meet put on by the San Diego 510 Crew (Ismael, Miguel & Ramon). This meet was conceived not only as a tardy 5-10 day celebration, but as a way to get any other Datsun models out of the garage. Word got out to the Toyota boys too, and [...]