Vintage USA tin and the Mooneyes Street Car Nationals might go hand-in-hand, but you won’t find one single American-made machine in this first Spotlight-O-Rama from the annual Tokyo event. I’m doing this to emphasize just how diversified Mooneyes events are in Japan, and – where you will at times – come across the most curious [...]
No matter how many times I attend the Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, I never quite get over the visual impact the event creates on the streets of Tokyo’s Odaiba neighborhood. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t into customs or hot rods, the sight that these cars collectively create is simply breathtaking. Throw in an ever-expanding [...]
Motorsport is addictive. I probably don’t need to tell you that, but of all the codes out there I’m not sure than any fuel the fire of obsession quite like drag racing does. In a sport where success is often measured in one-hundredths of a second or less, that’s understandable of course. Consistency is one thing, [...]
After a hearty breakfast and a last minute dip into the onsen, the second day of the Marronier Run was going to be all about admiration. I headed out to the front of the Hotel nice and early so that I could make full use of the beautiful morning light that was just breaking over [...]
As car enthusiasts, I’d say there are generally two different ways in which we acquire new vehicles. First off, there’s the traditional route where we have a specific model we seek out – often looking at numerous examples and doing much contemplation before we decide to hand over our hard-earned money for the right car. [...]
The Marronier Run is probably one of the lesser-known classic car events in Japan. It’s a friendly rally organized by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts and it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable weekends I’ve had in a very long time. We are always on a mission to step outside of our comfort zones [...]
This year’s Donington Historic Festival in the UK had the usual strong line-up of car clubs taking up the infield of the track, but one gathering I was really looking forward to checking out was the area dedicated to the Classic Z Register and the Z Club Of Great Britain. Organiser Jonathan Kinghorn had been [...]
Style is a funny thing, but more so is the speed at how people judge various interpretations of it. I think Nagano Koubou serves as the perfect example here, in particular the pink Onevia I posted last month following a quick tour of the little Kansai-based bodyshop. Over the last few years Masayoshi Nagano has been [...]
Getting a 3700lb (1675kg) Nissan Skyline GT-R down the strip in eight and a half seconds flat on its very first outing since an intensive, yet short lead build, is not any way, shape or form an easy proposition. But behind the wheel of MGAWOT II, New Zealand-based but internationally-renowned Nissan RB-series engine builder Robbie [...]
While Project GT-R may be looking identical to when we saw it last, there has been quite a lot happening behind the scenes. It’s almost all falling into place now, and there are only a few minor details I need to address before I can begin the biggest series of upgrades the Skyline has seen [...]
How about you take a form over function sort of car, and actually make it function? What would you have then? Is that even possible? Are these two terms not mutually exclusive? I apologize if I start a car feature with so many questions but this pink Nagano Koubou Onevia really does make you wonder about a [...]
Ever since running across Nagano-san and his creations at past Nagoya Exciting Car Showdowns, I’ve been wanting to drop by his workshop in the outskirts of Kyoto for quite some time. It’s hard to put a finger on it all but Paint & Cutting Make Nagano Koubou has been extremely influential in creating the very [...]
In yesterday’s post I took you guys on a little trip through the M. Yokota Museum in Gunma, Japan. Today I’d like to follow that up with a more detailed look at the vintage automobile collection, which is one of the museum’s biggest drawcards. From rare sports cars and competition vehicles to more family-friendly vehicles [...]
Nestled in the hills of Japan’s scenic Gunma Prefecture lies a car museum unlike any other I’ve ever seen. Actually, to even call this place a “car museum” is to understate just what you’ll find here. A visit to the M. Yokota Museum is like taking a trip back to a different era, and the [...]
The Kaido Racer and zokusha are the epitome of Japanese car culture, or at least an obscure slice of it. It’s incredible that these sort of cars still exist and continue to be built, but even more so that younger generations are now getting into this sort of style. It’s not often that you come across these creations, [...]
