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Ebay treasures: Mitsuoka’s View on Jaguar

October 1, 2012 / banpei / 2 Comments

Back in the late fifties Jaguar launched the Mark 2 as a medium sized saloon and it was an instant hit! The Mark 2 entry level engine already had an output of 120hp (cars with ten times less horses were still for sale back then!) and its top model, the 3.8 litre XK model, featured an output of 220hp. To put that into contrast: that is about as much as the Lexus IS250 outputs nowadays.

Imagine then the creation of this little lookalike:

Yes from up front it really looks like a Jaguar Mark 2!

But from a different angle… Continue reading

Family Album Treasures: Nissan Laurel SGX C130

Family Album Treasures: Laurelu gee-ess-eksu

September 29, 2012 / banpei / 0 Comments

Or at least, that’s how this proud owner would have called his latest acquisition in the early 70s:

Otousan (father) is making sure the SGX badge of his Laurel C130 is just as clearly visible on the photo as his daughter. You could almost say the Laurel is part of the family!

Also okaasan (mother) makes sure her dress matches the Laurel’s tail lights: Continue reading

Friday Video: junkyard stroll in Japan (part 3)

September 28, 2012 / banpei / 0 Comments

What amazes me most about Japanese junkyards is the number of luxurious cars stashed there…

This video by BANKAKUEMIKO is filled with cars like the Nissan Cedric Y30, Toyota Celsior, Toyota Crown Majesta UZS141, Skyline R33 and a Nissan President: Continue reading

Carina Sightings: Carina Jeune remains young!

September 26, 2012 / banpei / 1 Comment

For a very obvious reason the Carina Jeune attracted my attention when I first read the 1984 Carina brochure.

Displayed on this picture it may look a bit dull to you and you are right: it is a dull car!

The car itself is in immaculate condition:

But even from this angle it doesn’t get any better. It remains an immaculately dull looking car…

So why am I so overly excited over a dull car? My excitement is about this device called a back sonar: Continue reading

Brochures: French Eterna Sigma in Spain

September 25, 2012 / banpei / 1 Comment

For some reason during the 80s the Japanese liked to portrait their cars in a foreign habitat, like they needed approval from the old world. The same happened to this 1980 Mitsubishi Eterna ?:

This Eterna ? is on French plates (Paris), RHD and portrayed next to a Spanish farmer and his mule (Sancho Panza) and against the Don Quixote white windmills.
What were they trying to say? That the Eterna Sigma is capable of attacking the giants (windmills)? Or that the Japanese advanced technology wise more than the Spanish (and the old world)? And why is the lady on the right drinking coffee? I honestly don’t know…

Found at Furudo Kai

Motoharu Kurosawa tests the Leopard F31 for Video Option

Video Option: Motoharu Kurosawa tests the Leopard F31

September 24, 2012 / banpei / 0 Comments

Long before Keiichi Tsuchiya earned his stripes in racing Motoharu Kurosawa dominated the Japanese GP in his hakosuka Skyline GT-R. The same happened with reviewing cars for Video Option magazine: long before we became familiar with Keiichi pushing any Japanese sports/racing/tuned car to the limit on a touge run Motoharu Kurosawa was doing the same:

Looking at this September 1988 review of the Nissan Leopard F31 it becomes clear a lot has changed in the past 24 years, for instance the tests that mattered: Continue reading

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