Auto Otaku: Mike G's Blog

Red Megaphone

While browsing YouTube, I came across a few videos by Red Megaphone , a Tokyo based restoration vintage car dealer/cafe. I checked out some of Red Megaphone's cars at the Tokyo Nostalgic Car Show in '06 and they offer a nice combination of both tuned street cars like the kenmeri pictured above, and cars fully restored to original condition. The videos show off several models they have for sale, letting potential buyers (or dreamers like me) hear the engines run and see the cars inside and out. These cars are fully restored and are in beautiful shape. I should be going to check out Red Megaphone's shop early next year so keep an eye out for it. Until then, check out these videos. Listen to the sound of 3 liter L series in the silver kenmeri, it's amazing!

In order they are:

Hakosuka GTR Clone

Full Tuned Kenmeri

240ZG

Honda S600

Fans

    Recently, I have been getting a lot of feedback from people saying they enjoy reading this site and looking at my photos. One of these emails was from a guy by the name of Jay Bryan. If you haven't heard of Jay, he is the creator of the JDM Ego line of apparel and huge fan of tuned Japanese machinery. The Evolution pictured above belongs to his girlfriend, and it's a rolling showcase of top notch, circuit-tuned Japanese parts. Jay's latest project is a BNR34 Skyline GTR, which is quite the rarity here on the West Coast. You can check out Jay's profile on Fatlace right here . One look at the picture of his book shelf shows just how hardcore he is. Despite his envy-inducing collection, he is super down to earth. It's  great to know people like Jay are fans of my work. He recently started a blog  where he shares all sorts of tuned cars from Japan and talks about his own projects.  He is also in the process of building the new site for JDM Ego ,so keep an eye on it. I'm really glad people are enjoying my stuff, so I will do my best to keep doing better and better. Thanks a lot.

Kumakubo Makes best 8 With New Evo

This past weekend was round 5 of the D1GP @ Ebisu Circuit. Kumakubo Nobushige used this event at his home course to unleash his new FR Converted Lancer Evolution. I still haven't seen a full report of the event yet, but he managed to finish 8th overall, which is great considering the new machine. What is even more impressive is that he brought out the new car in the middle of a tight battle between him and Kawabata Masato for the D1 Championship.  This serves as a testament to both Kumakubo's driving and to Koyama-san and the crew at JUN Auto for building a competitive car. I found a couple pictures taken by some fans of the new machine. (I do not take any credit for them) Option/D1 should be updating their website with complete coverage soon, so keep an eye out for it. By the way, Nomura Ken won the Ebisu event, it's good to see him back at the top after struggling earlier in the season.

Auto Otaku, Literally

You probably know that the word ,"Otaku" in Japanese is often used to describe someone who is obsessed with something to the point of being a total geek about it. I , and many others are otaku of Japanese car culture. In the west  fans of Japanese and Manga proudly call themselves "otaku". Personally, I am not too interested in Japanese comic books or cartoons unless they have cars in them...

Initial D is by far the most popular car related manga/anime in Japan, and all over the world. It is loved by many, and hated by some for bringing (unwanted) attention to the world of drifting, and particularly for driving up prices of the AE86 Corolla because of it's cult-car status.

I am not talking about Initial D here though, I am talking about several other lesser-known, yet just as cool car-themed manga available in Japan.

Behind Initial D the second most popular car manga is Wangan Midnight. Originally written by Michiharu Kusunoki, the series has spawned a popular arcade/video game and this summer, an all new anime series. Wangan Midnight is about a guy named Akio who races his S30Z "Ghost Zed" on the highways of Tokyo and Yokohama. I'm sure most of you are already somewhat familiar with Wangan Midnight.

Next up is my personal favorite, "Shakotan Boogie" which I use as my screenname on several car forums. This manga is was also written by Michiharu Kusunoki. This manga is actually based on a fairly unknown live action movie from the mid 80's. It is set in the small city of Kochi, on the island of Shikoku. This series is not only about racing like Initial D or Wangan Midnight. It is about picking up girls, getting in fights, cruising around , being goofy, and other things besides just racing.  Three of the main cars of this manga include an S30Z G nose, GC10 Skyline, and an MZ10/11 Toyota Soarer. Other cars I have seen include-

Nissan Z31
Nissan Leopard
Toyota TE27 Levin
MA70 Supra
AMG Benz
FC３S RX7
Other European and American cars

Outside of Japan, few are familiar with Shakotan Boogie. Even in Japan, only car people are into it. There was also a four part anime series based on the manga that is available on VHS. Recently a number of model cars from the manga have been released in Japan.

Michiharu Kusunoki has done another manga called "Tokyo Broker" where a Dodge Viper GTS is featured prominently, though it is not really a racing or car manga.

Lastly, there is a more recent manga called "Countach" that features a number of 70's and 80's exotic cars like Porsche 928's, Ferrari's and of course Lamborghini's. Japanese cars are present as well. The one book I have has a mountain race between an AW11 MR2 and a Lancia Stratos. The artwork in "Countach" is more detailed than older manga.

Besides the one's I mentioned there are other car manga in Japan, though I do not have any issues of these. One of them is called Garage Restore 251, which I saw on Grand JDM I hope to track down  more hard to find car manga in Japan.

Unfortunately, as far as manga goes, these are nowhere near the top in popularity so they are extremely hard to find outside of Japan, and of course are only available in Japanese. Despite this, these car manga offer a unique look at Japan's car culture through creative and talented minds.

Los Angeles Nisei Showoff

DSC_0094, originally uploaded by Auto Otaku.

Generally, I don't get too excited about import car shows as they don't offer enough to satisfy my short attention span. The Nisei Showoff show in Little Tokyo, Downtown LA is different for a few reasons-

1. The cars are mostly top notch, and exhibit tedious attention to detail.

2. Variety: Hondas, Vintage Cars, VIP Sedans, Wagons/Vans, Evos/  Imprezas etc.

3. The show is held simultaneously with the Nisei Week festival, which offers great food and other cultural exhibits.

4. Within easy walking distance of Japanese book stores so I can buy
my weight in car magazines.

The above reasons, and more make the Nisei Showoff worth the trip. 
Besides the large numbers of Civics and Integras, there was a surprising amount of Scion VIP-themed  xB's and xA's with Japanese aero kits and wide, low offset high end wheels. A number of vintage cars were there also including a mint GC10 Skyline coupe and a couple of 510 Bluebirds, which tempted people to come to Japanese Classic Car Show in October. The Nisei showoff was a great way to spend an afternoon in SoCal.

 

Check out all the photos here

Team Orange/JUN D1 Evo

On his blog, Team Orange member/ D1 GC8 Impreza pilot Suenaga Naoto posted a few "teaser" photos of JUN Auto's / Team Orange's new D1 Evolution project. I don't know much else besides what you can see in these two pictures. Looks like the engine has been changed to a longitudal format. Since the D1 season is more than halfway through, I wonder if the car will debut before the season is up or they will wait until '08 to campaign this car. Either way, I can't wait to learn more and see it in action.

UPDATE 8/16:

Here's one more shot that shows the whole car. According to Suenaga, the car is undergoing testing at Ebisu, and Kumakubo will drive it next season. Aero and graphics have yet to be added.

It's a Skyline. It's Terrific!

I have always enjoyed looking at vintage car commercials and advertisements, as they allow one to travel back to the time when today's classics were brand new. Not only do they act as a time capsule for the vehicles , but the commercials themselves stand as reminders of days gone by.

With the Skyline being one of Japan's most long lived nameplates, it is interesting to watch the car's TV commercials change over time. Thanks to YouTube, I found a pair of interesting Japanese Skyline Commercials, or CM's as the Japanese like to call them. Interestingly, in Japan the C110 Skylines are known as "Ken Marys" because of the young couple that was shown in the car's commercials. The C210 Skyline is known as a "Japan" because of the car's advertising.

This ad for the early C10 series, shows the  nature of the Japanese auto market as it grew in the postwar years. If you have seen American car commericals from the 50's you will notice many similarities.

Here is a commercial for the R30 Skyline from the early 80's. The ad features Paul Newman driving the Formula Silhouette R30 at Daytona. The commercial is pure 80's, done at a time when Japan's economy was growing into the famous "bubble". Newman did a number of ads for this car, and there was even a Paul Newman edition DR30 sold in Japan.

There are tons of cool old car ads on YouTube, I thought these two were worth sharing.

Bitchin'

DSC_0023, originally uploaded by Auto Otaku.

Nothing special here, just wanted to share this stunning 61' Dodge I saw at a local car show today. Done in a eye-catching early 60's kustom style. THIS is custom, putting some big chrome wheels and TV screens in an SUV is not.

Good Morning, Motegi: Honda's Fantasy Land

DSC_0303 copy, originally uploaded by Auto Otaku.

How would you like to wake up in the morning to the sight of a world-class racing circuit against the backdrop of beautiful countryside?

Nestled in the foothills of Tochigi Prefecture a couple hours north of Tokyo is Honda's massive Twin Ring Motegi racing circuit. Actually, to call Motegi a race track is a major understatement, it is actually more along the lines of an automotive theme park.

The facility not only houses two separate, but overlapping racing circuits (an oval and a road course), but a gymkhana course and dirt courses for both cars and bikes. At Motegi you will also find Honda's famous collection hall ,which houses Honda cars and motorcycles spanning the entire length of Honda's history on the streets and race tracks of the world. Just seeing the vintage Honda racing machines here is worth the trip. Everything is present from cafe racer motorcycles to Formula 1 cars.

After you have spent a couple hours reliving Honda's history, you can hop on the free shuttle bus that circles the facility and hitch a ride to the "Fan Fun Lab". Despite the funny name, the Fan Fun Lab has some really cool stuff for both kids and adults. One of the things I enjoyed most was a racing simulator that allowed you to take a laps around Motegi or Suzuka in an NSX or S2000. The simulator features a working instrument cluster, fully functioning clutch and shifter, and swivels with the movement of the car. It makes Gran Turismo look like a child's game. It costs a couple hundred yen to try it, but it's well worth it.

The Fan Fun Lab's most popular attraction is the Asimo Super Live show. Here you can see Honda's famous humanoid robot in action about once an hour.

Of course there are several different restaurants, including one that serves some great American style burgers and the like. A number of gift shops sell all sorts of Honda and racing related goods that are unavailable outside of Japan.

All of these things provide enough to spend at least a day at Motegi (This is not even considering on-track racing action) If you want to stay for longer, you can spend the night at the Hotel Twin Ring. It is very nice, and the rooms provide views that overlook the race track.

Twin Ring Motegi is a truly unique place ,and anyone with an interest in motorsport, particularly Honda enthusiasts owe it to themselves to pay a visit.

You can see some of the photos I took there last spring Here and Here .

For more info check out Motegi's english site- http://www.twinring.jp/english/index.html

USJDM?

Japan's auto culture spans far beyond the traditional "JDM tuning" that has inspired enthusiasts all over the world. Like America, nearly every type subculture of automotive style is present in Japan. From lowriders to exotics to rat rods to pickup trucks and VW's, everything is there. Japanese enthusiasts have always drawn inspiration from the US, and now we are starting that this idea sharing has come full circle. In the early 00's when the body kit, neon light, and vinyl decal trend was in full swing in the US, Japanese began to emulate these cars with their own "spocom" movement which lead to a number Honda Civics in that looked like they just rolled out of Hot Import Nights . Now ,with the mass popularity of Japanese or so called "JDM" style in the US, Japanese enthusiasts  have begun to replicate the "JDM" style cars from the states.
    Pictured above is a Toyota bB featured in the August issue of the Japanese magazine "Custom Car". This bB, by the shop Skills is styled straight from the current SoCal scene sporting a Trust Bolt-On turbo-kit, 15" Work Meister S1's, Yakima Roof Rack, and decals of American Scion websites. The same issue also showcases a Japan market Honda Fit that has been converted to US market bumpers. lights, etc.
    Every spring, an event called USDM JAM is held in Mie Prefecture where fans of US style cars get together. The event features Pickups, Vans, Japanese models not sold in Japan, and now cars built in emulation of the American "JDM" look. It's strange to see people in Japan with "I love JDM" stickers, and fake Japanese license plates. Even though the concept may seem strange from an American standpoint, I admire the dedication, and attention to detail that these guys put into these cars. These guys are true car otaku. Here are some photos from this year's USDM Jam that my friend sent to me-

Click here for the full album

As a testament to the dedication of these guys, when I posted these photos on a Honda forum, several people said "That's not Japan, that's in LA or Hawaii, you just flipped the pics in photoshop to make the cars RHD". What do you think?