SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Takara Tomy will introduce several neat new models in their spectacularly popular Tomica toy car line later this month, each based on Feudal-Era warriors and generals.

Japan
(cars • models • samurai • Takara Tomy • tomica • toys)

Japanese gamer gets attention online with gorgeous NES and SNES decals for Forza Motorsport 6

Preston Phro
Jan 4, 2016

Yo, dawg! I heard you like game systems, so we put game systems in your game system!

Internet, Japan
(cars • Forza Motorsport 6 • itasha • retro games • video games • Xbox)

Dragon Ball characters appear in Ford anime ad specifically made for English-speakers 【Video】

Casey Baseel
Dec 22, 2015

Krillin, Gohan, and Porunga would like to talk to you about which car you should use your Dragon Ball wishes on.

Internet, Japan, USA
(anime • cars • Dragon Ball • Dragon Ball Z • Focus • Ford • manga • video)

The Damborghini: A Lamborghini made entirely from cardboard

Oona McGee
Dec 10, 2015

What do you do when you want a Lamborghini but can’t afford one? You make one out of cardboard!

Japan
(art • cardboard • cars • design • Lamborghini)

Ham sandwich! Japanese netizens are loling at these nonsense car decals

Meg Murphy
Nov 19, 2015

If you live in Asia, you’re probably used to seeing Engrish phrases everywhere. When you’ve grown up reading and writing in kanji, hiragana, etc., the “foreign-ness” of English writing and phrases adds an air of mystery and style. But it’s exactly the same in the west too—people will buy all kinds of products with kanji characters written on them whether or not they know what they mean.

Here are some examples of decked-out cars with random, nonsensical Japanese phrases on them that have Japanese netizens laughing their socks off over.

Japan
(cars • Engrish • funny Japanese • Japanglish)

Patlabor AV-98 Ingram anime mecha arrives in Niigata, residents welcome their giant robo-cop

KK Miller
Oct 28, 2015

For anyone who lives in Niigata or is planning on heading there in the next couple of days, please be sure to obey all the laws and regulations of the prefecture. It’s not that they have odd rules that are going to catch you off guard, it’s the fact that there is a gigantic, police labor robot, or Patlabor, that has arrived in the prefecture. Its appearance has caused a bit of a commotion and the robot is, potentially, fully prepared to take out any criminals while it’s stationed there.

Oh, and if you think you might be able to commit some sort of crime out of sight of a robotic police presence, the human officers have a very speedy patrol car in the area as well.

Japan
(anime • cars • Mazda • Niigata • Patlabor • police • robots)

Cosplaying taxis with monster drivers to offer free rides to cosplayers in Shibuya this Halloween

Oona McGee
Oct 25, 2015

Halloween in Japan keeps getting bigger and better every year, with cosplayers coming out in droves to celebrate the world of costumes and make-believe. This time around, Japanese car manufacturer Nissan is joining the fun with a fleet of taxis dressed up in Halloween costumes, complete with “monster drivers” behind the wheel.

The monsters and their vehicles will be helping fellow ogres and ghouls by offering free rides to people in costume in the Shibuya area on October 29 and 31. What’s more, the unusual vans promise to be so spacious, they’ll accommodate any type of outfit you’re wearing!

Japan
(cars • costumes • halloween • nissan • Shibuya • taxis)

Crazy-looking car is basically one giant airbag, will appear at Tokyo Motor Show next week

Mike
Oct 24, 2015

If you saw this car on the street, you’d half expect a comically large number of clowns to come piling out of it. But it turns out despite its Looney Tunes-esque look, there’s a noble—if somewhat bizarre—concept behind this new car from Toyoda Gosei.

This is the “Flesby,” a new concept car that Toyoda Gosei will display at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show next week, with the “concept” being essentially that the entire outer body of the car is one gigantic airbag. Let’s take a look.

Japan
(cars • innovations • safety • technology • Tokyo Motor Show • Toyoda Gosei)

Live your childhood dreams with this life-size mini four-wheel drive car【Video】

KK Miller
Oct 24, 2015

As a child, playing with mini remote-control cars definitely made you the coolest kid on the block. You could drive over almost any surface, reach top speeds in a matter of seconds, and send your animals chasing after them (or perhaps the cars chased the pets?) much to the irritation of adults

Now, as “responsible” adults, we don’t get much of a chance to play with toy cars anymore, unless that toy car has been turned into a real, drivable, 1:1 scale car. This road machine modeled after the Aero Avante won’t be seen running around any toy tracks, as it drives on real roads at speeds over 100 miles per hour!

Japan
(aero avante • cars • fun • hobby • Mini 4WD • Tamiya • toys • video)

Rolling like a samurai – Japanese coachbuilder’s car features centuries-old woodcarving technique

Casey Baseel
Oct 21, 2015

Does Japan’s Mitsuoka Motors count as a carmaker? It’s debatable. Yes, the company does have its own dealers that sell Mitsuoka-branded cars. Almost all of them, though, are Nissans or Mazdas with extensive cosmetic modifications. Even the company’s Orochi coupe, which has its own dedicated body, uses an engine built by Toyota.

So let’s ask an easier question: Are Mitsuoka’s cars visually unique? Unquestionably. The company has always made aesthetics the number-one priority in all of its vehicles, and that tradition continues with woodcarving so exquisite it wouldn’t look at all out of place in a Japanese castle, but which instead graces this Mitsuoka sedan.

Japan
(art • cars • carving • culture • Mitsuoka • Toyama • washi)

Attack on Titan car navigation system stars Survey Corps, a walled city and checkpoint giants

Oona McGee
Oct 20, 2015

The live-action Attack on Titan movies may have been a bit of a disappointment, but we’ll always have the glorious anime. And now the animated protagonists from the acclaimed series are bringing their world into ours and guiding us around it with an amazing new tablet and car navigation system.

Filled with special extras including the opportunity to “rank up” according to distances travelled, a choice between “return to the wall” or “Survey Corps outer expedition” route views, and an appearance from a Titan when we pass through convenience store checkpoints, it’s bound to make trips to the grocery store much more exciting!

Japan
(anime • Attack on Titan • car navigation • cars • Eren • GPS • Levi • tablets • tech)

Love anime and driving? Carmaker Subaru now selling official itasha

Casey Baseel
Oct 20, 2015

Different people have different concepts of Japanese automaker Subaru. For motorsports enthusiasts, the first image that comes to mind is the company’s all-wheel drive cars doing sick jumps on rally gravel stages. Technology buffs, meanwhile, may think of their EyeSight automatic braking safety system.

Japanese animation fans, though, may best know Subaru as the major sponsor of animation studio Gainax’s celestial-themed magical girl anime Wish Upon the Pleiades (known in Japanese as Hokago no Pleiades). And while the series’ TV run is over, that doesn’t mean Subaru’s love for the anime has expired, as the car manufacturer has created, and is selling, an official Wish Upon the Pleiades itasha covered with graphics of the show’s cast.