Ben Hsu

Los Angeles

Editor-in-Chief at JapaneseNostalgicCar.com

Co-founder & EIC of https://t.co/NWwxlWFJWl, human, eater of pizza.

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Articles

Toyota Land Cruiser ‘Lite’ patent image unearthed

3 days ago | japanesenostalgiccar.com | Ben Hsu

Toyota has been teasing the idea of a baby Land Cruiser for over three years now. The notion seems one step closer to reality now that patent images showing a full render of the vehicle have been discovered. The rendering looks like a cross between several existing Toyota models, including thew new Land Cruiser 250 and dearly departed FJ Cruiser. It looks a lot like the Toyota Compact Cruiser concept unveiled in December 2021, a vehicle that won a 2022 Auto Design Award for Best Concept.
Baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima was synonymous with the X60 Toyota Mark II

4 days ago | japanesenostalgiccar.com | Ben Hsu

On June 3 baseball star Shigeo Nagashima passed away from lung cancer a Tokyo hospital. Voted 1958’s Rookie of the Year, he was instrumental in establishing the Yomiuri Giants as Japan’s greatest baseball dynasty. By the time Nagashima retired in In 1980 he was a household name. Two years later he became Toyota’s spokesman for the new X60 Mark II. Nagashima was so influential a player that his nickname in Japanese media was “Mr Baseball”.
The Toyota RAV4 concept made a tiny splash at the Tokyo Motor Show

1 week ago | japanesenostalgiccar.com | Ben Hsu

A new Toyota RAV4 debuted last week, and in the 30 years since the original hit ToMoCo showrooms a lot has changed. Today the RAV4 has superseded the Camry as the default car for sensible but unimaginative shoppers. However, the RAV4’s original concept was much more unconventional than the crossover it became. The RAV4 is the best-selling non-pickup vehicle in America, dethroning the former champion from the same family tree, the Camry, in 2017.
Nissan might sell its Yokohama headquarters and showroom

1 week ago | japanesenostalgiccar.com | Ben Hsu

In 2009 Nissan spent $450 million to build a brand new headquarters and showroom in Yokohama. Opened to coincide with the Port of Yokohama’s 150th anniversary, then-president Carlos Ghosn described the seaside high-rise as a “sailboat on a voyage across an ocean of unlimited possibilities.” Now, as the company bleeds cash and desperately searches for a lifeline, it’s considering selling its HQ.
Toyota is coming out with a sub-Tacoma compact pickup

1 week ago | japanesenostalgiccar.com | Ben Hsu

For years fans of Toyota trucks have been clamoring for a return to the compact pickup, the kind of mini-truck that helped Toyota establish itself in the US in the 70s and 80s. The Tacoma has gotten too big and expensive to fill that role, serving double duty as a workhorse and off-roader. Now a pickup that slots below the Tacoma has been confirmed.
QotW: What’s your most memorable road trip?

1 week ago | japanesenostalgiccar.com | Ben Hsu

The Friday before Memorial Day is National Road Trip Day in the US. In Japan today, May 26, also happens to be the anniversary of the opening of the Tomei Expressway, a famed route heading from Tokyo to points west. One of the reasons we love cars today is spending formative, pre-flatscreen years on extended interstate drives. I hope to instill that love in my son as well, so selfishly I’m also looking for ideas when asking:What’s your most memorable road trip?
A brief history of the Toyota RAV4

2 weeks ago | japanesenostalgiccar.com | Ben Hsu

Toyota debuted the sixth-generation RAV4 on May 21, continuing a crossover lineage that dates back 31 years. When the original launched in 1994 no one, probably not even Toyota, predicted how massive a sales success the model would be. Toyota has sold more than 15 million RAV4s in 180 countries around the world. There’s genuine history there and Toyota knows it. That’s why the newest one shared its global debut stage with six other models, including the 1989 concept that started it all.
Toyota 2000GT and LFA casually appear in Lexus ad with no mention

2 weeks ago | japanesenostalgiccar.com | Ben Hsu

Here’s a puzzler for ya. A new Lexus commercial features Toyota’s two most legendary sports cars, but neither is mentioned or spotlighted at all. Normally the presence of such revered chariots would hint at the company’s storied history or legacy of high performance machines or something. Not here, though. The spot is for the Lexus NX, a competent luxury crossover but not the kind of car that sets your hair ablaze.
Could Toyota be Nissan’s financial savior?

2 weeks ago | japanesenostalgiccar.com | Ben Hsu

Last week Nissan announced a new recovery plan to dig itself out of its downward spiral. It announced that its deficit for the fiscal year ending in March 2025 had swelled to $4.5 billion and that it will close seven factories and cut 20,000 jobs (15 percent of its workforce). At the same time a new plan hopes returns is fortunes to the black by 2027, and a surprising new name has been bandied about as a potential backer: Toyota.
Nissan’s mid-engined V6 Micra celebrates its 23rd anniversary with an refresh

3 weeks ago | japanesenostalgiccar.com | Ben Hsu

Speaking of the Nissan March, Nissan Great Britain has just updated one of its wildest creations. Originally built 23 years ago, the Micra 350SR is what happened with Nissan GB crammed the ubiquitous VQ35 V6 engine midship into the back of the K12 March. To celebrate its ni (2 in Japanese) san (3 in Japanese) birthday, they’ve updated it for the modern age.