Author: banpei (Page 25 of 318)

Mazda Xedos 9, similar to the one in Diana's ad

WTF: Mazda’s daring Princess Diana Xedos 6 ad

October 4, 2023 / banpei / 0 Comments

I remember watching Mazda’s Princess Diana Xedos 6 ad in the early 1990s. It must have been scheduled around the 8 o’clock news as that was the most expensive timeslot for ads during the day. It was both shock and awe. The whole of The Netherlands spoke about it the next day.

Diana’s Xedos 6

Just months prior to this ad, the news about Diana and Charles living separately was shared by the, back then, prime minister John Major. Mazda in the Netherlands decided this was an excellent opportunity to launch an ad to praise the quietness of their Mazda Xedos 6.

Testing drag-coefficient on a Levin AE86

AE86 Trivia: the amazing Levin & Trueno AE86 drag-coefficient

October 3, 2023 / banpei / 0 Comments

With the arrival of the fifth Corolla and Sprinter, the Levin and Trueno AE86 featured two distinct body styles: a sporty looking two-door and a slippery looking three-door. This was different compared to the previous generations. In the fourth generation the Levin and Trueno were only a (top of the line) trim level on the three-door. The new Levin and Trueno had a very different appearance where the Levin retained fixed headlights and the Trueno gained popup headlights. I wondered how this would influence the drag-coefficient of both models and both body types. Time for another AE86 Trivia post!

Fixed or popup headlights

Keiichi Tsuchiya pushing the Carina GT-R but not beyond its limits

Carina Sightings: Keiichi Tsuchiya ends up as a driving instructor!

October 2, 2023 / banpei / 0 Comments

How often do you see a Carina GT-R being reviewed? I bet rarely. It would be even much rarer to see it being reviewed by no other than Keiichi Tsuchiya! Yes, really: DK himself is reviewing a 1984 Toyota Carina GT-R AA63 that is for sale at Wonder in Nabari City, Mie Prefecture in Japan! His usual sidekick Sumire Sawa (沢すみれ) has been replaced by actress Nanako Aizawa who Keiichi keep calling Hachiko in this video. Hachiko will also get driving lessons from DK in the Carina in a second and third video further down below! The two (and the third man Takahiro Kudo) represent the Kurumaerabi car search website so I guess it is kind of sponsored content from them.

*Carina GT-R reviewed by Keiichi Tsuchiya and Hachiko (and Takahiro Kudo)*

Honda Ballade was the four door version of the Honda Civic

Commercial Time: Honda Ballade becomes a ball of dances

October 1, 2023 / banpei / 1 Comment

The Honda Ballade was a loaded subject between Honda and Rover. Honda helped out British Leyland in the early 1980s by allowing BL to build the Honda Ballade locally and sell it as the Triumph Acclaim. When the second generation was due in 1983, the Ballade was redesigned and based upon the same platform as the third generation Honda Civic. However, the rebadged version wasn’t an Acclaim. It now was sold as the Rover 200.

The Rover 200 was actually a Honda Ballade — *The Rover 200 was actually 96% Honda Ballade*

Toyota Crown MS70 on Char / Thrill zoomed in

CHARming Toyota Crown hardtop coupé MS75

September 30, 2023 / banpei / 0 Comments

This Toyota Crown hardtop coupé MS75 (or MS70) is a photo on the back of a record sleeve. The record in question is Char’s 1978 album Thrill. By 1978 this Crown could only have been at most 7 years old as it’s the pre-facelift model!

Toyota Crown hardtop coupe MS75 on Char's 1978 album Thrill — *Toyota Crown hardtop coupe MS75 on Char’s 1978 album Thrill*

WTF: 1/3 scale Trueno AE86 shifter

September 29, 2023 / banpei / 0 Comments

I know Initial D attracts a lot of weird merchandise, but this 1/3 scale Trueno AE86 shifter model got my eyes wide open and exclaim a loud WTF?! Why would you spend 229 dollar on a scale model of the AE86 shifter model?