Forza Motorsport 3 celebrates past and present of JDM in new screenshots

Jonny Lieberman — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:32:00 EST

Forza Motorsport 3 Screenshot - click above image for high-res gallery

More and more folks are slowly but surely coming to the realization that old school Japanese metal is pretty cool. Stylish, too. For instance, have you ever noticed how much a Toyota Celica Supra looks like a Lamborghini Jarama? Or that a first generation Miata is a dead ringer for Lotus Elan? Before you start screaming about the Japanese being styling thieves, let's remember two things.

As Woody Allen has said, "Be original, don't steal. But if you do, steal from the best." The other is that if you counted up all the running Jaramas and Elans on the world, you'd have a very, very small number. So if not for the Japanese, these shapes would be lost. Then, of course, you have cars like the Datsun 510, a design that looks even sharper now than it did forty years ago -- especially the sedan. And then there's the 240Z, a true icon.

In recognition of this, the brains behind Forza Motorsport 3 are including a bunch of vintage JDM rides in their upcoming XBox racing game that's on schedule to be released this October. Including some racers like the 1997 Nissan Motorsports R390, a homologated Le Mans car, meaning two street examples exist, and they can hit 60 mph in 3.3. seconds, run the quarter in 11 seconds flat and top out at 220 mph. While we think 99% of the cars Forza's including are brillinat, we don't quite get the Scion xD. Thanks for the tip, Brandon!

Gallery: Forza 3 Japanese Screen Shots

[Source: Forza Motorsport]

Forza Motorsport 3 celebrates past and present of JDM in new screenshots originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fan tours Nissan's Zama storage facility, brings camera

Merritt Johnson — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:05:00 EST

Filed under: Japan, Nissan

click above image for a photo tour of Nissan's Zama storage facility

One lucky Nissan 300ZX twin turbo fan was recently able to tour the manufacturer's famed Zama Operations Center in Kanagawa, Japan. The location is the home to Nissan's storage facility of historical automobiles and it is also the headquarters for specialty Nissan builder Autech. Amazingly, the visitor was able to escape alive with pictures. Being such a nice guy, he posted them up on TwinTurbo.net for our viewing pleasure, over a 150 photos in all. It would take a lifetime to recount the significance of all the vehicles captured on film (er pixels). However, we have chosen a few interesting finds that should be noted. Follow the jump for Nissan Heaven.

[Source: rojoloco aka Travis via TwinTurbo.net]

Gallery: Nissan's Zama Storage Facility

Continue reading Fan tours Nissan's Zama storage facility, brings camera

Fan tours Nissan's Zama storage facility, brings camera originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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