Old School Fools - Street Speak

On an otherwise nondescript sunny Saturday at the Queen Mary Park in the SoCal's LBC, two hundred and fifty examples of the finest old school import iron gathered for the Japanese Classic Car Show. Any pre-'85 vintage Japanese vehicle was invited to attend and for once the Honda camp was in the minority.

On this day the stage belonged to the Mazdas, Toyotas, and Datsuns (yes, Datsuns). At literal opposite ends of the lawn sat the all-510 and Bluebird clique of Mario "The Toe" Lozano from TSR on one side with the Mazda and Toyota camp of PJ Bonifacio on the other. These guys are considered the leaders of this classic style and at the JCCS they put forth their finest efforts. By far our favorites at the show were Ted Loh's TSR-built SR20ed JDM Bluebird and an RB-powered '71 GT-R.

Very special thanks to the JCCS crew for recognizing the rides that were a part of this scene before it was a scene and for helping old man Nads, Yamz, and Yee relive their heydays. To see more visit www.japaneseclassiccarshow.com.

Nocturnal Wonderland
With a warm evening glow and Willow Springs as the backdrop, the ladies of Drifting Pretty presented their second annual Dori Puri Nights, a ladies-only drift competition that would pit the future stars of drifting against one another in a battle to win cool prizes from A'PEXi, Superior Nissan Motorsports, and even a set of wheels from Enkei. Although there were a handful of new drivers to the scene, Amanda Lam wowed the judges with her drifting skills and took home the wheels and plenty of other loot. After the ladies finished their competition, the rest of the night was open for co-ed drifting and a 240 owners' meeting. Drifting Pretty plans to hold more Dori Puri events throughout the future, so ladies, if you think you have what it takes to show the other girls who's boss, then check out www.driftingpretty.com for more info.

Nissan Shifts Segments
In a move that stunned no one, Nissan recently announced plans to bring a sub-compact (or entry level) vehicle to the North American market. This news is hot on the heels of the upcoming Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris cars set to drop on our shores. Given that it can take a Benji to top off the tank of that SUV this micro car market is looking better and better with each trip to the pump. Of course, nowadays even more attention is directed down market by that little Scion that could.

Nissan will call this car-dramatic pause-the Versa, which the company says, "reflects the versatile space provided by the roomy interior and cargo area." We think the name reflects some bad judgment on Nissan's part because the JDM-model on which it is based is called the Tiida and that is so much fresher. But then Tiida isn't short for anything so ad friendly like versatile, which is exactly what Nissan's B-platform is.

This proven platform already sees duty in parent company Renault's Clio and Modus and Nissan's JDM Micra, the aforementioned Tiida, and our favorite model, the hip little March. Japan's March Cup race series not only provides a driver-friendly entry-level venue but also a wealth of nasty Nismo tuning bits for this model. But alas, the little March just doesn't compare to the more Versa-tile Tiida.

The US-spec Versa will come with a torquey 16-valve 1.8-liter DOHC inline 4-cylinder engine capable of 120 hp and 125-plus lb-ft, putting it more than a few ponies up on the rest of the sub-sized pack. A six-speed manual is standard but a version of Nissan's buttery-smooth Xtronic CVT is also available. The front-wheel drive Versa 5-door hatchback will go on sale in early summer of '06 with a 4-door sedan following later in the year. MSRP will start at around $12,000.