Hi All,

I've just come back from Japan ( still very jetlagged ) from what was a half work and half play "holiday".

The first week and a half was spent up on the northern island of Hokkaido - which is very beautiful and very temperate at this time of year.

On the way back I stopped in Tokyo for a few days to have some business meetings and chase up a few people. In between the boring work stuff I managed to get a few car-related fixes ( although time was short and I could not achieve all that I wanted to, as usual ). Tokyo is actually not all that nice a place to be at this time of year; its the end of the rainy season and the humidity starts becoming rather too much for weedy Englishmen like me. The only thing to do is keep cool by drinking lots of very cold Japanese beer.

Anyway, Nissan are having a bit of a busy 2003 promotions and events-wise. As part of their 70 year celebrations they have been actively promoting the Z33 and the 'sportier' models of the new Skyline range, and linking them to the company's sporting heritage. Just as I hit Tokyo they had started a week-long exhibition display at their Ginza, Tokyo HQ showrooms. This is called "SPORTS CAR GRAFFITI", and is one of a number of occasional display events that they have been having and will apparently continue to host during the rest of the year.

A number of 'sporty' models from Nissan's back catalogue were on display next to several versions of the Z33 and a couple of the new Skylines ( which I'm sorry to say I totally ignored, so can't tell you what exact models they were - except that they were badged "GT" ).

I took some photos, and Mike has kindly created a special section for them in the 2003 Events area of the Gallery here. I just uploaded 29 pics into the section, and Mike has cleared them for viewing very quickly - so you should be able to view them straight away.

Hope everyone enjoys them.

All the best for now,

Alan T.

Water shortages? ROFL

Oh I feel for you, that kind of temperature IS HOT, even if some of us Aussies won't admit it....... the difference is we have to put up with it for half teh year hehe

we have water restrictions here in Melbourne currently so no washing the car with a hose strictly bucket and sponge , poor Z needs a good wash too but then it goes and rains when I wash it and leaves dirty water all over it .

*SIGH* DAILY DRIVERS

we have water restrictions here in Melbourne currently

We have had water restrictions for the last year and a half in Perth (even through winter). Our recent torrential downpours have helped to fill up our dams to around 25% capacity... you read right, they were around 15% after last summer!

Alan,

Glad to hear you enjoyed Hokkaido. I was stationed there in the 60's up at the Northernmost tip of the island, in Wakkanai. I found it to be very different from the crowded areas of Honshu and Kyushu, people more relaxed and friendly. As always, your pictures are superb.

Hi Chuck,

Glad you enjoyed the pics.

I love Hokkaido in Spring, Summer and Autumn - but the Winter snow and temperatures are a bit too severe for me! We usually spend every New Year in Sapporo, and its difficult to get around by foot.

I was amazed to read that you were stationed in Wakkanai in the '60's - my partner's mother was from Wakkanai, and it has a reputation for being one of Japan's coldest places. That must have been relatively 'Front Line' during the Sixties I would have thought? It's probably closer to Russia than it is to Tokyo.

All the best,

Alan T.

Alan T,

It surprises me to hear that most of your cars other than the newer ones don't have air con. I would have thougt that with all the cold weather you get over there it would have been standard for a long time.

Not for the cooling side of things but for defogging the windows.

Here in Melbourne we get our fair share of cold days every year and the air con used in conjunction with the heater clears a fogged winscreen in seconds, because the airconditioner dries the air. Even with the heat off the dry cold air does the same thing.

A lot of you probably already know this, it's just one of those things I find interesting.

Alan P.

Hi Alan,

I discovered the delights of 'proper' Air-Con only relatively recently. I drive a modern Alfa Romeo ( its a 156 2.5 V6 24 valve with Sport Pack 3 ) and the computer controlled Air-Con is indeed a real boon on wet days. It has a default interior mist-clear setting which turns the heater blower and Air-Con to full-blast and clears the windows in no time at all. Great!

However, up until relatively recently it was only the luxury end of the UK market that had Air-Con as standard equipment. It was available as a option on many middle-market models, but very often buyers chose not to specify it due to the extra cost. UK-made models in particular seemed to be much rarer to find with Air-Con.

Nowadays even the sub-1000cc class new cars seem to be Air-Con equipped for the UK market, and I reckon this is precisely for its usefulness when screen-clearing - as you mentioned.

Now that the temperature here in London has returned to more normal levels ( 24 Degrees C today ) I'm not using my Air-Con at all. It just makes the engine run hotter and uses more fuel, and I feel healthier without it. I'll make sure it's fully operational for Autumn though!

All the best,

Alan T.

Right, Alan

Wakkanai is on the Southwest end of the Soya Strait, and the Northern end of those straits is the Sakhalin peninsula. Our site was on the tip of the peninsula running Northwest from Wakkanai city out to the tip of the island. From the top of the hill where I worked at the time on the one or two clear days in the springtime, we could see what looked almost a mirror image of our site on the southern tip of Sakhalin. Also on those few clear days, you could see the island of Rishiri, a perfect conical volcano, about 20 miles to the west of Hokkaido proper. The winter I was there, (63-64) , by Christmas we had over 14 feet of snow on the ground, and for the rest of the winter, all it did was blow back and forth sideways.

But the King Crab was delicious and the people were gracious.

I'd like to see Sapporo and Asahigawa once again. Maybe try to arrange a world tour when I finally retire.

Shhhh!!!

If you listen very carefully, you can hear Alan's Alfa rusting...... LOL

In Australia, even the lowest of the low come standard with air-con.

Usually 6 months after a new small-car model introduction they drop the price by $1000 & chuck aircon in for free, just to annoy those who bought one just after release....

Most cars over here have airconditioning, that is unless of course you bought a 3 cylinder daihatsu Charade, and the dealer admits they wont fit airconditioning, because the motor wont pull the car and cool it at the same time. God it makes you hate summer.

Originally posted by Ben

Shhhh!!!

If you listen very carefully, you can hear Alan's Alfa rusting...... LOL

Modern Alfas don't rust. They galvanise them very effectively at the factory, and rust is now one of the last things you have to worry about.

Unfortunately, Italian cars still have their deserved bad reputation for electrical troubles and that IS something that we Alfa owners have to worry about!

The UK dealer network for Alfas is also acknowledged as being one of the worst-performing officially franchised dealership chains in the country. I only discovered the reality of this AFTER I bought the car. These cars are a hoot to drive, but getting it serviced and buying spares soon wipes the smile off your face.

Alan T.

bugger.....

They do look nice though.