Best Motorings are one of the greatest aspects of the hobby for Japanese car enthusiasts, but also one of the most frustrating. Why? Because it's been almost impossible to get original copies of them, and even harder to get them when they come out in Japan.
In case you're not familiar with Best Motoring, it's a monthly Japanese "car magazine" - in video form. The emphasis is on performance cars. There is usually a "battle" comparing several cars on a roadrace track. There is also testing on winding roads, on the Touge course, with drifting, and on occasion special tests such as a notable 0-300 KPH test. All the latest Japanese performance cars are tested, and occasionally they are tested against similar performance cars from Europe and North America. There is extensive in-car multiple-camera video and analysis; it's very clear which cars work better and why.
It comes in DVD form only, and that's one problem: it's region code is not compatible with 99.9%of DVD players sold in North America. DVDs worldwide are not all compatible, each geographic region has it's own "region code" and players sold in those regions can only play DVDs of the same region. So, if you want to play a DVD from Japan, you need to buy a region-free DVD player. That's not hard to do, nor is it expensive: you can get one from JList.com here in the United States. By coincidence, I bought a $30 dollar DVD player in my local food store that was unlocked. You can also find sites on the web showing how to unlock some models of players.
The drivers speak in Japanese, most of the text is in Japanese, but the performance numbers and most of the specs are all in English. Have patience and you'll learn a lot about your favorite cars.l
I've made it easier for my readers to get the real Best Motorings, as well as other videos such as Option and Hot Version as well as a large selection of Japanese magazines and books. Look at the top of my site for an Amazon store button and follow the link:
- See my links for the items relevant to your particular area of interest
- Read my special "how to" section about how to order on the Japanese website of Amazon (with screen-by-screen examples)
- Follow the links to order.
Amazon makes it easy for you by handling the transaction - ordering is the same process as it is with any other Amazon site in the world.
Start your collection today! In my collection, I've got over 40 Best Motorings going back 10 years, as well as a large sampling of Option, Hot Version, and a number of special edition videos. My first Best Motoring was from 1998, which featured a 0-300 KPH battle of several tuner cars including Supras and GT-Rs. It was won by an 800-HP GT-R. Needless to say, I was hooked.
Toyota announced this week that litium-ion battery production would begin in 2009, and that 2 brand new hybrids (all-new cars, additions to the line) would be announced next year in addition to the on top of the already announced next-gen Prius. One of the 2 is a Lexus, the other a Toyota. 
