JAPANESE CLASSIC CAR SHOW 2025
20 Years of of Kyusha, Culture, and Community
On October 11th, Long Beach was buzzing again, and not just from the sound of rotary engines. The Japanese Classic Car Show (JCCS) marked its 20th anniversary, cementing its status as one of the most influential and beloved promoters of Japanese car culture in the U.S.
By Glenn Oyoung
Sun, Oct 19, 2025 06:00 AM PST
Featured image above: Within the 20th Anniversary Japanes Classic Car Show was Brock Racing Enterprises celebrating its 60th anniversary. Here, race-bred Datsun 510s loom at the BRE exhibit (Alvin Ahn photograph).
What started two decades ago as a grassroots meet-up has evolved into a world-class celebration of kyusha: nostalgia for a certain era of automotive history, Japanese craftsmanship, and the people who’ve kept these machines alive long after their showroom days ended.
A Double Celebration: BRE
Alongside JCCS’s 20-year milestone, fans also celebrated 60 years of Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE), the legendary team that put Datsun (and Japanese performance) on the American motorsport map. Before the iconic red, white, and blue livery graced Hot Wheel scale Datsun 510s and Z’s, Peter Brock and BRE driver John Morton dominated SCCA racing and clinched multiple championships in 1:1 scale cars that sparked the imagination of cars fans and still inspire a cottage industry of BRE collectibles today (Editor's note: Be sure to read the LACar story by Hector Cardemartori, "How Pete Brock and John Morton Connected with Datsun")
The People’s Show
If you’ve never been to JCCS you must go. I’d be hard pressed to think of a more beautiful backdrop than the Marina Park with the ocean and the Long Beach skyline serving as the perfect backdrop for such a spectacular array of cars. Close your eyes and imagine your favorite Japanese cars.
Datsun fan? The aforementioned BRE race cars were joined by plenty of gleaming 510’s, Z’s, and Datsun pick-ups. Toyota lover? Toyota was on hand showing off their latest, and joined by plenty of classics including some Supras I would gladly sacrifice my FICO score for. Rotary enthusiast? A fleet of RX-7s across generations was on hand, engine bays open paying homage to the unique powertrain.
Last but certainly not least, Honda lovers basked in the glory of all manners of Civics (how wild is it than EF-generation Civic is now a classic? I ask myself that almost monthly at this point) as well as my personal favorite the almighty NSX.
Pointing to the Future
Lexus brought out the wild AE86 BEV concept. A group of Toyota and Lexus engineers decided to transplant the hybrid motor out of a Tundra into a Toyota Levin body. And it’s a manual, purely for driving pleasure. If the future is electrified like THIS, I’m all-in.
Two Decades In, Still Just Warming Up Twenty years ago, few would’ve predicted that Japanese classics would command the kind of respect and eye-popping prices they do today. JCCS founders Terry and Koji Yamaguchi and their volunteer staff numbering in the hundreds have a lot to do with changing the perception of kyusha from disposable to collectible.
Beyond the valuations, JCCS remains something more important: a reminder of why we fell in love with cars in the first place. It’s just not about speed, shine or trophies. It’s about connection between eras, between cultures, between people who speak the same language of engines, imperfections, and shared passion. Here’s to the next 20 years of Japanese classics.
To see more photographs from the 20th Anniversary Japanese Classic Car Show, go to the Alvin Ahn Gallery and Christopher Carreiro Gallery on LACar's Facebook page.
Japanese Classic Car Show
Read more about this in Glenn Oyoung's "The JCCS - Redefining Classics for 20 Years"
For more information about the JCCS, go to JCCS.org.
About The Author
Glenn Oyoung is a marketer based in Los Angeles. Glennās lifelong passion for cars is rooted in playing with Hot Wheels, and has continued into 1:1 scale. Heās the former marketing director of American Racing, author of āvehicular alphabet booksā āC is for Carā and "P is for Petersen" in collaboration with the Petersen Automotive Museum. His passion for cars extends to his role as the founder of the monthly car meet Carcadia at Route 66, the most diverse car meet in the San Gabriel Valley.
