Tokyo Automotive Repair

12/15/2025

"Shut up & take my money" the old saying goes. I finally bought the book. This exhibit, for the last 4-½ mo. really spoke to me. Not only did it speak about our time with '90s/'00s "tuner car" culture, but it also spoke about our predecessors. I also went to the 2 of the talks at , 1st about motorsport/sportscar culture, 2nd about the fish trucks, & watched Oliver very articulately weave this into Japanese American & Asian American history.

Saw there yesterday. Heard contributed to the book. Saw , /Koji at the motorsport/custom car culture talk, & really enjoyed the fish truck talk.

Thank you for telling our story.

BTW while on the way there we went to . OMG yummy.

12/08/2025

Beautiful Japan Calendars are in stock. Free with any purchase.

10/23/2025

today

10/22/2025

He saved the Tacoma!

10/18/2025

The 20th annual JCCS  was last weekend in it's usual spot in Long Beach. Here's a few of my favorites, really they're just randoms. Any one of these vehicles in any other car show could be winners, but in this show all were reduced to medium, and only the stand-outs were the winners. But again they're all winners. Just the mere fact they're still running, or were fixed to do so is a statement of the dedication these owners have to their vehicles.

My favorite vehicle on display was from , & . However Teddy passed away during covid and Wes took up the project as a tribute to him. You might remember Teddy worked on the SEMA Scion iQ build we did in 2011. 

10/13/2025

It was a simple alternator and battery, but what made this challenging was the age, how incredibly well kept, and how rare/old this vehicle was. 1976  . It was the year I was born and dad started the shop in 1978, to give you a point of reference. Andrea/ 's vintage Toyota, I believe she said her father taught her to drive stick in this vehicle. When we opened the hood we noticed every part had original stickers. I mean we could've easily just swapped it for an alternator from a regular parts store, but the challenge was to find a place that rebuilds alternators (so we could keep the OEM stickers). We knew it was charging but it was just noisy, so we knew it likely needed one or both bearings inside the alternator replaced. Our search led us to a place in Yucaipa, yeah I know 1hr & 4min drive out to the boonies. But for a vehicle this special, no problem. Just need to look up breweries, eateries, etc. in that area, LOL. This definitely belonged in a museum or . Which reminds me I gotta make a post about that car show. Thanx Andrea for bringing us this amazing vehicle.

10/01/2025

CA Cool Air Rebate Program. We sent out a text about this the other day to our customers, but the state of CA is offering to pay up to 90% of the repair of a A.C. System's repair, the cap being $1500. My friend John Eppstein (president of ASCCA) talks to KGTV San Diego about the program.

California drivers facing costly air conditioning repairs may have new financial relief through a program designed to help cover expenses.

09/24/2025

Thought this was funny.

09/15/2025

, .seawell.rlo, , walks into a bar & train a bunch of automotive technicians, service writers, & owners

08/31/2025

Went to today to attend the discussion with & saw some familiar faces. I first started to write for car magazines with back when he was editor in chief at , Koji & Terry of are old friends. I don't know well, but I've seen his more than a few dozen times. Also bumped into Andrea Yamasaki OUSD & fellow car people.

08/22/2025

My adult son recently approached me, excited, because he’d saved $10,000 and was going to buy a new car. I asked him what he was going to buy, and he said he was going to buy a brand new Mercedes Benz EQE 350 4Matic Sedan. I asked him how much it cost, and he told me $80K. I asked how he was going to buy an $80,000 car with only $10,000 and he told me he was going to use what he had as the down payment and finance the rest. He’d talked to the dealer, and he was already approved for the loan, and his payments were going to be $1227 a month for 72 months. I said, “holy smokes, Son! You’d be WAY better off buying a reliable used car for $10,000 and putting that $1227 a month, every month, into a well managed mutual fund, or even an index fund.” When he asked why that would be, I wrote it out for him in black and white. He looked it over, and let’s just say he’s now shopping for a used car. PLEASE make the young people in your life who are important to you aware of this lesson. Sick Twisted Humor

08/18/2025

New favorite . LA's is the epicenter of a lot of what's going on in culture. I first met Brandon back when I was heavy in the tuner car scene. Although I'm not as into it as I was then, he occasionally comes out with kewl apparel like this one. 1st came out in black, but I hate how hot I get in black tees. Anyways I love how this (& others like ) speaks to the & the overall immigrant experience.