Antonio Alvendia
Website:
http://www.antonioalvendia.com
Profile:
Antonio Alvendia is...
A nonstop buyer of Japanese magazines even though I can't read them, a published author, an entrepreneur chasing a dream, an experienced frequent flyer with bags always packed and ready, a professional collector of rare steering wheels, old school Toyotas, fresh Kangols, and Japanese automobilia. Loyal friend, low budget philosopher, addicted to my Canon cameras and my iPhone. I also work in Hollywood, with a background in editorial and commercial photography.
I somehow managed to spend the last ten years of my life and all my money traveling to different race tracks around the world and amassing a pretty sizable collection of Japanese car magazines, stickers, die cast cars, steering wheels, horn buttons, shift knobs, rare parts for my TE27 and AE86s, and photographs from every single automotive event I attended... instead of buying a house like normal people would.
PAST HIGHLIGHTSI authored the photographic documentary book, DRIFTING: Sideways from Japan to America, the world's first hardcover book on the culture and history of drifting. It was released in 2006, but I began shooting photos for it in 2004. I can't believe it's been over 5 years since I started that project - my photography sure has evolved a lot since then.www.driftingbook.com
Starting in 2007, I was contracted by Electronic Arts to do some behind the scenes and on-camera work for the EA Games Birth of Pro Street film about street racers that turned pro. It aired in the USA on Spike TV and MotorsTV in Europe.
This experience evolved into an opportunity to work with EA as a trend spotter, connector, creative and marketing consultant for the Need for Speed franchise, which includes work on the development, roll out, and promotion of SPEEDHUNTERS.com, the EA Games corporate car blog used for promotion of the Need for Speed brand.
I was also fortunate enough to experience working on a movie set, as the Unit Photographer that shot the special effects/automotive action sequences during the filming of NBC Universal's Fast & Furious 3: Tokyo Drift movie. It was a fun experience that gave me insight into the film and motion pictures industry, and eventually led to more opportunities with the Universal Pictures Group.
I love to talk about cars. This being said, I also served as the official announcer/emcee for the nationwide Drift Showoff competition series and Nisei Showoff car show, as well as the XDL Show at California Speedway, appearing on several episodes of Speed Channel's Redline TV, Superbikes, and RiceboyTV.
VIDEO> Return to ASB with Risky Devil!
Here in Southern California, we’re about to begin celebrating springtime – warmer weather and sunny days, driving with your sunroof open, checking out short skirts and whatnot… but I thought we should post up this cool video, as an ode to the Summer of 2009.
The Summer of 2009 was a great one… sure, it was hot as hell, and everyone was complaining about low fundage and a slow economy… but that didn’t stop all the super hardcore, super down, super low, super dedicated drifters from all over the country from gathering at the Ziptied/JustDrift All Star Bash in the middle of the freakin desert, California. In case you don’t know what All Star Bash is all about yet, I suggest you click this link to get an education on it.
It’s like Woodstock for drifters, but instead of getting together to smoke joints and listen to music, the All Star Bashers get together to smoke tires and listen to engines bounce off their rev limiters!
Big ups to our Tim (aka T2Films) from our Windy City family for finally releasing this video! (And yo, sorry I kept forgetting to send you my footage – I failed like a mofo on that.) Nuff respect to Just Drift, ZipTied peeps, Risky Devil, Pink Godzira, Instant Party, Mulsanne, and ALL the other drivers who made it out to All Star Bash, regardless if they were in a crew or not.
:: Antonio Alvendia
PS: I love the street footage of the cars just driving around randomly on the street. Hell yeah!
WEBMINING> AMG Benz at 1972 Nurburgring
Okay. So apparently, this week, I’ve been on a bit of a European/DTM kick. We see so many Japanese cars all the time on Motor Mavens, I thought it would be kinda cool to mix it up a bit and shine a bit of light on some of the awesome race cars that have been famous in the European motorsports scenes for quite some time.
Last time I was in London, I saw this awesome die cast vintage Mercedes Benz race car (it was 1/43 scale, if I remember correctly…), and through the technology of Tumblr, I just happened across these photos of this awesome AMG Benz, which originally appear on this Vintage Photo page on LiveJournal. I don’t know enough about these cars (if one of our readers knows a lot about this subject, please write us!), but I love them. A lot. They just look so cool; big bodied vintage luxury cars going at it with smaller, sportier coupes… SO DAMN COOL. (more…)
WEBMINING> DTM AMG Amazing
Since our new Eurofiend contributor (Tamer Omran) got me thinking about the DTM racing series in Germany, I thought I’d post up this cool photo I found on Tumblr. I believe it was originally posted by Gearheads and Monkeywrenches. This here is a gorgeous white DTM Mercedes AMG, driven by a female driver by the name of Susie Stoddart. (more…)
COVERAGE> Wekfest Weekend in J-Town SF, Pt.2
However, our story is going to be a bit different, because I'm not planning to post up photos of every single car (250+ for sure) at the show. Instead, I'm only going to focus on the cars that caught my eye; the cars that either had the best style, or cars that had something different going for them, which piqued my interest. After all, I've been lucky enough to have attended a LOT of car shows and a LOT of racing events all over the world. This being said, seeing the same old thing over and over can get kind of dreary at times; not to worry though - the cars at the Wekfest definitely had flavor.
The dimly lit parking structure in Japantown San Francisco that served as the venue for the event might not have had the best looking "background" or ambiance for photography, but it was filled with some of the West Coast's best looking cars, so we'll just let those shine through...
Up above, the entrance to the underground parking structure was packed with cars and spectators... I was surprised that the City of San Francisco allowed that many people in a place that had so few exits! Nevertheless, the show had a good vibe to it... at times, it kind of reminded me of what it felt like to be in the parking structure scenes when I was on set shooting NBC Universal's Fast & Furious 3 Tokyo Drift movie... if only you replaced the Japanese (and Japanese-looking Chinese, let's be honest here) cast members with a bunch of young Filipinos, Chinese, and Vietnamese car owners. LOL Read more...
COVERAGE> Wekfest Weekend in J-Town SF, Pt.1
Anyway, the Weksos Wekfest event was pretty crazy... TONS of cars, TONS of people in attendance, and a line of impatient people that stretched around the block. Seriously... that was a pretty long line! Read more...
WEBMINING> Offset Offensive from Toronto
Man. I’m not quite sure what to say. I was forwarded this link from a friend of mine, who basically said, “dude, you gotta read this. This article bashes slammed cars, negative offset, and the usage of roof racks and rusted body parts. It even bashes websites that promote that style (specifically naming HellaFlush), Miata.net and other forums.”
At first, I thought, “That sucks, but whatever… people talk shit on the internet all the time just to spike up their traffic or make a name for themselves.” But then I re-read the email. It talks shit about Corollas?! More specifically, it refers to our beloved AE86 Corollas (other cars are on the list too) as “irredeemable garbage.” Wow. That’s a pretty bold statement.
For most of the people I’ve been hanging out with for the past 10 years, talking shit about a person’s car is worse than talking shit about a person’s family. In many circles, those are fighting words. While I like to think that I’ve grown up a bit, and I like to think it doesn’t bother me when people disparage the cars I have been passionate about for the past decade… I think, perhaps, I haven’t grown up. I sure haven’t “grown out of it” – I haven’t grown out of my passion for AE86s; for negative offset wheels; for demon camber; for low stanced cars; for stretched tires… hell no. If anything, I’ve become happy that people are embracing this style, and seeing people all over the world build cars of this type is only adding fuel to the fire.
Perhaps the most offensive statement made by this article is the one that belittles the young demographic of car enthusiasts. It says “Setting up a car for drifting is usually ass-backwards to what actually makes a car handle. Still, it has managed to permeate the collective consciousness of young car enthusiasts, who are unaware that buying coilovers with absurdly stiff springs doesn’t actually make a car handle well, but rather masks a the deficiencies of a poorly designed car.” Come on now. Young car enthusiasts are unaware of what they’re doing? Last time I checked, MOST people (note that I didn’t say ALL, but MOST) involved with drifting were modifying their cars with a purpose and a mission.
That’s enough rambling from me… post up your comments and YOUR VIEWPOINTS/OPINIONS after you read the actual article on the original website that posted it, which is apparently titled SpeedSportLife. (Here you go, if a traffic spike is what you were looking for by posting this…)
:: Antonio Alvendia
COVERAGE> HellaFlush Scrapes Buttonwillow, Pt.2
Honestly, I gotta give props to all the Northern California people who came down to this event. Not only does it show that Northern Cali folks are super down and committed, but it was also great to see a lot of cars come out of the woodwork that we normally don't see on blogs and websites. I'd love to expand the MotorMavens reach from doing mostly Southern California events all the time, but it really is kind of difficult as we're doing this as privateers, and we don't have a big corporate budget of several hundred thousand dollars to spend each year like some of the other blogs out there. However, we're resourceful, so we will keep trying to break boundaries, and keep doing our best with the Macaroni-and-Cheese/Cup-o-Noodle budget that we currently have. Hope you like the photos! Read more...
COVERAGE> HellaFlush Scrapes Buttonwillow Pt.1
The way a car sits has absolutely everything to do with the image it projects - it all has to be just right! Aggressive offset wheels that stick out too much = lowrider. Big wheels with thin tires (non stretched) on cars that aren't slammed enough = DUB style. (Yuck.) Slamming cars to the ground without enough width, offset and tire stretch = 1990s FF Honda style.
Since neither of the aforementioned styles are desirable when it comes to making a fashionable looking car, it's nice to see that car owners all over North America have been stepping up their wheel game - a game that was rumored to have started in Europe (gotta give props to those Euro car guys... Mk1 Golfs FTW!) or Japan (Bosozoku/Yanki car builders, kyusha kai car builders, and VIP car builders). While I'm not exactly certain of the exact origins or history of this style of automotive stance, I personally first noticed it in the late 1990s/early 2000s, thanks to AE86s that were built by my favorite drift teams - Running Free and Rough World.
It was awesome to see some of the West Coast's most dedicated car owners with aggressive stances come out to the event. I saw Toyota, Honda, BMW, and Lexus owners from Southern California; Northern Cali Toyota, Nissan, Lexus, and BMW owners from as far as Fairfield CA and Sacramento... I even saw a slammed Mercedes Benz from Las Vegas! Read more...
WEBMINING> Sleek, Slammed, Silver 5 Series
While I was cruising the Bimmerforums website last night, I came across this particular E39 BMW 5 Series sedan that really impressed me. This car was built by a Bay Area Bimmer owner that goes by the screen name of PavelK313. This E39 just looks right. Pavel didn’t even need to modify the bumpers, mirrors and all that jazz, because he concentrated his efforts on what really matters – the STANCE.
There was actually a lot of debate on the Bimmerforums about his low stance, his stretched tires, etc… can you believe that some people actually DIDN’T like it?! I laughed out loud when I read some comments from Bimmer owners that mentioned the same old things that anti-tire-stretch people say when they see outstanding feats of mathematics like this one. “I hate stretched tires. They make your classy car look ghetto, like a lowrider Impala! Tire stretch is stupid because it lessens your contact patch with the ground!” Oh, and let’s not forget, my absolute favorite… “I hope you like curb rashed lips on your wheels, because that’s what you’re gonna get if you stretch your tires!” LOL (more…)
COVERAGE> Supras Swarm SP Engineering
The JZA80 Supra Turbo is normally regarded as Toyota's "top of the food chain," but at the SP Supra event this weekend, I was honestly jocking the MA70/JZA70s more. Now THAT is a big statement. Let me explain... I've been a big fan of JZA80 Supras since the very first time I laid my eyes on one... and I never really gave the JZA70 much thought (that is, until I started hanging out with the late Mike Urbano [RIP homie] and his always late brother Brian). However, this past weekend, at least in my eyes, the MA70/JZA70 Supras took the win in terms of sheer style.
You might be thinking, "What?! Are you crazy? We're talking about JZA80s here," so I should explain my opinion. I think MA70 owners need to do a lot more in terms of restoration and "clean up" than the JZA80 guys do. The JZA80 Supra is such a good looking car that all you really need to do to accentuate the already gorgeous body is lower it, get proper fitting wheels and tires, a good looking exhaust and a front lip spoiler. That's not much at all. Meanwhile, MA70 owners have to think about getting a clean body (or fixing dents and whatever), painting the car, cleaning up the engine bay, piecing together a clean interior, making sure everything works, making the car run right... and only then can they turn their attention into making the car look good. Read more...
NAME DROPPING> Hey Man! Hachirokus at Yokota!
HAHAHAHA AWESOME! I love how people have been uploading all their old VHS videos to YouTube. I wonder how many people have seen this old school video!
It’s not the craziest drifting action video or anything, but that’s not the point anyway. I love it because it shows the real style and culture of hashiriya life in Japan. This is what it’s really like… just a bunch of friends screwing around and having fun with their cars!
This particular video features a particular AE86 crew based in the Tokyo/Fussa area; these are the members of a drift team with a pretty strange name… Hey Man! (As if all drift team names weren’t strange.) I love this video because it shows old school footage of some of my real good friends that I hang out with when I’m in Japan.
The driver intros are pretty funny too… these guys look soooo young in the video! This video has a special cameo appearance by none other than Hiroshi Takahashi (Kaicho) from the legendary AE86 drift team, RUNNING FREE. The very first time I met Hiroshi was when he came out to Buttonwillow Raceway (2000? 2001?) to do a drift demo here in the United States as part of a special event hosted by SpeedTrial USA and Club4AG. (Props to Tommy and Moto for arranging that event!) Hiroshi is an AWESOME drifter, and a dedicated Toyota guy… in fact, he now works at one of the Toyota dealers in the Tokyo area. (I won’t say which one, so people don’t go and bug him at work.)
Shinji Minowa, who’s rocking an old school surfer haircut in the video, eventually became a D1 Grand Prix driver sponsored by Toyo Tires. He actually came out with Hiroshi to do the drift demo at Buttonwillow, which was the first time we met. Since then I’ve had the chance to hang out with him in Japan and the USA several times. Just like all the other members of the Hey Man crew, Shinji is super cool. He has a shop near the Yokota area called Hey Man Products… Anyway, if you’re interested in seeing more stuff about Shinji, his AE86 and his shop, let me know. I can probably arrange it!
This video also features some in-car footage with Charlie Tyson! Again, this video isn’t super crazy like one of Ueo’s sick manji videos or anything, but it’s one of the few times I’ve seen Charlie on a video, so I think it’s cool. He’s a pretty low key guy, but the crazy thing is, he’s the very first member of the Hey Man crew that I ever interacted with; he helped me get a set of redline taillights for my kouki AE86 back in 1999 or 2000 when I didn’t even know him! (Thanks a lot to PJ Peji for hooking that up!)
We also see other friends like Jimmy, Maurice, and Christine in the video… but the guy with the Hitler mustache is none other than Robbie Nishida, who most US drifting fans know. I was introduced to Robbie at the Ebisu Circuit booth at Tokyo Auto Salon in 2004. Kumakubo introduced him as a good friend of his, but then I recognized his face from an old AE86 video I had… I think it was an AE86 Club video, but I’m not sure. Robbie told us he would be interested in drifting in the United States, so my friend Kenta and I walked over to the other side of the show with him and introduced him to Nick Fousekis from Falken Tires. In fact, Kumakubo walked over with us too, and he told Nick if Falken would sponsor Robbie with tires, Kumakubo would let Robbie drive one of his own cars. (The famous K-Style S13 K-truck!!!)
At the very first American drift event he ever competed at (Formula D Wall Speedway 2005), Robbie made Formula D history by beating Mopar’s unbeatable Iceman, Samuel Hubinette in a tandem battle! It was pretty damn epic for that time. Everyone was like whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!! I remember the reaction in the pit area and grandstands… EVERYONE was going bananas and jumping up and down when the judges announced that Robbie won the tandem match. It didn’t matter if they were supporters of Falken or not… even people from other tire brands were jumping up and down, because they had never seen anyone beat Samuel in tandem until that day. What a good way to start your drifting career in the USA!
Anyway, Robbie will be driving an R35 Nissan GTR in this year’s Formula D Championship series, so if you see him at an event, make sure to walk up to him and say, “Hey Man!”
:: Antonio Alvendia
NEWSWORTHY> Farewell, Atsushi Kuroi
Last night, D1GP driver Atsushi Kuroi from legendary Osaka drift team Tinker had a deadly accident while he was riding his motorcycle. Although there aren't too many details known about the accident, Kuroi san's kohai (apprentice) Kazuya Bai says that Kuroi's thigh was apparently injured from the accident, and even though the hospital staff worked diligently to stabilize him, Kuroi san's wounds were too severe, and he passed away within four hours of arriving at the hospital. Read more...
COLLECTION> Cipher Garage Keiichi Collection
As some of our readers may or may not know, I've spent the past eleven years of my life chronicling as much as I could about the history of drifting in Japan, and its progress as it grew in the United States and spread to all the other countries of the world. As you might imagine, this has been an incredibly difficult and arduous process, and I've only been able to do as much as a single person without corporate/financial backing could possibly afford to.
However, because of personal qualities that include my relentless passion for Japanese car culture, my ridiculously resourceful/persistent/determined nature, and the fact that I often find myself (most of the time, accidentally) in the right place at the right time... I've been able to amass quite a collection of Japanese car memorabilia that some might consider historic. (I know I do.) Whether my personal collection of Japanese automobilia may be considered by some to be overrated or not... it is very personal to me. For every rare item in my collection, I have great stories to tell about how I found it and how it came to be in my collection. To me, THAT is the real treasure... even more so than the individual items in the collection.
Those who don't know as much about the subject matter may think it's just a bunch of magazines, stickers, toys, steering wheels, horn buttons, patches, and misc car junk stuffed into boxes, shelves, and cabinets... but over the years, I've come to realize that I've never in my life seen a collection like it - items related to Japanese drifting history... with much of it revolving around AE86s, TE27s, and vintage Toyota memorabilia. Please don't think I'm bragging - that isn't my intent at all. For the most part, I've kept all the items I own very, very private. I don't really advertise what I have or invite people to look through my things, as I never intended to collect stuff to "show off" to others. Instead, this is all just a bunch of things that I personally consider important or cool. Read more...
POINT&SHOOT> Toyota MarkII on SSR MarkIII
[I received an email yesterday from an Australian guy named Ian Hancock. Ian is crazy about Japanese nostalgic cars, and is currently on vacation in Japan (or as he says it, he's "on holiday") to check out a bunch of his favorite cars. He sent in a photo of this MX32 Toyota MarkII (Toyota Cressida) that he carspotted in Japan, because he knew it would be just the type of thing that Motor Mavens readers are into! Well, he was absolutely right. Here's what Ian had to say about the Mark II...]
The white Cressida belongs to Naoya Yamaguchi, who owns an old school Japanese wheel shop in Moiyra called Bellezza Auto Produce, about 15km from Tsukuba Circuit. I had been at Tsukuba for the day to watch drifting (and get taken for a ride!), and was going for a walk from my hotel to find some dinner when I came across the shop! I thought I was delirious – it was just too good to be true!
When I walked into his store, he was in the corner smoking, wheelchair bound because of a motorbike accident. Naoya “didn’t want to know me” until I started saying the names of the wheels in his shop, and I showed him pictures of my KB110 Sunny from Sydney. He couldn’t believe that an Aussie 20 year old would be interested in old J-tin. He couldn’t speak any English, and I don’t speak Japanese, so we talked for an hour and a half using a translator on the computer.
The Cressida wears huge SSR 15×9Js (-37 offset) on the back and 15×8J SSR Mark IIIs up front. From what I could gather, it is fairly stock mechanically aside from a healthy lowering, carbs and exhaust. A nice little front lip spoiler and rear spoiler finish it off, and although there are some fender gap issues, it has definately been built in the shakotan style! The body is straighter than straight, and some nice fender mirrors really set it off. I’m buying a set of 7.5J SSR Starsharks from him, and he has invited to take me out in his car next time I come over!
:: Ian Hancock
WEBMINING> Keiichi Tsuchiya at Ebisu Circuit East
Okay… this is a super old video, but since I just posted my story about how I felt the first time I ever saw the legendary Best Motoring Volume 41, I figured I should post the video up on the site. To me, this video is totally the shit… it’s a classic that I must have watched about a thousand times, but I still remember how this video made me feel the first time I ever saw it. It was inspiring, to say the very least. And the very first time I ever drove Ebisu Circuit’s East Course, it immediately brought me back to the first time I watched this video, and the sound that the naturally aspirated blacktop 20 valve AE111 4AG engine made at full throttle as Keiichi drove his white TRD AE86 at Ebisu.
I’m sure that everyone must have a favorite movie or CD that they’ve listened to countless times… Inputs like this become engrained into your head; they eventually become a part of your permanent memory, and a part of who you are as a person. For me, these types of inputs include things like the Illmatic album from Nas, the Low End Theory album from A Tribe Called Quest, the Do You Want More album from The Roots, the Legend album from Bob Marley, and the Best Motoring Video, Volume 41. If you have a favorite book, video, movie, or CD, please share it…
Enjoy the video!
:: Antonio Alvendia
ARCHAEOLOGY> Keiichi Tsuchiya Tanjoubi
Video Option may well be the most powerful media outlet in the group; after all, most of my friends might agree with me when I say that the first time I (we) ever watched an Option Video tape, we were dumbfounded and immediately hooked on drifting and Japanese car culture. (Yes, that's right... I did say video TAPE... I'm showing my age here. I know that many of our readers have never used video tapes, only DVDs.) However, this isn't a story about Video Option... after all, it's Keiichi's birthday, so I thought it might be fitting to share some old school photos of my first (only) encounter with Keiichi's famous white TRD AE86, which inspired the hell out of us at an early age.
I realize that most people might think, "What the hell? A post about Keiichi on his birthday? You JDM fanboy!" Haha, it's okay, I'll admit it. When I first learned about drifting and Video Option and Best Motoring and AE86s and Keiichi Tsuchiya and Initial D in the mid 1990s, I was a fanboy. I don't care if you think that's lame, either... because at some point in our lives, we all idolized someone... whether it be a sports figure or famous celebrity or whatever. The only difference is, I have enough confidence to admit it. As I was growing up, I definitely looked up to guys like Keiichi Tsuchiya (and Nas and Blackthought and Q-Tip and De La, but that's another story...). Read more...
WEBMINING> Bosozoku Love Shakotan Boogie
For those who are fascinated with bosozoku style and other aspects of Japanese underground car culture, I thought I’d post up this video clip. I actually watched part of this movie at my friend’s house in Japan a few years back, but it was only recently (on the Bosozoku Style website) that I discovered that someone had actually uploaded the video to Youtube.
This video doesn’t feature outstanding driving or anything… and ALL the cars inside aren’t necessarily cool, although you will find a few pretty nice gems mixed in with the street rubble. What kinds of bosozoku cars can you point out? I saw some pretty interesting non traditional cars, like the AW11 MR2 at the beginning of the movie, as well as the normal bosozoku fare, like Toyota Crowns and Nissan Skylines.
Just think – this movie was released way back in 1987! Sheesh, I was just a kid listening to Eric B & Rakim and LL Cool J back then… I wasn’t even into cars yet!
Fun video to watch! Just don’t get too offended by what happens to the hakosuka at the end…
:: Antonio Alvendia
WEBMINING> New Shoes on the Shakotan S12!
Guess who got some new kicks? This is Henry Nguyen’s shakotan S12 200SX sure is breaking hearts with its shiny new shoes. Forget those played out Bapes, kid… it’s all about the classic Japanese styling of Speed Star Wheels.
More specifically, 15×9J (-17) SSR Mk3 up front, and 15×9J (-27) SSR/Longchamps XR4 wheels out back. With the front chin spoiler, and rear wing. Definitely a Heartbreaker, damn son.
:: Antonio Alvendia
NEWSWORTHY> The Mighty FC Returns to FD
Yes, the rumors are true. The green FC3S RX7 that we all know and love is returning to Formula D competition!
A lot of our Facebook friends have been talking about this for a couple days already… but I just figured I should probably post this on the website too, since there are a lot of people out there who read our blog, but aren’t necessarily in the know about the latest news in the world of Formula Drift. Yes again… contrary to popular belief, there are still people out there who aren’t checking Facebook every five seconds. It suddenly dawned on me when I casually mentioned the FC’s return to a friend of mine today, and he was like, “Whaaaaaaat?! No wayyyyy!”
I just got off the phone with Justin Pawlak, the driver of this awesome green rotary monster. Even though he and Bergenholtz Racing have parted ways in the professional drifting world, Justin is quick to dispel any rumors in the mill by saying, “Ron and I are definitely still cool. In fact, I just spoke to him on the phone earlier today. We just have different ideas and figured it would be best to go split the team up.”
While their timing is certainly less than perfect, with the 2010 Formula D season approaching very, very quickly… I’m sure both JTP and Ron B will make it happen for both of their respective drift teams. Justin says, “Ya know what? I just realized I had more qualifying points than anyone else in the 2009 Formula D season.” He’s sure to make a strong statement this year, whether he has solid financial backing or not.
And Ron Bergenholtz? Well, if anyone has any doubts about Bergenholtz Racing’s ability to have a strong presence in Formula D this year, let me just remind you that he (and his brother Ed) didn’t win all those NHRA Wally awards and get inducted into the NHRA Museum for nothing. In professional drag racing, Bergenholtz Racing proved that an underdog actually can compete against (and beat) competitors with big dollar corporate funding. As long as there’s a will, there’s a way.
Bergenholtz Racing will be revealing their official plans for 2010 on Thursday, along with publicly announcing the new driver they’ve signed to pilot their blue Mazdaspeed RX8.
If you’re a fan of JTP and his FC3S, and you want to help him find sponsors for the 2010 season, please visit Justin Pawlak’s Official Blog by clicking this link. Justin says, “Please don’t mind the ghetto GoDaddy banner, cause my webpage was FREE. haha. I might have a ghetto banner on my blog, but at least I got REAL VOLKS on my car.”
Hell yeah, Justin. Word.
:: Antonio Alvendia
WEBMINING> Oh G’s! Toyota FT86 in Detail!
I really gotta give major props to Taro and the GT Channel crew! This is the very first video I’ve ever seen that shows the details of the G’s Toyota FT86 G Sports Concept that debuted at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon. I was pretty sad that I wasn’t able to make it at first, because when I searched the web, I saw a cornucopia of wack photos of the car (you may laugh at my usage of the word cornucopia, but hey, it’s better than saying a sh!t ton of wack photos)… but this video actually does the car justice.
We can finally see the details, all close and personal! Domo arigatou gozaimashita to the GT Channel crew for giving us the inside look, and posting up the video so quickly! Otsukare sama deshita! Great job.
What I want to know now is… how many AE86ers will be lining up at the Toyota dealerships to buy an FT86 now?
Me personally, I’m not too stoked on the fact that it’ll be coming out with a Subaru boxer engine in it… I wish it had a high revving engine with a Toyota/Yamaha twincam G head, to keep it true to the feel of a real AE86… Either way, I can’t wait to test drive one to see if it really feels like one of the AE86s in my collection or if it just feels like some sort of FR WRX. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Please voice your opinion on the FT86… I’m curious to see what our readers think!
:: AntonioE86 Alvendia
CARSPOTTING> Lowdown Heartbreaker S12 200SX
So what was it about this particular 200SX that caught my eye? It just had to be the style in which it was built up. Let's take a closer look... Read more...
WEBMINING> Club EPS Works B310 Sunny
I was randomly browsing the internet over the past few days, and noticed this photo on the BeeOneOneOh blog in New Zealand, which I only recently found…. very cool site! Seeing these two vintage Nissans line up together on a track is super cool. Old school Nissan power… two generations of Nissan Sunny together at the same time. In the front, we have the Club EPS Works Sunny from the TS Cup. Don’t you just love those old school Advan Racing A3A wheels? Especially in BLACK with the red outlines.
I used to have a set of those wheels, but had to sell them when I was raising money to buy my TE27. Sigh… I loved those wheels, but it was a worthy cause. It’s so lucky that the owner of this B310 Sunny has a set of these wheels… and they have such great sizes too! They fit perfectly underneath the works flares; finding aggressive sizes of Advan Racing wheels is very rare indeed. I love satin black Advan Racing A3A wheels!!!
:: Antonio Alvendia
RANDOM DOPE> S30 Fairlady 240Z by Jan Trondsen
AMAZING. Now THIS is what it's all about. This is a 3D sculpted rendering of a 1972 S30 240Z, which apparently has ZG flares and a standard Z432 nose with a BRE front chin spoiler.
The artist behind all this is actually an old school friend of mine; his name is Jan Trondsen (pronounced yawn, like you're sleepy), and he is first and foremost a car guy that's passionate about vintage Datsuns, and he has been that way since the first day I met him, over ten years ago. Nowadays, Jan is an alumnus of the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and a professional 3D sculptor working for a major car company... but it wasn't like that when we first met. When we first met, we were just a bunch of super broke car enthusiasts from the SF Bay Area that frequented the illegal street races, hardly able to scrape together enough funds to buy rebuild kits for the Mikuni 44phh carbs we wanted for our cars.
Nothing makes me happier or more inspired than seeing good people like Jan progress in their careers, all without losing focus on what made them passionate about cars in the first place. Let's face it. There are WAY too many corporate schmucks working within the auto industry; men and women that don't give a rat's ass about WHY people devote their whole lives to cars, or what makes cars cool. There are way too many non-car-people out there that scored jobs at big car companies just because they had degrees and were looking for a big corporate job with benefits after college. Jan is definitely not one of those. I'm glad to see there are still some folks out there who are intensely passionate about cars like all of us are (by all of us, I'm referring to the MotorMavens readers). Read more...
WEBMINING> S13 Running Touge at Night!
For everyone who’s ever wondered why mountain racing in Japan has evolved from an illegal, underground activity into something that accidentally slipped into the “mainstream” via comic books, anime, movies, and more… you need to watch this video, which was sent to me by my friend Chihiro Yoshimura from PEAK, an all AE and KP chassis drift team from Kanagawa Japan.
The driver of this S13 Silvia is drifting through a mountain road with such little space to navigate and maneuver the car… it’s incredible! Now this is car control.
I can’t wait to get back to Japan.
:: Antonio Alvendia
