COVERAGE> UK Grassroots Drifting at Santa Pod!
Santa Pod Raceway in Northamptonshire, England is home to one of the most famous drag strips in the world, where records have been broken and legends have been made. Now it is also home to one of the most popular practice days for drifting in the UK. Drift What Ya Brung (or DWYB for short) officially started in 2007 to provide a safe place off the streets for drifters to practice their skills and for beginners to learn the art of drifting without fear of the deadly kerb dragon or getting in trouble with the police. The whole emphasis at DWYB is to have fun drifting and get plenty of seat time to build up your skills!
The drift area itself is in a fairly large plot of land on the left side of the drag strip, and is split up into five tracks, ranging from a larger "main track" for more experienced drifters (which is based on the 2008 European Drift Championship layout), a smaller "kidney track" which is set up for practicing transitions, and finally, there are 3 small "play pens" for practicing donuts, figure 8s, etc. There's also a make shift pit area for people to change tyres and work on their cars. Mint Tyres is always on hand to provide tire support for the drivers; they will fit tyres at very good prices to keep you on the track all day, and Sue's Cafe makes AWESOME cheese and bacon burgers to fill the appetites of hungry drifters.
DWYB also happens to be where I started out photographing drifting and the culture that surrounds it... so I headed up last weekend to catch up with some friends, have a lot of fun and bring back a few photos to shed some light on grassroots drifting in the UK for you Motor Mavens readers! Read more...
The drift area itself is in a fairly large plot of land on the left side of the drag strip, and is split up into five tracks, ranging from a larger "main track" for more experienced drifters (which is based on the 2008 European Drift Championship layout), a smaller "kidney track" which is set up for practicing transitions, and finally, there are 3 small "play pens" for practicing donuts, figure 8s, etc. There's also a make shift pit area for people to change tyres and work on their cars. Mint Tyres is always on hand to provide tire support for the drivers; they will fit tyres at very good prices to keep you on the track all day, and Sue's Cafe makes AWESOME cheese and bacon burgers to fill the appetites of hungry drifters.
DWYB also happens to be where I started out photographing drifting and the culture that surrounds it... so I headed up last weekend to catch up with some friends, have a lot of fun and bring back a few photos to shed some light on grassroots drifting in the UK for you Motor Mavens readers! Read more...
COVERAGE> Wekfest Weekend in J-Town SF, Pt.2
For the second installment of the MotorMavens coverage from my trip to the San Francisco Bay Area last weekend, we'll take a look inside the Wekfest itself. For those who really couldn't wait, I'm sure you could have just Googled "Wekfest" and found a bunch of Flickr pages and other galleries with random photos from inside the show.
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...
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
This past weekend, I went up to San Francisco to hang out with some of my old school friends from the Bay Area... but unfortunately a lot of them were out of town! Hawaii, Japan, Philippines... damn! Sometimes I have such bad timing! It was a good thing Calvin Wan was in town - he told me he had two events that he needed to attend that weekend. He needed to bring his FD3S RX7 to a motorsports show in Vallejo, and then bring his S14 Silvia (it really is a RHD Silvia from Japan) to the Wekfest Car Show in Japantown San Francisco. I've been hearing about (and seeing pictures of) the annual carshow in San Francisco's Japantown for quite some time, but this weekend was the very first time I had ever had a chance to attend it myself. I think in the past it used to be called the JDM Theory J's Gathering, but apparently they decided to rename it Wekfest (pronounced like 'weak-fest'). Or it could be that the organizers are different now? Not sure.
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...
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...
COVERAGE> HellaFlush Scrapes Buttonwillow, Pt.2
I know you've been waiting for it, so here's the second installment in our HellaFlush 3.5 event coverage from Buttonwillow Raceway. I'm not sure that there have ever been this many cars with aggressive fitment and stance at the Lerdo Highway exit off the California Interstate 5 highway.
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...
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
This weekend, many of the best stanced cars in California made their way to the HellaFlush 3.5 meet at Buttonwillow Raceway, which was located in the middle of BFE, along the Interstate 5 highway. The stretched tire movement has finally been getting a lot of attention in the past couple years, which is awesome because I've trying to promote it for quite a while... but it took a long time for it to catch on. Now that insane offset cars have been popping up all over the internet for the past couple years, people have started building their cars with a focus on aggressive stance and aggressive wheel offset. It sure took a long time for the message to spread though. I first began writing stories about how "Offset is Everything" in magazines, websites, and talked about it at drifting events/carshows that I emceed since... 2004? 2005? It's funny to think that people used to make fun of me when I would talk about rocking negative offset wheels, demon camber on AE86s, super low down (shakotan) stance, hippari tires (stretched tires), and tsuraichi (cars running aggressive offset wheels and tucking tire). In fact, I distinctly remember emceeing a Drift Showoff event out in Houston TX in 2005, and some of the DA homies were like, "Dude. It's like negative offset is all you ever talk about!" (HAHA, they were absolutely right.) I'm so glad that multiple forward thinking websites, forums and blogs across the internet have virally spread this message and made aggressive stanced cars popular; now it's a whole different ball game!
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...
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...
COVERAGE> Supras Swarm SP Engineering
This past weekend, something like 70+ Toyota Supras came out to the Supra Appreciation Event at SP Engineering in Industry, California. I was pleasantly surprised; I couldn't believe how many Supra owners braved the rain and the bad drivers on the freeway with their high horsepower monsters. All the parking lots surrounding SP Engineering were packed to the hilt with Supras and other cars that had variants of M and JZ engines under their hoods. Most of the cars in attendance were JZA80s, but there were also quite a few MA70/JZA70 Supras that caught my eye... I even spotted an MA60 in the lineup!
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...
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...
COVERAGE> Simply Clean + Stance in Orlando
I made the short trek last weekend to the Winter Park section of Orlando. It was cold out by Florida standards, but was at least warmer than it had been the past two weeks. Last Sunday's event was the first of it's type (for this area) and the title stated it clearly. Simply Clean..... Proper stance, perfect wheel fitment, quality paint job.... Almost everything a car enthusiast should dream of! There were of course big horse power cars, so they filled in the missing link that we gas mileage savvy people left out. But lets think about this for a second. One one-thousand... Do you really need 500 horsepower when your car sits 1 inch off the ground and has a 95% chance of losing a bumper at every divot? Well, I know I sure as hell do! I can't think of anything better than the ability to yell louder than the passenger screaming in the seat next to you "SHUT UP! I F*CKING GOT THIS!" as you drive over your front lip, while laughing hysterically... Read more...
COVERAGE> Garage Zero in Atlanta
The guys at Georgia-based Garage Zero had an open-house to their newly-acquired facility located just outside Atlanta's perimeter. Aren't familiar with Garage Zero? Well, it is time you get acclimated. These guys are all about old school Japanese car lifestyle and culture. To put it in simpler terms, these guys make "keeping it real" seem passé. Their new facility houses an eclectic mix of classics and wild project-cars. Read more...
COVERAGE> Rainy Day Rodding at Mooneyes
With December in full swing and Christmas-time near, tis the season for parties and holiday cheer. With hot rods on the freeway, plus an onslaught of rain, I had to yell at times, "stupid ass, stay in your lane!!!"
This past weekend, I attended the Annual Mooneyes Christmas Party at Irwindale Speedway. I can't believe it's already been a full year since the last time I visited the show. I have to admit... cold, rainy weather makes me feel pretty lazy. Living in Southern Cali, I think I've gotten used to the weather being 73 degrees all year round, so when it dips below 55 degrees outside, it's pretty hard for me to convince myself to leave the comfort of my baffled goose down comforter behind and trudge through the rain with 30+lbs of camera gear and flyers on my back. This Saturday, it was especially difficult because I was out with my friends at a house party and didn't get back until 4:30am on the day of the show.
However, I'm really glad I did make it to Mooneyes this year. Speaking to my friend Shige (the man behind Mooneyes and Crown Classics in Yokohama Japan), we both agreed that the rain did put a bit of a damper on the event's attendance, but it was good in a way. It weeded out most of the "trying to be down" scenesters and showed everyone who the real hardcore hot rodders were. Most of the guys who came to this year's Mooneyes Christmas Party actually drove their period correct traditional hot rods with vintage whitewall tires on the 605 freeway IN THE RAIN to and from the show. Now that's dedication! Much respect! Read more...
This past weekend, I attended the Annual Mooneyes Christmas Party at Irwindale Speedway. I can't believe it's already been a full year since the last time I visited the show. I have to admit... cold, rainy weather makes me feel pretty lazy. Living in Southern Cali, I think I've gotten used to the weather being 73 degrees all year round, so when it dips below 55 degrees outside, it's pretty hard for me to convince myself to leave the comfort of my baffled goose down comforter behind and trudge through the rain with 30+lbs of camera gear and flyers on my back. This Saturday, it was especially difficult because I was out with my friends at a house party and didn't get back until 4:30am on the day of the show.
However, I'm really glad I did make it to Mooneyes this year. Speaking to my friend Shige (the man behind Mooneyes and Crown Classics in Yokohama Japan), we both agreed that the rain did put a bit of a damper on the event's attendance, but it was good in a way. It weeded out most of the "trying to be down" scenesters and showed everyone who the real hardcore hot rodders were. Most of the guys who came to this year's Mooneyes Christmas Party actually drove their period correct traditional hot rods with vintage whitewall tires on the 605 freeway IN THE RAIN to and from the show. Now that's dedication! Much respect! Read more...
COVERAGE> San Francisco Auto Show 2009
I got a call from the Extreme Autofest folks asking me if I want to show one of my cars again at the annual San Francisco International Auto Show at the Moscone Center this year. The only problem was that my FD3S RX7 was still unavailable because we were still working on getting it back from the Brahma Light Drift Track Opening in the Dominican Republic.
Since the FD wasn't back in San Francisco yet, I figured it would be a good chance to debut my RHD S14 and display it at this week-long show so I could show some love to my sponsors. Read more...
Since the FD wasn't back in San Francisco yet, I figured it would be a good chance to debut my RHD S14 and display it at this week-long show so I could show some love to my sponsors. Read more...
COVERAGE> Southeast Drift’s Land of the Great
What’s up MotorMavens readers? My name is Jonathan McWhorter and I’m a photographer from Atlanta, Georgia. On Saturday, November 28th, I had the privilege of attending Southeast Drift’s Land of the Great practice and tandem drift competition at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia.
It was a lot of fun because not only was a friend of mine driving, but I somehow talked them into giving me a media pass. With the media pass I was able to get down onto the track and up close to the cars as they made their runs. It was an incredible experience, and I think I got some pretty killer shots as well. I was at the exit of the bank on the first turn. It was a pretty sick spot because I was behind the wall, maybe 10-15 feet from the cars. Read more...
It was a lot of fun because not only was a friend of mine driving, but I somehow talked them into giving me a media pass. With the media pass I was able to get down onto the track and up close to the cars as they made their runs. It was an incredible experience, and I think I got some pretty killer shots as well. I was at the exit of the bank on the first turn. It was a pretty sick spot because I was behind the wall, maybe 10-15 feet from the cars. Read more...
COVERAGE> FixxFest 6 Euro Meet in FL
For my first post on MotorMavens, I hope I can entertain you. My name is Scottie Scheetz and I have only recently become a Florida resident. I grew up in Northern Virginia, just a few miles south of D.C. Cars have always been in my life, as I am one who only looks to shops for alignments and welding work (for now, but I will remedy that shortly). I frequently enjoy taking my car apart just to give me something to do when I am bored. One thing I am passionate about is drifting. I have been following it since 2000-2001, and I absolutely love how it has grown. Many late nights and exam study times were spent watching drift videos on any sites I can find.
That's enough about me... Let's talk about the car scene in Florida. Before moving here, I heard lots of talk about Florida having a terrible car scene. I must say, since I relocated to this amazingly warm state, I'd have to disagree with that completely. My view point has completely changed. There is quite a large scene for car enthusiasts that are into Hondas, VWs, Toyotas, Nissans, etc. There are car events every weekend, from huge blowouts to smaller 60 car beach meets. I legitimately mean every weekend something is going on. Read more...
That's enough about me... Let's talk about the car scene in Florida. Before moving here, I heard lots of talk about Florida having a terrible car scene. I must say, since I relocated to this amazingly warm state, I'd have to disagree with that completely. My view point has completely changed. There is quite a large scene for car enthusiasts that are into Hondas, VWs, Toyotas, Nissans, etc. There are car events every weekend, from huge blowouts to smaller 60 car beach meets. I legitimately mean every weekend something is going on. Read more...
COVERAGE> More Scenes From Irwindale Pro Am
Continuing our coverage of the Formula D Pro Am Finals...I thought I'd do a little name dropping, since that's apparently what I specialize in over here. Haha... click through to the story and see if you can recognize some of the faces and the cars they belong to... Read more...
COVERAGE> Old Skool & Rotary Turkey Day Run
What's going on! My name is Edward Uche. I live in Los Angeles, and I am the newest addition to the Motor Mavens Crew. I've followed this automotive blog since it began back in April and words cannot describe how excited I am to join as a contributor. As the owner of a turbocharged FC3s RX7, I'd love to meet other readers of this site at a track day or event in the near future. However, right now it's my honor to present you my first contribution, which deals with a subject I'm extremely passionate about - seeking knowledge involving all things Rotary. I'm happy to connect with all you fellow car enthusiasts and mavens out there; now lets begin...
What happens when you combine a national holiday and time off work with family and friends? ...a well devised plan for a cruise, that's what. During my Thanksgiving festivities this past week, I couldn't help but squirm with anticipation for this weekend's big rotary event, RX7Club.com's annual "Turkey Run." The meeting location launching the rotary/old skool massive would be RX3 owner and MMA trainer Savant Young's Fight Academy in Pasadena CA. There were so many varieties of cars to be seen; RX2s, RX3s, FCs, FDs, Miatas, and even Toyota TE21s and S13s.
Keeping up with the latest in grassroots events, the members of the Southern Cali Motor Mavens Crew were on a mission to bring our viewers a look into the organic Los Angeles car culture. Witness. Read more...
What happens when you combine a national holiday and time off work with family and friends? ...a well devised plan for a cruise, that's what. During my Thanksgiving festivities this past week, I couldn't help but squirm with anticipation for this weekend's big rotary event, RX7Club.com's annual "Turkey Run." The meeting location launching the rotary/old skool massive would be RX3 owner and MMA trainer Savant Young's Fight Academy in Pasadena CA. There were so many varieties of cars to be seen; RX2s, RX3s, FCs, FDs, Miatas, and even Toyota TE21s and S13s.
Keeping up with the latest in grassroots events, the members of the Southern Cali Motor Mavens Crew were on a mission to bring our viewers a look into the organic Los Angeles car culture. Witness. Read more...
COVERAGE> Irwindale Pro Am, Part 1
It's true. I'm overdue again on posting my event coverage. This time, the coverage is from the Formula D Pro Am that took place at Irwindale Speedway this past weekend. However, I don't think it's a bad thing necessarily.
While all the other media people that attended the event (let's be honest; there weren't that many) rushed home to be the first to post photos on their websites, blogs, Twitters, and whatnot... I decided to spend time hanging out with my friends instead. I love that I was able to do this and not feel bad (this would be absolutely unacceptable behaviour if I was writing for a different website). But everyone in the Motor Mavens Crew understands. Hell, some of them were even there with me for all the non-car related stuff we did that weekend... like rolling 30+ heads deep to Dino's in Covina for some spicy grilled chicken; or taking Yoshi on a wild goose chase to meet up with some import models at a cafe in OC; or using trucks and trailers with drift cars loaded onto them to make parking difficult in the small parking lot of Flappy Jacks on Route 66, just so that Ray from Garage Autohero could get his traditional American style Sunday breakfast and complain that coffee in California sucks compared to Seattle's. LOL. Oh yeah, but somehow in between all the chillin we did with all our out of town friends that came to Pro Am, we did somehow manage to squeeze in a little bit of time to take some photos. Read more...
While all the other media people that attended the event (let's be honest; there weren't that many) rushed home to be the first to post photos on their websites, blogs, Twitters, and whatnot... I decided to spend time hanging out with my friends instead. I love that I was able to do this and not feel bad (this would be absolutely unacceptable behaviour if I was writing for a different website). But everyone in the Motor Mavens Crew understands. Hell, some of them were even there with me for all the non-car related stuff we did that weekend... like rolling 30+ heads deep to Dino's in Covina for some spicy grilled chicken; or taking Yoshi on a wild goose chase to meet up with some import models at a cafe in OC; or using trucks and trailers with drift cars loaded onto them to make parking difficult in the small parking lot of Flappy Jacks on Route 66, just so that Ray from Garage Autohero could get his traditional American style Sunday breakfast and complain that coffee in California sucks compared to Seattle's. LOL. Oh yeah, but somehow in between all the chillin we did with all our out of town friends that came to Pro Am, we did somehow manage to squeeze in a little bit of time to take some photos. Read more...
COVERAGE> SoCal Roadsters at Datsun Museum
Anyone that worships at the altar of Nissan must, some day, make a pilgrimage to the Datsun Heritage Museum. Located in Murrieta, California, it contains a treasure trove of Datsun and Nissan memorabilia, a library of pre-digital reading material and, of course, cars. For many southern California Datsun enthusiasts, it also serves a community center where meets and events can be held. Last weekend, the SoCal Roadster Owners' Club held their annual charity toy drive and car show there. Read more...
COVERAGE> IDS Finals at Nurburgring
This is the time of year when people begin to pull coats and cloaks a bit tighter in anticipation of the weather to come. As a personal homage to this gradual increase of outer garments, I decided to fly to Germany and cloak myself with a little tire ash. Acknowledging the inevitable end of reasonable weather in Deutschland, the International Drift Series (IDS) brought the fight back to the Nurburgring for the conclusion of their season - although, Read more...
CARSPOTTING> A Well Dunn Passat
From compact commuter cars and SUVs, to GTs and supercars, most in our "scene" have seen just about every imaginable car "upgraded"- with the possible exception (in my case) of Zach Dunn's 2007 Volkswagen Passat. I must admit that I had yet to see one of these cars done right. And, since I seem to be in the mood for confession, I'm not going to lie, I've never been the greatest fan of VWs. However, the more I see of them (especially this one), the more they're starting to grow on me. Zach's 2007 Passat was the first I'd seen that had been slammed and enhanced with superior fitment - and that made all the difference in the world. Read more...
COVERAGE> Kop Hill Hillclimb 2009
Set in the beautiful country lanes of Princes Risborough, the Kop Hill Hillclimb is one of the oldest hill climbs in England. During the early 1900s it was one of the largest motorsport events in the UK. The hill itself is a pretty straight road, but it's over 1000 metres long to the summit and rises to 100 metres high. Big crowds would line the edges of the road to watch drivers and motorcyclists try to achieve the fastest times and speeds up the hill. Unfortunately, as the speeds got faster, so did the risks, and on the 28th of March 1925 an accident involving a spectator led to the end of the original Kop Hill event and led to the RAC banning all motorsports on public roads.
On the 26th and 27th of September, organisers decided to do a Kop Hill Commemorative Run to bring the sounds and sights and even smells (mmm, Castrol R) back to Kop Hill again. Over 250 cars and bikes were there, ranging in age from the 1900s right up to 1980s and even some very special modern cars. Read more...
On the 26th and 27th of September, organisers decided to do a Kop Hill Commemorative Run to bring the sounds and sights and even smells (mmm, Castrol R) back to Kop Hill again. Over 250 cars and bikes were there, ranging in age from the 1900s right up to 1980s and even some very special modern cars. Read more...
COVERAGE> Drifting is alive in Santo Domingo!
You might not immediately think of the Dominican Republic when you think of drifting, but last month, the biggest drifting club in the DR, the Club Dominicano de Corredores de Drift (referred to as CDCD) put together a huge drift event and concert together with their racetrack's title sponsor, Brahma Light. Casper Canul and I were invited to do a drift demo with our US-based Formula D cars during their drift series-opening event on September 19th, 2009.
We went out there a couple of days early to prep our cars, test and setup their new drift track, marking all of the clipping points and track outline of the course. We spoke with the drivers and setup a driver’s meeting on competition day to go over all of the judging criteria and track rules with their local judges. Read more...
We went out there a couple of days early to prep our cars, test and setup their new drift track, marking all of the clipping points and track outline of the course. We spoke with the drivers and setup a driver’s meeting on competition day to go over all of the judging criteria and track rules with their local judges. Read more...
COVERAGE> Japanese Classic Car Show 2009 Pt.1
I know many have been eagerly awaiting our photographic coverage of this year's Japanese Classic Car Show in Irvine, CA. I would have wanted to post up our photos immediately on Saturday night or on Sunday, but it has been an extremely hectic weekend full of photo shoots with out of town cars!
There were TONS of people at JCCS this year. I really need to give props to Koji and Terry Yamaguchi for creating this show and making it better and better and better every single year. Instead of droning on and on about the history of the JCCS show and talking about how many people traveled from all over the USA to bring their cars to this event, let's just dive into the photos of the cars! After all, that's what you came here for! Read more...
There were TONS of people at JCCS this year. I really need to give props to Koji and Terry Yamaguchi for creating this show and making it better and better and better every single year. Instead of droning on and on about the history of the JCCS show and talking about how many people traveled from all over the USA to bring their cars to this event, let's just dive into the photos of the cars! After all, that's what you came here for! Read more...
COVERAGE> Autódromo El Jabalí in El Salvador
Without a doubt most of you are very much aware of the car scene in the USA, Japan, and the UK. Some of you are probably also somewhat familiar with automotive happenings within the boundaries of the other member states of the EU as well. However I'm willing to be that most of you are almost completely unfamiliar with the incredible scene that exists in that other America – the one in the Southern Hemisphere – specifically in El Salvador. Therefore, because we Motor Mavens like to expose our readers to the people, places, and automotive happenings that aren't necessarily mainstream, we would like to take a moment to introduce you to a particular AE86er named Pedro Velado - a man after our own Japanese Nostalgic Car loving hearts. This is his very first story with us, and we hope to have many more stories from him in the future! And to you Pedro – bienvenida!
::::::::::::::::::::::::: First, a little background info on myself. I've been a car lover ever since I was a little boy, helping my dad fix his Fiat station wagon. I grew up loving cars, but not really doing much about it until I finished University. After that, I started to learn about the wonderful world of JDM parts and style. It was in 2003, through a combination of my new knowledge and love for Japanese motoring and the process of building my Civic EF, that the idea formed with me and two of my friends to start the show circuit in El Salvador. Since then, I've been doing the CarShow every year, and getting more and more involved with cars as well. Read more...
::::::::::::::::::::::::: First, a little background info on myself. I've been a car lover ever since I was a little boy, helping my dad fix his Fiat station wagon. I grew up loving cars, but not really doing much about it until I finished University. After that, I started to learn about the wonderful world of JDM parts and style. It was in 2003, through a combination of my new knowledge and love for Japanese motoring and the process of building my Civic EF, that the idea formed with me and two of my friends to start the show circuit in El Salvador. Since then, I've been doing the CarShow every year, and getting more and more involved with cars as well. Read more...
COVERAGE> Last Weekend in Washington
This past weekend in Bellevue Washington... the Northwest's Imperial Car Club, Carnutz Customs, and the US Army teamed up to throw an "end of the year" charity food drive and car meet to enjoy the last few days of summer before the rainy season pours down on our state. Read more...
COVERAGE> Sevenstock Rotary Festival, Pt.1
This past Saturday at Mazda Headquarters in Irvine CA, rotary engined fans from all over the nation gathered at the annual Sevenstock Rotary Festival. I saw cars with license plates from a variety of different states there; it was cool to see how hardcore and dedicated many of these rotary owners were! I used to own a white FC3S RX7 (NA) for a little while before I bought my first AE86, and I loved it. I can definitely see where these rotary guys get their enthusiasm from.
In fact, one of the dedicated RX7 owners in attendance was our own Calvin Wan, who flew down to LA with his wife just for one day because they scored some super cheap plane tickets to Orange County for only $29 on Southwest! After picking them up at the airport, we went to eat dim sum at Capital Seafood in Irvine before heading to the show. I suppose the entire day had a "rotary theme" because Calvin noticed that even the plates that our dim sum was served in were round and triangular in shape, just like the rotor inside a 13B. Crazy. Read more...
In fact, one of the dedicated RX7 owners in attendance was our own Calvin Wan, who flew down to LA with his wife just for one day because they scored some super cheap plane tickets to Orange County for only $29 on Southwest! After picking them up at the airport, we went to eat dim sum at Capital Seafood in Irvine before heading to the show. I suppose the entire day had a "rotary theme" because Calvin noticed that even the plates that our dim sum was served in were round and triangular in shape, just like the rotor inside a 13B. Crazy. Read more...
