Hey everyone! We got these photos from our good friend Chris “Hechtspeed” Hecht from the My Ride Is Me website. We think it’s a hell of a lot cooler than building a gingerbread man or gingerbread house! Maybe we should do some sort of gingerbread car building competition next year???
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!
Thank you so much for all your loyal support of our website! It’s hard to believe that the MotorMavens website is still less than a year old! We officially launched the site in May of this year, and it’s already ranked pretty damn high because of all your site visits and comments and linkbacks!!! You guys are the best! Thank you so much – we appreciate all your awesome comments! From the entire Motor Mavens Family, best wishes to you and your families during this holiday season!
Oh, and let’s not forget the specs:
-Ford Model A Pickup, genuine Graham Cracker, Bonneville rat rod
-Licorice slicks in the rear, with licorice wide whites skinnies on the front (Notice the mad camber yo)
-Engine is a Buick GN topped with a 6-71 Gummi Blower and angle cut candy cane straight pipes a la rat style
-Green Jello Roof with high mounted candy cane side mirror
-Bright yellow Gumdrop headlights with icing trim
-Classic Mike-N-Ike grille
Last June WSTO revealed their very own Project 1 (v1.2). WSTO specializes in performance wheels and modifications with a heavy emphasis on high-quality products for BMW. That being said, the turbocharged BMW 135i would prove to be an excellent platform to showcase the muscle behind their brand. Read more...
I flew out to L.A. this week to spend Christmas with my family, which gave me the opportunity to meet up with AntonioAlvendia and EdwardUche for the first time. Of course cars were a topic covered quite a bit as the night went on and RX7 project cars were brought to light… This of course brought on the discussion of dream builds and this video I am posting now. I honestly can not give you a solid figure of how many times I have watched this video ever since it was posted on Youtube. I would guess Edward couldn’t give you a guesstimate either.
What I can tell you is the car was built by Trial Tuning Spirit. The FD3S has a 3 rotor swap, running ITBs and and a slew of custom parts all done to make it a beast of a track car. Just listen to the beautiful music it makes – who wouldn’t want this in their garage???
I must say though. On my wedding day, I want a car much like this waiting for me at the end of the ceremony to take us away. Hopefully, rotors will be tied behind the car on rope to drag down the street behind us.
:: Scottie Scheetz
PS: Below is the car’s spec sheet, posted in Janglish (gotta keep it legit!) by the original poster of the video. (gamikoulas@hcn.zaq.ne.jp) (more…)
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...
I was just surfing around on Facebook right now and found this Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) video, posted by a guy named Samuel Oune. I had the privilege to attend a DTM race at Nurburgring last summer… but as exciting and fun as it was, it was nothing like this! Just look at the Mercedes Benzes flying through the air!!! A W E S O M E.
Aside from me, who wants a Mercedes Benz 190E 2.3 16valve and an E30 M3 now?!
Washington mornings are crisp in the fall. Past the hustle and bustle of Seattle's technology saturated east side lie country roads that meander through the landscape. The dew turns to light frost and everything seems to quiet down. So when Mark Couts and his 1997 BMW E36 328i hit the street, you hear it long before you see it.
Mark is as tall (6'7") as the reputation that Team Instant Party has in the Northwest, and despite being a relatively new crew, most have been around for a long while. He's had different drift cars in the past, and they have come and gone for one reason or another. Having drifting as a hobby isn't easy for a poor college student trying to make ends meet, as I'm sure a lot of you can relate. While making the best of it, Mark has built an amazing looking E36. Clean and mean. Read more...
It seems a LOT of people were pretty hyped after seeing Bisi Ezerioha’s turbochargedHonda Civic EF Wagovan in our previous post about the Norm Reeves Honda Meet. I was hyped when I first saw it too! It’s pretty crazy to have a front wheel drive car with that much horsepower… especially a car that gets driven on the street! And it has aggressive wheel fitment. =)
Here’s a pretty simple and straightforward video that was shot off the cuff and unrehearsed. It’s not really the type of video that shows off the MotorMavens ability behind a lens, but I think it still works because it’s simple and we get to see all the details of the car. I think these simple hand held/unedited video features are going to become more and more popular… it’s kind of like videoblogging vs. preplanned, high production/edited videos. The funny thing is, I first started shooting this video just so I could remember the details of the car without having to actually write down notes. However, when I got home and watched it again, I thought Bisi did such a great job explaining everything on the car (and pointing out parts from his sponsors, haha)… I just decided to post it up anyway.
Hehe, since I wasn’t originally planning to post this, I was saying a lot of ridiculous non-related things in the video! LOL don’t mind me. I didn’t have an external microphone or anything with me to amplify Bisi’s sound levels. Oh well, whatever… the only good thing about it is you can see the details of Bisi’s car! If you want to see professional photos of this Bisimoto EF Wagovan, go to the bookstore and buy an issue of Super Street Magazine.
As many of you know, those of us in the Los Angeles area had a Christmas get together this past Saturday night at The Corner Bar in Burbank CA. On behalf of our entire group of friends who threw the party (Schikane Clothing, Driftwell Footwork Essentials, Tokyo Drive Productions and The Motor Mavens Crew), we'd like to express our deepest thanks to all of those who came out to chill with us, and those who couldn't make it, but were there with us in spirit.
Big thanks also to those who showed support of the party by donating gifts for the raffle (in no particular order) - Mishimoto, Eneos Oil, DSPORT Magazine, Buddy Club USA, HKS, Hankook Tires, Jack Daniels, and Jagermeister.
I'm just going to post some of the pics from our party on the site. To view more photos, Add the Motor Mavens Crewas a friend on Facebook, and you can see more photos and view the tags and whatnot in case you want to be a stalker and randomly add girls that you don't know. (Go for it, haha) Read more...
Apparently, some aftermarket car parts companies have decided to participate in the Schikane Clothing x Tokyo Drive Productions x Driftwell x Motor Mavens Christmas Party tonight! COME TO THE PARTY and win a radiator from Mishimoto, some goods from Buddy Club USA, and a bunch of oil from Eneos!
—–>Our friends at JACK DANIELS and JAGERMEISTER have just confirmed that they will come out to the party and give away a bunch of gifts too! Hell yeahhhhh! I want a bottle of Gentleman Jack and a Jagermeister Porsche! =)
To all friends and family of Motor Mavens in the Los Angeles area! We’re having a party tonight, and we’d like you to come! This was originally planned as a small, close knit Christmas party between my personal close friends (it’s an annual thing)… but earlier today, we talked about it, and said hell… we consider anyone and everyone who has supported us this year as our friends… so let’s just invite everyone!
If you’re local to Southern Cali, come down to the Schikane Clothing x Tokyo Drive Productions x Driftwell x Motor Mavens Christmas Party tonight!
This is not going to be one of those pretentious “dress shoes and VIP wristband required” events. Everyone is invited! Act like Nirvana, and come as you are… this will be a cool opportunity to “meet and greet” many of our industry friends and many of the people behind this blog!
Here’s the info!
CORNER BAR 924 S. San Fernando Rd
Burbank CA 91502
TIME: From 9pm until the bar closes!
Dress code strictly enforced. No dress shoes allowed. Hats, sneakers and other fashionable attire are encouraged. (A message to the Ladies only: No shirt, No shoes, No problem!)
Comment this post to let us know if you’re coming!
I spotted this 1978 Saab 99 Turbo owned by John Webber at the 2009 Carlisle Import/Kit-Replicar Nationals back in May. It sits lowered on a set of 16″ Saab 9000 wheels and sports a custom front air dam for a pretty aggressive yet clean look. The bright orange 99T definitely stood out amongst all the other Saabs in attendance.
I don’t think we’ve ever featured any Saabs on Motormavens before, but I thought it would be appropriate considering today’s news. Following two decades of mismanaging and after nearly a year of failed attempts to find a buyer for Saab, GM announced earlier that the quirky Scandinavian automaker would begin shutting down operations.
I’ve never really been that into Saabs but I did appreciate their, for lack of a better term, quirkiness (I tried using a thesaurus but there simply is no better word to describe the brand).
When I think of Mooneyes and their Annual Christmas Party at Irwindale, I normally think of hot rods - rat rods, traditionals, kustoms, roadsters... things of that sort. However, as I was trudging along the Irwindale Speedway parking lot with soaking wet jeans (and even worse... wet socks. Grossss!) from the torrential downpour that Mother Nature subjected us to... I noticed this small grouping of Volkswagens, and immediately began making my way toward them.
These Vee Dubs had their own sense of style. The color and rust spots on this blue Deluxe VW bus reminded me of the Volkswagen Single Cab from Miami that we featured just a few months ago when we started this site. I'm admittedly not a maven of VW knowledge, but I do have a strong opinion on what I think is stylish and what's not. Read more...
To go along with our coverage from the event, I thought I’d post this great video from BOWLS LA. The Bowls crew really did a fantastic job of capturing the vibe of the Norm Reeves Honda Show/Toy Drive. This edit has great style to it, between the shots, cuts, and West Coast soundtrack. Take a look!
:: Andy Sapp
BOWLS LA 1223 S. San Gabriel Blvd.
San Marino, CA 91108
Two weekends ago, my friend Scott Toshima invited me to come out to a meet he was hosting at Norm Reeves Honda, off the 605 freeway in Cerritos CA. I've never owned a Honda in my life, so I never had a reason to go there previously, but I was definitely down to support whatever function Scott was throwing... plus, he said that several of the best offset Hondas in Southern Cali would be attending.
Well, Scott wasn't lying. I was honestly quite impressed with the level of the cars that came out to this gathering, which wasn't even a major carshow or anything; it was just a simple Honda meet in the parking lot of a local dealer! Even though it wasn't some sort of big event like Import Showoff or something like that, the H crowd showed up strong to show off their new wheels!
That's right, I said wheels! It seems that there are more and more Honda owners catching on and joining the low offset/stretched tire movement, and I think that's a good thing. Sure, there are a lot of people who hate on this new trend in the Honda scene, saying that it makes no sense to stretch the tires and camber the rear wheels on a Front Engine, Front Wheel Drive car... but hey, Volkswagen guys have been doing it for years, and their cars are FF too! Read more...
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...
I’m not sure if all of our readers watch the new (reformatted/renamed) Jay Leno Show, orJay Leno’s Garage… but personally, I’m a big fan of Jay Leno, but unfortunately I’ve never had the chance to run into him, even though the studio where they tape his show is less than five minutes away from my office.
Everyone who knows about Jay Leno knows that he is a huge fan of automobiles, and has a humongous car collection; he has so many cars that he even has his own personal hangars at the airport that are solely dedicated to housing his incredible collection of cars. It’s like having a bunch of Hot Wheels die cast, only Jay’s collection is 1:1 scale, and he can drive every single one of them!
Well, since he is Jay Leno after all, Mercedes gave him a chance to test drive their new SLS AMG Gullwing on the streets, and again since he is Jay Leno, he was able to have a film crew document it. (He didn’t need to shoot it guerrilla style by himself with a Canon point&shoot camera, like some other car lovers we know.) He even started out the video with a clip of his own 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing!
That’s soooo dope! Once Toyota comes out with the FT86 in the USA, I need to shoot one of those with one of my own AE86s!
