Even if they didn't attend the jam packed
Formula Drift Finale at
Irwindale Speedway, all drifting fans with an internet connection already know that
Daigo Saito has been smashing the competition repeatedly all year, ascending the ranks of the
Formula Drift Championship and ending
his first year in Formula D in First Place as the
Formula Drift Series Champion.
Here's a collection of some of our favorite images captured from the event!
Read more...
Posted by: Mike Kim | Oct 24, 2012 | Categories: Gallery | Tags: 2AZ, 350Z, 370Z, Achilles, AE86, Arley Elizabeth, Ashley Vee, BC Racing, Bergenholtz Racing, Camaro, Chelsea Denofa, Chris Forsberg, Dai Yoshihara, Daigo Saito, Daijiro Yoshihara, DJ Miki Taka, Falken Tire, FC3S, Formula D, Formula Drift, Formula Drift Championship, FRS, Irwindale, Irwindale Speedway, Jeremy Lowe, Julie Galindo, Justin Pawlak, Kaylee Alana, Ken Gushi, Lexus, Lutz Performance, Melanie Tillbrook, Mike Kim, Miki Taka, Mobil1, Nissan, Oliver Petalver, Olivia Korte, Randyl Dawn, Robbie Nishida, RX7, S15, SC300, SC430, Scion, Silvia, Soarer, Taka Aono, toshiki yoshioka, Toyota, Tyler McQuarrie, umbrella girls, Vaughn Gittin Jr, Walker Wilkerson, Yoshioka, Z33 |

On October 7th,
over 1500 Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ, and Toyota AE86 enthusiasts from all over the Western United States converged at
Auto Club Speedway in Fontana CA for the very first
86FEST, and the energy was just
incredible! The newly introduced Toyota/Subaru "86" platform (sold as
Scion FR-S and
Subaru BRZ in the USA) has received international acclaim as the second coming of the legendary AE86, which has a huge cult following worldwide.
With help from sponsors like
Falken Tire,
OEM Audio Plus,
Turn 14 Distribution,
Whiteline Suspension,
Motul,
Spec Clutch,
Mann Engineering,
Flossy Shift Knobs, and
M7 Japan, it's pretty crazy how quickly our inaugural 86FEST came together! Just a few weeks ago, I was driving at a Volkswagen event at Big Willow, and got to talking with the
Speed Ventures organizers, Dave and Aaron, about how cool it would be if we could get a bunch of FR-S, BRZ, and AE86 owners together at a track day. They both expressed a lot of interest in the idea - especially since we have been thinking about ways to work together for nearly two years!
Read more...
Posted by: Antonio Alvendia | Oct 12, 2012 | Categories: Coverage | Tags: 86FEST, AE86, Auto Club Speedway, autocross, BRZ, Cipher Garage, CipherGarage, Corolla, d1 grand prix, Danny Nguyen, EcoShine, Falken, Flossy, Fontana, Formula D, Formula Drift, FR-S, FRS, GTS, Infinit Wheels, Levin, M7, M7 Japan, Mann Engineering, Mike Kim, Milltek Sport, Motul, OEM Audio Plus, Oliver Petalver, RSpec, RT615, RT615K, Ryan Bacsafra, Scion, Scion FRS, Spec Clutch, Speed Ventures, SpeedVentures, Sprinter, SSR, Subaru, Terry Pham, toshiki yoshioka, Trueno, Turn14, Whiteline |
This last trip to Las Vegas for
Formula Drift was one hell of an eventful weekend. With a new course layout and drastically changing weather, the conditions took a toll on a lot of the teams. There were lots of tire scraps and car parts littered around the track when the day was done, not to mention the plethora of tire smoke from these high horsepower monsters. The sweltering heat and the freak 45 minute rain storm made it an interesting day at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With extremely fast entry speeds and high speed turns, the new course layout took out many cars from the running all weekend long.
Read more...
Posted by: Mike Kim | Sep 06, 2012 | Categories: Gallery | Tags: 2JZ, Achilles Tires, Ashley Michaelsen, Chelsea Denofa, CX Racing, Daigo Saito, Drive Energy Drink, Falken Tire, Fatlace, FD, Fire, Ford Mustang, Formula D, Formula Drift, Forrest Wang, FR-S, Fredric Aasbo, Get Nuts Lab, GReddy, hankook tires, Hyundai, Hyundai Genesis, Ian Fournier, Instagram, Jofel Tolosa, Julie Galindo, Ken Gushi, Las Vegas, Lexus, Lexus SC430, Matt Field, Megan Racing, Mike Kim, MotorMavens, Nissan, Nitto Tire, Olivia Korte, Pike's Peak International Hill Climb, Randyl Dawn, Rhys Millen, RMR, Robbie Nishida, Roland Gallager, rotiform, RS-R, Ryan Davis, S13, S14, S15, Scion, Scion FR-S, Scion Racing, Silvia, Taka Aono, The Cosmopolitan, toshiki yoshioka, Trust, Tumblr, Twitter, V8, Vaughn Gittin Jr, YAER Productions |
The MotorMavens Crew is once again back at the
Las Vegas Motor Speedway for
Formula Drift After Dark. For those of you that couldn't make it, consider yourself lucky that you don't have to deal with the searing desert heat. Luckily it's not as hot as it was last year, but we're still baking in the sun so we can bring you imagery of whats current in Formula Drift.
Read more...
Posted by: Antonio Alvendia | Aug 25, 2012 | Categories: Coverage | Tags: 2AZ, 350Z, AE86, BC Racing, Bergenholtz Racing, Bondurant, Bondurant School of Performance Driving, Camaro, Chelsea Denofa, Chris Ward, Conrad Grunewald, Corey Hosford, Dai Yoshihara, Danielle Lo, Discount Tire, Ebisu Circuit, fifteen52, Firebird Raceway, Formula D, Formula Drift, Fredric Aasbo, FRS, GReddy, Hankook, Hey Man, Jeff Abbott, Joon Maeng, JZA80, Ken Gushi, Kenshiro Gushi, ksport, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Lucas Oil, Mazda, Megan Belet, Miata, Mike Essa, Mobil 1, mx5, Nissan, Nitto Tires, Non Stop Tuning, Pat Goodin, Robbie Nishida, RSR, S13, S15, Sarah C Carter, Scion, Scion FRS, Scion tC, Shinji Minowa, Silvia, Supra, Taka Aono, Tarmac, toshiki yoshioka, Toyota, Tyler McQuarrie, Vivian Nguyen, Z33 |

The new
Volkswagen Golf R just might be the perfect daily driver - but only if you value things like
nimble handling, quick acceleration, a
sporty-yet-comfortable interior, a good stereo system,
ice cold air conditioning, and
the ability to bring friends on road trips with you. If you don't like those things, then the Golf R might not be for you. But wait - who
doesn't like those things???
My first experience with the new Volkswagen Golf R certainly caught me by surprise. As a person that has been primarily focused on sporty Japanese cars all my adult life, I'll honestly admit that I've never really looked into buying a Volkswagen. As a result, I've been a bit ignorant and unfamiliar with the VW brand in the past - something that I will definitely be changing in the future!
I knew that the Golf R was Volkswagen's top contender in the sport compact segment. However, until I actually had the chance to spend an entire week with the car, I had no idea that I would like the car as much as I did! Of course, the Golf R did have some pros and cons...
Read more...
Posted by: Antonio Alvendia | Aug 20, 2012 | Categories: Driver Seat | Tags: 4MOTION, 4MOTION all wheel drive, all wheel drive, Antonio Alvendia, electro-mechanical power steering, Golf, Golf R, P Zero, Pirelli, Volkswagen, VW, wustefest |

This past weekend, there were tons of automotive events happening, so those of us located in Southern California faced a dilemma - should we go to
Nisei Showoff or
Infamous?!
The tried and true
Import Showoff event thrown by legendary import carshow promoter
Ken Miyoshi during Downtown LA's annual
Nisei Week Festival in Little Tokyo is always a good time. Everyone knows that Nisei Showoff symbolizes the best of the best - the highest standard in modified import cars, with attendance by the OG crews that used to run the streets of Los Angeles when the sport compact scene was just beginning to blow up. The whole vibe at Nisei Showoff feels a bit nostalgic, to be honest.
Can it be that it was all so simple then? Good cars and good friends in a relaxed atmosphere, surrounded by good Japanese restaurants and boutique shops in Little Tokyo.
However, some young car enthusiasts don't care about
memory lane nostalgia or waxing poetic about the good old days. For this rapidly growing new generation of frame-scraping tire stretchers, the newly conceptualized
Infamous show was thrown as a collaboration between the
Fatlace and
Canibeat Crews at the
Queen Mary in Long Beach.
It's obvious that MotorMavens connects to both scenes and both types of automotive taste, so those who
follow @MOTORMAVENS on Instagram and Twitter already know that we decided to hit both shows. Here's a quick gallery of images from both events!
Read more...
Posted by: Antonio Alvendia | Aug 16, 2012 | Categories: Gallery | Tags: 192, 1971 Toyota HiLux, 8RC, 911, Acura, American Racing, BBR Competition, BMW, Brian Nguyen, Brian Scotto, Canibeat, Charles Trieu, Civic, CR Kai, CT9A, D Styles, Dan Nguyen, E-AT, E46, Evo 9, Fatlace, FRS, GTR, Hilux, Honda, Honda Ruckus, Hoonigan, Import Showoff, Infamous, Integra Type R, Invisibl Skratch Piklz, James Nguyen, Jonathan Wong, JZA80, Ken Miyoshi, Lancer, Legend, Little Tokyo, Long Beach, M3, Mark Arcenal, Mark II, Mitsubishi, Mugen, Nisei Showoff, Nisei Week, Nissan, Osaka JDM, Pandora One, Porsche, Queen Mary, R35, Rauh Welt, Rauh Welt Begriff, Regamaster Evo, RN12, rotiform, Ruckus, RWB, RWB USA, S2000, Scion, Scion FRS, Spoon Sports, Sprint Hart CPR, SSR, SSR Mark II, SSR Professor, Sunny, Supra, Toyota, Voltex, Weds Sport, work wheels |
With all the attention the new
Scion FR-S and
Toyota GT86 have been receiving, people have been scouring the internet for
photos and information on the exciting new front engine, rear wheel drive sports car platform that has been taking the world by storm. Scion dealers around the nation have been participating in Scion "First 86" unveilings, but the good folks at
Longo Toyota/Scion have decided to be proactive in connecting with the newly developing Scion FRS owners community.
While other dealers concentrate on trying to move units, Scion salesman
Jeffrey Chang and
Longo Scion decided to sponsor the very first
Scion FR-S Tour of LA driving event! Lots of great looking cars were in attendance, but I just couldn't take my eyes off the newly built
Cusco Scion FRS, which was already outfitted with Toyota emblems, and the full line of Cusco suspension and accessories.
Read more...
Posted by: Antonio Alvendia | Aug 06, 2012 | Categories: Driver Seat | Tags: 5Axis, AE86, anthracite paint, BRZ, Chris Bautista, Cipher Garage, Club4AG, Cusco, Cusco Scion FRS, Cusco Suspension, First 86, FiveAD, FiveAxis, FR-S, FRS, FRS cruise, FT86, Gaylord Garcia, GT86, Jeffrey Chang, JZA80, Kazuma, Krammito, Lexus, LF-A, LFA, Live The 86 Life, Longo Scion, Longo Toyota, Megan Racing, Moto Miwa, Run Free, Scion, scion dealer, Scion FRS, Scion FRS Tour, Scion FRS Tour of LA, Sean Lee, Seibon carbon, Subaru, Supra, Tour of LA, Tour Of LA Drive, Toyota Automotive Museum, Toyota Racing Development, Troy Sumitomo, Walter Chen, Young Tea |
You Better Win. More demanding words have never been spoken in the history of racing. In an infamous three word memo to his engineers and executives prior to the
1966 LeMans 24 Hour endurance race,
Henry Ford II would stand for nothing less than victory.
Read more...
Posted by: Tom Stahler | Aug 02, 2012 | Categories: Carspotting | Tags: 1966 LeMans, 24 Hour, AJ Baime, Burt Levy, Carroll Shelby, Chris McAllister, Dan Gurney, GT40, GT40 MkII, Henry Ford II, Last Open Road, Le Mans, Sam Attal, Shelby Knick, Sonoma Raceway, Tom Stahler |