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> 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...
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…)
WEBMINING> Wagenwerks and DubKorps AWOL Teaser
AWOL – The Teaser from wagenwerks on Vimeo.
First off, I recently realized something. Just because I may have seen a video, it doesn’t mean everyone else has. This being said, my New Year’s Resolution will be to pass on video links to every bad ass video I have seen.
So, I bring you a Wagenwerks and DubKorps video from 3 months back. This was the first time I had heard of DubKorps, so you Euro guys hold your horses!! I am incredibly familiar with the Wagenwerks videos and the guys who make them. Hey! They are from my home state of Virginia! After watching this video I suggest you check out their website Wagenwerks.net (their DVD is beast by the way) then hop on their Vimeo channel and watch everything you have not yet seen.
These guys produce legit videos. Their film and editing style are top notch in my opinion. If anyone actually could muster up the ability to claim their videos suck and back it up with a proper argument, send an email my way! I have a knuckle sandwich my mom made me a few years ago that has been waiting to be gobbled up. HAHA!!!
And one more thing… Our readers will begin to learn a few things about me… I don’t just stick to one car scene, I love them all (in a manly kind of way). While I do have a passion for rotaries, I follow the Euro, Honda, and Toyota scenes just as much. I even ride a fixed gear bike, (that would be a fixie for those of you want to call it that!) Bet you might never have guessed that!
(In case you are wondering: First song: Hollywood Undead_ City , Second song: Innerpartysystem_ Don’t Stop ) Both of which are amazing bands.
:: Scottie Scheetz
NEWSWORTHY> WSTO’s BMW Project1 V1.2
CENTER STAGE> A Touch of Class in the Party
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...
DRIVER SEAT> 25 Hours in an E36 M3 at Thunderhill
I don’t know how we did it, but we somehow managed to talk Robbie Montinola and the Track Concierge Racing crew into running our sticker on their E36 BMW M3 for the 25 Hours of Thunderhill enduro that’s taking place right now!
In between laps, pit stops, and a little incident they just had with their header cracking, Robbie and the crew have been managing to provide us with some live updates through the MotorMavens Twitter page and on the MotorMavens Tumblr page. Stay tuned through your browsers or cellphones for up to date info on the race, from their perspective!
Meanwhile, here’s the official press release, after the jump.
::Jose Gonzalez
COVERAGE> FixxFest 6 Euro Meet in FL
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> Irwindale Pro Am, Part 1
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...
GALLERY> E30s at H20 After Hours
Enough rambling, on to the story!! Read more...
COVERAGE> IDS Finals at Nurburgring
CARSPOTTING> Tyler McQuarrie’s E90 BMW M3
I know what some readers may be thinking... this car looks super basic. It doesn't have a crazy aftermarket aero kit or anything... but I think that's one of the reasons why I was drawn to it when I first saw it. Although I'm huge fan of aggressive BN Sports or Goodline aero kits for cars used on the racetrack, I tend to prefer the understated cleanliness and class of OEM bodywork and "factory option" parts when it comes to daily driven street cars. Apparently, Tyler has the same opinion when it comes to daily driven cars, as his M3 looks clean, classy, basic, and understated... that is, until you hear the powerful rumble of his exhaust. Read more...
WEBMINING> H20 is the place to go!
You can call me biased (having been raised with a rust covered MkI Rabbit in the driveway and learning how to drive in a MkII Golf) but in my humble opinion, the Euro scene has some of the best car shows in the country. Especially the VW/Audi crowd or VAG if you prefer. (VAG… hehe)
With that said, my boy “Mooch”, Dave Mucci drove all the way to Maryland this weekend from Chicago in his E30 BMW and he sent over some great photos from the H20 International Fest. I’ll post the photos up in the coming days but I thought I’d start you off with this awesome video from Steven Nawrocki. He did a great job of capturing the automotive onslaught of Ocean City that is H20. Enjoy all of the great cars from the show (Especially all the pristine MkII Golfs that I dream of owning!) Great job Steven!
:: Pat Daly
WEBMINING> WSTO BMW 135i
Not many people know this, but I work at a BMW shop called WSTO. We bought this BMW 135i back in September and I LOVE it. It's not the most extreme build, but for a streetable daily driver it hauls balls and I think it looks dope. Read more...
VIDEO> BMW Alpina B6 GT3 at Nurburgring 24H!
This just in from our friend Stephane Benini at Clash Production in France! The BMW Alpina B6 GT3 attacks the ADAC Nurburgring 24 Hours in Germany!
TURN UP YOUR SPEAKERS for this one! The car sounds absolutely AMAZING. Dammit, I can’t wait to get back to Germany. Nordschleife is definitely a place you need to experience before you die!
:: Antonio Alvendia
VIDEO> JDM Allstars All Out In The UK
JDM Allstars – Wembley 2009 – The Drift Festival from JDM Allstars on Vimeo.
Recently we’ve been talking with some new friends “across the pond” as they say in the UK, JDM Allstars. They held one of the dopest drift events to date in Europe, JDM Allstars at Wembley Stadium, London. 70mph entries with epic sweeping corners and jumps…dude jumps!? This was the second year for the drift event. All the hard work, blood, sweet and love that was put into making it all happen paid off with one of their best top 32’s ever. They’re feeling was standard of driving, event atmosphere, and skill level compared to the Redbull Championships in Long Beach last year.
In the up coming days we’ll be introducing to the JDM Allstars with photographic coverage of the event and the people that made this event so amazing. Meanwhile check out the video they made of the event and let us know what you think.
Music – Al Clark & Jaguar Skills
Edited by Al on Final Cut Express
Additional camera op: Josh Allen
:: Travis Hodges
COVERAGE> All Star Bash Weekend Pt.4
All Star Bash is still very vivid and exciting in our minds, and we don't plan on pushing off our grassroots drifting photos to publish coverage from other big events that took place this week. We know other sites have already moved on, but we don't care. We're still all about the ASB. Drifting is where we live. It's in our hearts and on our minds, and it doesn't just stop when events are over. Even though the MotorMavens site is new, the members of our crew have been down with drifting since day one. It's like that... and that's the way it is. We show love to grassroots drifters, and grassroots drifters show love to us. This being said, we are proud to continue our coverage of the Ziptied/JustDrift All Star Bash, as we bring you the long overdue, eagerly anticipated... Part FOUR! Read more...
COVERAGE> All Star Bash Weekend Pt 1
Willow Springs is in the high desert - the Mojave Desert to be exact. It's two hours north east of Los Angeles, and the summertime sun just seems to sear anyone or anything it sees. As I write this, the event is far from over! In fact, we're about to leave the hotel in a few minutes to get back to the track, where the course just went hot - literally and figuratively.
This weekend's All Star Bash was exciting because there were drivers and cars that came from all over the United States just to drift with California's best. Cars came from as far as the San Francisco Bay Area, the Pacific Northwest, Arizona, Las Vegas, Chicago, and even South Dakota! Read more...
CARSPOTTING> 1966 BMW 2000CS
COVERAGE> Megan Racing Drift Competition Pt.2
COVERAGE> Megan Racing Drift Competition Pt.1
You don't have to say it; we know what you're thinking. Megan Racing? Yes, we're talking about THAT Megan Racing. Working with Naoki from Drift Day, Megan Racing has decided to show its support of grassroots drifters, by throwing a fully catered drifting competition (thanks for the tacos, Megan Racing!), complete with a two thousand dollar purse for the winners. (Although, we didn't stick around til the end, so we weren't sure if they actually gave out money to the winners, or just a really expensive handbag.) Either way, we think it's great that a company with products catering to the grassroots drifting community would actually give back to the grassroots drifting community by putting together an event like this! Read more...
VIDEO> Spocom USA Show
Spocom%3a+Models+%2b+Formula+D%2c+Time+Attack+%26+VIP+Cars
Check out our newest video on Streetfire.net, which features some video footage from the Spocom USA show at the Long Beach Convention Center. We decided to go to Spocom to meet up with some friends, and also to see what it would be like if we combined the footage from the small Canon HF S100 consumer HD camera I’m testing with the footage from Antonio’s Canon 5D MarkII digital SLR, which he normally only uses for shooting still photos!
Luckily for us, Antonio’s younger brother David was in town; he helped us capture a lot of this video footage while his big bro stopped at every. single. booth… to say hi to a friend of his. David’s an aspiring video producer in training – he’s only 16 years old, but he seems to have a good eye for composition already!
Enjoy the video and the music… I wonder if anyone can easily identify which video clips were shot with the 5DMk2 and which ones were shot with the HF S100?
:: Travis Hodges
SHOPAHOLIC> The Vintage Racers of Racecraft
CENTER STAGE> Vorsteiner E92 M3 vs Ventross IS-F
