COVERAGE> MotorMavens Mass Appeal Experience!
When most people think of the term car culture, they immediately (and possibly unconsciously) picture particular types of cars in their minds - cars that fit their own personal spectrum of interest. That is car culture’s dirty little secret – it can be extremely balkanized, or broken up into little niches and peer groups.
If you’re into muscle cars, then screw those four bangers. If you're into rotary powered vehicles, then screw those pistons! If you're into road racing and time attack, then screw drifting. If you’re into Formula One, well, screw everybody. If you’ve been around car culture for any length of time, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You also probably know that not everyone feels this way. As we get a bit older and experience some of the great aspects of other car cultures, more and more of us are discovering that we’re all the same under the hood – we're all just car guys.
In the middle of 2009 when we started MotorMavens, we established the site on a basic principle – that everyone’s voice is validated by their passion for the cars and car culture because the one thing that brings the entire spectrum of car culture together is passion. We call it the “passion principle.” Wherever you find some mind blowing interpretation of the automobile and the lifestyle that revolves around it, you also find some passionate person wrenching away – usually with a ton of pride and satisfaction in his/her accomplishments but very little money to show for it. That’s exactly what the MotorMavens Crew searches for; we look for that passion in every possible niche of car culture so that we can broadcast it loud and clear to everyone when we find it.
So, what does all of this have to do with the Mass Appeal Show? It’s simple. When Ken Block and the Gymkhana Grid team approached us to produce a car show at their Ken Block Invitational, we already knew that it would need to be different than what most people might expect. We knew our car show would need to represent the driving principles of MotorMavens... the car show would have to be multi-car-cultural; reflecting the wide spectrum of car culture that we love so much. It would have to have mass appeal - get it? Read more...
If you’re into muscle cars, then screw those four bangers. If you're into rotary powered vehicles, then screw those pistons! If you're into road racing and time attack, then screw drifting. If you’re into Formula One, well, screw everybody. If you’ve been around car culture for any length of time, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You also probably know that not everyone feels this way. As we get a bit older and experience some of the great aspects of other car cultures, more and more of us are discovering that we’re all the same under the hood – we're all just car guys.
In the middle of 2009 when we started MotorMavens, we established the site on a basic principle – that everyone’s voice is validated by their passion for the cars and car culture because the one thing that brings the entire spectrum of car culture together is passion. We call it the “passion principle.” Wherever you find some mind blowing interpretation of the automobile and the lifestyle that revolves around it, you also find some passionate person wrenching away – usually with a ton of pride and satisfaction in his/her accomplishments but very little money to show for it. That’s exactly what the MotorMavens Crew searches for; we look for that passion in every possible niche of car culture so that we can broadcast it loud and clear to everyone when we find it.
So, what does all of this have to do with the Mass Appeal Show? It’s simple. When Ken Block and the Gymkhana Grid team approached us to produce a car show at their Ken Block Invitational, we already knew that it would need to be different than what most people might expect. We knew our car show would need to represent the driving principles of MotorMavens... the car show would have to be multi-car-cultural; reflecting the wide spectrum of car culture that we love so much. It would have to have mass appeal - get it? Read more...
VIDEO> Ronal Racing Rims Rebarreled by Rotiform!
Wheel Mavens, where you at?! This past weekend, I drove down to Rotiform in Orange County CA to drop off my wheels to be refinished. I’ve been steadily working on the newest MotorMavens Project Car, Project BMW E39 Touring, in attempt to step out of my ” vintage Japanese car shell” and learn a bit more about European cars, and connect with the community as well. I’ve been learning a lot about BMWs lately (like how BMW power window regulators are not your friends), and have been enjoying the process.
I had to get my wheels rebored out to fit my E39′s larger center bore, as the factory BMW CB is normally 72.56… and my E39′s factory CB is 74.1mm. Thanks a lot E39 designers at BMW! WTH.
Anyway, in order to fit my new 19×9 and 19×10 wheels on my 5 series BM double, I had to rebore them out. However, when I was dropping off the wheels, my eye was caught on a couple sets of these super aggressive, concave face, super fat lip Ronal Racing wheels. Needless to say, I was JOCKING them!
Enough typing… just watch the video. If you’re a wheel guy like I am, you’ll be drooling all over your keyboard…
:: Antonio Alvendia
GALLERY> Older BMWs at the Bimmerfest!
If you've read the previous story I published about the 2010 Bimmerfest at Pasadena's Rose Bowl, then you already know that this event was HUGE. I mean, I knew the Bimmerfest was a pretty big event... but I just don't think I was mentally prepared for how huge this event actually was. There were so many BMWs from so many states, it was really hard to concentrate on all the details of all the cars at the event!
While some of the showgoers tended to stick to the newer BMWs at the show, I definitely spent more time admiring the older, classic BMWs... after all, I live in Southern California - this means I can't even drive a mile without seeing at least five newer BMWs. Read more...
COVERAGE> Bimmerfest Takes Over Pasadena!
While other members of the MotorMavens Crew were out getting attacked by windstorms in Las Vegas, those of us who decided to stay in Southern California for the weekend attended the 2010 Bimmerfest. I'll admit... with a background in Japanese cars, this was the very first Bimmerfest I've ever attended. Before I go any further, I think I need to take a moment to congratulate (and give ultimate props to) Bimmerfest founder Jon Shafer.
The amount of BMWs (and their owners) that attended the event was just RIDICULOUS! No, seriously... ridiculous! When I exited off the 210 freeway, I (and my 5 series BMW touring) immediately joined the fray of BMWs making their way to the Rose Bowl, which was made famous by holiday football games and slow moving floats parading through Pasadena city streets. Creeping through traffic at a snail's pace, I followed the long line of cars with license plates from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon, and New Mexico... chuckling to myself, thinking "I wonder how many of these guys think I'm here to put my car in the show? I'm just here to shoot coverage of the event and do a little carspotting!"
Truth be told, even though I've been to BMW Welt in Munich, experienced the Autobahn, and stayed overnight at Hotel Am Tiergarten/Pistenklause (the small hotel/restaurant owned by BMW ringtaxi driver Sabine Schmitz's family) that sits inside the Nurburgring... even though my trip to Deutschland actually inspired me to buy a 5 series BMW wagon, I still don't see myself as a "BMW guy." Read more...
The amount of BMWs (and their owners) that attended the event was just RIDICULOUS! No, seriously... ridiculous! When I exited off the 210 freeway, I (and my 5 series BMW touring) immediately joined the fray of BMWs making their way to the Rose Bowl, which was made famous by holiday football games and slow moving floats parading through Pasadena city streets. Creeping through traffic at a snail's pace, I followed the long line of cars with license plates from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon, and New Mexico... chuckling to myself, thinking "I wonder how many of these guys think I'm here to put my car in the show? I'm just here to shoot coverage of the event and do a little carspotting!"
Truth be told, even though I've been to BMW Welt in Munich, experienced the Autobahn, and stayed overnight at Hotel Am Tiergarten/Pistenklause (the small hotel/restaurant owned by BMW ringtaxi driver Sabine Schmitz's family) that sits inside the Nurburgring... even though my trip to Deutschland actually inspired me to buy a 5 series BMW wagon, I still don't see myself as a "BMW guy." 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...
