GALLERY> Nisei Showoff Vs Infamous Long Beach
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...
ROAD TRIP> Driving The Irish Tarmac Rally Course
Ireland has many good points and many bad points. Over the past few years, the one thing that stands out as a major flaw of this fine island is its inability to provide its islanders with a weather system that 1) they can predict successfully and 2) actually obeys the seasons. When it's summer, let it be sunny and warm and, when it's winter, let it be dark and cold. Here in Ireland, you can never plan for any outdoor activity with any sense of certainty. This is the country that can have any season on any given day of the year and, my friends, that is only a slight exaggeration on my part. However, there is a huge plus to living here, from a "driver's" point-of-view. There is an abundance of mesmerizing roads that snake, dip and jump their way through the lush green countryside. So, I thought you MotorMavens readers might like to come see Ireland through the eyes of a rally enthusiast. Read more...
OH SNAP> A Sunny Excellent Day with Tomei
We’re long, long overdue for posting this photo (and a lot more) from this year’s Japanese Classic Car Association New Year’s Meeting in Tokyo. We received this photo from an Australian-on-holiday named Ian Hancock, who is a die hard fan of Japanese nostalgic cars, and the owner of a Datsun Sunny himself.
I know that Skylines, Bluebirds, and Sunnies like this one were prime racetrack adversaries for the TE27 (and KE20) Toyota Corollas that I love so much, so the Toyota Motorsports fan in me should force me to boo a car like this, but I just can’t. How could you NOT like this car? I think it looks incredibly awesome – from the works overfenders to the fender mounted aero mirrors, the simple, boxy front chin spoiler, the FRP headlight covers (With vents! Cool!), and the vintage racing livery, which I absolutely LOVE! Why can’t people learn to make their race cars as cool looking as this one? I just don’t get it! Oh, and let’s not forget the wheels… oh hell no, we can’t miss out on the wheels!
A closer look and a skilled eye will tell you that these wheels look like Campagnolos, but they’re not Italian. (more…)
WEBMINING> Club EPS Works B310 Sunny
I was randomly browsing the internet over the past few days, and noticed this photo on the BeeOneOneOh blog in New Zealand, which I only recently found…. very cool site! Seeing these two vintage Nissans line up together on a track is super cool. Old school Nissan power… two generations of Nissan Sunny together at the same time. In the front, we have the Club EPS Works Sunny from the TS Cup. Don’t you just love those old school Advan Racing A3A wheels? Especially in BLACK with the red outlines.
I used to have a set of those wheels, but had to sell them when I was raising money to buy my TE27. Sigh… I loved those wheels, but it was a worthy cause. It’s so lucky that the owner of this B310 Sunny has a set of these wheels… and they have such great sizes too! They fit perfectly underneath the works flares; finding aggressive sizes of Advan Racing wheels is very rare indeed. I love satin black Advan Racing A3A wheels!!!
:: Antonio Alvendia
COVERAGE> Japanese Classic Car Show 2009 Pt.1
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
::::::::::::::::::::::::: 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> IDRC Finals Fontana Pt. 2
COVERAGE> Ratsuns x Japanese Nostalgic Car Meet
