GALLERY> Older BMWs at the Bimmerfest!
COVERAGE> Bimmerfest Takes Over Pasadena!
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...
VIDEO> One Of One Show at Long Beach
Fatlace OneOfOne Showcase | FD Long Beach Extra Footage
So yesterday I was sitting at my desk, cleaning up my external hard drive. I realized I’ve got TONS of extra footage of Formula Drift Long Beach and quite a bit of footage from the Fatlace OneOfOne Showcase that didn’t make it into the final edit.
My girl had the car for the day, and I wasn’t getting anything else done… so I decided to make another edit. This one has a much lighter vibe than the first, with no color grading and very little audio work; just lots of familiar faces, pretty cars, and loud engines.
Enjoy.
:: Justin Shreeve
Vimeo.com/JustinShreeve
YouTube.com/Shreeveco
More Formula D Long Beach 2010 stories on MOTORMAVENS
COVERAGE> Formula D Fun at Long Beach
This past weekend was certainly an exciting one. I was excited to see all the new cars that were debuting at Long Beach, as well as seeing a lot of good friends from different parts of the world, even if it would be only for a brief moment. Unfortunately, when you're working at the event like I am, you're usually hustling about, going from one spot to the next, and you don't have as much time as you'd like to just chill and spend time with good friends. This event was definitely like that for me.
I was trying to juggle shooting photos for the website while overseeing the Motor Mavens Crew's event promotions efforts. Not an easy task! Also, on the Saturday of the event, I was asked to help out with the filming of The Grid, which is a UK-based motorsports television show that airs in 120 countries around the world! And... on top of all that, we debuted the new MotorMavens X DSTROYR "Follow The Leader" shirt at our booth, which was managed by super designer Jon Chase, the creative genius behind the brands DSTROYR and Famous Stars and Straps. I and the entire Motor Mavens Crew definitely had our hustle mode switched ON this weekend! Read more...
COVERAGE> Formula D Tech Day at UTI
For those who don't know, Universal Technical Institute is a mechanic's training school, located out in the IE (Inland Empire), right across the street from the old Falken Tire headquarters, and right next to Kumho on Sixth Street and Haven. I've had an increasingly extremely full personal calendar, filled with things I need to do and places I need to be... and this weekend was no different. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't even make it out to the tech day myself, so I am super appreciative that new MotorMavens contributors Horacio Flores and Mike Kim (no, not the Mike Kim from UrbanRacer) offered to go to UTI and see what was going on. Thanks a lot guys! Enough about these details though - let's have a look at the cars! Read more...
VIDEO> Night Drift in Warsaw
Warsaw Night Drift from InterCars on Vimeo.
This short, yet incredibly sweet video hails from Poland, where it looks like they had a competitive drift event on (closed) public streets! Not only does it look like they are blasting through downtown Warsaw, it even looks like they are pummeling their drift cars across cobblestone roadways! This video has some nice build up to it, with some simple, yet effective motion graphics. One place I think this video really shines is it’s emphasis on sound design. I think a lot of people tend to forget that the audio is half of the viewing experience. I hope to see a lot more videos like this from the InterCars camp.
:: Andy Sapp
WEBMINING> The Golden Years of DTM
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?!
:: Antonio Alvendia
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...
GALLERY> E30s at H20 After Hours
Enough rambling, on to the story!! Read more...
COVERAGE> IDS Finals at Nurburgring
WEBMINING> JDM gets Aggressive
JDM Allstars HD – Agressive style - from Clashproduction on Vimeo.
During the hustle of the last Formula Drift event, I got to take a brief (very brief) break and chilled with Eric O’Sullivan from the Dynamic Auto Sports/ Hankook team. It was great to get to know Eric better. Not only is he a great drifter, but a really great guy. I commented on how well he was doing on his interviews. Apparently, Eric’s brother does video production and when Eric got into driving, his brother put him in front of the camera and told him to get used to it. Haha. A little bit later we talked about the Europe drift scene and Eric mentioned the guys from JDM Allstars. He talked about all their hard work, amazing growth and the growing popularity of the series. This video from Clash Productions gives you a glimpse into why drivers from all over Europe are flocking to this aggressive new series.
Enjoy!
:: Travis Hodges
WEBMINING> JDM Allstars is hungry!
Drifting at JDM Allstars – Trax 2009 Season Finale from JDM Allstars on Vimeo.
Internally, a few members of the Motor Mavens crew have been talking about this video for the past few days, but we’ve been really swamped with other work this week and we couldn’t get to posting it up until just now – sorry! Everyone in the USA seems to think of Formula Drift when they think about professional drifting. However, we’d like to take a quick moment to recognize the JDM Allstars series in the UK for all the momentum they have gained. Even though JDM Allstars started in 2007 as a small UK privateer series, they have really grown up in the past few years! Now their series is even attracting drivers from other countries within continental Europe!
There’s nothing more inspiring than seeing a group of hungry underdogs rise up and become successful because they’re passionate in what they’re doing!
Much respect JDM Allstars!
:: Travis Hodges
COVERAGE> Megan Racing Drift Competition Pt.2
CARSPOTTING> Braxton's E30 Bimmer on BBS
The E30 was only the second generation of the now legendary BMW 3-Series and the chariot of choice during the Yuppie Age. Along with tennis rackets and boat shoes, E30s were frequently used as shorthand for preppiness in 80s movies. But nowadays it's a different story. E30s can be found for less than three grand, making them ripe for the type of customization that Chet down at the country club would never consider. Read more...
