WEBMINING> A Shakotan Odyssey
Here’s a video I got from my boy Travis that had me and some of my boys on the East Coast straight trippin. We just don’t see stuff like this over here too often – especially not when we have potholes as big as moon craters that suck up whole caravans of cars without so much as a burp. If this is how they roll in Japan, I’m sold – I’m completely down with citizenship.
I spent way too much time just watching it over and over with my mouth hanging open – it’s so short and when you see the camber and fitment on the Odyssey…INCREDIBLE! It’s the little things that mean so much. I mean, it’s one thing to slam a car and hard park it – but, driving it on the highway like these guys is another thing entirely. Whoever these guys are – they get mad love for KILLIN this Odyssey shakotan-style! And whatever that is running with the Odyssey – DOPE!
Take a second and snatch a peak. It’s like those chips – betcha can’t watch just once!
::Avon Bellamy
CENTER STAGE> Shakotan S30 240Z
There were so many cars from Datsun/Nissan lineage represented at this year's JCCS, it was hard to focus on them all. Everything from Japanese style G-nose S30s to US market 240Zs were in abundance at the event this year, but there was one Z in particular that had a certain combination of presence and shock value. I just knew I had to feature it on our site... but there was just one problem. The car (and its owner) live in San Jose, California. And they would both be returning to the Bay Area on the morning after the show.
I had to figure out how (and where) to somehow shoot the car before it went back to San Jose - and I knew I didn't want to do one of those "on the grass" photo shoots after the show, because I think photos of cars on the grass are cliche, unimaginative and overdone... especially since there were 236790 photographers from different magazines doing the same photo shoot on different spots on the grass after JCCS.
The owner of this shakotan (super low down) boogiemonster is Yuta Akaishi. Let's pronounce it together. His first name is Yuta, pronounced like "Utah" and his last name is pronounced "Aka-ishi." I was first drawn to this amazing 240Z because it is just so damn low... it's mind boggling, seriously! The car may be showing its age with the presence of surface rust and dents here and there, but hell... to me, it's just a sign that this car lived a full life. It's kind of like battlescars on a seasoned fighter - they actually ADD to the look. Read more...
