CARSPOTTING> @PO RX-8 TWINS
Often overlooked, the Bay Area has always had a thriving car scene. As of late, there have been some crews coming out that are really bringing attention the cars being built in Northern California. One such crew is the @PO Crew (pronounced ‘at-po’). Starting out as a group of friends hanging out and getting into cars, the @PO Crew has now come to represent the embodiment of clean cars with proper stance and wheel offsets. And if you are wondering where the name comes from, @PO stands for ‘attract police’, which I’m sure they do when they get together.
Often overlooked, the Bay Area has always had a thriving car scene. As of late, there have been some crews coming out that are really bringing attention the cars being built in Northern California. One such crew is the @PO Crew (pronounced ‘at-po’). Starting out as a group of friends hanging out and getting into cars, the @PO Crew has now come to represent the embodiment of clean cars with proper stance and wheel offsets. And if you are wondering where the name comes from, @PO stands for ‘attract police’, which I’m sure they do when they get together. Read more...
Often overlooked, the Bay Area has always had a thriving car scene. As of late, there have been some crews coming out that are really bringing attention the cars being built in Northern California. One such crew is the @PO Crew (pronounced ‘at-po’). Starting out as a group of friends hanging out and getting into cars, the @PO Crew has now come to represent the embodiment of clean cars with proper stance and wheel offsets. And if you are wondering where the name comes from, @PO stands for ‘attract police’, which I’m sure they do when they get together. Read more...
CARSPOTTING> AC Schnitzer E34 BMW 5 Series
For some people, a car may be just a way to get from one place to the next. However, for guys like Adam Luong, it’s all about how you look on the way. If you were driving around town in this 1995 E34 5 Series, you can understand how a guy could feel that way.
It’s a rarity to see a 16 year old car in as pristine condition as this. Since my encounters with most 5 series bimmers leave much to be desired, it's always a pleasure to discover one that has been built right - call it a pleasant surprise. This specimen is so clean that, to the untrained eye, it appears almost to have just rolled off the Bavarian assembly line yesterday.
You may recall that, back in the 1990s, the BMW 5 Series was the top mid-sized sedan in its class - a class with very little competition. It was a must have for dads all across suburbia. Well, little has changed since then except that the 5 series has grown up to become a more elegant machine jam packed with enough gizmos and gadgetry to make a technologically inclined person go into mental overload. I could go on and 0n about my take on how the technological interface in modern BMWs dilutes the driving experience, that's not what we're here for. Today, it's all about Adam Luong and his little piece of 5 Series heaven.
It was actually Antonio who first spotted this fine specimen at the Wek'fest in San Francisco. When he saw it again at the Bimmerfest in Pasadena, he told me about it and caught my full attention when he said that it was the cleanest E34 he'd ever seen. With a guy like Antonio saying that, I just had to see for myself. When I saw the car in person, I just had to agree. Read more...
It’s a rarity to see a 16 year old car in as pristine condition as this. Since my encounters with most 5 series bimmers leave much to be desired, it's always a pleasure to discover one that has been built right - call it a pleasant surprise. This specimen is so clean that, to the untrained eye, it appears almost to have just rolled off the Bavarian assembly line yesterday.
You may recall that, back in the 1990s, the BMW 5 Series was the top mid-sized sedan in its class - a class with very little competition. It was a must have for dads all across suburbia. Well, little has changed since then except that the 5 series has grown up to become a more elegant machine jam packed with enough gizmos and gadgetry to make a technologically inclined person go into mental overload. I could go on and 0n about my take on how the technological interface in modern BMWs dilutes the driving experience, that's not what we're here for. Today, it's all about Adam Luong and his little piece of 5 Series heaven.
It was actually Antonio who first spotted this fine specimen at the Wek'fest in San Francisco. When he saw it again at the Bimmerfest in Pasadena, he told me about it and caught my full attention when he said that it was the cleanest E34 he'd ever seen. With a guy like Antonio saying that, I just had to see for myself. When I saw the car in person, I just had to agree. Read more...
COVERAGE> DGRRX: Deals Gap Rotary Rally 2010
For those of you unaware of the North Carolina/Tennessee hidden treasure called Deals Gap (also known as Tail of the Dragon), prepare yourself to be hit with some knowledge. Deals Gap has become an international sensation for car and motorcycle enthusiasts. What you won't find up there is anything. There is literally, and I mean literally, absolutely nothing in the surrounding area. That is unless you like camping/hiking/ or antiquing (where is that roll eyes smiley at? LOL!)) What you will find is miles of curvy mountain roads and plenty of rally rental car roads. Who's feeling me?
That said, the Tail of the Dragon is an 11-mile stretch of two lane road in Tennessee and is said to have 318 curves - and one very large cliff face to launch off! The speed limit is 30mph and there are Tennessee Troopers there to graciously remind you. They are quite nice when they hand you a ticket and, after nine tickets (hand delivered) that Saturday, I am very qualified to testify to their manners. Read more...
That said, the Tail of the Dragon is an 11-mile stretch of two lane road in Tennessee and is said to have 318 curves - and one very large cliff face to launch off! The speed limit is 30mph and there are Tennessee Troopers there to graciously remind you. They are quite nice when they hand you a ticket and, after nine tickets (hand delivered) that Saturday, I am very qualified to testify to their manners. Read more...
CARSPOTTING> Lowdown Heartbreaker S12 200SX
While I was walking around the sea of nostalgic Japanese goodness at the Japanese Classic Car Show last year, a particular S12 Nissan 200SX caught my eye. To be completely honest here, I've never been the biggest fan of S12s. Most people pretty much disregard the S12 as far as "cool Nissans" go... to most people, the S12 is definitely the red-headed stepchild of the 1980s Nissan family, especially when you compare it in popularity to S13s, Z32s, and Z31s... hell, even Nissan Sentras are more popular for some reason* than the S12 200Sx. (*Well... I think one of the reasons the Sentra was so popular for racing is because of all the R&D that Mike Kojima did with them when he was still working for Nismo as a race engineer) Either way though... I'd way rather have an S12 than a Sentra. There's no question about that... especially after seeing Henry's S12?! This has got to be the dopest looking Nissan S12 I've ever seen in my entire life.
So what was it about this particular 200SX that caught my eye? It just had to be the style in which it was built up. Let's take a closer look... Read more...
So what was it about this particular 200SX that caught my eye? It just had to be the style in which it was built up. Let's take a closer look... Read more...
WEBMINING> The Best JZA70 Supra Ever.
Here’s something real quick. I was just browsing through one of my new favorite blogs, Kyusha Kai (in Japanese, it means something like modified old school car), when I came across this supeerrrrrrrrrr super dope Supra. This has GOT to be the best JZA70 Supra I’ve ever laid eyes on. Ever. EVERRRRRRRR.
Just look at that stance. The wheels. The flares. The front chin spoiler and front bumper. The aftermarket vented pieces that replace the turn signal indicators..??? The crazy looking hood and sideskirts! The wangan wing out back. And does it have a roof wing? Can’t tell from here. And it has an old school sha-ken sticker.
If this doesn’t inspire you to want a JZA70, I don’t know what will. I think if more people made JZA70s look like this, maybe the MA70/JZA70 body style Supras might be as popular as S13s or FCs.
Holy crap. Leigh Roto, Brian Urbano, Jose Valle, and all the other MA70/JZA70 owners I know… this is for you guys. Be inspired!
:: Antonio Alvendia
WEBMINING> Bluebird SSS at Flex Auto Yokohama
Ever since we started the Motor Mavens blog, I've been so busy that I haven't really had much time to cruise the web like I used to. However, there are a few sites that I try to check once in a while, because I really like the content. Al's Car Stuff Blog is one of the very few sites that I see that consistently posts up cars that I like! I don't know much about Al or his background, but seeing these photos of this Nissan/Datsun KP510 Bluebird 1600 SSS on Al's blog brought me back to a Japan trip I took several years ago.
Back in 2004, I went to visit D1 driver Takahiro Ueno and his shop, Sui Vax in Yokohama, Japan. I was doing a feature photo shoot on Ueno and his shop for Modified Magazine at the time, so I spent the whole day hanging out in Yokohama. When I told him how crazy I was about Japanese nostalgic cars, he said he knew a shop that I would love, and he wanted to take me there. That shop was Flex Auto Review - they restore and sell Japanese classic cars! Ueno was absolutely right. I flipped out when we got there! AWESOME. (I was kind of embarrassed afterwards, because I was so obviously excited when I was walking around Flex Auto... and I didn't quite show the same level of excitement when I was hanging out at Ueno's shop earlier that day. Oops, my bad.) Read more...
Back in 2004, I went to visit D1 driver Takahiro Ueno and his shop, Sui Vax in Yokohama, Japan. I was doing a feature photo shoot on Ueno and his shop for Modified Magazine at the time, so I spent the whole day hanging out in Yokohama. When I told him how crazy I was about Japanese nostalgic cars, he said he knew a shop that I would love, and he wanted to take me there. That shop was Flex Auto Review - they restore and sell Japanese classic cars! Ueno was absolutely right. I flipped out when we got there! AWESOME. (I was kind of embarrassed afterwards, because I was so obviously excited when I was walking around Flex Auto... and I didn't quite show the same level of excitement when I was hanging out at Ueno's shop earlier that day. Oops, my bad.) Read more...
VIDEO> Offset is Everything at Nisei
Most Motor Mavens readers have been following Antonio’s photos and stories from Nisei Showoff, so we’ve decided to release a video of the event as well! We really wanted to highlight something that impressed us at the show – the fact that so many of these great cars are stepping up their game with aggressive offset and negative camber!
Forget the trophies – for us, the super slammed cars with the best wheels, stance, engine mods and paint jobs were the stars of the show. Nisei Showoff wasn’t about the models (although there were a few that showed up, haha); it was about the hottest street cars. Events like this are becoming more and more rare. We feel privileged that we were there to support Ken Miyoshi on his last Nisei Showoff, because of the great feeling that this show produced. Props to Ken and the Mainstream Productions crew for bringing us an awesome day of street cars and good friends in the middle of Little Tokyo.
We hop you enjoy the video, and don’t forget to leave comments!
:: Travis Hodges
CARSPOTTING> Sick Stanced STi
Just a few years ago, aggressive fitment wheels were a pretty rare find on cars in the United States. Most people thought that getting wheels that "fit" well meant that the wheels wouldn't have any rubbing or clearance issues. Nowadays, the trendsetters in the scene have completely changed the game, and all the "cool kids" with the best wheel fitment are all about stretched tires and seeing how close you can get your wheels/tires to the fenders.
The owner of this slammed Subaru Impreza WRX STi is a seventeen year old (Yes, I said 17 years old!) high school student named Abbitt Wilkerson from AW Films. Abbitt has been making a name for himself; not only because he shoots some of the most popular car videos up here in the Northwest, but also because he has a driving passion for building Subarus with the common thread of aggressive wheel fitment. Read more...
The owner of this slammed Subaru Impreza WRX STi is a seventeen year old (Yes, I said 17 years old!) high school student named Abbitt Wilkerson from AW Films. Abbitt has been making a name for himself; not only because he shoots some of the most popular car videos up here in the Northwest, but also because he has a driving passion for building Subarus with the common thread of aggressive wheel fitment. Read more...
CENTER STAGE> Rare and Refined, VIP Infiniti M45
With VIP style cars so popular these days, it seems that everyone in Southern Cali always sees slammed Lexus GS and LS bodies with big wheels... It's even common to see Infiniti Q45s with VIP treatment pretty frequently nowadays. However, it's not often that we see a Y34 body style VIP Infiniti M45, which only came out between 2003 and 2005. The Y34 has got to be the coolest M45 ever made. EVER.
VIP originated with Japanese Yakuza members modifying their cars with dish rims, clean body kits, and limo tint. Anytime a Yakuza boss rolled down the street you would know to get out of the way! Justin Wu, the owner of this particular 2003 M45 may not be a Yakuza boss, but he definitely is gangster, and here's why. Read more...
VIP originated with Japanese Yakuza members modifying their cars with dish rims, clean body kits, and limo tint. Anytime a Yakuza boss rolled down the street you would know to get out of the way! Justin Wu, the owner of this particular 2003 M45 may not be a Yakuza boss, but he definitely is gangster, and here's why. Read more...
