Posts Tagged ‘time’

In a letter issued to its customers, Ralliart, a Japanese high-performance subsidiary of Mitsubishi, has announced that it is closing its doors. The company’s business case has apparently faded, a victim of the wilting domestic aftermarket scene as well as its lack of continued motorsports involvement.

Naturally, we wondered if and how the closure of the company responsible for its high-performance parts and related merchandise would impact the development, production and marketing of Mitsubishi vehicles sold here in the States – more specifically, the Lancer Ralliart and Sportback Ralliart models. To answer that question, we spoke with Mitsu spokesman Maurice Durand, and he informs us that the closure of Ralliart will not, in fact, have any affect on the availability or continued marketing of these models (or any future branded offerings), as Mitsubishi owns the rights to the name, logo, and so on. Furthermore, all licensing agreements in foreign countries remain intact.

So, while you may not be able to get a genuine JDM Ralliart strut-tower brace or shift knob, you can breath easy that the SportBack that you’ve been saving your lunch money for will still be at your local dealer by the time you’ve got enough scratch. Official press release after the jump.

Sad to see

Howell, NJ (March 5, 2010) – Gardella Racing has signed Steve Angerman as developmental driver in 2010.

Angerman, a grassroots racer from Egg Harbor Township, NJ, will have several responsibilities within the Gardella Racing stable. Initially, he will have the position of spotter for Formula Drift driver Ryan Tuerck at all Formula Drift competitions. This will enable him to develop as a first-class driver as he learns the ropes of high-stress drifting competition.

“We want Steve to learn from one of the best before we put him out on his own,” said Gary Gardella, team owner of Gardella Racing. “Our goal is to hone his skills so he is ready to make an entrance into Formula Drift. There are many guys that have made the transition over to Formula D and they are not ready for the intense competition. We want to make sure Steve can compete successfully in the XDC series and learn to communicate with his team before 2011.”

Also, Angerman will drive his own car in East Coast grass root events such as Club Loose, Drift Nirvana and a few more with the help of Gardella Racing. In addition, he will compete at some Pro-Am events in the seat of the Gardella Racing Solstice that is powered by an LS7. When not running in either of those circuits, Angerman will compete in a few local NASA events, SCCA events, endurance road races co-driving with Tuerck and possibly some karting events.

“I look forward to Steve joining our team,” stated Gardella. “We plan to keep him busy as we groom him for his debut as a professional driver. I believe practice is necessary for future success. The kid has so much raw talent it’s amazing; I cannot wait to see him behind the wheel of the Solstice to see what kind of damage he is going to cause with the big V8 power.”

GR is seeking product partners for this grass roots venture. Please feel free to contact the team if you would like to see your company’s products promoted by a trusted North East team. There are many different series’ and events from VA to NH, supporting the GR team will assist in promoting your product. Many companies have a difficult time with sales in the North East; the goal of GR is to help change this. At this point, the team is not committed to any products and is actively seeking the options out there for our program.

Yesterday in my way to home after leave the job I was thinking in this last 10 years. I remember when we used to like F&F spending our time getting photos from Hot Import Nights, and cars with big vinyls and funny spoilers.

Later on, starts the “JDM” movement. Yes, is not true, is USDM movement. USDM movement is complete different than JDM. Only cars from japan as you well know are JDM, the style of that cars is completly different, is just a car for racing. Most of USDM cars or even EDM cars you can find in Europe and US are not JDM cars, don’t get confused yourself. USDM is about fit brands, brands and more brands. Takata, Recaro, Spoon and company. No matter if something is better or worst. Is not about to find the more effective way to win.

Notice than even today, red rims with chrome lip are ricers Right now this tendency are being forgotten. Not 100% of course but they don’t have the same big scene than before when everything was JDM. Now everything is about the stance and the wheel fitment. This style is getting call Hellaflush like you are reading most of people saying “Oh, so hellaflush!!”

I’m not against the hellaflush style, I love it, I really do. But for me, and I hope i’m wrong hellaflushers is gonna be after or before like now we are watching the “ricers days”. I want to be wrong belive it for sure. Because I love this tendency, people is getting mad with wheel fitment, stickers, roof racks, wonderful body colours… and each day better cars are showing up. But JDM, the real JDM always gonna be there. This is not a tendency. Is about to get a simple, fast, and ready to race car.

So lets see what we have for next years.

The guys over at California Dreams know a thing or two about spoilers and ground effects when it comes to keep things looking fresh. They sent us a spoiler to paint and install so be on the look out for that very soon. For the time being check out www.california-dream.com for all your spoiler and ground effects needs!

The release of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, aka the “EVO”, here on US soil in 2003 created quite a buzz among many long time fans of the car. Even though the car arrived to us in it’s 8th generation, it was certainly not too little too late as portrayed by the now cult like following we have here in the states. I’m sure many of you can remember tossing an older generation EVO around in the Gran Turismo and Tokyo Extreme Racer series at one point in your younger years. Well, in 2003, Mitsubishi finally gave us Americans the opportunity to make our video game nirvana a reality. And for many of us, it was a dream come true. Carlos Alvarez however, had his sights set on a different dream Click Here to see more

Yesterday I recieved my artwork cd from George Trosley (www.georgetrosley.com) . You will be seeing somework from George over the next few weeks from George. He can even do your car potrait at starting at $199!  I’d like to let some you know the background on George Aka Troz:

“TROZ” as he is known to his friends, has been drawing since he was a kid. Being raised in the 50’s and 60’s it was easy for the art thing to run into the growing hot rod thing and form an odd combination of India ink and gasoline, something we now know as a Trosley drawing. George has been entertaining us with his automotive drawings for a long time. Over the years he’s been published in most car magazines both with his illustration work and his hilariously insightful cartoons that have tickled the funny bones of the hot rod community. Read the rest of this entry »

After months of fabrication and wrenching Conrad Grunewald’s 2010 Chevy Camaro drift car was started for the first time last night.  Turn your speakers up for this one. The cam lobe is just sick! What I really want to know is whose Datsun 510 that is!

Tuner Galleria will be featured at Championship Auto Shows Inc. (CASI) events during the 2009/2010 CASI show season. CASI is the undisputed leader in indoor custom car show productions, producing the largest show series in the business under the names of Autorama and World of Wheels. Close to 20 events are held annually across the United States and Canada that draw more than 850,000 spectators. Tuner Galleria will produce a show within a show concept at select cities within the 2009/2010 CASI show tour.

Tuner Galleria is a multi-faceted car show experience focused on high-caliber vehicles, their unique owners, and all the lifestyle elements relevant to this generational market. Tuner Galleria encompasses vehicles in modern American muscle, sport compact, and European luxury and exotics. Lifestyle elements of the show create memorable experiences for the audience that goes far beyond any other event.

The combined background of the Tuner Galleria team brings fresh perspective and fresh ideas while understanding the core basics of a successful car show. Vehicle competitors will be carefully pre-screened and hand-selected for competition. The award ceremony will ensure proper recognition is given and will have meaningful impact that highlights the tremendous efforts of the competitors. In an age of short attention spans and instant gratification, Tuner Galleria promises to provide dynamic and interactive elements that captivate the interest of our spectators.

The inaugural Tuner Galleria event will fittingly debut at AutoRama’s 50th Anniversary show held in Houston, TX on November 26-29, 2009. For the first time ever, spectators will experience an automotive extravaganza unlike any other.

Check out www.tunergalleria.com  for more info!