Words and Snaps»Eric@Platinum VIP

There were so many signs telling us not to go to Wekfest… but we did anyways. I’m sharing with you guys the voyage up north…Two Weeks prior to Wekfest, one day, Kennedy wakes up and can’t get out of bed. His Ankles and Wrists gave out on him.. We thought he’d get better after a day of recovering, but things did not get better. Kennedy couldn’t back out of the show so he had to do whatever it took to get all 13 cars ready for Wekfest… How’d he do this you ask? Chris took him to the doctor, who injected him with a cortisone shot so he could use his hands and walk. $600 went down the drain to get the shots so he could work on the cars, even though the doctor advised against it because if he broke anything, he would not be able to feel it. Kennedy took the shots anyways, which allowed him to walk (or at least limp) and have some use of his wrists for painting. Also, David’s towing vehicle (supposed to tow Hugh’s Widebody GS) had a mysterious problem…. its drive shaft fell off, and the rear end cracked!! So we were out one tow vehicle, and had to start looking into other options.

The Journey to the North

So originally the plan was to leave from Platinum VIP at 1PM to head to San Francisco. Guess what time we left the shop? A bit before 1PM right? ….Nope, we ended up leaving the shop at 8:30PM. Why? I’ll tell you why! So a a week before everyone was working feverishly on getting the cars prepared for Wekfest. We stopped working on the collision cars in order to make time to complete all the show cars before the deadline.Thursday night when I left the shop, everyone kept working, and ended up pulling an all nighter…. so Friday rolls around, and I tell them I’m going to be a bit late to the shop, and I arrive a bit after 1PM…. and guess what? Everyone is still working on the cars, putting finishing touches and fixing some last minute issues. All the cars were supposed to show up before 1PM, but only Davis, Jay, and PJ were there and ready to roll out. People started showing up later though. This is when problems started hitting harder. Roger’s 300C was getting his tires mounted at another shop, and the shop made a big ouch. While mounting the wheel, they bent it!! So Roger had to drop out from the show. He wasn’t the only one that ended up dropping out of the show though. The other twin Q45, David’s twin, also dropped out… his reasoning was that he got the wrong tire size, so he didn’t want to show. David’s Q45 also had a weird problem. An electrical gremlin caused his speedometer to take a crap on him, and none of his cars’ sensors were working.

… Then came the big OH SH*T!!! Moment. Kennedy had to move the RV to the front of the shop so that he could air up the tires. In the process of doing so, one of the RAREST occurrences happened…. he backed the RV into a sign D’OH!!! *facepalm* Minor damages to the RV though, thankfully. Henry’s GS then starts experiencing a weird glitch, and his check engine light goes off. Apparently the throttle body took a shit on him, and he couldn’t go over 10MPH. Luckily a new one was easily found and replaced the following day, which set him back about $1,000.

Finally the trip up north starts, at 8:30PM Friday night…. 7 Hours and a half behind schedule, but nevertheless it’s happening! We’re all prepared for the trip, with lots of tools also, in case anything happens. Everything should be good right? Not really… One hour into the drive, Davis’ GS gets a flat tire…. he didn’t have a spare too, so he ended up calling AAA and getting a tow. He was so frustrated he ended up dropping out of the show and towing the car back to Platinum VIP. After this incident the caravan resumes and continues the trek up North….. but halfway up, another problem appears… The trailer Kennedy’s using for his Aristo cracks, and causes huge damage to the front bumper, cracking it everywhere. Face’s Mercedes CL also gets damaged, its windshield cracks, and sets him back $1000 for a new rain sensor windshield. After these incidents, the drive up North is all safe, and no problems arise, thankfully.

Nothing actually happened too bad on Saturday before the show. Chris got a ticket because he was running Platinum plates though…. first ticket in the group! Then at the car wash place, the people hit the trailer, bending one of the rims. Mike tried to hammer it out, and Kennedy did too, fixing it.

I don’t think I have to say too much other than…. WE KILLED IT!!!!!
1ST Place VIP- Hugh’s Widebody GS | 2ND Place VIP- Kennedy’s Aristo | 1ST Best Infiniti- David’s Q45 | 2ND Best Lexus- Henry’s GS430 | 2ND Exotic- Jay’s Aston Martin | 3RD Best Euro- Oscar’s Wide body M3 and the best award of all….BEST CREW- PLATINUM VIP

The Return Home: Utter Disaster

After the show late Sunday night, David was pulled over by an SFPD officer because the officer wanted to know what kind of car he was driving. The drive back home became a test of endurance for everybody. This was probably the worst drive back EVER from any show we’ve ever gone to. The plan was to head back down South by 11AM. The first problem came at 11AM, a cracked trailer. Kennedy’s trailer cracked, damaging his Aristo’s front bumper. Everybody pulled off and started an emergency repair session to mend the trailer, which lasted from 11AM to 3PM. After the trailer was fixed, it was time to finally hit the road again, and we hoped we would not experience any more problems on our trek back home. Then… you guessed it, more problems. At 5PM, David’s Q45 linings fall down on the freeway. The linings get fixed, but it takes another hour, and we finish repairs to his Q45 at 6PM. So we hit road again, and trouble AGAIN! Anthony’s Q45 struck an object, which damaged his right quarter panel, right rear door, and rear bumper. The custom VIP Modular wheels he had that were just finished also damaged too. So here comes the fun part, taking off that one right rear VIP Modular wheel, and putting the spare on. One big problem appeared, his 22” VIP Modulars were TOO BIG for his spare! Not one mile after Anthony’s blown tire incident, the trailer carrying the Widebody GS blew a tire. There was no spare for the trailer, so it was time to improvise. We jacked the Q45 onto the trailer, and put the Q45’s spare on the trailer. Luckily Chris had his spare, and it fit on Anthony’s Q45. This whole process took about two hours, but then it was back to hitting the road. While on the road, a bolt from the trailer hit Chris’ GS’ hood and A Pillar. Luckily the damage wasn’t severe, so the trip back to SoCal continued. Finally after four hours, home was getting close, we were now around Lost Hills, and still continuing our journey home safely…. Until Face’s CL ran into a problem with his fender cracking. After the fender incident, the havoc ended, and no one else experienced any problems, thankfully.

The trip to Wekfest took a huge toll on us physically, physically, and mentally. Thankfully everyone was able to make it home safely though. The only cars that had no problems whatsoever were three Infiniti’s: Malik’s Q45, PJ’s G35, and Jay’s G35. So now, let’s total up the expenses for this trip:
Henry’s GS400 Throttle Body- $1000
Davis’ Tire- $200
RV Damage- $1000
David’s Truck- $3000
Trailer spare- $300
Anthony’s Q45- $2500
Face’s windshield- $1000
Rental- $500
Show expenses- $7000
Total cost of the Wekfest SF show: ~$16,500… That’s what we call dedication.

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Honda Motor Company has launched an amazing viral campaign discussing subjects almost no company would ever consider for an ad. Failure. Its a widely accepted principle that failure breeds innovation. As seen in this video, the best and brightest engineers and drivers from Honda discuss the failures they have encountered in their professional lives. One of insights in the feature discuss the entry of Honda into IRL in 1994. It was safe to say, that could have been one of the worst seasons of racing Honda had ever encountered. After taking the lessons learned, Honda won their first race in 1995 and followed it with a series championship in 1996. Takeo Fukui, CEO of Honda Global, said it best, speaking in regards to the late Soichiro Honda, “We can only make fantastic advances in technology through many failures.”

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“We can only make fantastic advances in technology through many failures.”

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The secret to success will always be through failure. We’ve all encountered more than our fair share of it. The key lesson to take from this feature, in our humble opinion, is use the lessons you’ve learned from the experience, adapt, and innovate. If at the very least, you have learned something, you couldn’t be considered a failure.

For More Videos From Honda’s Dreams Campaign Check Out Their YouTube Channel:
Honda’s Dream The Impossible Documentary

The Beginning of Tom’s Japan

There is much opportunity, especially in a paradox world. Two souls that shared an equal passion towards motor sports were joined together by one conviction. The two spirits destined to convene was a Toyota factory driver, Nobuhide Tachi, and a chief engineer at a Toyota dealership, Kiyoshi Oiwa. Tom’s Co. was established in February of 1974, during Japan’s economic recession caused by the oil crisis when dark clouds hung over the Japanese automotive industry. The operation commenced when the two decided to rent out half of a garage from an acquaintance. This is where the tuning of Toyotas had begun. Tachi speaks as he reminisces of the old days. “The beginning was full of problems and obstacles but I dreamed that one day we can have a world class racing team and become the most prominent Toyota tuner in the world.”

Soon, their technical knowledge developed many fans of Tom’s and within a few short years, gained approval from the industry as the finest tuning shop for Toyotas making their debut at Fuji Speedway in 1974 in the vehicle Toyota Publica, followed by a championship victory by Nobuhide Tachi at the Macau Grand Prix in 1975, Tom’s racing team had steadily began to display their powerful presence. Their deepest wish was granted when Toyota generously supplied them with a 3K-R equipped Starlet, which carried them to the 1975, 1976, and 1978 series championship victories in the Minor Touring race series.

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Japanese Tuner BRANEW made their US debut at the SEMA Show displaying their Nissan R35 GTR , Lexus HS250h, and Toyota Prius. The ultra clean lines, bright white paint and high polished wheels created a very dope look that was very different than anything we’ve seen. It was surprising that the use of subtle elements such as ones discussed could create such a profound effect.

The cars were well received by the industry at the show. It looks like we have another player in the upper eschlon of the Japanese tuning market. Stay posted to JTuned for full length STATIC features of the BRANEW demo cars.

Links
BRANEW

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