I know SEMA is the end all be all show but honestly the show I look forward to the most every year is the LA Auto Show. There is just something about bright shiny new cars straight from the manufacturers that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It is at the Auto Shows where OEM’s pull out all the stops and put their best foot forward. It is where we find out what the near future holds, and in some cases what the distant future holds as well. Also, unlike normal car shows or events like SEMA the cars are there for you not only to see but touch. A Mom or Dad can take their family to the show and actually get into the car they are thinking about buying, or aspire to buy without some salesmen there to muck up the experience. People can go see wild exotic cars that they might otherwise never see on the street. There is a special kind of magic behind experiences like that.
Do you remember what it was like to see a Porsche Turbo for the first time? Or sit behind the wheel of a brand new car for the first time? Remember how amazing it was? Now thousands of Adults and more importantly, kids will get to have that experience while the LA Auto Show is in town and I am damn excited for them!
If you have been to the autoshow before then I am preaching to the choir but if you have never been and you live anywhere close to Los Angeles (I’m talking a 200 mile radius at least here people) then you definitely owe it to yourself to go! If you like cars even just a little bit and you want to create new memories for your family then the trip will be well worth it!
If you can’t make it then don’t worry because as usual I will be on the show floor tomorrow and Thursday to bring you all the latest!
There have been many car show series that have come and gone but the one name that has always had the respect of the import car enthusiasts is “Showoff”. Import Showoff has been around since the mid-90s and while they aren’t quite the force they used to be the name will still bring out the core enthusiasts. The annual Nisei Week Showoff in Little Tokyo is the one show many of us still anticipate with real enthusiasim. Why does the Nisei Showoff stand out? On the surface it doesn’t seem like much. The Nisei Showoff is usually small (ranges from 100-200 cars) but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in quality and atmosphere. Nisei Week Showoff is the show that all the cars the kids jock on the forums go to. So as you can imagine we were stoked to make the trip out to Little Tokyo again for Showoff this year.
While the car count was slightly lower this year compared to last year, Ken Miyoshi and Mainstream Productions certainly did not dissapoint when it came to the quality and variety of cars on hand. There was everything from old school Mazdas and F2o powered classic Celicas to a Lexus LF-A! There was even some European flavor with a few Porsches and a Lamborghini Murcielago parked next to a Gallardo. There were a few classics that we never seen before thus cannot really describe to you but feel free to look through the pictures below and the full photo set in our Facebook gallery to see if you can recgonize everything we shot!
It is only Tuesday but I know most of you are already spacing out at work and trying to figure out what you want to do this weekend. Well I am about to solve that internal debate right now because it is once again time to converge in Little Tokyo, LA for the annual Nisei Week Showoff! There! Problem solved and plans made. Get your tickets now and start making arrangements to be in Little Tokyo this Saturday. If you have never been to Nisei week before then congratulations, you’re lame! Scroll down to see some video of 2010′s event to see what you missed and to give you some motivation to make the trip this year!
WHAT: Nisei Week Showoff 2011 WHERE: 100 S. Alameda St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 WHEN: August 13th 11am-7pm HOW MUCH: $12 at the door, kids under 10 free WHY: Because if you live anywhere near this event and don’t go you will officially be lame INFO:ShowoffCafe.com or 714-881-3223
ESPN blew some minds earlier this year when they revealed that instead of returning to the LA Colosseum, all rally events would take place on the streets of downtown Los Angeles. From that point imaginations were running wild trying to contemplate what streets around the Staples Center would be used, where the jump would be, the ins and outs, etc. Well today ESPN has answered all questions by finally releasing hard details about the street course including a basic rendering of the layout. The X Games officials have created a 3,100 foot course (or 6/10ths of a mile for you math geeks) with six turns. Building the course will require 5 MILLION pounds of concrete barriers, 700 feet of dirt (which includes the 70ft jump for the joker lap), and about 1,000 hours of build time to complete the course. The course will also require shutting down three streets including Figueroa. To accommodate the spectators, bleachers will be erected outside of the Staples Center. We would venture to guess that there will likely be a video screen erected as well to make sure none of the action is missed. Despite the fact that construction of the course is slated to start soon, drivers will not be able to test the course until the day before competition!
If you want to see a rendering of the course layout, click the thumbnail below for an image that we blew up slightly. You may have to squint a bit but you can see all the turns and joker lap path, as well as the course’s position in relation to other land marks such as the halfpipe, etc.
I first heard this as a rumor at the first round of Global RallyX and I wish I had reported it because it turned out to be true! It was announced today that the RallyX events for Summer X Games 2011 will literally take place in the streets of downtown Los Angeles! The exact course details haven’t been released but expect the drivers to go through portions of the Staples Center then outside into LA Live and back into the the Staples Center. It should make for some pretty interesting pictures! I can’t wait!
Enduro X Discipline to Make its Debut; Rally Disciplines Move to Downtown Street Circuit
ESPN will kick off its 17th annual action sports competition to be held in Los Angeles July 28 – 31 and will debut the new discipline of Enduro X, as well as the first-ever rally street circuit running through the downtown area. In its ninth year in Los Angeles, X Games 17 will feature more than 200 athletes at competition venues and event spaces including STAPLES Center and Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE in an effort to further consolidate events to one area and better enable fans to catch all the X Games action from downtown Los Angeles.
Enduro X will feature both men’s and women’s disciplines, showcasing riders’ talent on an all-terrain obstacle course. Riders will race through sand, mud, logs, rocks and other terrain features in a blend of motocross racing and traditional Enduro, battling not only each other but also the challenging course for their shot at X Games gold. The new addition will be one of eight Moto X competitions taking place inside STAPLES Center, while the downtown Los Angeles street circuit will offer a unique and exciting setting for the disciplines of Rally Car Racing on Saturday and RallyCross on Sunday.
“Having RallyCross at last year’s X Games was a huge step for the sport, but racing through city streets is how motorsport began,” said three-time X Games rally gold medalist Tanner Foust. “Being in the car, ripping through streets, cranking the handbrake through intersections while door-to-door and jumping next to buildings is going to be truly epic! I can’t wait!”
ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will combine to telecast 25 hours of live X Games 17 competition. In addition to the 25 original hours in high definition, the Worldwide Leader in Action Sports will also televise 18 hours of X Games action on ESPN 3D. More than 25 hours will also be distributed on ESPN3.com. Outside the United States, X Games 17 will be seen in more than 121 countries and territories to more than 106 million homes, including live telecasts in Africa, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Israel, Mexico, Middle East, New Zealand and South America.
Tickets for X Games 17 will be available for purchase June 23 at all Ticketmaster locations and the box office at STAPLES Center.
Additional information on all X Games 17 events will be forthcoming on www.xgames.com
If you’re tired of reading about supercars and want to see a few up close, I suggest you head over to the Petersen Automotive Museum in downtown Los Angeles. Last Saturday was the opening day of their new “Supercars: When Too Much Is Almost Enough” installation. This exhibit lets you get up close and personal with everything from a vintage Lamborghini Muira to the extremely rare Mercedes Benz CLK-GTR! I visited the exhibit myself over the weekend and I was dumbfounded with the examples on display. It was my first time ever seeing a Mercedes Benz CLK-GTR up close and I can honestly say I was speechless. This exhibit should be a must on every car guys bucket list! If you’re worried about missing out because you don’t live near by you will be happy to know that the exhibit will be open until October of this year. So even if you don’t live in California you have more than enough time to book a plane ticket or better yet, plan a road trip to the City Of Angels to see all the supercar goodness up close. There are a few shots below and more in our facebook gallery to pique your interest but trust me when I say that pictures don’t do any of these cars justice. You need to get out here and see it all for yourself !
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