In Japan, the fascination with these race queens borders on the obsessive-and we know a little something about obsessions. Just ask Ricky about his Summer of Love-Love being our intern who no longer works with us. When we ask Ricky why we can't call Love to see why she left so abruptly, he mumbles something about a restraining order, bursts into tears, and runs out of the room.
The incredible demand to see these girls has given rise to Gals Paradise, a magazine completely devoted to the ever-present race queens at shows and races throughout Japan. Can you believe that? A magazine that focuses solely upon the girls who model at the shows and races. Nothing else, just these scantily-clad, beautiful girls, who...while you look at the pictures, we're going to tell Howard about an idea we just had for a Super Street spin-off.
Your Trip To Japan Also Includes...We sponsored a tour to the Toyko Auto Salon. Those who participated also had the opportunity to scope out a few bonus joints, such as the Fujinomiya plant of HKS. Here's where all the magic happens-where springs are crafted, exhausts welded and polished, and topless schoolgirls run around and stop to do a few jumping jacks. (Hmm, that's more like our wildest fantasy that still hasn't come true.) This is the place if you ever wanted to know how an HKS Hiper muffler was put together or how raw materials are forged into actual race products. This is the dime tour you always wanted to go on, and some of you finally did-without being laughed at and hung up on. Yes, we bring you good things, friends.
This year's trip also provided the opportunity to visit a couple of extra places. The first stop was a necessity. After last year's fiasco of trying to find the correct subway line or a taxi driver who wouldn't take the $200 scenic route, participants were driven to one of Japan's biggest automotive-parts chain stores, Super Autobacs. Here you could buy enough squash-scented air fresheners and JDM toys to make you the envy of all your schoolmates. Just think, if you go with us next year, you could buy the Doraemon cell phone strap or Cusco oil catch can.
Carmate/Razo sponsored the last stop, the actual R&D facility for Carmate. Here, participants were fed graciously and shown new products galore. Demonstrations were given on how Razo shift knobs are designed and manufactured, and each person on the tour received a neat Initial D antistatic, drift-car key fob. You can get one next year-or maybe something even cooler-if you go with us. So start saving those pennies!
Tiny TunersTechnology is a huge motivating force in the Land of the Rising Sun. So much that it has even worked its way into the toys they play with. Robot dogs, robot cats, robot robots-they're all over the place. Radio-controlled devices are hot too, and the smaller the object, the more desirable it is. Some of the most popular radio- or remote-controlled devices are these little cars. The bigger cars are from Tomy and are called Bit-Char-Gs-strange name, we know; it probably loses something in the translation. These cars are full-function, six-direction, radio-controlled toys, powered by a built-in rechargeable battery that charges by connecting the car to the controller. Available in eight body styles, choices include Celicas, RX-7s, Accord Wagons, and many others. These cars allow you to swap out motors, tires, gear ratios, and bodies in order to squeeze out some better performance, and they run for about two minutes on a 45-second charge.