False idols. Perpetrators. Funk fakers. Like any industry, ours is one filled with people of various inclinations and ranging personalities. Recently however, it seems like we're seeing more guys running around trying to take credit for stuff they never did or crediting themselves on stupid 'ish that they never should have done. Inflated egos, or something. Don't get us wrong, egos are a good thing, it keeps you motivated and gives you the confidence to believe in yourself. But like axle grease, Quentin Tarantino on-screen time, or Tabasco-a little goes a long way.
It's cool to see crazy cars built with inherited trust funds, corporate shill (Nads' favorite phrase), or abyss-depth pockets; but if a dude dropped a car off to be built by someone else and doesn't know a damn thing about his ride-in our opinion that ain't his. He may own the title, but it's not his to claim. Would you buy a Renoir (poster, of course), scribble your name over his, then hang it up on your wall claiming it as yours? Straight scandalous.
Joshua Garcia is the complete opposite. The anti-false idol-he's as real as it gets. A car fanatic, Joshua builds real-world cars with real-world budgets that you readers scream for every month. This car was built so cheap we can't even tell you how little he spent. It'll embarrass other feature owners. But don't get it twisted, it doesn't mean he used tawdry parts or the car isn't up to snuff-it is and then some. The reason Joshua's ride cost so little out of pocket is cause he used a healthy serving of, gasp, elbow grease and performed most of the back-breaking labor himself.
Hailing from Corpus Christi, TX, Joshua's no stranger to Super Street. Thumb through our July '05 issue and you'll find one of the cleanest old school 240Zs to have graced these pulpy pages. Finished with that project, Joshua found a new venture to begin-an '85 Toyota Corolla. "I had a rotary powered Corolla before this one and it was so much fun to drive. The AE86 is just a great platform to build on. Toyota had their ish together back in '85-lightweight and RWD equals fun."