The top 10 Future
10 Smaller Wheels: Ever since the whole "dub" scene, rim sizes have been growing fatter than Kirstie Alley post-Cheers. Now, with drift and influences from overseas, smaller 15- to 17-inch sizes are hot, especially rare JDM old school wheels.
09 Fat Tires: The rubber band-thin tires necessary for wider wheels (and their incredible propensity for dinging or cracking rims) aren't going to be with us forever; smaller wheels showing more rubber are already in.
08 Decline of Drag (not the RuPaul kind): With crowds and race car entries not what they used to be and sponsors and teams pulling out, the future of drag looks hazier than Snoop Dogg at a hookah lounge.
07 Classic Restorations: Wait-did we just hear you call us an oxymoron? Before you start calling us names, take a look at Marco's Skyline in this issue. Go ahead, we'll wait-this column isn't going anywhere. See? That's what we're talking about.
06 Time Attack: Not to pat our own backs or Elliott's for that matter, but Time Attack and its appeal to enthusiasts looking to battle themselves against the clock on a track has turned out to be accessible to weekend warriors weary of "drifting" their car into trouble. Catch our "drift"? Hehe, we crack ourselves up.
05 Balanced Tuning: Before, peak horsepower translated to bragging rights at the drag strip. Now, with events such as Time Attack and drifting on the rise, an emphasis on a balanced car with reduced weight, improved braking and proper chassis setup is becoming much more prevalent.
04 Hybrid Cars: Thanks to the recent global fustercluck, gas prices have risen higher than ever. Hybrid cars and their fuel efficiency and improving design have been taking off. Now, all we need is Tamiya to make bigger electric motors for them.
03 K-Cars: No we're not talking about cars from Seoulman's home country or the cars that Rikdaddy encounters on Olympic Blvd between Western and Vermont on his commute home, but the small but potent (like JDM Wong passing gas) cars pouring in from Japan (see Tetsu's Tales and our Honda Fit stories this month).
02 VIP Style: Yo VIP, let's kick it. Alright, so it packs more flavor than "Vanilla" and is a whole lot cooler than "Ice" and we guarantee it's going to be around a whole lot longer than his career (TNMT 2, anybody?). VIP-style pimped-out Japanese flagship sedans (GS 300/400, M45, LS 400), to quote Leonardo DeCaprio in the Aviator, are going to be "the wave of the future!"
01 Japanese Supercar: With old favorites returning and highly anticipated exclusive models arriving, the era of the Japanese supercars is dawning once more. With the new GT-R bound stateside and rumors of the next generation Supras, RX-7s, and NSXs littering the Internet chatrooms, we can't wait to see Japan's sneak attack on the Hemi craze.
Tetsu's Tales
Fit & Yaris
"Honda will sell Fit and Toyota will sell Yaris in USA soon. What do you think about the Fit and Yaris? It is just small car with small motor? Are you interested in them? Do you think they are just a Mom's car? I want to say that you are wrong! Fit and Yaris will be able to change into sports car if you know good tuners or had good tuning sense. I know if I put a turbo or super charger on a Fit or Yaris the motors can make about 150ps. If you liked big power and you had money, you could choose 350Z, Civic (Civic?), etc. I like them, but most of us need to save money and need to daily drive a car. You want a car which can run on a closed race track and can improve your driving skill. The Fit and Yaris fills your wish. The motors save gas which means you can save money. If you put coilover and good tires on Fit and Yaris, many Japanese race car drivers say you can go on a closed race track and practice till you get good driving skill. Your mom will like Fit and Yaris too, I guess. If you like audio equipment, Fit and Yaris are also a good car for it. I would like to say you can change Fit and Yaris to any style (sports car, race car, show, etc.) that matches your tuning sense. The Fit and Yaris have unlimited possibilities. Some Japanese car magazines say you can put a bigger motor in Yaris because Toyota will sell 1800cc motor in the Euro Yaris soon. Mugen and other Japanese tuning shops are trying to put a K20 Type R motor in the Fit. Big power motor and lightweight body is excited me. How about you?
I would like to see a Fit or Yaris with a big motor tuned by an American tuner at SEMA or at a Super Street Time Attack event in this year!"Tetsuya Ogushi
Concept Corner
Can you guess the make and year the concept was released?
MAKE: ________
YEAR: ________