A Whole Lotta Ha-Ha's - Nissan S15 Silvia

Chiba, Japan, and Los Angeles share plenty of similarities: They're both cities, they both endure constant earthquakes, and they're both full of cars. You would think we'd know how to deal with any one of the above since we experience them all at least once a day, every day, but we don't. Big cities like L.A. make us wet our pants with fears ranging from drive-by shootings to car-jackings to contracting scabies from the ladies walking barefoot on Sunset Boulevard-and that's but a few reasons. Then there are the earthquakes, which are always confusing. They're so mysterious that our company constructed a safety list out of Post-It notes telling us what to do if the Big One hits. No. 1 says that if you are indoors, go outside and find shelter under thick power lines. No. 2 says that if you are outside and you see the building start to sway, rush to its sides to brace it and keep it from falling. No. 3 got lost. No. 4 says repeat No. 3. No. 5 says that if the building is still intact, take the elevator back up, grab all company computers, and then bring them to a central drop-off point where an armed guard will escort you to a meeting point in the Antelope Valley. No. 6 says those injured will magically disappear while those left unscathed will be put to work in a quarry, collecting boulders. Now that's confusing. The cars, however-well that's something we can at least work on unraveling.

Take this S15 Silvia by Hirata Engineering, for example. We know the owner, so it's not a complete mystery. If you don't recognize Hirata, we'll let you in on a little secret-he's from that Chiba we were comparing ourselves to earlier. It's a place where they like to eat fruit candies called "Dew Dew," chocolates named "Collon" or "Angel Sweet Asse," and chew spicy gum pieces called the "Booing Fireman." It's a land ripe with imagination, and Hirata definitely let his fingers crinkle before he hopped out of the idea pool with this Silvia. Built purely for the thrill of driving, Hirata says in his own special words: "I tuned this S15 lightly so that the driver can experience fun to drive." Yes, the translation is a bit coarse, but the message remains the same: this Silvia's purpose is 100 percent recreational. It's built for entertainment, and it's the essence of Hirata's wacky side.