May 16th, 2015
Scion iM & iA Industry Influencer's Auto Show

Just after the unusually ominous and dark clouds have passed in the Southern California sky, the freshly launched pair of Scion's brand new game-changer cars, the Scion iM and the Scion iA was put on the center stage.  Invited were the most unusual mix of car fanatics and hardest core aftermarket brands.  Held on the patch of outdoor lot of Toyota USA's big campus, it was really a sight to see everything from thug-lean owners of hydro lowriders, freshest Lamborghini Aventador, the usual pack of customized toaster xB's, and everything in between, even Cruella's Excalibur!

The eco-utility Scion iM is exactly what the Toyota lineup needed to refresh the aging xD, and to fulfill those who missed the defunct Toyota Matrix for a few years it was absent.  Standing out like the Minions, a Yellow Pearl painted iM was showcased, clad with modified trick-drop in the tradition of Scion's niche target audience.  A modular Inno roof rack and a pair of bicycles looked dope and really put the car in the Southern California elements.  Sharp crease lines and angular styling elements flow with audacity, and just screams to be on Instagram-square frame of smart-phones.

The Scion iA, while more formal than the iM in terms of function as a sedan, isn't free of sinister looks when treated in Darth Vader helmet-black paint, which reveal just enough chrome on the grill and corner trim. Having roots as a Mazda 2, the iA's enormous fender blister isn't anything conventional and with a little goggle-view into what the owners might do to it in the aftermarket shopping list, the iA did prove capable of stancing out as mini-VIP'ed sedan.

Honestly, I think the cars are plain enough for a more mundane user, which is an important trait for the car to do well in sales volume, and the target prices being reasonable for class, it is indeed, something Toyota has always done best for the brand.  But being put into the beat-box, floor thumping Scion brand, the cars also have potential to be hacked, sacked, cut, flared, and slammed as Scion owners always have done as an American pastime.  Somebody at Scion totally gets who the target is on this one, and while none of Scion's cars are designed to hit one out of the park, it certainly looks the part to active the youth generation, who might have some imagination to go tweak these cars...   Scion owners love to create their own version, so really all Toyota needs to do is make a blank canvas to enable them.   And the creative ones will definitely see these as the best canvas since the original xB, which was popular when baseball was still followed by Gen X.

Will the neo-tuners embrace it?    We will know in a few months, if they take time off from base jumping or nail-art painting, and get back to tweaking cars again.
For one, I wouldn't mind seeing tons of them going places with boats, boards, and bikes strapped to the roof.  And with Toyota's recent refinement for driver tactility with small cars, I am sure they'll all think it's the "bomb" to drive it there too.

The post Scion iM & iA Launch, Industry Influencer's Auto Show appeared first on Club4AG.

Old Friends of Club4AG

Testing Taka's retuned ex-Formula D AE86 to Lap Time Attack AE86, and shaking down with Shingo Yugami assisting as the works pro engineer, from Bluemoon Performance.
Despite the status of shakedown, he whips out the top time of day with a lightning fast 1:22 flat on Streets of Willow Springs Raceway.

Also present were some of the best buddies and competitors from the long past, Ryosuke and Tetsu Fukui. Visiting from SD was the seasoned SCCA National Champ Jonathan Lugod. Several other good friends to make the day complete too.
Tony Kim and I were just having a casual lap attack shaking down our daily driver, both of us setting near our own best records for the respective cars too, breaking well below 1:30.

Mild cool, windless day was PERFECT too! Yoshie Shuyama was inside the heated trailer all day hibernating as she always does in the winter season.
We thank ‪#‎Extreme‬ Speed Track Events, Chris Willard, and Joel Perez, Amir Bentatou and staff, especially the course workers and flag officials, for hosting even during Christmas Weekend!

The post Old Friends of Club4AG at the last track day of the year at Streets of Willow Springs Raceway! appeared first on Club4AG.

Scion FR-S, Tour of Southwest

November 15th~ 17th, 2014

1177 miles, from Los Angeles, to Phoenix, Sedona, to Flagstaff, a round trip tour of Scion FR-S through the Southwest's most scenic routes. The sky, the horizon and all the events and things in between.  Our stops included Joshua Tree National Park, a day at the Earnhardt Toyota of Mesa, AZ for a wonderful welcome with 100 other cars in the AZ86Bash2 Celebration, a day in Sedona’s valley of monumental natural spectacles, and some of the best roads that California and Arizona had to offer.

We were all reminded that cars like these were are all about taking it for a spin, preferably a very, very long drive.  Friends gathered with other friends of friends, making new ones along the way.

The Scion FR-S. It really is a neat car, in many more ways than just the surface, specs, and character, but for the world it brings to the owners in the form of friends all over the world.

The post Scion FR-S, Tour of Southwest, an 1177 mile Journey through Western USA's nicest roads! appeared first on Club4AG.

Dissecting the TOYOTA 86 14R-60 Limited Production
Yes, it is a production car, though very exclusive and limited...

I guess Japan listened to all of the enthusiast voices that understand the "concept" of the FT86 from the inception, a lightweight sports car.

This car has EVERYTHING we would do to this car to prepare it for a raceway tuner challenge, except a turbo. (still a big question for future models as Toyota works out how they relate to FHI who builds these cars)
It's rather a very expensive limited run model becausae of this, since all of these 14R60's are made by hand, off-line away from the assembly line, and fitted with these exclusive TRD Technocraft parts.

Read this list, and tell me what you think.

It's derived from the Griffon Concept
Production Limited to just 100 cars. (Japan ONLY)
While the engine stays close to normal production engine, there are unique features that set this car apart, and here are some of the attributes:

TRD Intake system,
manifold cover,
center output muffler,
air core engine oil cooler,
stiffer bushing engine mount,
mechanical 4 pinion 1.5 way differential,
triple puck TRD clutch disk, and lightened flywheel,
close ratio 14R-60 original transmission gear set,
quick-shift lever mechanism.

revised front performance rods
rear V-brace
adjustable height coil-over monotube suspension
revised rear trailing arms
front / rear lower arm revision
front toe control arms
lightened front window

front canards
carbon fiber roof
rear diffuser
rear wing
side skirt
front wide fender
lower arm air deflectors
4/2 pot Mono-block caliper brakes 2-piece rotor
Alloy magnesium ultralight wheels
Bridgestone "Spec 14R60" Tire
EPS-CAN Engine computer box

Full Bucket Seats (TRD by BRIDE)
Carbon interior Panels
Steering wheel (Alcantara)
Rear seat-delete panels
Alcantara shift lever knob
Scuff plates
Takata "TRD" 4 Point Harness.
Titanium license plate bolt.
Radio and AC delete
Transmission Scuff Plate
Green tint side glass
Revised Quick ratio electric power steering.

Did you catch the color code?  The original new paint too for this car, a white called Crystal Pearl and coded not the usual J37 but K1X (and it's the only color available)

And you want to know how much this costs to the lucky 100 buyers?

It's a reasonable Y 6,300,000 Japanese Yen. (Approximately $60,000)
Before you gawk and throw a fit, you must understand that I have half of this done by custom fab or with aftermarket parts, and at MSRP for the parts, it's at $55,000 plus. So with lots of further development, and several things I can't even replicate, I think it's totally reasonable. (keep in mind, I never said 'affordable")

Just released from Toyota Technocraft and announced on Toyota Japan website below.

http://toyota.jp/customize/86/14r-60/

The post Dissecting the TOYOTA 86 14R-60 Limited Production appeared first on Club4AG.

Each start of October, folks working at Toyota USA Headquarters bring out thier personal enthusiast cars from thier garages to the USA HQ Campus for an early morning car show. And like every year, 2014's event brought out some very interesting collection from Triumph bikes to Bonneville Speed Record MR2, and every concevable thing in between.

A modified version of Toyota's mobility assistance seats called Welcab in Japan, was displayed here in a Sienna, renamed "Auto Access Seat" A welcome factory option now certified in the USA for DOT stanadrards and beyond, and a helpful feature for the increasing number of elderly and the physically chanllenged folks.

Everyone always has lots of fun and bonding, by showing off and looking at cars that people own, and as part of being the big bunch of people that move this company that is Toyota, a CAR company!
Ferrari, Abarth, Sunbeam Tiger, Ducati, Wesfalia Vanagon, Pontiac GTO, Vehicross, Typhoon, FJ70's and 911. And many more, all part of Toyota family this day in October!

The post Oktoberbeast, at Toyota Motor Sales USA appeared first on Club4AG.

Snap On Tools will bring a party to South Bay car fanatics!
At the end of this month, on a weeknight of Tuesday, October 29th, we can gather our cars, any car, and not only show and tell, but win a bunch of Snap On Tools!

It will be held in a parking lot of Del Amo Fashion Center.

Multiple Display booths, trucks, tools, and much more! Just come out and have some serious fun. Admission is FREE with food catered to folks arriving early!

See you there folks!!

The post SNAP ON TOOLS - MASTERS of METAL TOUR, come win some Snap On Tools and Gear! appeared first on Club4AG.

If you know people at Toyota USA Headquarters, and if you knew people who hang out with older cars, you will definitely know this lady, Janet Fujimoto.
Her friendly, caring, and humble demeanor hides any suspicions that she is actually the owner of a very extensive one-dozen car collection of the nicest Japanese sports cars around in Southern California.

Today at JCCS, Japanese Classic Car Show, the most prestigious concours in the USA for Japanese cars and motorbikes, Janet unveiled a newly restored AE86.
Just look at the care and expense put into the car with her car-intimate buddy Dwyne who does most of the wrench work, while Janet scours the world for parts.

Another superb example of a AE86, restored tastefully and retaining the functions and style of the era, while making the benchmark standard upgrades that makes it more desirable.

I'll just let the pictures do the talking again here...

The post Janet's new AE86 unveiled at JCCS 2013 appeared first on Club4AG.