August Editorial>> What Comes Around Goes Around

Have you ever come across someone that you consider “old” who continues to harp on about how things were better in their day…

Perhaps this has something to do with age… do we start to latch on to icons from our youth as we get older? Do we become less open to new ideas and styles? Does our point-of-view harden, and our personality stiffens into a comfort zone?

Hmmm… well what ever the case, I must be getting old, as I don’t like new cars as much as I used to.

Perhaps it’s the fact that most new cars are always large, heavy and fat compared to their outgoing models.

Perhaps, it’s the fact that they are so weighed down with gadgets, circuits and software systems, the driver is almost becoming an accessory to the machine.

Perhaps new cars should be renamed as computerized transportation devices! I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before the GPS/Sat Nav system takes over driving chores.

So as you can tell, I’ve really started to question if “new” is always better…

So what is our theme for this month then?

Can you guess?

Yes the theme this month is “Old School”.

And Linhbergh and I will be heading out to the Salt Flats of Bonneville in a few weeks to shoot as many old school machines as we can find.

Who knows what gems will be uncovered!

We’ll also be collaborating with the McMeekin Racing crew as they aim to break the OX/GALT Bonneville record with their land speed 240.

I’m also hoping the Dandy Tanaka FC is going to be back at Bonneville this year. We’ll be looking to find them as soon as we get to the salt.

Linhbergh and I will then drive across Nevada to the lights of Las Vegas.

We’ll be meeting up with Mike Garrett to shoot at the Formula D event there.

I’ve heard a lot about FD LV and am quite excited to see some proper night drifting for the first time this year.

A week later and it just so happens that I have to fly out to London for some Need for Speed business…

So I’m going to be meeting up with fellow Speedhunters Paddy McGrath and Ross I’Anson to check out the JDM Allstars Wembley event. I haven’t been to a European drift event since the spring of 2008 so am very excited to take in the sights and sounds of this vibrant scene.

What else is coming up? We have the Nisei Showoff 2010 edition on our calendars.

Turns out last year wasn’t the last event after all! It’s great news for lovers of old school Japanese tin.

Dino is going to be spending a bit of time at Ebisu this month.

First up is the D1GP round next weekend.

Followed by the Summer Drift Festival later in the month.

I find it hard to believe that it’s been two years since I visited this event… will have to try and fix that for 2011!

Our X Games coverage will be starting soon…

… As well as reports from the latest UK Time Attack round care of Ross I’Anson.

Alok Paleri is also dying to tell you about his latest European driving adventure!

We also have coverage from the Suzuka 1000 kms later in August too, from Len Clarke.

Somewhere in there Paddy McGrath will be bringing us coverage of the Rotorstock show at Santa Pod in the UK.

I was hoping to announce that we’d be visiting the Canadian Drift Mania West Championship when it rolls into British Columbia but the event seems to have been canceled. So we’ll try and shoot over to the last Capital Drift event in Victoria tomorrow instead.

But before we get to that… I believe that AE86 Day is coming up very soon. We plan to involved you guys in this celebration, so watch out from some announcements soon.

Together we can reminisce about simpler times hahaha…

:Rod

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1

hey while you guys are at speedweek come stop by the American Eagle streamliner pits, i love the website.

2

bonneville stuff rules!



esp the body work on the land speed 240 :)

3

Totally with you on this one Rod, I'm not really a fan of new cars, only a select few really. The thing is that most cars are made with the thought of making driving "less stressful" for the current market. Now things like parking sensors and automatic headlights? They're a huge waste, in the UK part of the test involves auxiliary controls so things like that are not allowed in the test which is good. People who have to rely on parking sensors and various gadgets to drive couldn't really reserve without them. It's not good that the modern driver isn't really driving. Old cars are definitely the winner for me, not only did they pave the road for the current and future cars but they take a real die hard driver to tame them. :)

4

this month looks to be full of yes

5

Can't wait for it ! Sounds greaaaat !

6

WALLPAPER OF FIRST PIC NAOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

7

Nice! i want these photos!

8

i believed that s15 in london just lifted its front wheel,cool!

9

I totally agree with what your saying about the person becoming an accessory to the machine, cars have become far to technologically advanced for my taste. I'm starting to lean more and more towards older cars every day

10

This is gonna be one cool month!!

11

This is going to be the best month!

Cant wait for it!

12

Old school for life! While there are a few new cars that I like ( most pretty much out of my price range), nothing new compares to the old stuff. The feel, the experience...it's just not the same.

13

Lots of events, just hope the quality returns to SH.... btw- you going to Monterey Historics. A must for Old School months

14

86 day in Texas will be in San Antonio, Tx!!!!

15

Rad. I'm feelin this. Is the original Miata old enough to make it into oldskool monf..?

16

The old school is the best school.

18

I have to agree that most new cars aren't much fun to drive, I just bought a 2010 sentra and its well, boring. I drive a 1970 beetle to and from work and i have to say its much more enjoyable then the sentra. Its not over complicated by any means and you can actually feel the road, something i cant say about the sentra or any newer cars I've test drove. Older cars have a feel like no other and it's hard to replicate, I would rather drive the beetle or even my dsm (when it does run, rofl) over my sentra, just because you can actually feel the road and doesn't make me want to fall asleep.

19

i want some old school drift coverage too, real talk

20

DINO! Im in japan for 2 weeks staying in Yokosuka. I NEED to know when that AE86 day is.



Please for the love of god respond hahaha.

21

omg my mates gonna be at the salt from aus

22

I definitely agree that newer isn't always better. I don't hold on to that for nostalgic reasons though. You can clearly look over the last hundred years and see the various leaps. In the beginning it was horseless carraiges where 30 mph was a big deal. After cars came in more than black, speeds increasesd, but cars were still flimsy. Next thing you know cars got heavier and heavier until it's the 60's and 70's with land-yachts. Then in the mid 80's we got fuel-injection and a whole lot of cars around 3000 lbs or less. They actually had impact zones, abs came out, cars had ribbing for structure instead of flat floors.



This is why I like mid 80's to early 90's. There was a huge leap in technology, and there was a healthy HP race. Soon after though, crash standards and emissions standards became stricter and stricter. Although I do agree with better safety, the easiest way to pass crash standard is to just slap thicker material on the car. Cars have steadily gotten fatter and fatter. 4 door sub compacts that used to way just over 3000 lbs are now almost 4000 lbs. It's really only in the last few years that they used more design and technology than weight to achieve better crash results. I'm still waiting for the next golden-age for cars cause we haven't seen the next one yet. For really old guys the 60's muscle cars was their golden age, and sure it was for the time but that's when fuel was less than 50 cents a gallon. 4 mpg was fine back then. I can still drive my 80's cars and get great gas mileage with comparable performance to modern cars... so until the next leap I'll be waiting.

23

Great theme! I'm happy I'm not the only one who thinks new cars are fat, heavy and too big. I think the 90's were the end for sleek and cool cars.



I can't wait to see stuff from Ebisu!

24

Can not wait! yieeewwwww

25

How convenient that "86" day falls into this month!

26

Please shoot some more s30... i am finding it hard to motivate myself to finish the zed project

27

Nothin like d Ol Skool.....

28

awesome collection of pics. thanks.

29

I'm loving this month. I was starting to get tired with all of the photography tips and stories, even though there were some good pics. I also feel older cars are great and new ones are getting quite filled with unnecessary things, and I'm not old, just a teenager. I would like it if less old cars were thrown away and taken to the junkyard and that more were restored and taken care of by the owner. If people are so environmentally concerned these days why don't they stop throwing out cars or buying new ones every 3 years.

30

Haha I agree with Rod as well and I'm only 17! Haven't got a car yet but my whenever my dad says to me "how about one of those?" my answer is usually "nah, it's not old enough". it's the whole safety thing that makes all new cars fat and I think this is why smaller cars are becoming more and more powerful: they have to be to actually haul themselves around at a reasonable pace. It's silly and I'm sure cars could be more economical if they weren't so bloody fat. Looking forward to Old School month. Good idea Speedhunters! :)

31

12th Pic Down...

"WARNING: This Vehicle May Wreck Or Explode For No Apparant Reason"



haha Classic

32

@James

The AE86 annual gathering will be this Friday, the 6th of August at Daikoku.

33

every month should be like this month.

34

How old is old school?

I consider it around 1993.

I must be old or Young... ???.

35

Fukn love old skool :) AE86 all the way hats off to last pic mad:)

36

Why don't you come to the DMCC East championship instead it's said to be way better than the west championship!?

37

Sweet, can't wait!!! If you guys are in Salt Lake and need a place to kill some time you can swing by my Japanese restoration shop, and hey........ even get some material for "old school" month ;) Hit me up guys, it would be a pleasure and an honor......http://jdmlegends.com/ http://www.jdmlegends.com/blog/

38

YAY! CANT WAIT!!!!!!

39

somehow the s2k sneaks in

40

also there's no old school euro

41

What days are the speedhunters going to be at speedweek? I'll be out there sometime to cruise around and watch some runs, hopefully I can grab a couple stickers from you!

42

Looking forward to this month!

Love the old school, my 510 is still a great car to drive, my R31 was fast and communicative but diabolical in the wet or under hard breaking, and my Familia is also a fantastic example of the Japanese AWD turbo segment before the electronics took the raw edge off it. So I'm looking forward to more raw cars being featured here, hot rods that need to be driven with respect and racers that will either reward you or kill you depending on their mood.

Sure, new cars are fast on paper, but I feel like we've refined the soul right out of them.

43

Whats up with that Levin? Why's it in the air?

44

Words can't express the awesomeness of this site. It's hard to believe the time and effort everyone behind the scenes puts into it to bring the viewers daily updates. And it's not just one, it's 2, 3, sometimes more, no matter if it's just a random snap or a full blown story loaded with pics and great storytelling behind the photo. Speedhunters brings it day in and day out, from all around the globe and what's even more interesting is that it's just not one genre of automobilia. This month is going to be great because without the cars from yesteryear, we wouldn't be where we're at today. The legends live on, thanks to Speedhunters. Whether it's a '32 rod with a 502 or '02 with a 4 banger, the automobile is recognized by your team. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

45

One word of warning for the younger guys out there: OLD School Cars = $$$$$$$$$



Might not cost so much getting your hands on one, but engine builds, metal resprays, parts parts and more parts adds up to a lot of money. The 90s cars a good mix of both, perfect blend of great styling and performance - i.e gtrs, silvias, supras, chasers etc... be like me get an old school car to restore, and a 90s car for street =)



Peace

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