Mike Garrett'S BIO

Name: Mike Garrett

Location: Tsukuba City, Japan

Previous Locations: Central California, USA

Career Path: Freelance journalist/photographer

Previous Career Paths: Fresh college graduate! Also have some experience working part time behind the counter at a small tuning shop.

Notable Projects/Wins: Auto-Otaku.com - my personal web project covering Japanese car culture, collaborations with various auto-related websites and magazines from around the world.

Car: Honda Fit (Boring daily driver)

Fav Past Cars: '73 Plymouth Duster, '85 Corolla GT-S, '73 Datsun 240Z

Next Car: Something old and simple.

Car Passions: Grew up in a car crazed family and have been going to car shows with my dad since I was in a stroller. Started off with American V8's in my teen years and thought I would never own "one of those rice rockets". After I was introduced to the Japanese scene via some old Option videos I became a Japanese car geek almost overnight. My fascination with Japanese cars turned into a fascination with Japan itself. I enjoy every part of the Japan's vast automotive scene and I am always learning more about it. My old school muscle car upbringing gives me an especially strong appreciation for classic Japanese cars. I can appreciate any type of car as long as there is passion behind it.

Personal Style: Very simple! I wear jeans and a t-shirt nearly everyday.

Favourite Band of the Moment: Dragon Ash

Personal Motto: "Well, the night's busting open, these two lanes will take us anywhere.." - Bruce Springsteen

 


2,131 Posted Nov 20 2008, 05:38 AM by Mike Garrett with no comments

RETROSPECTIVE>>THE NISSAN FAIRLADY Z
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As part of Nissan month, we wanted to take a look back at the lineage of some of the popular models that Nissan has produced over the years. With the recent unveiling of the 370Z, I'd say the Fairlady and Z models are a perfect place to start. While many will trace the roots of the Z back to the S30 in the early '70s, you can't really talk about the Z without going back to the original Fairlady Roadsters like the 1968 SRL311 Fairlady 2000 pictured above. The Mazda MX5 gets a lot of credit...

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Posted Nov 19 2008, 10:00 AM by Mike Garrett with 14 comment(s)

NEW CARS>>USDM NISSAN CUBE
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Nissan has just debuted its redesigned second generation Cube in Japan, and though that might not like sound like a big deal to people outside of Japan, the new Cube will also be sold in the US starting next year. It will join the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, and Scion xB as another entry in the fuel efficient compact wagon segment. The car retains all the funky features of the original Cube and should be similar in size to the original Scion xB. My sister-in-law drives a Cube here in Japan and although...

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2,131 Posted Nov 19 2008, 07:43 AM by Mike Garrett with 7 comment(s)

RANDOM SNAP>>IMPACT 161 ARISTO
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Over the past few weeks I have been on kind of a JZS616 Aristo kick, digging up everything I can about these sexy four-doors. I have found that it's not the VIP versions that impress me so much, but the traditionally tuned versions like this one from Impact Magic which was shown at Tokyo Auto Salon this year. To me, this car is perfection. Aggressive, but not ridiculous wheels (19" Advan RS's), mild body modifications and the 600+hp TD07-fed 2JZGTE make for a perfect street-tuned sedan...
 
 

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Posted Nov 18 2008, 11:01 AM by Mike Garrett with 14 comment(s)

ARCHIVE>>TUNED GT-R'S AT TSUKUBA CIRCUIT
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Time for a little more Nissan goodness from the archive as I post up a few of the track-tuned Skyline GT-R's I've spotted at Tsukuba Circuit over the past year. There is no place where a GT-R is more at home than running around a track like Tsukuba. It is surely one of the best places in Japan to see tuned GT-R's at their best. The car has stood the test of time and even the oldest BNR32 GT-R models are still found in abundance at Japan's racing circuits. Nearly seven years after...

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2,131 Posted Nov 18 2008, 07:45 AM by Mike Garrett with 26 comment(s)

NEW CARS>>2010 FORD MUSTANG REVEALED
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I think it's kind of funny how automakers say they will unveil their new models at big auto shows. I always picture a a cover being whisked awayas flash bulbs fire at the just-revealed car, but it lately it seems that's not really how it is. The new 2010 Mustang was said to be revealed at this month's LA Auto Show, but here we are with the fully revealed car long before the show opens it doors. I guess that's just how things are in today's times. Anyways, on to the new 'Stang...

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Posted Nov 17 2008, 09:57 AM by Mike Garrett with 9 comment(s)

RANDOM SNAP>>KIDS HEART D1 STREET LEGAL ER34 AT SEKIA
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This weekend was D1 Street Legal Rd.6 at Sekia Hills down in Kyushu and one of the newsworthy items from the event was the D1SL debut of Tsuyoshi Tezuka in this freshly completed ER34 Skyline coupe. The car has a good look to it and I think it supplements his yellow R32 D1 machine quite well. Tezuka was able to score third place in the competition which was a very good result for the car's first run. And the winner of the event? Our own Naoto Suenaga who added another win to his dominant year...
 
 

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2,131 Posted Nov 17 2008, 02:21 AM by Mike Garrett with 26 comment(s)

GALLERY>>CAR SIGHTINGS:INAKA EDITION
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Last week I tried I new kind of post where I showcased some of the cars I spotted on the streets of Tokyo, and judging by the feedback on that post, it sounds like you guys want to see more of that kind of stuff. With this in mind, I took my camera along yesterday when we out shopping. "Inaka" is what the Japanese call small town rural areas and the cars you find out here make an interesting contrast to the stuff you see in Tokyo. For example, check out this '90s Toyota Crown wagon...

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Posted Nov 14 2008, 07:45 AM by Mike Garrett with 15 comment(s)

CAR SPOTLIGHT>>COMMON SNAPPER DATSUN 510
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I was browsing through the latest issue of Option 2 Magazine yesterday when I came across this Datsun 510 in the monthly "Evolution Q" section. If the name Common Snapper sounds familiar to you, that is because last year they built an S30Z with an RB26 and a full R33 Skyline interior conversion. They work on all sorts of cars including American imports as well as Japanese domestics that have a slight "USDM" vibe. Well they are at it again now and this left-hand-drive USDM Datsun...

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2,131 Posted Nov 13 2008, 08:29 AM by Mike Garrett with 12 comment(s)

CAR FEATURE>>KOGUCHI D1-SPEC 180SX
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Last week Jeroen posted up a poll asking which was the favorite of the Nissan cars currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix, and I can't really say that I was surprised to find out that you guys picked Yoshinori Koguchi's 180SX as your favorite. That actually worked out pretty well for us since we had been saving Koguchi features for Nissan month. The man and his cars achieved have hero status among hardcore drifting fans, and in an era complex pro drifting, the guy from Tochigi-ken continues...

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Posted Nov 12 2008, 06:53 PM by Mike Garrett with 8 comment(s)

NEWS>>A TEASER OF JR'S NEW MUSTANG
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Speedhunter Vaughn Gittin Jr. just sent us a small teaser photo of his new 2010 Mustang drift car that he will be driving next year. The teaser may not reveal a whole lot, but it won't be too much longer until the full car is revealed next week on live Speed TV ahead of the car's official debut at the LA Auto Show. To see the car on Speed, November 18 at 8pm PST/ 11pm EST will be the time to tune in . I think it's pretty cool that the drift version of the car will debut ahead of the street...
 
 

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2,131 Posted Nov 12 2008, 09:23 AM by Mike Garrett with 21 comment(s)

ARCHIVE>>DRIFTING NISSAN SEDANS
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4-door sedans are favored by drifters all around the world, and they are especially big here in Japan where Toyota's JZX cars are favorites among both pro an grassroots drifters. Nissan's primary contribution to the drift world might be the Silvia and 180SX, but they also offer plenty of turbocharged four door sedans that can be bought on the cheap and built into some pretty radical drift machines. I wanted to take a quick look at a few of Nissan's coolest four-door drift cars here. For...

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Posted Nov 11 2008, 09:18 PM by Mike Garrett with 24 comment(s)

VIDEO ROLL>>KEN BLOCK RIPS AROUND EL TORO
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What do you get when you combine an badass car with an awesome driver in a really cool location mixed with some fantastic film work? You get this fantastic video of Ken Block doing some gymkhana practice in his 530whp Impreza STI. This is seriously one of the coolest car videos I have ever seen. Watch and enjoy.

Ken Block Racing

-Mike Garrett

 

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2,131 Posted Nov 11 2008, 01:47 PM by Mike Garrett with 42 comment(s)

GALLERY>>CAR SIGHTINGS IN TOKYO
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The other day when I was in Tokyo, I decided I would try a new type of post here on Speedhunters. I was actually remembering my first trip to Japan and just how excited I was to see random cars on the street, and though it might be kind of cool to show what kind of stuff you see "in the wild" on Japanese streets. If you guys like this sort of thing, let me know and I will do it more often. Events and races are great, but there is always something kind of special about seeing an a cool car...

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Posted Nov 11 2008, 08:51 AM by Mike Garrett with 3 comment(s)

CAR FEATURE>>'72 SKYLINE RESTORED BY EAST CAR
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When I visited the East Car shop in Toride earlier this fall, I planned to shoot one of their finished projects and as soon as I arrived, this white Hakosuka Skyline jumped right out at me. The Hakosuka is one of the quintessential vintage Japanese cars and a perfect fit for our Nissan month. Like I stated in the previous story about East Car, the shop's specialty is restoration, so this is obviously isn't the fastest Hakosuka around, but it's a great example a top quality traditional...

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2,131 Posted Nov 11 2008, 02:30 AM by Mike Garrett with 10 comment(s)

NEWS>>LM SPEC GT-R IN THE WORKS?
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Here's an interesting piece of news for Nissan Month. The rumorists at Japan's Best Car Magazine are now speculating that Nissan may release an ultra limited production Le Mans edition of the R35 GT-R. With roots going back to the old school LM R33's, the new car will supposedly push out out somewhere around 600hp and include a number of other upgrades from the "standard" GT-R. In addition to the street car, an actual competition car is also said to be in the works for Le Mans...
 
 

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Posted Nov 10 2008, 01:28 PM by Mike Garrett with 6 comment(s)

ARCHIVE>>BUTTONWILLOW SUPER LAP '06 & '07
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The Buttonwillow time attack gathering is probably my favorite tuner car event the United States. In fact this week's 2008 edition of the event will be the first time I have missed it in the past three years. Then again the "original" time attack course at Tsukuba is only 30 minutes away from me right now so I suppose I can't complain too much. Anyways, I figured I would post up some of my old photos from the 2006 and 2007 editions as a little preview to this week's event. Sure...

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2,131 Posted Nov 10 2008, 11:27 AM by Mike Garrett with 9 comment(s)

EVENT>>SUPER GT SEASON FINALE AT FUJI
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The eventful 2008 season of Super GT is now in the books. The final race of the year was held yesterday at Fuji Speedway under and despite the not-so unusual cloudy weather, things were looking bright for the Nissan GT-R teams that were aiming to finish off their season of dominance by taking the GT500 drivers championship. From the photos, it looks like the stands at Fuji were packed. According to Super GT, 47,100 race fans braved the cold and cloudy weather to watch the final race of 2008. During...

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Posted Nov 10 2008, 09:46 AM by Mike Garrett with 8 comment(s)

NEW CARS>>LEXUS IS-F BY WALD
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Tokyo Auto Salon 2008 was all about the GT-R, Evo, and Impreza, and though the Lexus IS-F was already on the market, it didn't have the big showing that those other cars did. It's looking like '09 show might be the time when we see what Japan's tuners are capable of with the IS-F. Wald International has recently shown their new IS-F aero package which is part of its Sports Line series. Like the Sports Line kit for the new GT-R, the IS-F version is quite aggressive in contrast to the...

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2,131 Posted Nov 10 2008, 06:05 AM by Mike Garrett with 7 comment(s)

NEWS>>RED BULL COURSE CONSTRUCTION
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The Formula D guys have been very busy preparing for this weekend's Red Bull Drifting World Championship in Long Beach. They recently posted some photos on the official Formula D blog of the course construction that is going on at the Port of Long Beach right now. It looks like its shaping up to be a pretty interesting course and and the towering cranes and container ships make for a dramatic backdrop. Here are a few more pics- Hmmm...looks like someone already laid some rubber down during some...

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Posted Nov 10 2008, 03:27 AM by Mike Garrett with 9 comment(s)

GALLERY>>A VISIT TO NISSAN'S HQ IN GINZA
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Yesterday I spent the afternoon in Tokyo, and while I was there I figured since it was Nissan month on Speedhunters that it would be a good time to head over to Ginza and have a look at the car gallery at Nissan's corporate headquarters. After taking the short walk from the Higashi Ginza subway station, we arrived at the Nissan hon-sha building to find this gleaming red R35 GT-R parked on the street outside the place. Kind of a cool way to begin the visit don't you think? Nissan actually...

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