I just had to give these guys their own feature. The pioneers of the VIP movement, Junction Produce has been giving cars the VIP treatment since the early 90's. Their booth at TAS was one of the most impressive, with a beautiful range of JDM luxo-barges all decked out in full JP style. From Toyota Crowns to Lexus's to Nissan Presidents and Cimas. If you didn't "get" what VIP cars are about, a trip to this section of the Auto Salon was all you needed. I totally loved it. There was even a Bosozoku Bike hanging out next to the cars. Gold pinstripes on black cars always go well. VIP Lexus... or as the Japanese call it, Celsior. JP wheels and suspension kits. As with all areas of TAS, there are some interesting people to be seen, at JP though, there were some "really interesting" people standing around. All in suits, and people i really didn't want to make any eye contact with. But they generally just stood around and didn't bother anyone. Nobody bothered them either. These Bosozoku folks though were pretty friendy and were happy to have their photos taken. These lovely ladies provided some eye candy as they sat on the motorbike. It created quite a crowd of camera wielding showgoers. But, somehow, their cameras were not aimed at the girls' faces. :x 'nuff said...
So, you're a car lover, but not just any car lover. You are a Wagonist, but at the same time, you happen to like classic cars, but also at the same time, you want some modern power. What do you do? Personally, i can identify with someone like that. My guess is the folks over at Roadster Garage have the same inclinations when it comes to cars, shoehorning RB26 powerplants into numerous cult JDM classic sports cars. But that's just too conventional. How about doing something really different. How about, combining the front and rear ends of the Hakosuka Skylines with the body of the previous generation Stagea? The result is pretty crazy, but at this year's Auto Salon, the boys from the garage have done it and it's called the Hako-Ste. Taking the front and rear ends from the old Box-Skyline, coupled with extensive custom bodywork to produce what i think is a very unique automobile. One of my favourites of the show (probably #02 right after the FT86). I even managed to talk to one of the staffers and he happily lifted up the bonnet to show off the Hako-Ste's heart. An RB26 sat inside proudly, eliminating any doubt of this car's power potential. Almost all the body panels on the car has has some work done to it sans the roof. Even the sides have been sculpted to flow with the lines of the Hakosuka. It's very imnpressive and totally awesome. Sitting next to the Hako-Ste was a curious looking Willys jeep. I stood there for quite some time just taking in all the awesomeness of this crazy project. Props to the boys from Roadster Garage! Classic Wagonist with a lust for power around the World rejoice!
In general, i'm not really into the whole ICE movement, but not because i don't like it, but i guess, i'm more into the performance sector of automobiles. That didn't stop me from checking out some really really really crazy sound system setups on display visually AND acoustically. These machines shift a crapload of air. Some of these setups are just pure work of art. The level of detail some of them go into are insane. Fitment and finish on these monsters are top-notch. These are just a tiny bit of the ICEd up cars at the show. Here's my favourite of the show. Built on a Lexus LS430, just check out all those doors and the slammed stance. Calling it crazy is an understatement. Under those doors it's all just amps amps amps, speakers speakers speakers. They even laid a water filled glass case on top of the amps in the boot, complete with air bubbles moving around. The vocals were crystal clear and the bass was bone shaking. Beautifully laid out. These are pretty serious ICE enthusiasts. Lamborghini inspired. Even the Keis were in on the ICE action. Other setups on show. No need for rear passengers in this Eclipse. Running a full airbag suspension system going up and down throughout the show.
True to Auto Salon's fashion, there were some pretty interesting sights to behold when wandering around the massive halls. From H1 Hummers to little Kei pickups running BBS wheels, there's really something for everyone here. Here's a collection of some of the quirky and interesting sights around the Auto Salon to show you it's not always about the serious stuff. (OR, pictures that i have no idea where else to go) One of the first people i saw when i first got into the halls on day one was Okachan from Yashio Factory, famous for their pink cars. I regret not picking up a pink tshirt. Staying with the color pink, i was happily snapping away at what looked to be a Pulsar Wagon with the maddest camber of the show when someone came in front and totally blocked my camera. How rude!!! The offending culprit! The car had a bonnet with moving LEDs. Groovy. Can you guess what it was built on? Mustang? Guess again... The picture below might give a clue... Here's another Supra, with Z4 rear lights and neons behind the rims! I'm having grand plans for those orange ones. If you somehow needed tools, SnapOn was there. Some funky cars like a Radical on display, note the street registered plates. Here's the T-Rex 3 wheeled motorbike-car. Dunlop had a Bentley LeMans racer. Some souvenir JDM plates on sale. I couldn't find BMW E36. :( Sorry, but this car gets the "WTF" award. A giant Choro-Q mobile Miniture cars on sale, my dad used to have one of these in 1:1. Talking about miniatures, here's a little Bumblebee standing on top of a Camaro. If you prefer BIG, there was a H1 on display complete with a gunner standing there throughout all 3 days! Or how about a monster Land Cruiser? There were a few Itasha mobiles on display. This one even came with an anime girl! (Yes there is a real girl underneath) Here's what it looks like inside. I think this is from Sakura Wars. Miku Miku Hatsune representing. If you prefer your motoring on a smaller scale, here are some of the Kei-cars of the show. The retro pickup above totally rocked. As you can see from above, Kei cars are still quite popular on this side of the World and are well supported by the tuners. Totally blacked out. Awesome Wagon-R pickup running big brakes and kickass BBS wheels. Inside one of the Keis. Whilst approaching another Kei-car, a staff game me a Hello Kitty lollipop. Slammed low. This little Kei had the most amazing paintjob. Very very cool. Look at all the textures below the clear coat. URAS Wagon-R. And here's something you'd probably see alot at car shows, but over here, it gets real crazy, real fast. I'm talking about the girls! Or rather, people taking pictures of girls. Scenes like this are pretty common. Yes, i was probably one of them... hahaha... Aiwa had the craziest crowd. Above is probably about an hour before the girls come out and below is what happens when the girls are already out. This is the crowd i had to fight my way out off. All to get a glimpse of...
