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Posted
Feb 12 2012, 09:30 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 5 comment(s)
I'm still recovering from my crazy weekend in Osaka, but I wanted to go ahead and continue with my coverage from inside Auto Messe. For this post I thought I'd focus on some of the traditional tuner cars, along with a few other random scenes from the show....
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Posted
Feb 12 2012, 05:30 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 19 comment(s)
Working as a Speedhunter may be the best gig on the face of the earth, but I certainly wouldn't call it an easy job. There's the travel, the long days, and the rigors of shooting in all types of weather - just to name a few of the challenges. Then of course comes the many additional hours of photo editing and preparing the stories themselves.
For me, yesterday was probably the longest and most exhausting 24 hours in my Speedhunting career, yet it was also one of the absolute best. This is all thanks to the Osaka's vibrant car scene, and more importantly - the hospitality of its people....
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Posted
Feb 10 2012, 03:35 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 25 comment(s)
Good evening everyone from the home of the Hanshin Tigers, fried octopus balls, and some of Japan's friendliest people - the city of Osaka.
I've just returned to the hotel after a long day of shooting at Osaka Messe and thought I'd go ahead and post up a few photos and some initial impressions from the show....
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Posted
Feb 08 2012, 09:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 5 comment(s)
As I write this, I'm busy packing for a short weekend trip to Osaka to have a look at the 2012 Osaka Auto Messe. I'm really looking forward to checking out Kansai's car scene, but before I hop on that bullet train, I thought you guys might enjoy some desktops from last weekend's GTCC event at Tsukuba. ...
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Posted
Feb 07 2012, 10:30 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 26 comment(s)
I had a fantastic time shooting the GTCC event at Tsukuba Circuit the other day, and based on your comments it seems you guys have been enjoying the coverage from this brilliant grassroots race meet. Regardless of what sort of you cars you like, I think everyone can appreciate both the passion and the fun-loving attitude that these weekend racers have.
With that said, here's the third and final part of my GTCC event coverage....
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Posted
Feb 07 2012, 12:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 27 comment(s)
Now that we've had an intro to the atmosphere from Sunday's GTCC race at Tsukuba Circuit, I wanted to spend some time showcasing more of the cars from this event, as well as the day's on-track action....
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Posted
Feb 06 2012, 09:00 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 18 comment(s)
It's shaping up to be a very interesting year for Japan's Super GT series. In addition to the GT300 class Toyota Prius and Subaru BRZ cars that have already been shown, Honda will also be jumping into the fray with a new CR-Z GT300 entry. Team Mugen is planning to debut the car by the middle of the 2012 season, and word has it the GT300 CR-Z will be running a racing type hybrid powertrain. We'll certainly be interested to see how this plays out. -Mike Garrett Spotted over on Jon Sibal's...
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Posted
Feb 06 2012, 07:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 28 comment(s)
As someone who's in love with vintage Japanese cars, the JCCA New Year Meeting is simply overwhelming. There are dozens upon dozens of cars inside and outside the event which I would deem spotlight-worthy, and this year I picked out a few that I found to be especially great.
One of them is this Kenmeri Skyline based out of Tokyo....
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Posted
Feb 05 2012, 08:35 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 37 comment(s)
As my adventures in Japan continue, I spent the day yesterday at one of my favorite places on the planet - Tsukuba Circuit here in Ibaraki. The course was playing host to the weekend racers from the GTCC series, and I knew this would be the perfect occasion to reacquaint myself with Japan's rich circuit culture....
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Posted
Feb 03 2012, 09:00 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 12 comment(s)
I've just finished uploading my first batch of high res desktops from this year's JCCA New Year Meeting. You can head over to the Desktops section right now to find several images to give your computer some vintage JDM flavor....
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Posted
Feb 03 2012, 07:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 24 comment(s)
For my final bit of event coverage from the JCCA New Year Meeting, I have a wide assortment of photos from both the inside of the show. Unfortunately It's impossible to show every car that was there, but hopefully this will give you an idea of just how great the New Year Meeting is.
There's a lot to post, so let's get started....
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Posted
Feb 02 2012, 08:00 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 17 comment(s)
Toyota held a media event yesterday for the new 86 at Makuhari Messe and the festivities included a tandem drift demonstration by Nobuteru Taniguchi and Manabu Orido. Car@Nifty was there to capture the action.
Not bad for a pair of stock cars eh?
-Mike Garrett
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Posted
Feb 02 2012, 06:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 40 comment(s)
By the time I'd finished walking Sunday's JCCA New Year Meeting and the surrounding parking lots it was pretty late. The sun was beginning to go down and the event was wrapping up. That of course means there was a seemingly endless stream of vintage cars heading home. Naturally, I decided to pull out the camera do some more shooting....
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Posted
Feb 01 2012, 07:30 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 56 comment(s)
I thought I'd take a quick break from my JCCA New Year Meeting coverage to post some street sightings from the roads of Japan. I've been here for a week now, and whenever possible I've tried to bring my camera to grab photos of various cars I see rolling around....
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Posted
Feb 01 2012, 06:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 24 comment(s)
While the JCCA New Year Meeting draws some of Japan's finest vintage cars to Odaiba every year, the event is about much more than just the automobiles. The swap meet and "auto jumble" sections of the show always draw massive crowds looking to part with their hard-earned yen in exchange for an amazing selection of vintage car parts, accessories, and collectables.
As part of my New Year Meeting coverage, I thought it would be fun to take a look through some of the items up for grabs this year....
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Posted
Jan 31 2012, 05:30 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 13 comment(s)
What happens when Vaughn Gittin Jr., K&N and HPI Racing get together for some fun?
This.
Enjoy!
-Mike Garrett
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Posted
Jan 31 2012, 05:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 20 comment(s)
Whenever I can I like to stroll through the parking lot at events I attend. Whether it's a Hot Rod show, a race event or something else - there's always cool machines to be found outside in these parking areas. The lot at the JCCA New Year Meeting though, is on an entirely different level.
As I mentioned before, there are lots of people that head to this event every January without any intention of viewing the main show. Such is the power of the New Year Meeting parking lot.
Now then, let's begin our journey through these lots of glory....
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Posted
Jan 30 2012, 08:30 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 20 comment(s)
As we begin our look through the 2012 JCCA New Year Meeting, let's go ahead start off with a look through the main show itself. The parking lot is great mind you, but that doesn't mean the official festivities are to be missed. Not by any stretch....
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Posted
Jan 29 2012, 09:00 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 41 comment(s)
Last fall when I began planning my trip to Japan, I wanted to make sure our visit included some cool automotive events. Tokyo Auto Salon came to mind of course, but being a classic car nut there was one event I absolutely had to see this year - the JCCA New Year Meeting in Odaiba.
The last time I attended the New Year was back in 2009, and ever since I've had the itch to get back for a fix of vintage Japanese motoring. ...
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Posted
Jan 29 2012, 07:00 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 20 comment(s)
Greetings from good old Japan everyone!
In case you haven't heard, I'm back in this fine country for the first time in nearly three years. I'll be here for a few weeks seeing friends and family, doing some Speedhunting - and generally enjoying the place. I spent all day today in Odaiba at the JCCA New Year Meeting - which is where I snapped this bitchin' works style Hakosuka cruising home after the show.
I'm about to pass out from a lack of sleep here, but I've got some really cool stuff coming up from the 2012 New Year Meeting.
More soon.
-Mike Garrett...
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