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 Jul 03 2009, 04:20 PM by Mike Garrett with 14 comment(s)

GALLERY>>THE ANTI-GRIP: AWD-BASED DRIFT CARS
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Most people would say that the biggest benefit of an all-wheel-drive layout is copious amounts of grip. For years, AWD cars and their grip have proven themselves on race tracks and roads all over the world. You'd expect the precise grip that AWD delivers would have no place in the unusual world drifting, and for the most part that's true. However, cars that were once AWD have become rather popular among drifters around the world. Even if you take the AWD out of the equation, cars like the...

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Posted Jul 03 2009, 11:19 AM by Mike Garrett with 8 comment(s)

RANDOM SNAP>>STAGED STAGEA
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I noticed that there's been a lot of demand for Nissan Stagea content this month. I'm currently on the hunt (tips anyone?) for interesting Stageas to showcase, but for now here's a shot I took of one getting ready for its run down the strip last year at the Trust Zeroyon Festival in Japan. -Mike Garrett Speedhunters AWD Features
 
 

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2,131 Posted Jul 02 2009, 04:57 PM by Mike Garrett with 28 comment(s)

GALLERY>>LOVE THE LEGNUM
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Although the "big name" Japanese performance machines like the RX7, GT-R, Evo, and Impreza are great cars, I've long been intrigued by the lesser known models that were produced by Japanese companies in the '80s and '90s. There are several of these cars that fit into our AWD theme this month and I plan on looking at a few of them during the next few weeks. One model that I've always been interested in is the Mitsubishi Legnum or in other words, the Galant Wagon. The early...

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Posted Jul 01 2009, 02:45 PM by Mike Garrett with 21 comment(s)

RANDOM SNAP>>RACING SPIRITS MORI LEGACY
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Subaru will always be known first and foremost for its Impreza, but in Japan the Impreza's bigger brother the Legacy is just as popular. Although they are generally favored as street cars, tuned Legacy's do show up to the track pretty often. I spotted this fully built second gen Legacy Wagon at an HKS track day at Tsukuba last year. I recall it being one of the fastest cars of the day, and that's not hard to imagine when you look at what's been to this thing. In the photo you can...
 
 

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2,131 Posted Jul 01 2009, 12:00 PM by Mike Garrett with 29 comment(s)

CAR FEATURE>>THE HKS CT230R EVO
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What's better? Saving the best for last, or starting things off with a bang? Right now I'm going to choose the latter. To kick off Speedhunters AWD month, I'm going to feature what just might be the greatest tuner car of all time. To even call the HKS CT230R a tuner car is a bit of a stretch, but since the car is built and campaigned by one of the world's biggest tuning companies I'd say the name fits. I got to spend some time inspecting every surface of this monster when I visited...

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Posted Jun 30 2009, 06:15 PM by Mike Garrett with 10 comment(s)

RANDOM SNAP>>KUSTOM CENTURY
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As a final bit of luxury material for this month, here's a car that combines the traditional Japanese luxury flagship with some of the kustom style that I showcased yesterday. I never knew the Toyota Century would look so natural in flat black slammed (with hydraulics) on some white walls with sidepipes. Who said VIP cars need wheels poking out from the fenders to be cool? -Mike Garrett Found on Minkara
 
 

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2,131 Posted Jun 29 2009, 06:06 PM by Mike Garrett with 11 comment(s)

MAGAZINES>>STYLE WAGON
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Here's another bit of printed treasure that I picked up during my recent stay in Japan, and another magazine title that fits well with this month's theme - Style Wagon. Since I bought my own van earlier this spring, I've been keeping an extra close eye on this magazine along with some of the other wagon and van publications available in Japan. Van dress-up and customization continues to be extremely popular in Japan, so naturally Style Wagon has a large following there. Now that the new...

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Posted Jun 29 2009, 04:35 PM by Mike Garrett with 8 comment(s)

GALLERY>>KUSTOM LUXURY
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Right now we are hard at work on preparing features for next month, but there's still a few last bits of luxury and exotic material that I'd like to post. As a way if looking back at the roots of luxury customization, I've put together a gallery of vintage kustoms that could be considered luxury cars. Sure they might not have really been considered "luxury" back then, but its not hard to draw comparisons between these classics and today's customized lux cars. The sweeping...

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2,131 Posted Jun 28 2009, 06:45 PM by Mike Garrett with 5 comment(s)

MAGAZINES>>VIP STYLE
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Since it's luxury and exotic month (for another day or two at least), I thought it'd be a good time to take a look at one of the top magazines covering the VIP scene in Japan - VIP Style . Unlike here in the USA where the internet is where most automotive trends are born, print is still very influential Japan. After seeing so many US magazines shrink and disappear, one of things I love about Japan is going to the bookstore and getting lost in all the glossy pages of up to date automotive...

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Posted Jun 28 2009, 04:17 PM by Mike Garrett with 25 comment(s)

GALLERY>>CAR SIGHTINGS IN JAPAN PT.2
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Well, I've been back from Japan for a couple days now, still dealing with a bit of jet lag and readjusting to the 100 degree + temps here in California's central valley. For now I'd like to continue with some more random car sightings from both the Japanese countryside and in bustling metropolitan Tokyo. This lowdown Odyssey was parked outside of the local video store. The D.A.D wheels might not be the most loved, but I think they work well here. This lightly modded Impreza GT was cruising...

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2,131 Posted Jun 26 2009, 05:45 PM by Mike Garrett with 8 comment(s)

RANDOM SNAP>>INSIGHT CIRCUIT CAR
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Earlier this month I posted a couple of the dress-up tuned vehicles that were done by Noblesse in Japan, but Noblesse also tunes Hondas for the track. Their latest project is a bit unconventional but I'm quite excited about it - a Honda Insight circuit car. With just coilovers, wheels and tires, and brake pads from a Fit RS, the Insight recorded a 51.428 lap time at Mihama Circuit. For comparison's sake the tuned Noblesse Fit RS recently ran a 51.806 lap on the same track. Once the weather...
 
 

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Posted Jun 26 2009, 04:04 PM by Mike Garrett with 16 comment(s)

EVENT>>REDLINE TIME ATTACK @ AUTOBAHN CC
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Last weekend, the Redline Time Attack series headed out to the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois for their third event of 2009. A country club with a race track? If only we had something like that here on the west coast... Thanks to Rich over at AMS Performance (located in nearby West Chicago), we have a few photos from the Redline event to share with you guys. Speaking of AMS, this event saw the Redline competition debut of their Evo X Unlimited Class time attack car. You'll remember...

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2,131 Posted Jun 26 2009, 02:45 PM by Mike Garrett with 37 comment(s)

NEWS>>NEW SUPRA A GO FOR 2011?
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Despite the loss of several major manufacturers, the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show is shaping up to be an interesting one. This is thanks in large part to Toyota, who should have auto journalists swarming over the cars in their booth. Besides the production Lexus LF-A and a possible version of the 086A project, there's word that Toyota will be showing the 2011 Supra at this year's show. According to 7-Tune, the new Supra will likely be a 3.5L V6 mated to a hybrid system like the one used on the new...
 
 

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Posted Jun 22 2009, 12:40 PM by Mike Garrett with 14 comment(s)

EVENT>>SUPER GT AT SEPANG
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This weekend the Super GT series headed to Malaysia for its annual competition round at Sepang Circuit - and the 4th race of the 2009 season. This event is known for it's hot and humid conditions that take a toll on the men and machines, and this year's race was no different. The Motul Autech GT-R started on the pole in the GT500 class - it's third consecutive pole of the 2009 season. Would Motoyama and Treluyer be able to drive their Nissan to another victory? At the end of the day,...

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2,131 Posted Jun 22 2009, 09:24 AM by Mike Garrett with 25 comment(s)

EVENT>>MORE FROM THE YMS CUP @ NIKKO
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If you're planning a trip to Japan, I highly recommend NOT going during the month of June -unless you enjoy wet weather that is. I've been here for two weeks now, and I don't think there's been a single day when it hasn't rained. With that said, here's some more rainy action from the Yellowhat Motorsports soukoukai at Nikko Circuit last week. More ridiculous drift angle courtesy of Caroline Racing. Does anyone else think the front bumper on this 180SX makes it look a little...

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Posted Jun 19 2009, 09:12 AM by Mike Garrett with 30 comment(s)

GALLERY>>WANDERING THE PADDOCK @ THE IDLERS GAMES
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For my next post from the Idlers Games at Tsukuba Circuit, I thought I'd take a break from the on-course action and share some of the images I shot while exploring the paddock. With all of the cars on hand, one could easily spend the whole day wandering about, taking in the fantastic machinery up close. As you can tell by the previous posts, the event was paradise for AE86 fans. You see boro boro AE86's all the time in Japan, but the cars here obviously get no shortage of TLC from their owners...

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2,131 Posted Jun 18 2009, 08:14 PM by Mike Garrett with 18 comment(s)

CAR SPOTLIGHT>>LUX FIT
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Isn't it a bit ironic that "luxury-tuned" compact cars are getting to be just as popular as traditional big body luxury sedans? While visiting Japan again, I've been reminded at how just how small the roads can be here, not to mention the high taxes you pay to the Japanese government to keep a large displacement vehicle on the road. Keeping that stuff in mind, it's no surprise at all that cars like this Honda Fit are some of the most popular platforms for luxury tuning. After...

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Posted Jun 18 2009, 11:17 AM by Mike Garrett with 5 comment(s)

DESKTOPS>>AE86 TROPHY RACE
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By popular demand, some high-res Hachi Roku action from last weekend's Idlers Club event. Widescreen and standard versions are available now in the Speedhunters Desktops section. -Mike Garrett
 
 

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2,131 Posted Jun 18 2009, 10:10 AM by Mike Garrett with 20 comment(s)

GALLERY>>THE RETURN OF "CAR SIGHTINGS"
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When I was living in Japan, one of the things I liked to do was post photographs of random cars I'd see while out and about. I've always thought it was cool to see what kind of cars you find "out in the wild", especially in place like Japan. Since I've been back here, I've done my best to take the camera along with me when I go out to see what sort of stuff I could find along the way. Up above we have a car that fits pretty well with this month's theme, a UCF30 Celsior...

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Posted Jun 17 2009, 07:34 PM by Mike Garrett with 32 comment(s)

EVENT>>YMS CUP @ NIKKO CIRCUIT
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One of the things I love about Japan is the fact there are just as many events held during the week as there on weekends. When I arrived here last week, one of the first things I did was pick up the latest issue of Drift Tengoku magazine to see what sort of drift soukoukai would be happening during on my trip. One of the events I found was the YMS Cup, which was held yesterday at Nikko Circuit. Since there wasn't much else to do on this boring old Wednesday, we decided to take the short drive...

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