By Ryan Porter

IN-N-OUT Editor

Saturday I installed some HID headlights on the car to improve nighttime visibility.  And while all seemed well after the installation, while I was on my way to dinner last night the driver’s side went out. I pulled over and immediately popped the headlamp out, because I was hoping a connection had just popped out. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and  I went on the rest of the night with just one light. When I got home I popped the bonnet to give it another look but decided to go to bed since I was tired and it was real cold in the garage. So that was Saturday night, hit the  jump to see how my Sunday turned out.

Continue reading "Rough Sunday With The Porsche" »

By Ryan Porter

IN-N-OUT Editor

What’s better than getting a new car? You get to learn all the rattles and noises of a new beast, you get to clean up and perfect work that’s not up to your standards, and best of all, you get to add another notch in your belt. I love getting to experience a new car—and what better car to experience than a Porsche 911?

I’ve only had the chance to drive it a call times so far, and the road conditions are horrible in the NorthWest, so unfortunately, I can’t exactly stretch its legs right now. But check out my ride page and mark my new ride as a favorite so you can stay up-to-date with my upcoming mods and photos. First things first, I need some new tires!

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

In this clip, a couple of cackling Aussie kids buy a used 911, then immediately lay into the poor Porsche. It doesn’t even leave dealer’s lot before they key the fender, kick off the front bumper, and amputate its spoiler. Painful to watch? Sure. But there’s a bright side to this perverse display of automotive destruction. It’s actually part of a promotion to launch VB Lager—“The first ever fresh dry lager stripped back to the four beer ingredients”—and the car is currently being rebuilt into what the company is promising will be a “raw classic.” There’s a webcam on the VB site so you can watch the progress live, and after it’s done, the tricked out machine will be given away to one lucky—presumably Australian—winner. So what do you think about this stunt? Does the fact that the car is going to be rebuilt make up for the initial abuse? I don’t know if it’s much different than intentionally blowing up a motor before doing a swap, but the vast majority of the members on StreetFire were appalled…

By Ryan Porter

IN-N-OUT Editor

I’ve been watching the builds that come out of Vivid Racing for a few years now, and when Dan and crew picked up this 997 Turbo I knew we were in for a treat. I loved the original color since day one, but with the recent body wrap in flat blue, I’m doing backflips! How about you? What color do you like on VividRacing’s 997 Turbo?

Before/After

By John Naderi

StreetFire.net

Import Showoff is arguably the OG import car show, precluded only by the Nisei Cruise of the late Eighties and early Nineties in LA’s Little Tokyo District. And for Showoff architect Ken Miyoshi it only made sense to bring his car show to the Nisei Week Japanese Festival a few years ago as the Nisei Week Showoff thus reuniting real import car flava with the Nisei Festival.

Back in the day the car quality at Import Showoff was second to none. The fake wheel and knock-off body kit crowd needed not apply. The shows were all about the cars. But in ’98 Hot Import Nights seamlessly blended the club kids with the car clubs proving it’s not all about the cars. Yet for some of us it was always all about the cars. While Ken may have diluted his original recipe with a few grains of rice over the years the Nisei Showoff has basically maintained the quality of one of Mr. Miyoshi’s old school Mainstream Productions. And one recent trend Nisei showcases is the resurgent Honda movement. For example, the engine bays of these Civics feature nothing fast nor furious, just shaved and filled sheet metal, tucked wire harnesses and built motors. Hit the jump to see more random observations from what might have possibly been the final Nisei Showoff. Say it ain’t so, Ken!

Continue reading "Goodnight Nisei Week Showoff, There Will be no Encore" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Ma Mopar’s Viper is awesome because it’s about as complicated as a hammer. There’s no fancy traction control or electronic nannies to keep you out of the wall, there’s just a giant motor and the potential for trouble. And when you’re talking about a 1000HP Venom version,  things are even more intense. So I wasn’t surprised when the Porsche bests the beast in this race, because hooking up all those ponies isn’t going to be easy, and Stuttgart knows how to make a car corner. But even though it’s way, way, too close for comfort, how cool does it look when the Viper comes sliding by the camera? It looks like a comet! Good thing it didn’t impact the Ford GT…