IJ Saturday Morning: Who is “the Driver”?
Remember a couple years back a clip appeared online pointing to an upcoming animation series based around the cars we loved and the hero being a GT-R? Looks like another trailer has come out as a continuation of the first video that dropped. Still street racing and out running the cops, the bad dude thinks he gets away only to be tormented on the freeways of LA by the ghost GT-R. Who is this road vigilante? I dunno but he has some great sponsors who are doing their best to change the negative images the import scene seems to conjure and educate the masses on being responsible drivers. Especially on the mean freeways of LA.
Show your support and be sure to hit up ww.thedriver.com for more info!
Next Gen NSX Makes its Way to GT5
Did all of you catch Acura's triple whammy yesterday? The RDX gets a cleaner design and ditches its turbo for a V6, the Civic matures into the all new ILX, and the 2nd generation NSX was announced. No one ever expected Honda/Acura to pull such an impressive 180 after such shortfalls of killing off the Integra/RSX, letting the RL stagnate for what seems like decades, and shoe horning a carrot peeler onto every Acura nose. Granted the NSX will feature a hybrid powertrain, but if "Earth Dreams" is as good as Honda has led on then we can expect a decent competitor to Nissan's GT-R or Lexus' LF-A. We can only look back and be somewhat relieved we didn't get the front engine, RWD, V10 batmobile. This concept keeps the mid engine, low slung look we all expect out of the NSX without compromising too much to price/packaging. Even more surprising is that Acura is confident in its Ohio team to develop and produce this car within the next 3 years. That's quite impressive and shows Honda/Acura means business with this NSX - tailored for us by us. So until we get to sit in one of these and dream of a exotic sports car lifestyle at an affordable budget, let's watch it virtually spin around the tracks of GT5! Pretty....
Marvel & Toyota Team Up
This has got to be one of the quirkier things to come out of Toyota's big marketing push for the Yaris - The "What The..?!" crew from Marvel and Toyota send Bruce Banner on a road trip with Dr. Strange to Cleveland, Ohio. For one thing I had no clue "What The..?!" made the jump from comic book to youtube videos, but I have become an instant fan of the Robot Chicken-like shorts. Obviously, Toyota is targeting a younger market with their newest Yaris with their meme contest at I Can Has Cheezeburger? and more videos at Funny or Die. For the most part, I think they have done some great ads for their "It's a Car!" campaign and this collaboration with Marvel is pure brilliance. Much better than the "Fit is Go!" campaign that came out of Honda. Anyhow, check out episode 1 of Marvel Superheroes: What The...?! - The Incredible Drive and get ready to go on a road trip! Come on Bruce! WEEEEEEE!
New Car in the Import Junkiez Garage
Looks like Christmas came a little early for us! I took a quick stroll halfway up the California Coast and picked up a 9th generation Civic. Instead of waiting 3+ months for an allocation, it took us about two week to find this little guy, well maybe not so little as the Civics have grown into the slot the Accords once held. Yup this Honda head spent time and money to actually buy a 9th generation Honda Civic Si - the sedan kind with the navigation. Yes the same 9th gen Civic that most reviewers and auto blog sites were hugely disappointed with, because not much has changed from the previous generation or at times much worse. The same 9th gen Civic that was stopped in the middle of its development to "cheapen" the car for American buyers who just saw the housing bubble burst in 2009 while in Japan they decided to nix the entire line. The same 9th gen where the Honda CEO, Takanobu Ito, took responsibility for the Civic's poor reception in North America while the President of American Honda, Tetsuro Iwamura, suggested that the company would consider moving the Civic's mid-model refresh from the usual model year of 2014 to 2013 (which means production would begin by the end of next summer) to fix the decontented Civic. There are no Car and Driver Best awards, MotorTrend COTY, or Consumer Reports recommendations for the line. Specifically for the Si, the shoehorning of an Acura TSX engine into the tiny Civic didn't win over the hardcore enthusiasts, just alienated them even more since the introduction of Honda's green initiative. Even with all that and a lack of an actual temp gauge, I still wanted one.
Hit the jump to find out why...
2011 LA Auto Show: Mario Kart 7
One of the most packed displays at the 2011 LA Auto Show wasn't the new Honda CR-V or even the Toyobaru Twins. It was Mario & Luigi displaying their karts from the just released Mario Kart 7 on the Nintendo 3DS. These karts are the real deal go karts that top out at 35 mph. West Coast Customs was entrusted by Nintendo to build these life-sized Mario karts for the debut of the 3DS game. Too bad Santa ain't got the pull to give me one of these little karts. I'd ditch my car in a heartbeat to go around town throwing banana peels and oil slicks at the other cars. Oh well, I guess I can settle for just the video game. 
Better Late Than Never: Scion FR-S’ First Drift
Just thought I would put this here in reference to this post "The Next Hachi Roku (AE-86)?". What was that exactly? The Speedhunters got some footage of Formula DRIFT driver, Ken Gushi, testing out the drifting abilities of the Scion FR-S for the first time. So even though the vid has made it's way through the Internet a couple weeks earlier, a word is a word and here's a glimpse of what the Toyobaru can do...on a wet track.
via the SpeedHunters
2011 LA Auto Show: The Gallery
Did a quick run through of the LA Auto Show that occurred last month during Thanksgiving week. Pretty much if it was a hybrid, electric, or SUV vehicle it made a debut at this show. There was a small spattering of sporty compact cars though, so all in all it was an alright show. The aftermarket area was alright and we didn't even bother stepping into the showroom of cars we would never have a chance to obtain in my lifetime. Check out the gallery after the jump to spot what's up and coming with the North American auto industry.
is this thing on?
Hey there faithful IJ readers! I know there's been a long lull in things going on with the Import Junkiez world, but sometimes life just gets in the way of the things we'd like to do.
So this is just a heads up that Infamous and I are still here, alive and kicking. We just had one of the busiest summers outside the IJ world. Not only am I still learning the ropes of being a first time dad, Infamous has finally married Mrs. Infamous. So be sure to congratulate him next time he comes around. Mrs. Tanker and I have our hands full with mini Tanker. He's beginning to discover an ever expanding world around him and has decided to explore it all, with or without us. We just got him a Disney Pixar's Cars walker and he's zooming around the house like he's in a marathon except he's only figured out how to walk backwards. I can only hope as the summer turns to fall the IJ crew will be able to start getting back into the posting groove.
One more thing - we'd like to give a big thanks to all our friends who have liked us over on Facebook and started following us on Twitter. We are very greatful for all the support we have received over the past couple months. It makes keeping this site going worth it. Don't forget, if you have any ideas, tips, questions or even constructive critisism for us, you can always let us know at ijunkbox@importjunkiez.com. We promise not to bite, unless mini Tanker is around. Then all guarantees are off!
I think I'll end this little update right here. Who knows I might start rambling again. Like did you know I never got rid of Buddy? Shocker. The car just doesn't want to give up. Although we did end up with a Honda CR-V. I was pushing for a Pilot, but the wife thought it was too big. Oh well...hopefully this sets me up for a certain Civic to replace Buddy. Muuu-wahahhaha! Alright, I probably should start real work. Until next time! Thanks again for stopping by!!!
-Tanker
*this post was written on a BlackBerry so please excuse any spelling errors*
WYHI: Impul’s Nissan Juke
Not the prettiest Nissan to date, but still I have this attraction to the Juke. In the hands of Japanese aftermarket tuning company, Impul, I'm a little bit more persuaded to get one. Along with its visual flair for oddness, Impul is working on some power tweaks. Move over eco-tuning, here comes something meatier!
