Gloria, Cedric, Cima, Fuga, President, Celsior, Soarer, Aristo, etc. Who or what the hell are all these people/things? Well if you have been living in a cave for the past few years, and don’t know what a VIP/VIP style car is, be sure to head over to www.vipstylecars.com (VSC) and get the 411. It’ an interesting segment of the auto industry and has a group of cult-like followers. Albeit that many of these followers are people who don’t know much about the industry, there are definitely some very cool, well built, VIP/VIP style cars in the USA.

If you are looking for a specific thread to check out, there has been a thread posted on VSC outlining “approved” VIP platforms. If you ask me, the “approved” part is nonsense but needless to say, the thread does have some good information for beginners in regards to what cars are what between the USA and Japan and their chassis codes. Enough with my chit-chat, check it out here!

P.S. Wikipedia is also a great source for information. Head over there, type in the car and you will find a grip of information!

Popularity: 17%

“JDM” driver badge, leaf, new driver, elder driver, soshinoya badge, koleshiya badge, etc. This topic has been in my head ever since I saw an ass load of people rocking these things at JDM Theory last week. Now seriously, what the hell is the deal with these things? Do people rock these things because they are “JDM” mad tite yo? Since when was it cool to rock something on your car means you are a noob or an old coot?

For those who do not know the meanings of these things, let me break it down. Please note that I am by no means an expert on these badges, but merely someone that has a few hours to waste on Google and a burning desire to flame idiots.

First up, we have the newbie, “soshinoya badge.” This badge is required by law in Japan to be placed in vehicles with new drivers (for the first year). It seems to be the most popular badge that is seen on the cars of many idiots alike. From Hondas, to Acuras, to Nissans, this piece of shit badge seems to be everywhere. It is the equivlant of going down to the local decal store and having them print up a huge vinyl decal (because decals are mad tite yo) for your car that says “STUDENT DRIVER–BACK OFF!”

The other badge is known as the, “koleshiya badge.” This is the only other type of badge available (to my knowledge). This badge is required to be placed on all vehicles where there is an elder driver behind the wheel (of 60 years of age or older). The badge itself literally translates into, “OLD PERSON–BACK OFF!” You don’t see these on cars as often here in the USA as the newbie ones but, they are around. In fact, I saw someone at JDM Theory last week rocking a picture of the koleshiya badge on their t-shirt with the text “Elder Driver” on the bottom. To me, its the equivalent as having a handicap sign on your license plate or your rear view mirror.

Now, when I say “STUDENT DRIVER–BACK OFF” or “OLD PERSON–BACK OFF,” I literally do mean “BACK OFF!” In Japan, apparently if you are involved in an accident with a person who has either of these badges, you are automatically at fault (seemingly no matter what the situation may be).

To this day, I still do not understand the infatuation with these stupid trinkets. This isn’t Japan. Having a Japanese badge on your car does not make you cool. I do not understand why busters are paying nearly $20 for these idiotic things.

If you have some time, hit up this thread on Club RSX. I found a thread on there where their genius forum members have discussed this topic to great lengths. A whopping 95 posts in fact.

If you are running short on time, let me sum up some of the things said on the thread:

I have the New Driver Badge its kinda Unique cause not many ppl around here I know of have them.kinda different

I know what the Badges mean thats a reason I got it plus ITS JDM cant go wrong with JDM

Haha yeah it is…. but it is also something different cause around where I live theres not much JDM and I have a New Driver Badge cause I am not 60yrs.

i just got mine for car show points, and it makes people wonder here and mississippi. Cause a car with real JDM parts and looks is rare rare rare here! but were loaded down with auto zone modded cavielerss!!!!!

And to sum up this article the best:

Because [someone] saw somebody in japan do it, unfortunately that makes it cool for 98% of the population of males under the age of 21.

jdm for the sake of jdm is just retarded

The bottom line, if you have either one of these stupid “JDM” badges, go to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

YOU LOSE!

Popularity: 13%

Here we go again…
A buddy of mine who works at a highly regarded shop specializing in the VIP trend read my “Ugly ass wheels” post and reminded me about R1 Racing Wheels. If you don’t know, these guys have been around since 2000 (or so) and are masters at the knockoff game. A majority– if not all– of their wheel products are direct knockoffs of brand named wheels. So this post is just an informative post giving the award to R1 Racing for KNOCKOFF SHIT of the MONTH!

Congrats to these guys for delivering crap to our industry. Ricers and Nopi owe you LOTS!!

Oh and a second award goes out to R1 for their fantabulous “Mass Lip” technology. You guys sure take the cake for scamming FWD owners. Seriously, if anyone is reading this and is interested in the R1’s “Mass Lip”, take notice…there is no substitute for proper fitment. There is no substitute for gangsta offset and more importantly, lip doesn’t mean squat if your wheels don’t sit flush (especially having a 3 inch lip on a 7 inch wheel).

Let me break it down. R1’s “Mass Lip” is basically keeping the FWD offsets the same (say around +40 and up) and giving you the illusion of the “Mass” lip. How is this done? Essentially, the face of the wheel is a bubble and it bubbles out from the “Lip”. So really- you are getting an ugly ass wheel design with a false representation of true lippage. Go ahead, put any R1 wheel with a mass lip (or any R1 wheel for that matter) next to it’s authentic counterpart and you will find, R1’s lippage, finish, construction and overall appearance is far inferior to the authentic counterpart (NO SHIT).

AND LAST but certainly not least, I’ll leave you with R1’s claim to fame:

“R-1 Racing is the original and only patented Chromeless Steel Lip Technology. R-1 patented their process years ago and have been perfecting it ever since. Do not settle for inferior, fly-by-night reverse-engineered product, which attempts to knockoff the R-1 Racing Patent. R-1 innovations include MASS LIP, which allows large lips on front-wheel drive wheels to give front-wheel drive cars a staggered car look. MASS LIP allows up to 4″ lips on many cars such as Hondas and Scions. Another industry first from R-1 is the 20″ staggered fitment with Chrome Stainless Steel Lip for cars such as G35 and BMW 5-Series!.”

I’m speechless. I suppose my friend JP put it best when he says.. “they don’t knockoff the lips… only the faces” HAHA!

Thanks R1 for attempting to protect the intellectual integrity of your knockoff. I’m sure no one will dare knockoff your knockoffs. =P

Popularity: 12%

HAHA- I’m sure a lot of people think it and don’t say anything. But there sure are some ugly products out there. YES, Importfactor.com will be the source for the follies and fumbles of the “tuner” industry. We’ll randomly post up products which we think are the worst designed products offered to the tuner demographic these days.

First on the list is….
HD Inc. Wheels

If you haven’t been living in a hole, open up Super Street and you’ll see their advertisements. These awful, gaudy, hideously retarded wheels from HD Inc. pop up to the consumer when the magazine opens. The marketing scheme for this company emphasizes the slogan “perfectly round” with a models ass selling the product. However, I really think this is a signal to the consumer that they are selling ass (products) with ass.

Coincidently, HD Inc. stands for “Hi-Performance Designs”. It should be called “Hi-Performance Deformity.” The designs are reminiscent of the ugly ass (and old heads will remember) Focal wheels circa, late 90’s. Only, they don’t have Francine Dee selling these. What’s surprising however are the marketing dollars this company spends. I believe they might be doing something right in order to spend so much. Perhaps the bulk of their customer base are from the east side of the Mississippi?

Well, here are some snaps from HD Inc. Oh, they have knockoffs too.

Popularity: 5%

For those who don’t know, the Tokyo Auto Salon took place last weekend. From Jan 11-13, our industry bare witnessed to the latest and greatest trends and products form the land of the rising sun.

At TAS (Tokyo Auto Salon-if you don’t know), the folks at Vertex Japan/Car Make T&E brought out their latest creation. The Vertex Toyota Aristo!

But you might ask, “…isn’t that a GS430?” Well, for those who have been fooled at first glance, it’s a 1998-2005 Lexus GS300 merged with the front end of a Lexus GS430.

Not much is known about the car other than the obvious, however sources tell us, this will be a kit available to Aristo/GS300 owners who want that updated look.

Thanks to Modified Magazine for the snaps!

P.S. Peep the brand spankin’ new Volk Progressiv (yes, it’s really spelled like that, it’s not a typo) TS wheels!

Popularity: 9%

I got an email from someone (I think Phillip) over at Mackin Industries a while ago regarding some knockoff Volks. So I thought, why not just go ahead and post up the contents of the email here.

WARNING: Be prepared to LOL!

Look closely…it read what the decals say. Still don’t see it? VOLK RAVS? WTF! Click here for more pictures of the VORKS and to continue reading…

Popularity: 9%

I truely do give it up to AC Schnitzer for handling their business. Check this out, they are hardcore!

No, “wheel tossing” is not the latest sports trend sweeping Germany. It’s the management team at AC Schnitzer having a great time disposing of cheap and unsafe copies of AC Schnitzer wheels in their campaign to end piracy dubbed “Stop the Copy.”

Click here for more pictures of the anti knockoff mission and to read the rest of the article…

Popularity: 5%

For the millions and millions of knockoff fans out there, I suggest you read below. Recently, Chris from Speed Alliance sat down with Jim from Work Wheels to break down what are the possible hazards of purchasing knockoff..KNOCKOFF Wheels.

Jim broke down key elements to why and how knockoff wheels are not the best alternative for the consumer.

1. Casting control - The wheels are obviously poorly cast, the material possibly contains air pockets that cause the wheel to have weak spot. When a wheel takes an impact, the energy travels through the wheel, and when the wheel has a weak spot it would start to fatigue.

2. Design - Many copy wheels are not copied exactly the same as some originals. These are areas where consumer may over look, such as certain radius or angle on the spokes or back pad. The radius and angle plays an important part on a wheel’s strength. Example, a sharper radius corner will tend to develop crack over low radius if the corner wasn’t designed properly. So without proper engineering the wheel can fail under stress. Click here to read the rest of this entry and to see pictures of some busted Rota Wheels…

Popularity: 11%

Radiusing a fender is basically a general term used to describe cutting the fender opening, usually enlarging the diameter in order to accommodate and “frame” larger wheels. Hot rod guys do it all the time because a lot of them are running crazy size wheels/tires (especially in the back). Also because it’s the only way to ensure their fender openings end up looking the same side-to-side, since a lot of those cars aren’t perfectly constructed from the factory to begin with. This is especially the case when these guys had replacement fenders that weren’t always an exact duplicate of the original.

Anyway, this is something I foresee we will be seeing a lot more of from the big dog cars from Japan. Click here to learn more about fender radiusing and to see pictures…

Popularity: 7%

Imitation, they say, is the sincerest form of flattery. So then the Japanese must really love Aston Martins, because from Japanese tuning house DAMD comes yet another Aston Martin look-alike.

Like the 350Z roadster, DAMD’s Nissan Skyline 350GT/Infiniti G35 Coupe puts an Aston snout on a Datsun. Aside from the custom front end and a set of ghastly chrome rims, the rest of the coupe seems pretty much stock.

The Aston G and the Aston Z are both part of the Black X Metal line-up, in collaboration with ANCEL, and also includes an Aston-nozed MX-5 (similar to this one). Click here for more pictures of the Aston Martin G35

Popularity: 8%