With the year coming to a close, I think it’s time to give mention to some of the top builds of 2008. Let me begin by saying that this is my personal list of favorites. You may not agree with me on any level but that’s the beauty of running my own site. If you have your own personal list, please feel free to post it up on your own site, or hell, even leave a response with your own list. I based this list on the cars that caught my eye the most, made the most appearances/seen alot on the interwebs, and/or made an impact on the Honda community in 2008. There are a couple cars that didn’t make the list that definitely deserve an honorable mention and I will do that once the top 10 have been revealed. Is there a bias? Uhh yeah. Cuz I’m compiling the list in my own mind. Even with all the different voices in my head, we’ve all managed to agree on this list. East/West coast bias? Hmm, maybe. But that’s most likely because I am more familiar with the cars out west here. There are a couple east coast cars that I wrote down, I just didn’t feel like they were ahead of the 10 I have….Oh well let the controversy begin….

10. Son’s EK from Hasback…

Why it made the list: I’ll be honest, I was a little iffy about this selection. Definitely no knock on Son, but I’m not sure if he was even finished with the build. He’s constantly changing things and this build probably isn’t even complete. It made the list because Son is responsible for shooting some of the finest Honda’s in Socal and finally seeing the man behind the camera build another Honda is a welcome sight. His previous cars were impressive and this one is no different. All the little touches here and there really make the build stand out and the accents definitely show that it’s Son’s personal touch. The two-toned bay flows with the rest of the hatch very well and I personally loved the way it looked on the GAB wheels…

9. Danville’s flared EK…

Why it made the list: Just look at it. When this thing came out, people definitely noticed. It may not really be everyone’s cup of tea but you can’t deny it’s presence. It kinda kicks you in the mouth at first glance. Like you think you’re looking at something you’ve seen before, but there are so many things about it that just make you look again. The BYS front with the front fender flares and splitters makes for a menancing look. Not to mention the K-swap and 17-inch Mugen MF10L’s. I don’t expect to see it tearing through the track anytime soon but it looks menacing enough….When people saw pics of it on the net, the most likely reaction was an “oh fuck”…whether it was a good fuck or not is left to the eye of the beholder….

8. Alex Doan’s Spoon S2000…

Why it made the list: Cuz this car is badass. Not only do I see it basically every event I go to, I almost always stop by to take another look at it. The wheels, all the Spoon gear, looks like something you would see as if it came from Spoon Sports directly. It’s like one of Spoon’s demo cars minus the yellow and blue scheme. I absolutely love this S2000. I don’t ever recall meeting the owner but big congrats on building a great S2k and getting recognized for it in Super Street magazine…

7. Yee Vang aka yee SERIOUS’ EK hatch.

Why it made the list: When I first found out that Neema Tabrizi had sold his hatchback a while back, I thought the new owner was probably gonna fuck the car up and we would never hear from it again. Boy was I wrong. Yee Vang ended up with the hatch and he took Neema’s EK and made it his own. Just the sheer number of “what bumper is that?” questions would have qualified him for this list because of the hype it created. The J-Blood front bumper is pretty rare and gives Yee’s EK a really unique look. It’s pretty crazy to think that this guy actually drove his car all the way down to Socal from Seattle just to do Nisei Import Showoff. Now that’s dedication…

6. Big Mike’s Prelude…

Why it made the list: At the beginning of the year, I didn’t really know Big Mike too well. By the end of this year, I wish he would shut up for once and let me get a word in. Haha, I might be kidding but anyway. Big Mike’s Prelude makes the list because it’s probably the most significant BB4 build since Aries Dionisio’s. With Aries nowhere to be found Big Mike took the Prelude throne this year and gave us his perspective of how a Prelude should be built. And it’s defintely worthy of the crown. I had the pleasure of writing the feature on this ‘lude and I learned alot about it. It went from a being a lawn decoration to the cover of Honda Tuning magazine. If that doesn’t say alot about Big Mike’s ability and vision, I don’t know what will. It’s “period perfect”, just as Big Mike intended it to be…From the 90’s to now and even in the future, this BB4 is timeless…

Like what you see so far? No? Well go make a sandwich for yourself, try to eat it without sobbing, and then sleep it off and come back tomorrow for the top 5…