That’s gotta be the longest name for a meet EVER. Anyways, first off, let’s talk about the meet itself. It was relatively smaller than most meets and I guess you can say that it was almost expected. Though it was being promoted by Speedhunters, and Super Street, Import Tuner, and the rest of the Source Interlink-owned magazine titles, it wasn’t really heavily pushed on the internet. It was a little short notice too. Most meets nowadays are posted up on the web like a couple months in advanced and this one just wasn’t. It was more of an “industry” gathering than anything. Certain cars were invited by the respective websites/magazine titles so parking was generally reserved already. All the other cars were parked either in the parking structure or in the remaining open spots of what was a parking-lot for other surrounding businesses. There couldn’t have been more than 40 cars or less on display outside and it was more of a quality vs. quantity thing. While you get more quantity and a different mix of cars at local meets, this one represented the smaller, higher quality builds. That’s not to say every car was a magazine featured car, but they are in some capacity related just because they were personally invited to be on display. This meet was also interesting and different because it’s one of the rare times that Source Interlink opens it’s doors to the general public. They had their studio open for people to see and inside were also machines set-up by EA so that people could have a first-hand opportunity to play the new Need For Speed game, which actually doesn’t go on sale until this day (Tuesday). The owners of the cars that were invited to be on display also got free copies of the game that they should all be expecting in the mail in the next couple days. Tacos were on hand as well for hungry meet-goers and overall, I thought it was a pretty good time. I felt that it was a good idea for EA to do something like this with Source Interlink because it really helps expose their new videogame to people. Nowadays there are a million things going on at once and also an over abundance of games in the videogame industry so things tend to get a little watered down. If you don’t do something like this, there’s a possibility that your product will get overlooked so having an event like this really opens the eyes of the uninformed consumer. I personally had no idea that there was a Need for Speed: Shift 2 game and I’m a racing game fan that even has the previous version of NFS. I didn’t really get a chance to play it because I was busy running around taking pictures but from what I saw, the game (visually) looks very good. I can’t say much for anything else because didn’t play it. I took a lot of pics though because I was there basically the entire day so the coverage will be separated into three parts. The first part will cover the cars that really caught my eye and the ones that I took the most photos of. Okay, that’s about all the talking I’m going to do today…on with the pics…

Oh I ended up being kinda late to the event because I was busy washing my car. It was one of those rare occassions when I brought my car out and luckily the guys at Source were kind enough to give me a pretty good spot to park in…

The first people I saw when I got out of the car….Ryan, Big Mike, and a pretty sad looking Frank who is probably still upset that he broke his bumper and bent two wheels on the way to the Showstoppers grand opening a couple weeks back…

Whenever Big Mike is at an event you can rest assured that his Prelude will be there of course…

…and of course, the Big Mike Question & Answer Seminars…this one is #648 in the series…

Next to Big Mike’s Prelude was this S14. I like the color and the wheel choice but the front bumper I’m a little iffy on. That didn’t matter though once I decided to look at the engine bay…

…and saw this big boy in there…

The LSx motor almost looks at home in the S14 bay, like it was meant to be…

I say I like the wheel choice not because of the particular wheel itself but just the style of it. I’m a big fan of the whole meshing of VIP-style and sporty S14/Silvia/240SX look…

The chameleon Nardi wheel is also a very nice touch…

Next to Big Mike’s ‘Lude and the Chevy-powered S14 was the Spirit Rei Odyvia by Mastermind. I had seen pictures of this car and was excited to see it in person at SEMA last year but I just couldn’t find the car. I believe this is the first time that I got to see it in person and it looks pretty wild. It’s a bit of a mindfuck when you first look at it but I think that’s the point…

The Odyssey headlights changes the whole look of the S13 and the rootbeerish-color is a nice choice…

A shot of the engine bay and another one of the front-end…

Clean S13 vert…nice exhaust set-up…

Head-editor of Super Street mag, Jonathan Wong, taking a really indepth shot of the Big Mike Edition face and pores…

Evasive Motorsports brought out their Civic Si sedan and Voltex S2000 track car…

The last time I was over at Evasive, Mike mentioned that he was expecting a brand new Max Racing aero kit for the Civic. I caught some pictures of it online after the kit was installed and painted and the NFS event was the first time I saw it in person since then. I’m sure you guys know by now how big a fan I am of the FD2 chassis. There are so many parts available for it and the aero options all look great. I know it isn’t a true FD2 chassis but the Evasive Civic is about as close as it gets…It also sports some TODA guts in the motor and it’s pretty quick…

Can’t say enough good things about their Voltex-equipped S2000 either, car looks menacing…

Kane’s Civic coupe is a real classic in our community. He’s had the car longer than most of you have even dreamt of even building a car and he’s kept it in pristine condition. It has a timeless look to it and the car is no slouch. In last year’s Super Street FF Battle, it came in second in a field of Hondas that have newer, more powerful K-swaps. Kane is a very friendly guy as well so every time I run into this car it’s a win/win…

…and that’s why I put it on The Chronicles 2010 Top Ten Hondas list…

Nice Accord with aggressive Enkei RPF1 wheels…

Bisimoto’s turbocharged Civic Wagon and Sportcar Motion’s Rotrex supercharged Integra Type R…

Big Mike talking to Bisi while he wipes down his wagon…

A couple more…

Loi and Kai…

Pretty crazy to see how much of a transformation this ITR has seen. I still remember the day I went to visit Loi at Sportcar and he was showing me his new, “secret” project which was this ITR. Back then it had just been K-swapped and was sitting hidden away in the back of his shop. Whenever people asked he would just tell them that it was a customer’s car and it had nothing much done to it. Other than the swap, I think it just had the Mugen V2 wing and Jeremy Gilman’s old GAB wheels. Now it’s a full-on supercharged K-power ITR that makes well over 400hp and is a track monster…crazy. Remember when it looked like this?…

Finally got to see what was under the hood of this widebody S2K…Vortech Supercharger with Okada ignition coils…these things ain’t cheap!…

This S2000 belongs to the owner of DTM Autobody I believe…really digging those TE37SL wheels…

That’s all for today, back tomorrow with more coverage from the NFS Shift 2 Socal Launch Meet…