Car Events

You’ll hear a lot of words when it comes to describing Toyota and their respective sub-divisions Lexus and Scion. Reliable. Comfortable. Beige. Durable. Fuel-efficient. Quiet. Dull. Beige. Rarely do you hear words like awesome, powerful, exciting, or even fast. However, the people who spout the former are either haters or uninformed. As one of the premier automotive powers in the world, Toyota is the equivalent of one Dr. Bruce Banner. Calm and unassuming until it [Toyota] feels the need for speed, Toyota has demonstrated time and time again that when it wants to, it can and will, make machines that’ll tear your face off. The annual Toyotafest held in Long Beach, organized and held by the Toyota Owner’s and Restorer’s Club (or T.O.R.C.), is a celebration of those machines and then some.

As a longtime fan of the brand, I owe a lot to Toyota from where I am today. It was a Toyota that chauffeured my family and I around for the majority of my childhood and teenage years. It was a blazing orange Toyota that got me into the car scene into the first place. And today, by my hard-earned choice, it is a Toyota that zips me through and around the mean streets of SoCal, one traffic jam at a time. Needless to say, I was pumped for this year’s Toyotafest and wouldn’t attend it like the clueless spanner I was last year (forgetting to charge my camera). Commence the coverage.

The 7th Annual Spring Festival of LXs is a huge gathering of LX owners (LX is the code name for the chassis for the 300, Charger, and Magnum) from 25 states and 5 countries, which started out as a small forum meet. The Chrysler group eventually made it official, this time bringing out their executives to meet and greet their fellow LX enthusiasts, and unveiling their new Challenger model. Needless to say, it was a great time, with hundreds of amazing cars, chill vibes, drifting, and good music.

When I first walked into the event, I felt pretty lost. Originally being from the import/euro scene, I wasn't exactly sure what I was seeing as I walked across the initial set of cars. When the new retro vehicles started coming from Chrysler and Dodge, I was excited by the new design direction starting from the 300. Then came the arrival of the Charger, Magnum, and the Challenger, which I was also very excited to see. However, on the rare occasion I did see them on the street, most of them weren't modified. This was very disappointing for me because a car like the Challenger has a lot of potential.

Not too long ago, I popped Need for Speed: Underground, one of my very first racing games, into my Gamecube just for kicks. Having considered myself to be a car enthusiast for a number of years now, I was curious to see how far the tuning scene had come. I really wish I had some screenshots to show you just how much my own interpretation of “cool” has changed. My entire stable of Underground cars rocked wild metallic paint jobs, tear/stripe vinyls, neon, and planet-sized chrome wheels.

My lasting impression of Hot Import Nights was that the cars that turned up were all somewhat like my virtual Underground garage – most show, little go. I fully expected to see some Lambo doors on cars that weren’t Lamborghini’s and maybe even hear the distinctive plume of nitrous purging. How things have changed. HIN has matured and grown up in time with our scene and even with the closure of Irwindale Speedway, the show had to go on.

I had the pleasure of driving down to Irvine for the Cars and Coffee meet on a warm, sunny Saturday morning 2 weeks ago. If you didn't already know, Cars and Coffee is an informal meet that takes place at Mazda’s HQ parking lot every week, where gearheads from all walks of life come together to have a drink of coffee and enjoy automotive culture. You can find about any type of vehicle in the meet; muscle, Italian, motorcycles, Le Mans racers, imports, and even concept cars! Did I mention it was free?