We just got done taking out the Scion XB 6.0 Release Series out for a spin and it won me over for a daily driver option. While it’s not going to tow your S13 around to drifting events it’s a breeze to drive on a road trip or for any long distance. With a huge amount of interior space and a backseat you can actually put people in, I have to say the car makes sense. The XB 6.0 Release Series commands a  $18,443 price tag which is just $1,743 more than a base Scion xB.

The new Scion is more rounded than the previous body style. The 6.0 comes with a TRD lowering kit bringing the car down about 1 inch from the stock XB and optional 17 inch wheels which didn’t come on my model.

The Release Series grill deletes the Scion logo giving the front end a very clean look. The 2.4L engine seriously lacks some go with only 158hp but that’s why you have a race car for the weekends. It does 0-60mph in just under 9 seconds which might sounds ghastly but keep in mind that is almost four full seconds faster than the Nissan Cube. With one passenger you can load this car up to the max and we found that out by putting more faith in the storage space than we should of. We managed to pack a full Nissan 350z Origin body kit and brake system from Los Angeles into Orange County with all the doors shut. While the back was pretty tightly packed I was amazed at the storage capacity of the car.

The cluster is centered like all the other Scion’s which gives a great touch to the interior. The speedometer is digital which really provides easy viewing while on the road.

Another great feature on the XB 6.0 Release Series is this Pioneer Navigation system. This unit felt slower than some other OEM navigation/audio systems I have used in the past but it got the job done without a doubt. This system is not available for purchase on any other Scion XB  model giving it a unique feature. You can easily access your iPod or any other way you wish to enjoy music.

Another note is that only 2,500 Scion XB Release Series cars will be made and each one comes with a numbered plaque. This adds a great custom touch to your new daily driver waiting at the dealership.

Photographer Ricky Cervantes hopped in the 2010 Camaro SS with me and we took a spin down to the San Diego beaches. We fired up the 6.2L V8 engine and took off in our Imperial Blue Metallic Camaro. The drive down the 215 was quick minus a flipped over a Hyundai Accent we came across. The window line just seemed to be a little too high for me to rest my elbow on faulting in some awkward left hand shuffling through the drive.

After some exploring and devouring some authentic Mexican food it was off to find some shooting locations for the Camaro. The car has a quieter grumble out of the exhaust compared to the Mustang from the factory. The car also has a 6th gear for highway cruising which seems to keep things quiet if that is your cup of tea.

The 20×8 and 20×9 inch wheels give the car an aggressive stance just adding to the angry look the SS gives off. The car was great cruising the Pacific Ocean and since we were shooting this car at a local surf spot we managed to get asked questions by about every person who drove by in a Volkswagen Vanagon or Chevrolet Silverado. While I fielded questions about the car Ricky went to work shooting away.

The LS3 motor looks like a natural placed inside the Camaro. A great feeling six speed transmission and factory Limited Slip Differential help produce the best burn outs I have ever done in a vehicle on four wheels and I can promise you that. The car creates an instant virtual smoke screen to help you hide from just about anything on the fly.

The car has huge trunk space and one of the best iPod control systems I have seen from the factory. It’s so simple and easy and doesn’t come with any stupid adapters. It’s a straight up USB port that you can plug in any listening device or charge a cell phone on the fly. If your iPod looks like mine then it has 5,824 songs which means quite a few artists. Most systems don’t have a fast way to browse and the Camaro allowed you to spin the tune knob quickly and skip artists by Letter. What an amazing and simple concept that the Camaro knocked out of the park!

To finish off the feature the Camaro really kept some old school looks from yesterday. The gauge cluster screams out of the 60’s with some digital upgrade along with a four cluster gauge cluster sitting low and center which looks fantastic. My obsession for the 1960’s might of made me love the interior more than the average guy but it’s a fun cockpit to take the reigns of.  You can find pictures of that inside our small gallery shot by Ricky Cervantes.

Check out the gallery: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=148

Total Summary:
Total Miles: 765
Overall Fun Factor: 9.0
Daily Driver Factor: 8.4
Drift Machine Potential: 8.5
Trunk Space: 9.2
Road Trip Machine: 8.8

So we took our automatic Nissan 370z for a spin along the back roads from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, California for a lunch. As much as I was chomping at the bit to test out the synchro rev 6 speed gearbox I quickly fell in love with the automatic transmission in our road trip car. It’s the closet transmission I have driven to the BMW M6 double clutch system and has a great downshift rev to really make you feel like your piloting a true sports car.

I just love the car and it’s stance from the rear. Our 370z was a touring edition equipped with these gorgeous 19 inch OEM option wheels. Our car was equipped with brilliant silver as the exterior color and it was ready to roll it’s way through the back mountain roads of California into Palm Springs.

The two seater Nissan is tuned for maximum enjoyment with a quiet refining luxury quality interior. 40 miles into the drive I felt relaxed like I hadn’t just taken a spirited drive through some rugged California tarmac. The exhaust note has a perfect pitch coming from it’s 3.7L VQ producing more horsepower than any Z before with 332hp.

The car comes equipped with one of the best navigation/entertainment/phone systems that money can buy. It’s easy to use and is nearly impossible to get lost by following your lovely navigator. The one thing that does drive me nuts with the system is you cannot have a passenger use it while in motion for you. They don’t have any kind of over ride option so you have to pull over to enter directions or operate it. The Navtraffic is a life saver if you tend to drive in areas overwhelmed by random stop and go traffic.

The suspension and brakes are top notch like the older Z models. 14 inch rotors with a 4 piston caliber quickly bring this car to a stop while traveling on the roads. The chassis has been stiffened compared to the 350z for better road feel and travel.

The car as a two seater hatchback has some limited space for road trips but that is the price your going to pay for a tuned and balanced performance vehicle that lives up to the Z name. In traffic you can take the 7 speed automatic transmission and simply shift it into D mode and have a painless traffic jam experience. When it’s time to have fun though grab the paddle shifters and move the car into Sport mode for a truly unforgettable time inside the new 370z. Now my only question about the 370z is, when will someone be bringing one into Formula Drift?!

Total Summary:
Total Miles: 867
Overall Fun Factor: 9.1
Daily Driver Factor: 8.0
Drift Machine Potential: 9.2
Trunk Space: 7.2
Road Trip Machine: 8.5

Another weekend and another great experience for the Wrecked Magazine staff on the road. After getting a call earlier in the month we planned to attend the Targa Trophy Rally. A former Gumballer Steve had hyped me up on the rally so we had to go. The Rogue Status guys had around 7 cars on the rally including Ken Gushi’s show car Scion tC Formula Drift machine. We loaded up a ton of content to our sister website Luxuryvice so you can check out all the photos taken by Ricky Cervantes.

Check out the gallery: http://luxuryvice.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=23

We got our hands on the special limited edition Scion tC for a week around Los Angeles and I loved every minute of it. The car only has 2,000 units being produced in the Release Series and have numbered plaques just above the radio. The car we were in was plaque number 1,787 out of 2,000. Now I owned one of the first Scion tC’s when they were first released in the southeast Toyota region. I loved the car but ended up only having it for six months total. So this week was kind of an anniversary with the tC and myself.

One of my favorite things about this car is it falls under the $20,000 mark even with it being fully loaded with TRD parts. Ken Gushi’s Formula D prepped Scion tC actually shares some of the same parts with this Release Series car on a cool note as well. While this car obviously isn’t rear wheel drive I have a reason why you want it. While you have your S13, FC Mazda, or AE86 as your project car that will never run this is a perfect second machine.

A cheap car note, Toyota reliability, and a gorgeous performance oriented FF drive machine should be enough reasons for you to consider this car. The most noted exterior change on the Scion tC is it’s lower stance from TRD lowering springs that drops the car around 1 .5 inches.

The tire/brake combination is modified for the Release Series as well which really made the ride much better. The car has 18×7.5 wheels all around in matte black with a red stripe on them giving the factory tC a unique look. The TRD brakes are buried behind it that look great with red calipers.

With the larger wheels, lowering springs, and TRD rear sway bar I was concerned that the performance parts would compromise the ride quality in Los Angeles but it didn’t come close. In fact, one night I decided to take a cruise down Sunset Blvd.  and wound up hitting the Pacific Coast Highway and kept driving up it for quite some time while just carried away with driving it.

From the rear you will notice the TRD sport muffler and rear swap bar are the two big differences in the back of the car. The exhaust gives this gorgeous humming tune which really sounds perfect at mid range rev’s but is quiet enough to not interrupt your cell phone conversations.

Taking the car up and down Mount Wilson right before it was returned really left me smiling from ear to ear while driving the Release Series Scion. In the corners you can really feel a great upgrade in this model of the tC compared to your factory concept. The suspension is just so tuned and to think the full Release Series comes with all of this TRD stuff for only $2,300 over base is a nice price. I am not thrilled about the car only coming in black since it’s not my favorite color of the tC but I could let it go due to the complimentary wheel/brake setup.

The interior has a basic seat change to a red/black setup and it comes with a leather wrapped steering wheel to finish off it’s package. I don’t know if you will find a brand new sub $20,000 car with that much performance and balance packed into it but you can sure go out there and look on your own, I just wish you luck.

Check out the gallery: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=126

Within a seven day span I drove the Hyundai Genesis to Formula D and back and then couldn’t stop driving the car once we got back to Los Angeles. I was looking for any excuse to go anywhere and drive this thing. We got our hands on a red V6 track pack which was sadly triptronic but we could suffer through an improper gearbox for a one week trip.

The last three cars I have owned are the Inifiniti G35, Infiniti G37S, and a Nissan 350z. With that being said I really was holding this Hyundai Genesis to a high standard of performance since it closely related to my personal car choices.We headed up to Seattle, Washington right up the I-5 and our twenty hour trip flew by.

Considering this was Hyundai’s first stab at making a rear wheel drive performance machine they really hit a grand slam. The car’s 306hp has great throttle response through the six speed automatic transmission. The northern California mountains and Oregon were really a blast to travel through.

Hyundai constructed the front suspension with a MacPherson strut dual-link setup and a five-link rear suspension setup. The MacPherson setup has been mounted to the body via a sold sub frame which is much better than a multi-piece component. Reducing body roll as we traveled through high altitudes was a 23-mm diameter front and 18-mm rear stabilizer bar.

The car is really a budget performance machine that doesn’t lack anything but a huge car payment. Our track pack came with a great four piston Brembo brake setup.The four-piston caliper Brembo brake system has a 13.4 inch rotors in the front and 13 inch rotors in the rear. They are great stopping power for street driving and really add a level of performance for more spirited driving when you are up for some fun. The factory 19’s hardly look that big and come wrapped with some nice Bridgestone Potenza rubber.

After the 1,200 mile trek up north we were ready to get behind the wheel again and head south. While shooting at this abandonded barn we found in southern Washington the local police kindly complimented our Hyundai and then escorted us back to the interstate.

Visibility while driving the car is great and safe. The driver seat adjustments are easy and flawless with mostly mechanical buttons. Your passenger gets a huge shaft with manual seat adjustments which feels disappointing while looking at almost a $30k price tag but luckily if your paying the car note you will be in the captain’s chair so this might not be something to worry about.

The interior is where my few complaints landed about the car but trust me, once your driving it these minors details were long forgotten in my head. The iPod/USB connectors operated better than any car in it’s market by far. It actually puts the Infiniti G37’s setup to shame. The bluetooth phone system also puts the expensive Infiniti’s to shame with a voice dialing that actually knows what you are looking for, allows people to hear and understand you, and allows you to pick a home/office/mobile number from the person you want to call. The system understood me on every shot which was very impressive.

Now the lady using the phone commands was a bit robotic sounding when I would of been much happier with a sexy sounding Korean lady instructing me what to do. Mine as well take some patriotism in your Korean roots Hyundai, right? The trip meter only has three digits which has to be the stupidiest thing I have seen in a car to date. That is why I couldn’t even tell you how far we drove because I got tired of adding the odometer rollovers. So let’s expand that trip meter to four digits Hyundai because not all trips fall under the 999 mile range.

The upgraded Infinity premium audio with 10-speakers is under impressive and if it’s a big upgrade from the normal system I would hate to hear that thing. If you are looking for a rave party on wheels and not a hoon mobile this might not be your pick of a machine or plan on some speaker upgrades.

The Xenon headlights are under impressive at best too but your steering a rear wheel drive budget rocket ship so not everything will be on easy street. As a hoon mobile and overall cruiser the thing is fantastic. The amount of people who wanted to speak with me about the car on the road was something I was not expecting either.

I went to Melrose Hand Wash to clean her up after our road trip and only three cars sat in the car wash this early in the morning. A Ferrari F430 Scuderia, Bentley Arange, and a new Range Rover. Right as I pulled in all the guys working at the car wash were asking me how fast it was, did I like it, etc… They could of cared less about the other “typical” cars in the wash and were so stoked that Hyundai made a great car. One guy even told me he has wanted one since the Perfect Lap Super Bowl commercial.

At the end of my seven day affair with this Korean red head I learned that the car is worth all the hype it has behind it. I almost didn’t want to let her go back home but then I realized it was time for someone else to enjoy this thing. If you want to spend less than $30,000 and have the ultimate hoon mobile with some basic luxuries like Brembo brakes and heated seats then this is your best choice by far.

Total Summary:
Total Miles: Not sure because our trip meter reset every 999 miles so I gave up!
Overall Fun Factor: 8.9
Daily Driver Factor: 8.2
Drift Machine Potential: 9.0
Trunk Space: 9.2
Road Trip Machine: 8.9

Check out a full gallery of the 2010 Hyundai Genesis: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=125

2010 Ford Mustang Review

You already heard what we thought about the 2010 Ford Mustang in our 1k Road Trip post but now find out with the man Vaughn Gittin Jr. thinks about this machine. He talked about the different supercharger packages and the general love for the new V8 Mustang. You can even see his factory 2010 Ford Mustang sliding around at Englishtown Raceway.

Watch the video: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/watchvideo/2010-ford-mustang-review

2010 Ford Mustang Burnout

I think the title really speaks for itself. We let Vaughn drive our road trip 2010 Ford Mustang for a few minutes and look what kind of hoonage he was creating. After disconnecting the wheel speed sensors and sliding around this closed course he was still plugging you all to buy one and test drive one at your local dealership. Perhaps the sales man will even let you try and be Vaughn Gittin Jr. but we doubt it. If you missed our 2010 Ford Mustang 1k Roadtrip story you should check that out as well.

Watch the video: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/watchvideo/2010-ford-mustang-burnout

Now before I say anything about this Mustang I took it with the knowledge I would get tons of flack from the community since the 2010 Ford Mustang isn’t exactly a model of “drifting” but it even exceeded my personal expectations and then some.

We picked the car up in Los Angeles and headed out to Las Vegas, Nevada for Formula Drift Las Vegas and embark on our road trip. Hopping in the car before I even left Los Angeles the car was miles apart from the older body style Mustang’s. Sitting in the interior they have lost that cheap feel and have some quality seats and interior. Here is the view from the driver’s seat below. I even love the vintage gauge cluster.

For road trips like ours the car has some helpful additions under the armrest. Along with a second D/C power outlet the car has a line in and USB dock. The line in can be used for an iPod to play through the car stereo and the USB plug can charge your Blackberry/iPhone on the go. You can also sync your music with the Microsoft SYNC system the Mustang has but we went old school with an AUX cable and our iPod.

The car has on tap power from it’s 4.6L V8 engine which produces a whooping 315hp. To really get the car moving you have to drive it in a pretty aggressive fashion I found but the car just screams it’s way through the gears and loves every minute of it. 5th gear is almost pointless it is beyond an overdrive gear. If you buy one with intentions to drift or just have some everyday hoonage a gear swap is something I would recommend fixing the problem fairly easy.

We quickly rolled into Baker, California and had to stop at the World’s Largest Thermometer. The grabber blue paint drew some on lookers and attention as the Baker Thermometer posted a 107 degree temp. for our trip through the desert.

Even with the 110+ heat and some harder than average driving the car’s temp. gauges did not budge. The car is built Ford tough (haha, I couldn’t help it!) and is just so well balanced for a big machine. We arrived in Nevada before we could even blink.

We then caught up with Formula D driver Vaughn Gittin Jr. who pilots a 2010 Ford Mustang professionally and he gave us some tips about the car and really had some fun in our grabber blue Mustang. Vaughn keyed us into a little trick to put the car in to what could only be described as “drift mode.” You disconnect one of the wheel speed sensors tucked behind the right side of the wheel. Once the cable is disconnected the car will show a check engine light and the ABS light (warning: this will disconnect ABS) but it allows the car to go sliding like crazy.

While under the supervision of Vaughn Gittin at Las Vegas Motor Speedway we let the car loose and had some fun! In fact, we had so much fun sliding the car around we forgot to take pictures or video. Nothing too fancy went down due to my lack of skill but the car drifted easier than any OEM car I have ever drifted. I’ve owned a 350z, G35, and G37 which just slide out on demand. The Mustang was on par with the 350z for anyone who has driven the car but with mounds more torque at the pedal. We have a video coming out we made on the car so more with Vaughn Gittin Jr. later!

We brought the car out to Red Rock Canyon which is just 20 miles outside of Las Vegas. We took a 13 mile scenic drive around the park to check out Nevada’s gorgeous side and see how the Mustang would handle in these hills. For as heavy and old the suspension setup under my steering wheel the car didn’t handle that bad. While it’s no sports cars like movements the car can take the road more aggressively than I had first imagined.

After enjoying Formula D Las Vegas we took a long way home to really enjoy the 2010 Ford Mustang and meet our 1,000 mile mark for our road trip. We drove down 95 to Laughlin, Nevada which got some more gambling out of our system and headed into Arizona. We grabbed I-40 West and finished off the wild wild west in our all American machine.

The one thing that really took me away after driving is the love people have for the Mustang. Mind you to me I am driving a stock 2010 Ford Mustang GT around and people are honking, giving the thumbs up, and any other Mustang owner would pass us with a nice rev. Insane I tell you, the love America has with it’s all American muscle car is something I never expected to that degree.

Total Summary:
Total Miles: 1,123 miles
Gas Total: $193.52
Gas Stops: 6
Overall Fun Factor: 8
Daily Driver Factor: 7.6
Drift Machine Potential: 9.4
Trunk Space: 8.7
Road Trip Machine: 8.3

Check out the gallery from our trip:
http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=118