Driven World December 2010

Vol.1 Issue 12

December 2010

Photograph by Frank Filipponio

Holiday Season Build Your Own Motor 2010 SEMA Show Recap Shop Review: Precision Auto Body The 7th Annual Motor 4 Toys

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From the Editor:

Holiday Season What does it mean to you? To me, I think it is a time of reflection, a time to appreciate. A time to give thanks. Historically, Thanksgiving was celebrated after a harsh winter during the colonization of America. Subsequent presidents used the holiday to bring Americans together and help form a sense of unity and American Pride. Knowing the history of Thanksgiving I think about all of those who have sacrificed for our lovely America and our freedom. I think about those that continue to do so. Those men and women who are not with their families, who are not on American soil, but are on foreign soil fighting for their lives and our America. I am grateful. Thank you America and all of those who have helped America to remain free! After all, Freedom is not free.

I am grateful that I have the opportunity in America to do whatever the hell I want. That I do not have to conform, that I can publish a magazine, that I can have events, that we can help others, go for drives, and have friends from every culture, that we can share our lives with. I love America, and I love people. I don’t care if you are rich or poor, drive a fancy car or a rust bucket, just that you are a good person. That is enough for me. I am simple.

I think of those core American values that were instilled in me by my parents; work hard, sacrifice, achieve, take only what you earn and honor those that deserve it. If you are on American Soil, you should be proud of America and the opportunity to be free and to achieve. I don’t care if you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza or whatever, if you are on American soil, give thanks. We are in the best country in the world.

-Dustin Troyan

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Driven World Magazine Vol.1 Issue 12 • December 2010

Editor in Chief / Dustin Troyan Graphic Designer / Tim Cummings Printing / Jay Press (pressgraphix.com) Contributors Frank Filipponio / Jay Parille

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Please make checks payable to: Connected Media Group LLC. 23907 Ventura Blvd., Calabasas, CA. 91302 Questions or comments: Dustin@connectedmediagroup.com 818-516-5053 SIZING: Full Page 8.625” x 11.125” 1/2” Page 7.875” x 5” (if horizontal) and 3.875” x 10.375” (if vertical) 1/4” Page 3.875” x 5” Business Card 2” x 3.5” PRICING: Front Cover Space................................................$750 Full Page Inset...................................................... $600 Full Page Back Cover...........................................$600 Full Page................................................................$500 Half Page...............................................................$400 Quarter Page.........................................................$300 Business Card.......................................................$100 Artwork Specifications: PDF or JPEG Format Prefer CMYK Email artwork to Dustin@connectedmediagroup.com www.SupercarSunday.com Dont forget to check out Supercar Sunday, every Sunday at the Westfield Promenade Mall 6100 Topanga Cyn. Blvd. Woodland Hills, CA. 91367

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2010 SEMA Show Recap: Driftin’, Stylin’ and Hypermilin’

T

he annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas brings together hundreds of aftermarket and OEM automotive companies, all displaying their wares in the hopes of attracting new business. This is an industry-only show that still manages to swell the population of Sin City by more than 100,000 people during the week. The Las Vegas Convention Center played host to some 1,200 vendors this

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year and every one of them had something unique to offer. So how does one manage to stand out from such a sizable crowd? Simple – engaging and attractive booths.

We saw everything from a replica of an old drive-in diner to cars mounted on their sides. Many of the booths featured whole vehicles, often modified to near anonymity. SEMA somehow brings to mind

the old adage that just because you can do something, it doesn’t mean you should do it. There is plenty of tuner overkill on display here, with massive rims, vertical doors, neon lights, multiple TV screens and outrageous paint-jobs the norm.

A few of the booths also hired young ladies to pretty up their displays. Oh, who are we kidding? SEMA and booth babes go together like The Playboy Mansion and parties. We caught ourselves a few times trying to determine whether or not his was a good strategy. Sure these gals attracted a lot of attention, but if they were too attractive, we were often trying to remember exactly what products were being sold when we passed by. Some vendors, on the other hand, made it hard to forget what they were selling.

Ford took over the entire front parking lot and turned it into a motorsports playground of sorts, with hourly demonstrations of their trucks’ off-road prowess and their cars’ tire-melting power. Drivers like Ken Block, Vaughn Gittin, Jr. and Justin Pawlak were enlisted on the car side of things to show off the capabilities of various versions of the new Ford Fiesta and the old warhorse, Mustang.

New for 2011, the Mustang GT fea-

tures an old-time badge. The former 4.6-liter V8 has been relieved of duty and in its place Ford has stuffed a genuine 5.0 into the original pony car’s engine bay. Somewhere, Vanilla Ice is smiling.

We were lucky enough to go for a thrill ride with Pawlak in a relatively stock 412-horsepower GT, and for 40-odd seconds our eyeballs couldn’t quite focus on anything past the dashboard without inducing vertigo.

The History Channel also used the 2010 SEMA Show as a rolling billboard to promote its new Top Gear USA program.

In perhaps the best automotive marketing campaign ever conceived, the deep-pockets network hired Gotham Dream Cars to provide taxis for SEMA showgoers. Although most of the rides were just around the block, they were free, and the cars were special enough to qualify as bucketlist experiences for many of the fares.

All wrapped in yellow with taxi-like signage on top, the fleet consisted of a Rolls-Royce Phantom, Firebreather Camaro, Porsche 911 Cab, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, Lamborghini Murcielago and a brand-spankin’-new Ferrari 458 Italia. Lucky VIPs (and a few media types as well) even got to call on these cabs as airport and hotel shuttles.

The Smoking Tire’s Matt Farah drove me home one night in the Firebreather and the lovely and skillful Jennifer Nicole drew the short straw the next night in the Porsche. Ace photographer Jason Thorgalsen did an admirable job of keeping the SLR on the road during our regular route run, despite the big McMerc’s gobs of torque not liking the sun-slicked pavement around Vegas too much.

While horsepower still reins supreme at SEMA, this year we also saw more of a focus on the greener side of things. One of

the most impressive sustainable displays was the Honda booth where the Japanese automaker featured its new CR-Z sports hybrid. With more than a half dozen tricked out coupes, the company showed that the future of hot rodding might look different, but it will continue to thrive as long as there are people who want a little something extra from their rides.

-Frank Filipponio

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SHOP REVIEW:

Precision Autobody

I

had driven past Precision Autobody for years, never really thought much about it, just another body shop right? So then one day I am talking to a guy in the body biz and Precision comes up, he goes on to tell me that Lee Brown, the owner of Precision was a “legend” in the body shop biz. A legend? He went on to tell me that if you owned an exotic car in the 60’s and 70’s there was only one person that could handle the work, Lee Brown. If you owned any type of high-end European import, Lee was the only person to touch your vehicle. From movie producers to celebrities, everyone went to Lee. Audrey Brown, Lee’s daughter who has taken over the family business had invited me over to the shop to see the operation.

See a body shop? A body shop is a body shop right? Wrong.

Upon arriving at Precision, I was floored with the sheer number of vehicles being repaired. Audrey just laughed and said it was an “average” week. Average?!

They had more cars being repaired than most used car lots have inventory, and that was just the outside!

As we walked through the office, there is a hum of efficiency that seems to flow in the air. The office is organized, attractive, and built for speed. There were no papers

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lying around, no dust on the walls (amazing for a body shop), everything that could be automated was. I then noticed an overwhelming presence of technology that is unlike any that I have seen at a dealership, let alone a body shop. Wow, Precision is cutting edge! Audrey explained that they do everything in their power to expedite all aspects of body shop operations. From an in-stock parts warehouse, to a wireless communications systems that can log every car, picture, and all associated paperwork, one click and all information on the vehicles being repaired are available. They have taken the guesswork out of everything. They have made it as easy as possible for the customer, the insurance company, their enormous staff and all associated operations, to ensure the perfect experience. I was flabbergasted.

Audrey finished the tour and laughed as I expressed my disbelief in the level of organization and system operations.

Further, the entire shop was as clean as a whistle. Modestly, she remarked that Precision, a family owned and operated business since 1960 takes tremendous pride in everything they do. Start to finish, “Everything.”

The shop was filled with higher-end vehicles: Mercedes, Corvettes, BMWs, Cadillacs, Porsches, Bentleys and then your

regular daily drivers. The shop appeared to have the same level of efficiency, as did the office and communications. The shop has different areas dedicated to different aspects of repairs. Cars are tagged every step of the way so there is no guesswork as to what stage the repair is at. The Precision team knows their jobs and seems to exude the same sense of quality and pride that the Lee family does.

Great operation.

A few weeks after seeing the operation, I saw Audrey at Supercar Sunday. I told her that I wanted to do story on the shop and meet her father. She smiled and walked me over to Lee who was hanging with his buddies. He graciously accepted my kudos and we agreed to have breakfast.

As I was intrigued about the inception and his reputation, Lee met me for breakfast and we chatted away. I was very curious about how he became a legend in the exotic and high-end European car world.

He chuckled and explained that he was a hot-rodder. He was a customizer and a fabricator and initially opened a shop doing custom work. He was a craftsman who loved to work with metal and turn it into something amazing. Customization was his passion. Things were going good and then he went into the service.

When he returned, he opened his shop again but had found the “custom” trend had slowed down and he was having a hard time sustaining his “Customization” business model. That is when things changed. He started to take in collision work to make ends meet. One day an Alfa came in with a good amount of front-end damage. The owner told Lee that nobody would work on the car since it was Italian and they did not know how to work on it or get parts. Lee, with his craftsman background knew that he could sculpt metal for any need, took the job on and

hit a grand slam. Over night, the Alfa community had a shop. Lee, with his hot rodder attitude knew that he could fix any metal that walked through the door. And he did. After the Alfas, the Lancias came calling and then the Ferraris. That one Alfa had opened a door to a market that everyone else was afraid to work on, Lee excelled at it. Lee explained that “in those days,” parts were not available. You had to repair them or make them. Paint codes were not available; you had to match them yourself. This was not a task for the beginner, Lee knew that this is where he wanted to be and he loved it. Working on such high-end cars set him aside from the rest. It gave him an opportunity to show what a craftsman he was. Soon thereafter, the studio executive came calling; Steve McQueen and James Colburn were customers, many other celebrities as well. If you had a valuable car, Lee was the man for the job.

Lee had story after story, from helping develop the Sunbeam Tiger, to the Vector, he had helped in the development of many different vehicles and automotive trends. Lee, sitting back smiling as he tells the story and me amazed…Carroll Shelby at the shop, Steve McQueen, wow! Legendary.

Ferraris and celebrities to Collision repair in the valley? How does that happen?

Lee, who was always hands on explained that all the years of pounding metal had taken a toll on his body. His shoulder was not what it once was and he started to look for a new niche in the repair world. On a handshake, he became the factory authorized repair facility for Mercedes Benz.

Lee held that title for about 18 years. In all that time, “not one car came back.” Lee stated “we did the cars right, just like the Germans wanted, we did not cut a single corner.” After 18 years, it was time for another change, the San Fernando Valley was an untapped region for someone of Lee’s caliber, and he made the move and never looked back.

Precision under Lee’s close watch became the exclusive body Shop for several local dealerships including: The Auto Gallery, Mercedes-Benz of Calabasas, Bob Smith BMW, Acura 101 West. Further, Precision is Mercedes-Benz factory certified and BMW factory trained.

It was very interesting talking to Lee, there was a tremendous sense of pride and honor about what he had accomplished.

If he couldn’t do it right, he didn’t do it.

7654 Tampa Ave Reseda, CA 91335 818-888-7654 He would not compromise on quality that would represent his name. Further, he always looked to innovate. He was never happy with status quo. He found ways to automate every aspect of his business; from the repairs, to the paint and

color matching to the office operations.

His pioneering spirit gave him a competitive advantage and his eye for detail and craftsman background defines Lee Brown’s success to this day!

-Dustin Troyan

CORVETTE CORNER: BUILD YOUR OWN MOTOR General Motors announced in July that Chevrolet will introduce a new option for the Corvette Z06 and ZR1. It is called the Corvette Engine Building Experience. You can now build your own engine! With the help of a Chevy building technician, you will completely build your own LS7 or LS9 engine. To memory, this is the first time this optioned has been offered by any manufacturer.

You will fly in to Wixom, Michigan where all the hot rod motors are built.

Your $5,800 option will buy you a one night stay at a hotel (air fare not included) and meals. Once at the factory you will assemble your motor in one full day. These motors are hand assembled.

Since there are no robots or assembly lines involved the technician will guide you through the whole process, jumping in when necessary. Once the engine is complete it will be tested and certified.

Not only will the build specialist place his label with his name on the intake

manifold, a custom made label with your name will go on it too! Before you are let out the front door, you will be presented with a flash drive documenting your visit and build.

But wait, there’s more. For a few extra bucks you can fly down to Bowling Green, Kentucky (again air fare not included) and watch your engine being installed in you new ride and take delivery of the finished product at the National Corvette Museum. If you can’t wait to drive your new fiberglass/carbon fiber bodied car you can take delivery of it at one of the GM Performance Driving Schools in Nevada or Arizona.

-Jay Parille

www.drivenworld.com 11

BENTLEY • PORSCHE • MASERATI • FERRARI • LAMBORGHINI • MERCEDEZ-BENS

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Collision Repair Partners for Acura 101, Bob Smith BMW/Mini, Mercedes-Benz of Calabasas, & The Auto Gallery PRECISION AUTO BODY WANTS YOU TO KNOW… Insured’s Bill of Rights ! The law does not require you to get more than one estimate, nor does it force you to accept the cheapest quote. ! You are not required to use any particular body shop. You have the right to choose any repair facility that you feel will repair your car to your complete satisfaction.

Fusion Motorsports is an Independent Service center specializing in the highest level of service and repair for your Ferrari Factory Trained Technicians with over 30 years of experience ✦ Many services available from pre-purchase inspection to complete restoration ✦ Showroom with in-house cars for sale as well as accessories, apparel, memorabilia and complimentary coffee/espresso bar ✦ Custom upgrades available from wheels and body kits to performance exhaust systems or interior work ✦ Free pick up and delivery (LA area). Loaner cars available ✦ Dedication to quality at a competitive price Follow our updates on ✦

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20835 Nordhoff Street Chatsworth, CA 91311

818.773.9636

Things to Do… ! Review your policy and pay particular attention to waivers, clauses, and disclaimers.

Ask for factory parts endorsement. ! File an accident report, if it wasn’t done at the accident scene, with the LAPD or CHP, as soon as possible. ! Call Precision Auto Body, and we will coordinate the insurance claim and repairs for you. We will arrange for a rental car, if needed.

Precision Auto Body offers a limited lifetime warranty. Family owned and operated since 1960, we are a Porsche & BMW factory trained and Mercedes­Benz factory certified repair facility. We use factory parts whenever possible, and we are one of the first shops in California to use environmentally friendly water­base paint system. We work well with all insurance companies yet strive for the customer’s complete satisfaction.

We know your car as well as anyone, and no one will work harder to fix it right the first time.

Porsche & BMW Factory Trained Mercedes-Benz Factory Certified

www.pabbodyshop.com

818.888.7654 fax: 818.349.1561

Celebrating

50 Years of Excellence www.drivenworld.com 13

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