Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the opener for the 2013 Evergreen Drift Pro/Am and Grassroots series on Saturday, and Northwest Nissans‘ NissanFest 2013 on Sunday. It was a weekend filled with drifting and very nice cars. For the Pro/Am series there were 16 competitors, and over 40 competitors for the Grassroots series. It was my first time being at the Pro/Am and Grassroots competition and from what I saw, the rest of the series shows a lot of promise.

It was a very rainy first round and by the end of the long day, we had acquired the top drivers from the Pro/Am and Grassroots series. For Pro/Am, Cameron Moore took 3rd place, Erich Hagen took 2nd and Korey Keezer reigned at 1st place. For the Grassroots series, Danny Ziegler took 3rd, Aaron Mosmen took 2nd, and Tyler Archyleta was the 1st place finisher.

Erich Hagen of the Pro/Am series doing his thing!

Dillon Duong of the Grassroots series doing a little night drifting!

On the morning of Nissanfest, the weather was looking to be like how it was the day before, but eventually the sun came shining through. The day was filled with a car show, drift event, and an autocross competition.

By the time the event ended, it was time to announce the winners of the drift event. Rob Primo received a Northwest Nissans sponsorship for the 2013 Formula Drift Season. Ian Fournier was one of the top finishers and won NWN’s sponsorship for the 2013 Evergreen Drift Pro/Am series.

NissanFest 2013 was a great event and I can’t wait for this year’s season, and next years’ iteration of Nissanfest!

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I decided this year to finally make it out to PNW Springmeet, as I hopped in with the rest of the caravan driving west to the show, from Spokane. It was definitely worth the 4 hour drive for Springmeet, or any of the number of shows that the HappenStance crew throws. Easily one of the best old schools shows Iʼve ever been to, and I plan on making the drive over for it in the future.

The first thing you’ll notice upon arrival is the sheer size of the venue (the parking garage at Bellevue Community College), and the anticipation of 5 floors of old school automobiles. We hit the swap meet first – one entire floor was dedicated to all things Air-Cooled, with a good section of early Water Pumper stuff as well. The amount of early Beetle and Bus stuff was pretty amazing. Couple that with the vendors who showed up (Namely Franklins VW Werks and their super clean 356 speedster on BRM’s) and you had the makings of a great community oriented event.

So, on to the cars. I’m not going to bore you with all the details, and will let the pics speak for themselves. At the end of the day, Seattle has one of the best air cooled scenes Iʼve ever been around. There is a very definite PNW aesthetic when it comes to VWʼs. And the hospitality and camaraderie I feel when Iʼm on that side of the state is second to none. Big thanks to all of you on the west side who make us feel welcome and comfortable when us Spokanites decide to mosey over. Specifically Mike Tolliver and the HappenStance Crew, and Kahiko Kula VW Club for inducting a few Spokane dudes in to the club, and feeding us some pretty amazing food.

Can’t Fake the Fitment. Is it form or function? You be the judge!

Pre-register here: http://bit.ly/YelpGb
Parking map: http://bit.ly/13xm3T8

Stanced or functional, track or street, you can’t fake it: your fitment says it all. So, what do you have to say? Come to the only show where YOU decide the King (or Queen) of Fitment in the PNW! Admission price includes a ballot where YOU decide who takes the Prize Money home!

Can’t Fake the Fitment is about what YOUR fitment is. We have 10 categories to compete in. The first two are our spectator judged categories. As you enter the event and pay general admission, you’ll be handed a ballot. In two categories, YOU will help pick the winners for:
1. Best Functional Fitment!
2. Best Stance and Form!

In the following categories, our judges will select the winners of:

3. Best Street Illegal
4. Best Track Machine
5. Best Drift-All-Day
6. Best Bags-Gone-Wild
7. Best Static Soldier
8. Best JDM Fitment
9. Best EURO Fitment
10. Best USDM Fitment

On the top right-hand corner of each registered show car’s windshield will be a number – all you have to do is write that number on the ballot to cast your vote.

*All ballots must be submitted at the nw-built booth by 3:30 PM to cast your vote.**

Staff will tally the votes and present the winners at 4:00PM – the two spectator-judged winners will each be awarded a trophy and a $50 cash prize!

CAR SHOW ENTRIES AND VIP PARKING
Pre-register here: http://bit.ly/YelpGb

*SHOW OPENS AT 12:00PM*

Car show entries $12
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Arrival time: 9:30AM-11:30AM
185 Spots Available!
Price includes:
-One carshow entry:
-General Admission for driver and a passenger
-2 Ballots
-Sticker package

Vip parking $6
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Arrival time: 10:30AM-12:00PM
100 Spots Available!
Price includes:
-Parking in the VIP Section of the show parking lot.
-General Admission for driver and a passenger
-2 Ballots
-Sticker package

General Admission $3 pay day of show
———————-
Price includes:
-1 General admission to the show
-1 Ballot
-Free Parking across street in the dirt parking lot!
-Overflow in paved lot west of the fields.

Vendors, please contact us directly at: fakefitment@gmail.com

Get the latest event updates at nw-built
Facebook: http://facebook.com/nwbuilt
Twitter: http://twitter.com/nwbuilt

This past Saturday marked our third annual Golden Gardens meet with StanceWars, to help kick off the spring automotive season in the Pacific Northwest. This has always been our biggest meet, with attendance almost doubling each year (last year was 1500+ people).

During a somewhat gloomy early morning on March 9th, 2013, hundreds of people and cars started showing up to one of Seattle’s most prominent beaches. Several local automotive businesses such as That-Steez, Meister Werks, ImportMeet, and of course StanceWars showed up early to set up tents while the NOS girls brought drinks for our visitors.

Shortly later as 10am approached, cars starting pouring through pothole ridden streets under the overpass – and others came in from the south, via Seaview Avenue. Our staff rushed to guide cars in and properly fill up the two available lots next to the beach, as it seemed more cars were arriving than expected.

Around noon, all sort of vehicles and groups had filled up every available parking spot in the lots – including Nissans, Hondas, Volkswagens, Subarus and BMW’s - eventually forcing people to park in an endless line along the street on Seaview Avenue. Regardless, things were going pretty smoothly as the clouds burned off and the projected blue skies/sunny forecast came through, with temperatures approaching the 60′s.

The social media virality of our meet and lack of parking would inevitably lead to local law enforcement showing up, as traffic started to become an issue. During this time, some attendees decided not to follow the rules by parking in no-parking zones, boat launches, and doing burnouts at the sight of of the Seattle Police Department. The local PD started giving out parking tickets while clearing the lots, and blocking incoming cars from entering the park.

With an estimated 3000+ attendees coming out to Golden Gardens, it appears that we’ve outgrown the venue for probably our last event at the beach. Regardless, the meet went well overall and we had an amazing turnout thanks to fans and local automotive enthusiasts – we couldn’t  have made this event possible without you!

Take a look at our 200+ photos from throughout the day, and let us know your experience in the comments below! Where would you like to see us hold next year’s spring opening event?

In late February 2013, the Pacific Northwest had its first automotive event season opener, thanks to our friends at ImportMeet, and local restaurant XXX Rootbeer. With the help of Facebook and word of mouth, the event quickly went viral as more than 1,500 cars showed up throughout the day.

Thankfully, the weather held out for the majority of the day, and local law enforcement were present during the event to help regulate traffic and drivers while local car enthusiasts also volunteered to help.

Despite the more-than-expected attendance, the meet went very smoothly as local business parking lots and street curbs filled up with cars ranging anywhere from Hondas and Nissans, to VW’s and BMW’s.

Other local automotive businesses and clubs showed up with booths during the day, as the crowds explored what the automotive scene has to offer for 2013. Oh, and let’s not forget about the XXX burgers – one of the biggest reasons worth attending!

What was your favorite car from the XXX Rootbeer Import Meet? Did we happen to snap a shot of your car? Let us know in the comments, and check over 250 high-res photos from the event below!

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We’ve had a great season filled with many shows and different events. What better way to end it than to end it with a huge show displaying best cars in the Northwest and a huge drift event?

NWMotiv.com and Evergreen Drift teamed up and did a great job on putting together InMotion, the last big event of the season. While the drifting was held on the track, the show was housed by Evergreen’s brand new Evergreen Events Center.

I don’t remember the last time I was at a big indoor car event here in the Pacific Northwest. I recall Hot Import Nights coming up here and holding events but that was back in 2008. The Northwest was missing something like this for the longest time and I’m glad that NWMotiv and Evergreen Drift brought it back. I know that there are already plans for InMotion 2013 and I’m excited for it.

As for the event itself, it was nothing short of awesome. The cars were clean and there was a good atmosphere. Seeing all the work that everyone put into their cars inspires me to hopefully be in their places next year.

The car scene here in the Pacific Northwest is growing and it’s constantly changing. We have a lot to offer and there are people who are willing to push the envelope and be bold with their mods. And I personally love going to different events like these because despite the differences that they may have, everyone interacts with one another because of a common interest.

Congratulations to all of those who won awards and to those who took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the drift competition! I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next years season and of course, InMotion 2013!

Drift Winners

1st Place – Kyle Pollard
2nd Place – Victor Moore
3rd Place – Matt Vankirk

Car Show Winners

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Attending car shows and events is always a great way to get out of the house, catch up with old friends, and make new acquaintances. You also get the chance to check out the variety of cars, and might encounter one that personally stands out above the rest.

Whether it’s the actual aesthetics / power of the car itself, or the work that’s been put into it, there’s usually something to desire about that special car – which helps fuel the motivation for our own projects.

For this reason, Paul Bruney and HappenStance Event Productions (who have brought you StanceWars and WaterWerks) worked together to give the Pacific Northwest an end of the season event in late September, aptly called Desirable.

For a change from the normal daytime events, Desirable started at 5PM and went on through sunset, as many cars rolled through the top parking garage of the Hotel Murano in Tacoma, WA. Great cars, people, and vendors showed up including That-Steez and JDM Autos.

A small area of the lot was portioned off for an RC Drift Track, and later in the evening a Little Black Dress contest took place, as some beautiful women competed for $100 cash.

But since Desirable was at the Hotel Murano, it obviously couldn’t come to an end so quickly. An After Party took place in the Hotel lobby full with bar and people, while some stayed overnight.

Desirable was a great end to both the Summer car show and weather season, as Fall has started to take effect in the Pacific Northwest. Check out the full set of our photos below and let us know what you thought of the event!

Enter for your chance to win a free ticket to the nwmotiv inMotion car show! Limit to 1 ticket per person, the giveaway ends midnight, September 25th.

NWMotiv.com and Evergreen DRIFT presents inMotion!

September 29th, 2012

Evergreen Events Center & Evergreen Speedway
14405 179th Avenue Southeast Monroe, WA 98272

The biggest and best cars from the Northwest will join us for what could be the biggest event in the Northwest all year! Indoor/Outdoor Car Show, VIP Lounge, Competition Pro-Am Drift Event and More! Dubbed as a Fitment Vs. Function show, NWMotiv is looking for the best cars in those classes to show head to head!

Click here for more information about the event.
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/316878601711960/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Summer of the Pacific Northwest this year was quite a warm one – with temperatures reaching almost record highs of a scorching 90 degrees and above on the west sound. This created the perfect opportunity to host some great events, including some new like NSX2K and others for their annual showing like StanceWars, The Old School Reunion, and Formula Drift Seattle.

Contrastingly, the weather of Formula Drift Seattle (Round 5) didn’t start out too well which took place from July 20-21st, 2012. But even the early morning rain storm couldn’t dampen the energy of Friday’s qualifying rounds at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA. Crews worked undercover getting their cars ready for qualifying after Thursday’s paid practice. Even the NOS girls struggled to stay dry in their booth until the rain let up.

The next day (Saturday), started off cool and overcast as participants for the State of Stance car show had already begun rolling in and spiffing up their vehicles upon arrival at 7:15am.

Eventually,the temperature quickly began heating up as the sun started burning off the cloud layer as the Formula Drift drivers started their first round of practice. From here on out, the rest of the day was filled full of smoke, crowds, and fun.

Winners from the day included Vaughn Gittin for First Place, Ryan Tuerck for Second, and Rhys Millen coming in for a close third. Our very own Walker Wilkerson got a chance to compete and made it to the 2nd round for a great try at the event. We’re looking forward to more locals competing in the national level next year, with the increasing popularity of grassroots drifting in the Pacific Northwest.

On another note, Honda motor company is arguably the foundation of the import scene in the US. Cheap, reliable and easily buildable for the track or show scene, they were everywhere in the 1990s as Civics and Integras ruled the day.

Thankfully, HMC had something more to offer than front-wheel drive: The NSX, and a decade after the birth of the import scene: the S2000.  Wildly popular from the start, both the NSX and S2000 were something Honda could really be proud of, with beauty, track prowess AND reliability.

On August 4th, nw-built teamed up with ZahnTech Import Automotive to hold NSX2K, an event celebrating these two beloved Hondas at 60 Acres Park in Redmond, WA. With the pavement scorching as the temp pushed into the 90s, many pristine examples rolled in to show off their NW flavor.

Check out all of the Formula D photos below:

Check out all of the NSX2K photos below: