Words by Matt Willis

The 6th Annual Motion Auto Show has been on our calendar for several months, and when something is on our calendar that far in advance, we’re usually looking forward to it. Motion is in the same exhibit as the current Hot Import Nights and to a more familiar parallel, Spocom. Basically – an indoor car show with music, girls, and some form of promotion via a popular energy drink. Tim had attended this event last year and he gave it praise – I was unable to attend but I heard a lot of great things.

Up until a few weeks prior, I had planned on staying for the whole event. Tim was leaving to China very early the next morning, so he was doing his thing back in San Diego. I was also leaving to beautiful Kentucky for a business trip at the crack of dawn, and I still had to pack and gather a bunch of shit from my work — on top of being pretty sleep-deprived already. The day-of, I ended up not making it up there until about an hour into the show, so I only stayed for about an hour and a half total before I packed up and raced my ass back to SD.

In any case, I tried to get at least 98% coverage and grab all the best cars. I met up with a few people and ran the floor a couple times over to make sure I didn’t miss anything. So far, the only thing I walked right by was an appearance by Miki Taka (whom I had no idea was going to be there) and the model show, which I had to leave before it even started. Both of which I would have liked to see, but time was right over my shoulder.

Overall – from the short time I was there – it was great. I loved the layout. Fun to shoot. Lots of space. And many, many great (and NEW!) cars. I’ll let the photos take over…

Falken had most of their drifting fleet on display; most of which were already around with Formula D and all. Their S15 is amazing…

Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s Mustang…

…and his mini-me…

Formula D driver Justin Pawlak’s daily driver…

Several Ruckus’ bikes were on display. I always enjoy seeing these; I find them to be sort of an blank canvas. They are always done in different themes with great attention to detail; often with their owners’ own vision rather than one influenced by trends in the scene.

Over at the NOS booth, MLG (Major League Gaming, which I still can’t believe is in existence) was hosting various tournaments for Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Soul Caliber and Mortal Kombat.

I’ve expressed feelings on oni camber before, and those feelings haven’t changed. Irks me every single time I see it. I do enjoy this car and the wheel choice, though. Definitely a lot of work put into it.

Another artboard car; this E36 was VERY well done with flowing icons and symbolism from the culture and scene.

The audio setup in this Supra caught me eye…

The G class; for when you want to go on a luxurious safari.

I fell for this M5. Beauty through simplicity!

James Oliver’s Prelude still looking amazing….

Two beauties…an old Bluebird Coupe and Celica GT. The Celica had a neat little suprise…

These two 240s were amazing. Apparently they are very popular, but I’ve never seen them around before.

I don’t know what it is, but I just love the engine bay…probably the glitter paint on the valve cover haha…

Big Mike’s Prelude standing tall. Though I see this car often, the great thing about it is that every time I see it, something has been changed or added. In this case, the die-cut plate replacing the cowling…

His car is definitely one of the cleanest, most well-represented in the scene. And that’s why it wins awards. Not because it followed trends, but because the owner had his own vision and brought it to life. I remember when his current build-up was documented on The Chronicles… in twenty-five some-odd parts a couple years ago. I viewed and read every post because there was so much damn attention to detail…

Speaking of Hondas, a squadron of EP3s came into my line of sight so I had to check them out. I’m one of the few EP3 lovers…sue me, but I love ’em. To me, it’s the last connection between the EG/EK hatchbacks. This one in particular had great wheel/tire fitment, beautiful paint (midnight blue/black) and sharp UKDM headlights.

Here’s another shot; you can sort of see the color of the paint. It looked brilliant against the polished RPF01s.

This other one looked fantastic as well. I’m not big into the CP-Rs, but they work for me in this situation.

Loved this Suzuka Blue S2000 a thousand times over…

Said it once and I’ll say it again; if I had to get an ITR it would be Phoenix Yellow (except with the USDM front-end).

Michael Mao’s NSX. Last time I saw it, it was wearing white TE-37s. Now wearing plated MF-10s, which I think goes great with the red.

This S had a water-cooled turbo setup…amazing…

This was a nice 240SX, aside from the fact that the wheel/tire dimensions don’t really flow the body kit. Still very clean nonetheless…

The formerly green S2000 from DTM Autobody…

Saw this 1-series racer at SEMA last year…

One of the best 350Z’s I’ve seen in a while. The color scheme reminds me of the old AEM one driven by Tanner Foust.

Here’s another beautiful Z33…

Ehh…

This RX-7 was rather unique…look at the sign in the window…

Motion wasn’t just imports, by any means. Several Camaros were present, in addition to other domestic cars.

Slick Challenger…

Staring contest…

The ARK Veloster made an appearance, another car I haven’t seen since SEMA 2011…

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FR-S at the PASMAG booth. Hideous wheel choice in my opinion…

This FR-S from Five Axis was slightly better.

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Spotted Evelyn Lin, who is famous for things other than just being an import model…

After making my final pass, I stepped outside the convention center and almost scorched my retinas because of the brightness. There were a lineup of cars so I found the best-looking ones…

I’ll close out with this beautiful E92 M3…

As I mentioned before, it was a great show and I wish I could have hung out longer… definitely next year! – Matt