Stance It! - Style Society 2013

Words & Snaps by Ben

Stance has become quite the trend now, and the word is almost on everyone's lips. It's true that slapping on a sexy set of rims, lowering your ride till it scrapes the asphalt and adding an unholy amount of negative camber is always a good way to grab the attention of crowds.

It's to celebrate this trend that 3lack Underground and EdgeWerkz got together to bring the Style Society 2013, in partnership with StanceNation, FlushStyle and Street Cover.

The carpark of the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal was swarmed for an afternoon of car porn bringing together a healthy chunk of the local car scene, as well as friends from over the causeway.

The local car scene is, in my eyes, a bunch of warriors who take the road everyday, ready to face their demise in the hands of the LTA. When you think about it, everything from owning a car to modifying it is, in our local context, the biggest mistake people can do. 

Singapore is, after all, the country where cars are the most expensive in the world, and the government adds on another layer of insanity with their outdated and strict laws about modifications. But hell, when you see how the scene fights and survives, giving birth to rides such as this A4 Avant, then you know it's worth every single dollar and effort.

And yes, we exist, we survive and we thrive! In a way, those hardships make it all the more exciting to be part of this family.

Every meet I enjoy being surprised by the eventual car that stands out, such as this Galant. While it is not so much of a rare car on our shores, it is the first cleanly built one that I've seen so far.

The Style Society was a great opportunity to check out not only what's done locally, but also how our neighbours from Malaysia stance out their rides, with a lot of them on air bags (wise choice when you see the state of Malayian roads).

Lots, if not most, of the Malaysian rides present were sporting ri-goddam-diculous amounts of camber.

I particularly liked the three Malaysian Corollas that shower quite a nice variety of styles, ranging from bosozoku...

Carrying on with a clean restoration/enhancement...

And finally throwing in some sweet So-Cal flavour.

The organisers, 3lack Underground and EdgeWerkz, kept the crowd entertained the whole day (and night) with some contests and games, including the main competition which aimed at crowning the best stance, the best track stance, and the best of show. 

This AE86 and its roaring 4AGE, one of the contestants, totally deserved its 'Loud as F*ck!* sticker.

And its stance was, well judge for yourself, perfect.

Overall, the Style Society meet was a great gathering, giving us an awesome avenue to live our passion. Kudos to 3lack Underground and EdgeWerkz!

There were so many rides and styles that it's honestly difficult to give a full account of the meet, so head on over to the gallery to check out more sights and rides of the meet!

Paris je t'aime - Part 2 - 118 Champs Elysées - The Mercedes-Benz Dealership

Words & Snaps by Ben

Walking out of Paris' Citroën showroom on the Champs Elysées, I hoped the other manufacturers would have better things to show than a look back at their own histories. Don't get me wrong, I love old cars, but I expected to see more cutting-edge car fashion at Citroën's.

Nevertheless, I carried on with the Mercedes-Benz dealership, located at 118 Champs Elysées. On the dealership front was a banner - Féérique Gallery [fairy gallery]. Ooh boy, what were the Germans up to?

I mentioned "car fashion" just earlier, and that's exactly what Mercedes-Benz did, yet with a twist - the dealership was all about cars AND fashion. See for yourselves -

Their take on showcasing their special dealership was to put models wearing high fashion Disney Princess-style clothes in the cars. 

All in all they had 4 cars on display - the CLA, the SL, the SLK and the SLS.

The little surprise was the SL190 showcased at the back of the place, also paired with its princess model.

All in all, Mercedes-Benz seemed more interested in selling the lifestyle, fashion and perfume merchandise they had than actually showcasing their cars and their future projects.

So there I was, hoping once again to see great car stuff only to see fashion stuff... Still, I kept my hopes up, I still had a few more car dealers to visit, and I had a feeling it could only get better!

Stay tuned for the next step of my car pilgrimage in Paris - the Peugeot dealership!

Two-Wheelers' Paradise - The Motul Bike Festival 2013

Words and Snaps by Ben

Here at POWAA Garage, we've mostly been focusing on cars, but as motorheads, we just love anything with an engine and wheels and that, of course, includes bikes. We've already encountered a few motorbike events, whether it was a style show (see Mama Mia Vespas!) or a motorbike mayhem like the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride 2013.

The latest bike event we saw through our lens was yet another type - the Motul Bike Festival 2013. Organised, as the name says, by the French engine lubricant Motul, this event catered for everything we love, ranging from bike show with judges, to motorbike gymkhana organised in collaboration with the SMSA.

The event was held at the Grandstands at Turf City, where I did the Autocross back in April; but this time it was all about the two-wheelers, which crowded the area.

It was quite surprising the see that the Singapore Police Force was there to support the event too, which clearly shows that the bike community has strong bonds, definitely stronger than the car community. (Sadly, I just can't imagine inviting the LTA at a car meetup)

Next to them, KTM were showing off their latest range and united owners of the Austrian brand under their flag.

All along the day, the Singaporebikes.com community ran a bike show to find the best looking bike out there.

The owners parked their beloved bikes and left them under the eyes of a panel of judges, who scrutinized every details in order to assign the winners.

At the back of the area was the "MC Care Station" where the owners could leave their bikes for some detailing using Motul's range of maintenance products. Sadly, I wasn't able to bring my car in for a wash, it seemed it had too many wheels for their taste...

People were happy with the show, but knowing how some of us get itchy to show off our skills at meet ups, the SMSA joined in the fun with their Moto Gymkhana. 

There was quite a number of participants, and it was fun to see all types of bikes, from scooters to speed machines giving their best at dodging the cones.

The cherry on top of the cake was the sweet Leah Petersen, an American stunt rider, who showcased her moves in front of the audience on her stunt-ready '04 Kawasaki Ninja 636.

The crowds definitely liked her. I mean, who wouldn't like a tall blonde doing stunts on a hot bike?

This all-rounder of an event really drew crowds for a day, and gathered bikers and car drivers under the hot sun for the whole day. 

Now all this makes me wonder - Motul, when is the Motul Car Festival coming around? :D

Movie Review: Experience the "Rush"

Words by June

The legendary rivalry between two great F1 racers is brought to the silver screen; juxtaposing handsome English playboy James Hunt and a brusque and almost eccentric Austrian Nikki Lauda in their race to claim the much coveted World Championship title. 

In terms of casting, we were pretty impressed with the selection. Chris Hemsworth proves his acting chops with a rather impeccable British accent, complete with mega-watt smile and swagger not unlike the real McCoy. On the other hand, it was remarkable to see Daniel Bruhl bring to life Lauda in his younger days, a mostly hard-headed and no-nonsense character that we love to hate and hate to love. 

The movie also deserves credits for the resemblance between the actors and the ones they incarnate. As seen below, while the real James Hunt and Chris Hemsworth catch the eye with their resemblance, Nikki Lauda and Daniel Bruhl could almost be mistaken for brothers.

Photo: www.historyvshollywood.com  

Action was as fast-paced as the races they featured, as the film traces back Hunt and Lauda’s roots back to the 70's, beginning from their first explosive meeting at a Formula Three Race at the Crystal Palace circuit, to the final showdown at the ‘96 Japanese Grand Prix. 

The two cannot be more different as water and oil; Hunt the wild cannon that leaves everything up to chance that at one point left him near bankruptcy due to lack of sponsorship, had it not been for McLaren. Lauda had not had it easy as well, as he turned his back on a wealthy family empire for the track, and had to meticulously plan his break into the F1 car scene and personally plan each race. It was interesting to see parallels drawn between the Lauda and Hunt at various points in their lives, much like their fierce competition that begrudgingly lead to a mutual respect towards each other. 

F1 aficiandos would be delighted to spot some legendary rides such as the blue 6 wheeled Tyrrell P34 driven by Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler, the McLaren M23s, and Ferrari 312T2s, and have a sight at how the pits were run back when F1 was still in its grassroots days.

Director Ron Howard worked his magic, seamlessly fusing shots of technical aspects of the cars in motion with refreshing new camera angles, which not only contributed to the story in an artistic way, but were also greatly enjoyable sights for us motorheads. 

If you have watched the biographic documentary of Senna like we have, you might feel that this film was a little romanticized. But then again, this is Hollywood. Although half of the air-time was emotive, the other half that was autobiographical was done justice such as paying homage to Lauda’s technical ingenuity, and Hunt's love for party and women.

While the most hardcore of us will still prefer a fact-based gathering of historical media movie like Senna, Rush is a beautiful interpretation of what F1 used to be, and of the life, rivalry and friendship of the two legendary drivers. Rush is, in our opinion, a must see for all gearheads.

Photo: http://www.telegraph.co.uk