My day began at 3 a.m. as my alarm went off, ringing, making those wonderful annoying noises that wake us up mid-sleep. I began to gather myself. As I woke, wondering why I set my alarm for 3 a.m., it then hit me; Formula Drift was today! I scrambled to get all of my necessary gear together; cameras, memory cards, lenses, speed-lights, reflectors, tripod and batteries. As I walked outside to put it in my car it was a crisp summer morning, probably 40 degrees, and yes in July.

The journey began as I drove from Moscow, Idaho, to Monroe, Washington. It’s roughly a 5 hour drive, and I had a mandatory safety meeting at 11:30 a.m., which hasn’t changed since I have been shooting Formula Drift, I clearly had plenty of time to arrive. If I counted how many times I have done this drive I have to have some sort of world record, but I digress. My mp3 player was loaded with new music as I hit the early morning road which led through vacant towns and silent fields of wheat, it seemed as I was the only one up this early.

Five hours later, and over the Cascade Mountain Range, I hit the gorgeous outskirts of the Emerald City. The sun was gleaming across the city line, Lake Washington was calm, and your typical volume of cars on the road for a Saturday morning. I start my way north through freeways full of construction; hit the glorious Highway 2 east, out toward Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington I go.

Arriving at Evergreen Speedway you are presented with the back of the grand stands which can house roughly 15,000 drift fans, not including those that can fit between the fence and grand stands. You could tell Formula Drift had been there with their signs, tents, and banners all over the venue. I had arrived early with about 2 hours to spare before my meeting, which would eventually allow me to shoot on the track. It was easy to recognize and find people I knew that I could catch up with while waiting for my “orange Formula Drift bracelet” that would let me into the car show area, and to the pits. While the 100 plus cars filled the Slammed Society Showcase, we continued to bullshit and talk about the previous day’s events, of which I was not in attendance. Judging by their sun-kissed faces, some UV rays were in store for me and boy did I get burned.

Post-safety meeting I felt energized and full of know-how on proper ways to conduct myself while on the track. If the track is hot, you may not cross to the other designated photo areas. Only cross if the red shirt official with the mic and headset on says that it’s safe to cross. Got it. I had formulated a plan to shoot the car show and get some lifestyle shots of people at the event, but that went to the back burner after a friend from Emotive Image let me borrow some equipment. I was now in the video shooting-mode (Video will follow this post in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.). By this time the sound of engines revving and tires screaming filled the air as practice runs were in session.

The car show was my first stop for video, and a few still shots here and there. This is where I met up with the Eric Gearhart of NWAutoEvents.com. We discussed the hilarity in him being mistaken for my site, NWTuner.com and me getting credit for his work. So, we connected on that level and throughout the day had miscellaneous shenanigans. Below you can see Aaron Kathman, another great automotive photographer, and Eric (Yes, spelled with a “c,” who does that?!) chimping.

You might have attended the event and are wondering, “What do photographers do with all the downtime when the drivers request 5 minutes to inspect their car, and are waiting on runs?” Well, planking was what some of us did. We also discussed the new thing to do in photos, it’s called, “Owling.” Yep, you make yourself look like an owl.

The crowd poured into the venue and it seemed from the track that there wasn’t a seat left empty in the house. The Pacific Northwest continues to show its support for extreme automotive sports, earlier in the year Global Rally Cross was shocked by the hardcore rally community up here when their event was packed. Formula Drift saw a 10% increase in this year’s attendance with a sold out crowd.

We will let the photos speak for themselves. If you missed out this year, be sure to make it next year as it will be Formula Drift’s 10 year anniversary.

The top three winners at Round 5:
1. Yoshihara, Daijiro Falken Tire / Discount Tire Nissan 240SX Winner
2. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z Second Place
3. Aasbo, Fredric Need for Speed / Hankook Scion TC Third Place

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Pictures to follow soon.

Pictures added.

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The show consists of VW’s (MK1, MK2, MK3, Corrado, Scirocco, Passat, B3, B4), Audi’s (Pre 1987), Nostalgic JDM (Pre 1987), BMW (Pre 1992), Datsun (Pre 1987), and Nissan (Pre 1987).

For more information hit up: The Old School Reunion

I love meeting new people, and the people I have met in the northwest are like no other community on this continent. It’s all about the karma system around here; “what goes around comes around.”

Last night Matt (aka tatmatt on the forums) came up to check out the clip and some other stuff from me, and he got a ride of from his friend Mark, who came with his R32 GT-R. I HAD to take some pictures:

Its been one day after the 370Z was officially released and the dealers have begun gouging Z enthusiasts! For proof, the first two 2009 Nissan 370Zs went up for sale on Ebay today. The first is a Chicane Yellow 370Z Standard, looks like it has no other options and the seller has no information listed. There is no buy-it-now price, but bidding starts at $29,600. The Seller has a -1 feedback score. That should tell you something.

The other 370Z listed is shown here. It’s a black Touring with 6-speed manual, Sport Package, and Navigation Package. The buy-it-now price is $46,995. Based on my rough calculation, if this particular car has every single available dealer-installed accessory on it, it should carry an MSRP of $40,590. That’s a difference of AT LEAST $6,405! That’s quite a bit of mark-up. Sure, it’s all about supply and demand, but, sheesh, that’s a lot! I don’t think I know anyone who’d be crazy enough to pay that price. Even if I had that kind of money to burn, that’s absurd.

What are your thoughts? Would you pay well over 15% more on top of full asking price? Anyone get a chance to check out the new Z here in the Pacific Northwest?

UPDATE: The aforementioned black 370Z Touring Sport has sold on Ebay.  Just three days into their 20-day auction, the dealer was smart enough to accept his highest bid of $40,000.  That’s not too bad at all, considering most dealers are hurting for business nationwide.  And, like I said, if the vehicle had every single available option and accessory (except for the Chicane Yellow paint, obviously), it’s MSRP was just over $40,500.  So, congrats to the lucky buyer.

Exciting news for sure!

Why? Well, there’s two reasons, really.

First, the 370Z’s release signifies an opportunity knocking. For the vast majority of us tuners out there, acquiring a “new” car typically means getting a used car. Reliability and overall quality in the auto industry have been on the rise for several decades. Vehicles can have life spans well into the hundreds of thousands of miles these days. So a used car doesn’t always mean a beater. Quite the contrary. Most tuners prefer used cars that have already taken the huge depreciation hit most vehicles take the moment its driven off the dealer’s lot. The more money you save, the more money you can be spending on future mods and other important aspects a savvy tuner needs to consider.

With that in mind, the all-new 370Z — yes, with it’s love-it-or-hate-it styling — has been improved in every major aspect over the outgoing 350Z. No doubt, it will be a hit. So much so, that it is likely to entice many existing 2003-2008 Z owners to upgrade to the all-new 370Z. Translation: there should be some killer deals out there on 350s! Per Kelley Blue Book, you can find some well-maintained, higher mileage 350Zs selling for around $9,000 today!  In fact, I found this pretty clean Pikes Peak White 2003 350Z Enthusiast coupe with OEM rear spoiler and chrome wheels for sale right now at a dealer.  His asking price is $9,995. 

Completely stock 350Zs ran 0-60 MPH under 6 seconds!  And, according to several consumer review sites, most 350Z owners reported above average ownership experiences, with excellent reliability and relatively low costs of ownership for a sports car.  The 350Z also boasts good resale value.  Finally, with countless aftermarket performance and customization options out there for 350Zs, the possibilities are endless.  Even if you’re not quite in the market for a Z right now, this is all compelling stuff and should be food for thought. Bottom line: Keep the 350Z on your short list when looking for a new toy or project.

On the other hand, performance of the all-new 370Z has been described as Porsche Cayman-like for twenty grand less! It delivers incredible performance numbers, and refinement has been increased, as well. Don’t mistake this for a luxury car. It’s no Infiniti (or BMW for that matter). That raw, aggressive, and sensory-stimulating exhaust note from it’s 3.7L VQ V6 engine is always present. This new 370Z rockets to 60 MPH faster than a Nismo 350Z. That’s in the 4-second range, boys! Some reports suggest numbers that come pretty damn close to even an Aston Martin. Nissan reduced weight by over 75 pounds, shortened the overall length, lowered the car, used a bunch of aluminum panels, increased rigidity, and bumped up horsepower to 332-horses — and it shows!

The Z has been described as a Japanese muscle car, but don’t mistake the 370Z for a pony car driving experience. The interior has been refined with its use of improved materials and quality construction. This time around, Nissan paid attention to details. Auto-journos and owners alike criticized the 350Z’s interior for being a little low-rent, so Nissan has responded with this significantly improved cabin. There is a lot of new soft touch materials, metal-finish accents, and even a Porsche-esque leather-wrapped center stack. The designers also made the interior of the new 370 much more functional. The cargo area in the 370Z no longer showcases the obtrusive strut tower brace, thus improving cargo carrying capabilities. The engineers solved this by better integrating the brace into the partition between the occupants and cargo area. There are a lot more useable storage areas in the cabin of the 370Z, as well.

Nissan kept pricing for the 370Z very close to the 350. Only two models will be available, 370Z Standard and 370Z Touring. There’s been a slight increase in base price to just under $30,000, but it comes with a lot more stuff. The new entry-level 370Z (now called 370Z Standard) is equipped more like the mid-level 350Z Enthusiast was. Thankfully, all 370Zs will come standard with cruise control and save-your-ass traction control.  Nissan’s popular push-button start with intelligent key is also a welcome new feature that’s standard. If you want power & heated leather seats, Bose with XM & Bluetooth, and aluminum pedals, you’ll have to step up to the 370Z Touring, which starts at just over $35,000.  The options list is pretty short, as just three factory options will be offered. A $3,000 Sport Package is available on both the 370Z and 370Z Touring, which adds 19″ Rays forged wheels with Bridgestone Potenza tires, viscous limited slip diff, 14″ Akebono-Nissan brakes, front & rear spoilers, and rev-matching technology for manual transmission-equipped cars. Navi is available only on Touring models for just under $1,900. The Navigation Package includes a 9.3-gig Music Box hard-drive and iPod interface. The premium Chicane Yellow paint option is $500. All in all, this represents tremendous value for the money.

So, yes, whether you’re looking for an an affordable 350Z project car or have the cash to burn on an all-new 2009 370Z, the official release of Nissan’s latest iteration of its legendary Z car is exciting news, indeed.