2006 Ultimate Street Car Challenge

Car Show
We are not car show people. One look at the state of our project cars confirms this. It's not that we don't appreciate a fine looking automobile, we just have other priorities. So to help us handle the car show portion of USCC, we brought in three industry experts with the kind of car show judging credentials we can describe with a straight face.

Fred Chang is one of the most established show car builders in the industry. His trend-setting style, street cred and attention to detail have not only garnered him many awards and trophies throughout the country, but also contracts from companies like Scion and Pioneer to build their SEMA promotional vehicles. A JDM fanatic and all-around auto enthusiast, Fred is a young cat who knows what's cool.

When he's not busy running Mothers Car Care Products, Dennis Holloway is often out among the enthusiasts that use his family's products. He's a veteran judge, having evaluated all manners of motor-driven vehicles-if you can put Mothers on it, he's probably judged it. His expertise is as an outsider to our little world; Holloway has never heard of guys like Crawford or Robispec, is not impressed by exclusive forged magnesium wheels, and doesn't care where the engine came from. But he does know what looks good.

Troy Sumitomo is a bit of a legend in the industry. He's the head schmoe at Five Axis Design and Fabrication, a boutique concept vehicle fabrication company he started in 1995. If you don't know the name, you've probably seen the cars. Sumitomo's company builds concept cars for OEs like Honda and Toyota. He's done work for Hot Wheels and his buddy Chip Foose's Overhaulin' TV show. Highly skilled in every aspect of vehicle production, from basic to high tech, Sumitomo's area of expertise is the design and execution of vehicle modifications.

Though we have a collection of fixed-up cars, judges with clipboards, and even an EZ-Up, this is not your typical car show. These are SCC cars; performance is the priority, styling and creature comforts a distant second and third. Sure, we had no shortage of wings and widebodies, but nobody ran neon lights, scissor doors or a remotely serious audio system. With points to distribute in seven categories (exterior body mods, paint, engine bay, undercarriage, wheels, interior, and overall presentation), what would impress our judges?

Not surprisingly, they the homed in on the super-sanitary design and execution of Danny Young's NSX and the HPA Beetle. In the end, the judges picked the NSX as best in show. Holloway's comments summed it up best: "Everything had its place and was well thought out. Much like the Beetle, but with more go-fast parts." The HPA car was singled out for its factory-spec level of fit and finish, while APR's STI netted a close third with its flashy paint, beefy widebody and shiny bolt-ons. As you can see below, the rest of the pack was miles behind, their priorities set for 'go' instead of 'show'.-Edward Loh

The Big Picture
Teams started arriving at K&N's facility by 7:00am. By 8:45am, all were accounted for except for Joe McCarthy and the Prototype Racing Elise. No matter, we'll start without him.

The car show is where the competition starts in earnest. Although Danny Young wins it, his NSX placed last in base price. With second place finishes in the first two competitions, HPA has 205 points out of a possible 220 and a big lead on the competition.