It’s sad to see a lot of great shops closing down because of the slow economy. A few weeks ago I got notice that Super Autobacs was closing down. In Japan they have a chain called Autobacs which is like the Kragen for Japan but you can buy lots of cool stuff there like wheels, exhaust, intakes etc. There are two Super Autobacs in the USA down in the Los Angeles area.

I guess someome bought them so they are going to stay open. For a huge retail operation they are pretty cool because you can meet professional drifters from Japan there sometime and you can even hold your car club meets there.

Please visit their site at www.autobacsusa.com

Racers competing on Toyo Tires had big success on both coasts this past weekend. During Round 2 of the SCCA’s 2009 Solo National Tour in San Diego, California, Team Toyo’s Ken Motonishi scored a decisive victory in the Street Touring (ST) class over a field of 18 cars while running on Toyo Proxes R1R extreme performance tires. Finishing in second and third places were Jeff Wong and Sebastian Rios, also competing on Proxes R1R tires.

In the Street Touring Ladies category, the entire class competed on Proxes R1R tires. Nicole Nagler won, with Lily Liu finishing in second and Shauna Rios in third. In the Street Touring Sport (STS) class, Jaime Mendoza scored a victory while Michael Heinitz finished second on Proxes R1R tires. The Proxes R1R also performed well in Street Touring Extreme (STX), as Mihai Surubariu finished second in class.

While autocross racers were winning on Toyo tires on the West Coast, road racers kicked off the first event of the SPEED World Challenge racing season at the SPEED World Challenge Sebring Intl. Raceway presented by Toyo Tires. The Sebring, Florida event is the first of the nine event series for cars competing in both the Touring and GT classes. As the Official Tire of SPEED World Challenge, every car is equipped with Toyo Proxes R888 street legal competition tires. Toyo Tires has held this honor since 2001.

Two new faces stood on top of their respective class podiums at the end of the weekend’s races at Sebring. Seth Thomas, driving his Bimmer World/Gear Wrench BMW 328i, beat a 14-car field of racing veterans to score his first-ever Touring class victory. Even more remarkable was the finish in the GT class at Sebring. Rookie driver, Tony Rivera, piloted his Tax Masters/Mirage Group Porsche GT3 to a victory over a field of 19-cars. Rivera is the first SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT driver to win in his series debut in five years.

“We congratulate all of the winning drivers in both autocross and SPEED World Challenge,” said Stan Chen, manager of motorsports and events, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. “The Proxes R1R and Proxes R888 tires prove time and again they are ideal for capturing podiums, whether in amateur or professional competition.”

March 25, 2009, 2008 – – CYPRESS, CALIFORNIA — Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. announces the launch of their all-new website, toyotires.com. Representing the biggest facelift to date for the companyís online presence, the website is redesigned from top-to-bottom including a new web address.
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Nissan News is excited to let you know you can be among the first to own the all-new Nissan cube® – starting at $13,990. Simply click on the button above, fill out the online form and your local Nissan Dealer will give you the scoop on reserving your cube®. The wait is finally over. Reserving your cube® is just a click away.

Lexus is planning on unleashing its much-awaited LF-A sports car at the Tokyo Motor Show in November according to InsideLine. The LF-A had previously been thought to be dead in the water, however, later stories of its resurrection surfaced. Lately it has been quiet on that front until now.

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Toyota Racing driver Timo Glock chose an interesting way to prepare himself for the Australian Grand Prix. Did he meditate to calm his nerves, or exercise to warm them up? None of the above. Glock spent the day at Calder Park Raceway behind the wheel of a Toyota Hilux pickup truck, learning to drive on two wheels.

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Nissan will be showcasing its latest zero-emissions vehicle today at an event in San Diego held in cooperation with San Diego Gas & Electric. Nissan will then take the new electric vehicle across the United States on a coast-to-coast test run.

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Marcus Gronholm will be returning to WRC racing with this Impreza WRC2008 from race team Prodrive.

Two-time WRC champion Gronholm will race the Impreza WRC2008 in the April Rally Portugal but says that it’s a one time thing that he is doing it just for fun.

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Mazda will be busy at next month’s New York Auto Show, and there will be exciting news for its enthusiast and commuter consumers alike. For the families with sporting hearts, updated versions of the CX-7 and CX-9 crossovers are scheduled to debut. And for folks like North American readers of Worldcarfans, the good news is the debut of the MAZDASPEED3 five-door.

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