Holed up inside her house near the outskirts of Orange County, Calif., Junko Hyodo is standing knee-deep in textbooks and crumpled paper, trying to get through another crucial semester of Cal State Long Beach's nursing program. She's obsessed about becoming a nurse and knows that all these late nights of hardcore studying will soon pay off. But also scattered among the strikingly thick books is evidence of Junko's other passion, which constantly fights with the nursing program for her precious time--cars. Copies of Option magazine, receipts for purchased parts and empty packages line the floor. It's an organized mess that has symbolized Junko's life ever since she first saw a Japanese car tear down the quarter-mile nearly 10 years ago.
A product of the booming heydays of Japanese tuning in the early `90s, a young and impressionable Junko followed her older siblings around the racing hot spots of Southern California. From street racing in the city to The Battle of the Imports in the desert, she easily fell in love with the scene and promised herself that as soon as she obtained her driver's license, she would be dipping inside a lowered and fast Japanese car. Despite the fact that the industry is primarily a boy's world, the gender barrier was a minor obstacle to her that eventually became less important as she continued to hone her skills.
Her first car was a '96 Honda Civic, equipped with the essentials including a DRAG turbo kit. It was a speedy daily driver that catapulted Junko from merely being an observer to an outright participant of the tuning scene. Unfortunately, the fun she had with the Civic didn't last long after some low-life permanently borrowed it, or in other words, jacked it. Her tuning pipe dream deflated quickly, and it didn't help when her insurance company only offered her a miniscule 80 dollars to compensate. It may have been enough cash to get her an annual bus pass, but not nearly enough to help her continue her passion to be a tuner.
For the rest of the story, along with more images, pick up the March 2006 issue of Import Tuner. On newsstands now!