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Anaheim, CA 92806
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Project Of The Century
I like tuners and muscle cars and what people make them do, such as drag racing and drifting, etc. I wanted to have a tuner of my own, so I have decided to turn my car into one. I have a '94 Buick Century and I want to turn it into a high-performance tuner, but have no idea where to start. I was wondering if you have any ideas for me because I would like to be featured in your magazine one of these days.
Gilbert Medrano, Houston, TX
Dude, this is going to be a badass project! The import world has never seen a Century-any Buick, for that matter-do anything cool, so imagine the look on everyone's faces when yours gets up and starts tuning high-performance cars! Nevermind the artificial intelligence required for it to develop ignition timing and air/fuel maps for all the different engines and ECUs out there (as we're sure you're already past that hurdle), we can't wait to see you cut this thing down in size and construct the bionic appendages it's going to need to do things like operate a PC, strap cars to the dyno, ride shotgun around a racetrack, wrench parts on, fabricate, etc. Plus, you'll need to give it quick wits and a sense of humor if you want it to hang with the other tuners we know-swapping stories with the likes of Eric Hsu and Alex Shen is no simple task, even for a Century-turned-cybernetic-robotuner!
Gadget Freak
I was reading Going Postal in the December '09 issue, and saw the gift package from Gadget Import that was sent to Chris Thayer. I was wondering where I could find some stuff from them. I tried searching online and all that comes up are sites that import gadgets. Any help on my situation would be great. Thanks, and keep up the great work on the mag!
Tim Bollman, Fombell, PA
Chris, we're going to let you in on a little secret Art Director Davis discovered a few weeks back, while fiddling with this new invention called the Internet. When you do a search for a specific phrase, such as "Gadget Import", enter the phrase you're looking-get ready for this-in quotes! Go ahead and try it right now, with Google. We'll wait. In case you missed the very first friggin' link that populated, it's: www.teamgmpt.com. Make sure to click on the "GMPT Racers" link, too-you'll see one of our ugly mugs lurking in the crowd!
Christmas just came early this year! Not only are we giving you a preview of what will certainly prove to be the Piece de Resistance of anthropomorphic robotics in the coming months, we also grant one Celica fan a long-awaited wish, and use the tragic story of another to remind you of the dangers of leaving christmas lights on (or menorahs lit) unsupervised. Tsk, tsk . . .
Insane Idea
I Just had an insane idea for you: one month, feature nothing but micros-Fit, Yaris . . . things like that. But the kicker would be to have a little person model on the cover. That would be awesome! I don't drive a micro nor do I have a thing for little people. I just thought that would be something way different.
Kelly Cameron, Fayetteville, NC
We're wondering if you have a thing for LSD . . . and not the driveline component.
Wish . . .
I have been reading you mag for about two years now, and have yet to see a Toyota Celica feature. I know you've run them a long time ago; don't you think it's time to change things up a bit and show the Celica heads some love?
"Tommy", via postal@importtuner.com
You know, Tommy, you're right.
. . . Granted
I wrote in a few months back, asking how I could get my car to grace the pages of your magazine, and I received an email back, telling me what I needed to do in order for it to happen. I went through it step-by-step, but decided to wait until spring to contact you, so I could send the most recent photos. Unfortunately, I won't be getting that chance. Not long after receiving your email I lost my car in a fire (see photos). After the incident I couldn't bring myself to pick up your magazine again-I guess the thought of being so close to having my baby on the pages, only to have it all taken away, just kept me from reading. But after picking up the Dec '09 issue the other day, it dawned on me that this is an opportunity to start fresh. Readers these days want to see performance; they want to see power. With that in mind, I have chosen the platform for my next project. Unfortunately, it will be a few years before I get it the exact way I want, but with time, patience and inspiration from your magazine, I know I can make it happen. Be on the lookout for an email from me soon . . . and be sure to check out the attachments-they'll be a little easier on the eyes next time!
Casey Oles, via features@importtuner.com
Wow! Looks like you caught the shit end of Scott's karma (Jan '10 editorial)! We're hoping you had insurance on that whip, but given the long estimated build time of the new project, we're guessing that you didn't. Tough break. Hang in there and cover all your bases this time around. Good things come with hard work, but go with carelessness. We'll be here when you're ready. And hopefully "Tommy" will still be reading, too!
2NR tweets
@bng905 @importtuner haha I love those little articles about the Miata! I love mine!
RT @importtuner: TGIF Q of the day: How much HP do yellow stickers add to your car?
@AlexiaLei Not as much as a Nike Swoosh sticker! Lol jk! :)
@KT_Alvarez @importtuner "its not how you stand by your car, its how you race your car"
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@sarahmcdowd I do not, I repeat, DO NOT WANT TO SEE CARTER OR ANY OTHER SOURCE INTERLINK STAFF IN THEY CHONIES. NO!
@DrifterMama @importtuner models know how to use twitter (minus @modelmandylynn)?
@Bigjoe53 @importtuner i just want to say i am really happy you guys are interacting with you followers..you guys are good people... A++