Working within the American rally standards during the past six years The GravelCrew saw a need to “start over!” and 2005 launches a new year and a new attitude with concise direction of capturing youth, and activating that enthusiasm. The GravelCrew has formed an 11-event series of grassroots rally cross events called the GCrallyX Series which is set to launch March 26 in Corona, California.

With a minimal requirement of $45, helmet and any car, the GravelCrew is providing the simplest form to bring YOUTH into the act of rallying and or the awareness of rallying. From snow - skate - BMX to Motocross, these are the sports of the new generation of the automotive youth enthusiast today. Rally has a direct correlation to match this taste for individualism and the go-for-it attitude. The Gravel Crew is here to bridge these markets, as our mission is to grow and cultivate this rally market starting at the very core grass roots levels.

As the GravelCrew goes back to basics to re-build and convert to dirt the many new young driving enthusiast that may have only been video game junkies awaiting drivers license. Capture them at a time when passion fuels enthusiasm and provide a safe outlet is key. With a safe enclosed environment, the GCrallyX Series provided all the excitement of the grueling forest rallies, with the exception of high speeds, thus providing an environment that is safe to learn the basic skill-sets required for rally. Whether you have dreams to rally or just want a safe chance to practice your “Finn-flick” this is the place to come play, compete with your friends and make new friends who share the passion for rally.

Visit GCrallyX.com for more details

Comment    Share   

They just ran their first test day at Streets of Willow and here are some spy shots for you. We can't wait to see this thing chase down some Porsches and BMWs.

Just got back from HIN Los Angeles this past weekend. The show was sick. There were probably over 23,000 people running around that joint. This show is turning into the industry's version of E3 but open to the public. Here's the recap:

• The cars where nice; though you couldn't see half of them in the dark.
• The models were hot if you could see them pass all the pervs standing in front of them.
• Very good show overall w/ lots of things to see and people to do.

Speaking of E3, the video gamer's wet dream is only 2 months away. We look forward to this spectacle every year and this year should be no different with Microsoft unveiling more details on the Xbox 2.

Wired news…Napster is aggressively promoting its music download service with a multi-city tour. The company said that it will give away free music and MP3 and music players in New York, Austin, Los Angeles, and Nashville as it looks to drum up interest in its music download service.

Microsoft announced some details on the next gen Xbox saying that it will support HD and other cool features. They are looking to launch this out end of the year so all you suckas who just bought an xbox, enjoy it while you can before it becomes obsolete. They also gave away 1000 high def tv sets to people at the game developers listening to their pitch.

Formula D signed a deal with Champ Car to bring out Formula D professionals for drifting exhibitions at a minimum of 4 Champ Car races for this year. The first one will be at the famed streets of Long Beach, CA as CART kicks off the '05 season on April 10th with the Long Beach Grand Prix. Watch for complete coverage on NBC.

Comment    Share   

Irwindale, Ca .-Sunday February 27th, 2005, round 1 season opener of the D1 Grand Prix jam packed the Irwindale Speedway. Ten thousand eager fans were set loose in the speedway as early as 8:00am when the primary gates were open. Manabu Orido decided to compete instead of judging this round in the RS*R Supra, ultimately having encounters with the concrete barrier like many other drivers.

Congratulations to the four drivers, Tony Angelo, Ryan Hampton, Andrew Hately, and Kenji Yamanaka who acquired D1 licenses on Saturday! The judges were impressed with the skill level of the American drivers, which had increased significantly. The semi finalists battle consisted of Takahiro Ueno of T&E vs. Yoichi Imamura of Apex, Yasuyuki Kazama of Kei Office vs. Nobushige Kumakubo of Team Orange. The final competition narrowed down to Kazama vs. Immura, Kazama once again becoming the champion at Irwindale.

Round 2 of D1 Grand Prix is scheduled for April 16, 2005 in the Tokyo metropolitan Odaiba area. The competition will be taking place on Saturday, and an all-star exhibition event is also scheduled on Sunday. The American D1 staff will be present at this event, and would like to extend an invitation to the US media representatives and our future potential sponsors to come along with us. This will be a great opportunity to expand connections as well as getting behind the scenes of the D1 series operation with the aid of our bilingual staff. Space is very limited! For more information, please contact our US office or visit our website.

Comment    Share   

New Features
The first thing I immediately noticed was the difference in the physics of the car while steering. Supposedly GT4 is more "realistic" but I am confused as to why there is such a big difference between GT3 and GT4. This is to be discussed in forums for many years to come.

Another new feature, is the B-spec mode which allows you to direct the level of agressiveness of the car without having to do any of the actual driving. I think this is a cool feature for casual gamers who don't have the time or desire to master the fine details that can be involved in this game.

One of the best advances of the game is the penalty feature. I was skeptical when I read about this, but gameplay utilizes this feature rather well. When you crash another driver or an obstacle hard, you will be issued a 5 sec penalty. In that five seconds, your car will basically only be able to cruise in minimal speed. This discourages reckless driving and "cheating" in head to head play.

Finally, the photo mode has been on display for a while now at E3 and other early demos of the game. Getting to use it on my own, I really enjoyed this feature as I can take my time and take the perfect photo of my cars drifting through the corners and kicking up smoke. With the ability to select different camera angles and adjust the perspective and colors, this brings out the photographer in all of us.

Graphics - 10/10
What can you say? There is a noticeable improvement in the car details and in the scenery. Probably the best car graphics ever made and is consistently the measuring stick for all other games. The people are 3d rendered as well, but still look pretty stiff on the sidelines.

Sound - 9.5/10
I could care less about the music, I am more interested in the sounds of the cars. Engine reving and tires screeching is more of what I like to hear. Tire screeching have definitely been improved in this game, which a big plus for all the underground drifting fans. There probably will never be a better or more accurate sound portrayal of these cars, at least until the next iteration of Gran Turismo.

Gameplay - 9.5/10
With nearly 100 courses(includes reverse track) and I believe over 700 cars along with the new features mentioned above, you can bet this game will take up countless hours of many gamers around the world. With such a huge game, one of the downfalls is the load time throughout the game. This can get kinda annoying as even navigating through the menus and the options lead to a loading icon almost every time.

Was it worth the wait?
Hell, losers like me will wait forever just to get our fix of more cars and better tracks...but it doesn't mean we have to like it.

Comment    Share   

Happy belated valentines day to all you lovers out there. Round 1 of the D1 Grand Prix is upon us once again February 27th at the Irwindale Speedway. Bring your better half or hook up w/ hot import models at this event; your choice. If you would like free tickets go here and sign up.

We heard thru the grapevine that the US street date for Gran Turismo 4 will in fact be Feb. 22. So in a little under a week, we expect a whole lot of people around here are going to call in sick. Game on!

Konami is also releasing their own racing sim game, Enthusia this spring as well. Lame name but it looks good. We'll see if it can gain any traction on GT4 when it hits store shelves.

New kick-ass DVDs for you to check out.

Impaired - Drifting, Hachi Roku runs - models - Kay Sivilay - b-boy; nightlife Price: $19.95

JDM Option Vol 10 - 2004 D1 Final - All Japan Professional Championship - Rd 7 - Tarzan Human Experiment - Ueo Running Touge Price: $19.95

New shirts in stock.

Drift King T-shirt Even if you can't drift, now you can front like you can by wearing this shirt. Price: $17.99

Drift My Ride T-shirt Get this before MTV sues us for copyright infringement. Price: $17.99

Full detail on all of our new rags can be found here.

Check out the new AUTOCANNON race car that Sam Rothschild will be campaigning for the 2005 Honda Challenge Season. The car will be the new "Project Underdog" running in the H4 class.

Our bud Dennis will be the back-up driver for the car and we hope that he doesn't destroy it. J/k last year the AUTOCANNON team finished 2nd overall and Dennis received the "Rookie of the Year" award!

Finally, Hot Import Nights is starting off the season with a bang. Check out their website for info on the upcoming LA show as well as the national tour schedule.

Comment    Share   

Strange winds are blowing through Kyoto. A boisterous man sporting a gun, a cowboy hat, and a vocabulary full of foreign phrases breezes into town. Meanwhile, rumors are afoot about a fallen lord, a powerful mystic and their chaotic game that could threaten the capital. But trouble also comes in other guises. Seeing Tetsu falling farther into depression, Yamanami and Heisuke take it upon themselves to give him a vacation and an education that the young boy will not soon forget!

Limited Collector¡¦s Edition Available with FREE Peacemaker Kurogane MANGA included!

The first volume, Peacemaker: Innocence Lost, is also available as a Collector¡¦s Edition, which includes the Volume 1 DVD, volume one of the Peacemaker Kurogane manga, and an attractive custom series art box to house the entire series (SRP $39.98).

Peacemaker: Gunning for Trouble (SRP $29.98 DVD) is a DVD-only release, including four complete episodes in both English 5.1 and Japanese 2.0 language versions, with English subtitles. Extras include: clean opening and closing animation, production sketches, original Japanese TV spots, reversible cover, production fold-out insert and ADV Films previews.

Comment    Share