How Do We Stop Street Takeovers?
And why old tactics won't work
Happy Race Day! especially to our friend Chris Rosales who is an experienced sim racer driving in his first real-life competition this weekend! Last week we explored high-end simulators and their practicality. Soon, Chris will test it. Good luck!
I’m deep into book writing this week. The chapters are coming quickly, and I’m picking up the pace to finish strong and get this baby OUT.
So here’s my latest YouTube video with a little extra context below:
Here’s my tour inside the massive warehouse where people store Skyline GT-Rs in Japan until they become legal to import to the US when they turn 25 years old. In the case of the R34 GT-R, which is 95% of the inventory, that starts in January.
Each of these cars is worth north of $100,000. Some are worth much more. Figure about 60 cars in the warehouse at any given time and… the math is pretty easy.
Is it weird to buy a car you’ve never seen, keep it in a warehouse an ocean away, and simply let it sit there for a year? Or more? One of the R34 GT-Rs has lived here for 6-7 years! People are willing to go wild lengths to own a GT-R!
This is a fascinating phenomenon for two reasons:
It could only happen with the GT-R: Every other Japanese sports car was originally available in the US in some fashion, so only the GT-R spawns this kind of feverish behavior. Prices keep rising, so combine the cost of buying, storing, servicing and shipping your car and it shows how people truly value them.
It’s a brilliant business move: The GT-R has spawned multiple cottage industries, and the “buy and store” is just one of them. But no one masters it like Toprank. They’ll locate, sell, service, store and register your vehicle as a rental. Then when you come and visit your car, they’ll take you on a tour of Japan with it.
There’s lots of words you could use to describe the warehouse. I think silly, compulsive, and fanatical are all fair.
I’ll save final thoughts for the book. But having set foot inside, the word ingenious is the one that keeps coming to mind. Not only is it smart business, and impressive foresight, it’s also good marketing.
Toprank knew this spectacle would draw attention and get even more people interested. And the very existence of the place (and videos like mine, I’ll admit) is probably driving up GT-R prices as I write this.
The rise of the GT-R caught a lot of people off guard. Here’s one company that saw it coming, prepared in advance, and has gained an edge over its competition as a result. The story of GT-R is one of cutthroat chess moves. This is one of the biggest.
And the impact will be felt here in the states before long.
The month of May marks our four-year anniversary at Race Day. I asked a few friends to share thoughts on the newsletter and why they read. Here’s one now!
“I enjoy the way the Race Day newsletter intertwines current events, recent social media posts and YouTube videos with pithy commentary and unique storytelling. Its underlying current is that it is okay to like cars for different reasons than everyone else, something that should be shouted from the rooftops, and celebrated.” Eileen Falkenberg-Hull.
Culture
It’s probably time to talk about takeovers. I haven’t mentioned them much because A) I’m not really in the streets like that and B) I don’t want to give them any attention. But the danger has gotten to a point that someone needs to call it out and Alex’s video below does as strong a job as any I’ve seen.
I had one interesting conversation about takeovers recently, with a source for the book. I won’t share their name but the gist was that you can’t legislate this away, or encourage them to shift to legitimate motorsports like you could with drag racing or drifting back in the day. Here’s the reason:
Unlike those other forms, takeovers don’t actually have any car enthusiasts. They’re not there for the cars, or the performance or the competition. They’re just bored. They might as well be committing any crime. They just happened to choose one in cars. A shame. Hope someone finds a solution quickly before more people get hurt.
Here’s another reader testimonial on the four-year anniversary of Race Day!
“I look forward to getting the Race Day newsletter in my inbox every week. It’s a window into the little corners of our automotive world that I might not be familiar with, and the profiles are excellent.” John Chuldenko.
Ask A Millennial! Caden Cooke, 19
He’s not a Millennial, but the point of AAM is to highlight young enthusiasts (and the name is catchy) so we’re sticking with it for my friend Caden. Recently we had the opportunity to meet and talk shop as he’s looking to start down the path of a career in automotive journalism. Everybody follow Caden on Instagram and watch out for his byline sooner than later. I’m sure he has a bright future ahead.
The most exciting thing for me is the the community I've found myself in. I'm connected with so many awesome people around California, who can show me roads, picture spots or just hang out — it doesn't even need to be about cars. There is always something going on and having the connections helps things stay fresh and interesting.
My current car has helped with getting me out in the community. Obviously it stands out, but also the car is a ‘90s icon and it makes people excited because it isn't clapped out. It's inspired a lot of people because of the journey the car has been on, starting out rusted and falling apart. I've kinda resurrected the car.
The perfect day of driving would probably be a track day. Sitting in a garage with all of your friends not really having to worry about anything besides your car and your times. Smelling food on the grill, hearing cars fly down the main straight — it's such a fun experience.
I love a lot of the niche things most publications overlook. I hope I can offer a perspective that younger drivers relate to, through articles or content like YouTube videos. Overall I hope to bring something new and serve communities that haven't been covered. If I had the opportunity to cover anything, it would probably be the Osaka loop in Japan and the Kanjozoku Civic culture that most JDM fan boys aren't even aware of.
And Finally…
The Indy 500 is this Sunday. Here’s wishing you and yours a happy Greatest Spectacle in Racing weekend. With that in mind, check out this hilarious 3-minute driver intro parody that had me rolling in laughter. “He enjoys to fish!”
Drive hard and be safe. Black Lives Matter.
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