YearEndArt-FB-15

Another crazy year come and gone and man, what a ride! Now in our second year here at Slam’d Mag, 2015 was a spectacular success as we saw major growth and shot some really amazing rides from around the globe. We are fortunate enough to have the best automotive photographers in the game keeping Slam’d Magazine looking fresh and well ahead of the rest. Looking back it’s quite amazing to see the eclectic mix of high-quality rides that we were able to capture with features from all over the U.S., Japan, Australia, Canada, Europe, and more. In order to capture the perfect photograph, it is always essential that the cars are in pristine condition. This normally means having a quick wash with the best pressure washer for my car! When we first set out to bring you a digital magazine chock full of all of the baddest rides worldwide, regardless of genre, we certainly had our work cut out for us, but with a well laid plan and a world-class team we have exceeded even our own ultra high expectations – and that’s all thanks to YOU, our dedicated readers who crave the unique builds we feature and keep coming back for more! If you see any of these cars here and think that they look too good to not be made yours, then you might want to take a look at some business car lease deals from Intelligent Car Leasing and try and make one of them yours.

The four categories our staff chose for the 2015 End of the Year (EOTY) awards were, Truck of the Year, Custom of the Year, Car of the Year, Show of the Year, and People’s Choice (voted on by our readers via the various Slam’d social media outlets). We also had a vote to honor our staff Photographers and chose a Photographer/Photo of the Year (The Top 15 Photos from 2015 can be seen HERE).

We split this story into the six categories, each one can be seen here:
Truck of the Year Winner | Custom of the Year Winner | Car of the Year Winner | Show of the Year Winner | Photographer of the Year | People’s Choice Winner

So without further ado, here are your finalists and year-end winners for 2015 Car of the Year:

Slam’d Mag 2015 Car of the Year

Accord-11Mike Alexander Slam’d Mag
Editor-in-chief | Founder

Car of the Year: Sadistic Dreams: Ryan Marsh’s 2013 Honda Accord
Ryan Marsh – 2013 Honda Accord EX-L

Picking a “Best Car” also turned out to be a bit more difficult than I anticipated. And since it was between five killer builds I realized that we need to shoot more cars, and also that we are fairly picky so all of these builds are “the best” in their own right. With these few top notch builds they are obviously “low” but Ryan’s Sadistic-built Accord really does it for me. Equal parts clean and low, with a trunk setup that literally stops you in your tracks, this is one of my favorite car builds out right now!

John O’NeillJohnnyOPhoto
Slam’d Photographer | Editor At Large

Car of the Year: Sadistic Dreams: Ryan Marsh’s 2013 Honda Accord
Ryan Marsh – 2013 Honda Accord EX-L

Accord-17There is something to be said about a clean build where everything flows and nothing stands out as an after thought. Ryan’s Honda is exactly that; a well executed, Slam’d car that would stop anyone walking by for a second look. From that point if Ryan popped the trunk and allowed you to gander inside, you’d agree too, this car is clean as hell.

Sean FrenchSolo Films DVD
Slam’d Mag Associate Editor

Car of the Year: Sadistic Dreams: Ryan Marsh’s 2013 Honda Accord
Ryan Marsh – 2013 Honda Accord EX-L

Ryan Marsh’s Accord brings to the table every aspect that a custom enthusiast can appreciate, especially of the lowered variety. From the super tucked stance to the fully custom trunk setup built by Sadistic Iron Werks. Every piece of this elegant build is so clean and simple, just the way I like things!

Frank NewtonBST Clothing
Slam’d Contributor | Official Apparel Partner

Car of the Year: Sadistic Dreams: Ryan Marsh’s 2013 Honda Accord
Ryan Marsh – 2013 Honda Accord EX-L

Corolla-12Sadistic Dreams is the car of 2015. It’s subtle touches is what makes this car head of the pack. Lurking under its unassuming factory exterior is a well planned, perfect functioning, eye popping air ride management system. This car sets the pace for all others to try and replicate. All of this sitting on some of the coolest wheels Rovos has to offer makes it an easy choice.car absolutely blows me away.

Nico JarrettNico Jarret Photography
Slam’d Contributor

Car of the Year: Sideways With ShaDynasty: Paul’s 1972 Toyota Corolla
Paul Harrison – 1972 Toyota Corolla

I have love for all styles and types of custom cars but when it comes to Japanese makes, I certainly have a soft spot for them. It’s pretty much all I drive and when it comes to the Best Slam’d Car of 2015, for me it would have to be Paul’s 1972 Toyota Corolla. I love the older style JDM cars, the retro look is just something you don’t see properly executed all that often. They stand out at every show and are well respected due to the history these builds tend to carry. To top it off Paul Drifts this bad boy and abuses it every chance he gets!

Joshua RobinsonSolo Films DVD
Slam’d Contributor

dubcaddy-04Car of the Year: Built To Drive: The Dub Dynasty 1981 VW Caddy
Curtis Rider – 1981 VW Rabbit Pickup

I really dig cars that are outside the “norm” and you definitely don’t see these type of “caddy’s” being to this extent all that often. The 1.9L TDI 1Z turbo-diesel engine swap is perfect for this little unibody, besides a diesel swap in anything is just too cool in my book. The stretched fenders, bags, and euro front clip give this little v-dub a ton of attitude, and the color combo is on point. My favorite part of the build is that it’s not only for show, Curtis drives the wheels off this bad boy as well!

Jason BallardSlam’d Mag
Slam’d Mag Feature Editor

Car of the Year: Race Wars Arizona: Josh Nepa’s 2012 CTS-V Coupe
Josh Nepa – 2012 CTS-V Coupe

Who doesn’t like a lay’d out Cadillac? Josh’s Lac is a prime example of a new school build that will be a future classic. From the classy lines to the supercharger this Cadillac deserves the car of the year!

Randy JohnsonMini Truck Scene
Slam’d Contributor | Web Design

CTSV-09Car of the Year: Race Wars Arizona: Josh Nepa’s 2012 CTS-V Coupe
Josh Nepa – 2012 CTS-V Coupe

A luxury car on the ground, big motor, classy look with just enough attitude, and a clean trunk setup… what’s not to love? A car you’d just jump in and fly 200mph down the highway to your business meeting, just inches off the ground. WIN.

Avit Toasty ChauhanToast Graphics
Slam’d Mag Australia Editor

Car of the Year: Sadistic Dreams: Ryan Marsh’s 2013 Honda Accord
Ryan Marsh – 2013 Honda Accord EX-L

Clean and low – winning recipe! Ryan’s Accord is spot on when it comes to getting a car as low as possible while still keeping it classy and drivable. After all, this is still a daily cruise and Ryan is not afraid to clock the miles, which might be why I dig this build so damn much.

Josh WilsonSlam’d Mag
Slam’d Contributor

Car of the Year: Sideways With ShaDynasty: Paul’s 1972 Toyota Corolla
Paul Harrison – 1972 Toyota Corolla

With this category I just had to go with this Corolla that loves to get sideways. It’s not a chassis that you see too often plus I like seeing that the owner stuck with a Toyota heart to power this machine. This is no show car by any means and it has was definitely built to be used and abused. It also helps that Paul shoved some old school SSR MK IIIs under the fenders, which just leaves me drooling for more.

Matt Hodgson Downtime Designs
Slam’d Mag Art Director

Car of the Year: Built To Drive: The Dub Dynasty 1981 VW Caddy
Curtis Rider – 1981 VW Rabbit Pickup

Truth be told, this category was a hard choice for me because when it comes down to it, I’m not really a car guy. To anyone who knows me and knows me well, it’s probably no surprise that my favorite car is still a “truck” in its own right. I like chose the Curtis’ Caddy because it’s done in classic VW Fashion, no ridiculous camber or craziness, just clean colors, killer wheels, and subtle mods throughout.


2015 CAR OF THE YEAR
Best Car: Sadistic Dreams: Ryan Marsh’s 2013 Honda Accord

Top honors for the 2015 Slam’d Mag Car of the Year goes to Ryan Marsh and his Sadistic-built Accord! Shot at sunset by Editor Mike Alexander, this Accord is easily one of the cleanest slammed Hondas built to date. Laid low utilizing custom Air Lift Performance struts over a set of Rovos Wheels and rocking one of the baddest trunk setups to come out of Sadistic Iron Werks so far, there’s just no denying this super clean build.