Industry News: The Peninsula Classics Finalists

The Peninsula Classic Best of the Best Award announced its Finalists and Judges As a follow up to our previously released news about The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering, we are excited to be a part of the announcement that The Peninsula Classic series of shows, which the aforementioned Quail is a part of, is now announcing the dramatic conclusion to this iteration of the series. In its milestone move to reinvigorate the tradition of celebrating the international motoring world’s top accolade for most exceptional classic car, The Peninsula Hotels today announced the six extraordinary vehicles that will be eligible to receive the inaugural “Peninsula Classics Best of the Best” Award. The award will bring together the 2015 best of show winners, ranging from early production to mid-1960s Italian race cars, from six of the top concours events around the globe to compete for the title of the most exceptional car in the…Continue Reading

Lady In Red: John’s Boggio’s Seductive 1965 Chevelle

As our first ever cross-over feature from our sister mag – Lateral-G.net – we figure we’d start off with a bang! With a brilliant crimson flash, accents of smooth chromatic black, hovering low above the ground like a cat set to pounce; there is nothing quite like a woman draped in red to seer the senses. Much was the case with John Boggio’s 1965 Chevelle Malibu SS. This seductive Chevy first caught our eyes while sitting in an inexplicable lonely corner of the Street Machine Nationals in Pomona, CA in 2015. With no owner in sight and no hints to her driver’s identity, we were left to do a bit of stalking and admiration from a distance. It was not until this year’s reiteration of the event that we were fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time, and we finally caught up with John Boggio about…Continue Reading

Industry News: The Quail, a Motorsport Gathering

With our extreme love for the low, loud, and sometimes quite different, our Slam’d scene tends to devote a good deal of passion towards the misfits of automotive society. We are out there to ensure there are cases of breathtakingly gorgeous sheets of metal stretched wide over expertly modified chassis, doused in gallons of pearlescent paint, all slung just inches above the pavement for your daily viewing pleasure. However, for every nigh-perfect Continental or Coupe De Ville, exists at least two Toyota Tacomas throwing sparks down the freeway in a manner which most people would not be caught dead doing, at which we smile with equally fervent reverence. Despite out unique tastes and “High Class, Lowlifes” monicker, by which we stand firmly, even we prefer the scent of some high class and high livin’ from time to time. The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering In the world realm of automotive enthusiasm, there are…Continue Reading

The Compound: East Coast Cruise Australia

East Coast Cruise is kind of a big deal for the minitruckin’ community in Australia, so when numbers began to fall due to the fact that we were pushed from the town where ECC had been held for the last decade, a big major play had to be made. A shortlist of potential sites was formed but one venue stood out like a golden ray of sunshine: The Station, 10 minutes out of Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains region of NSW, the go to accommodation for snowboarders during the snow season. Contrary to popular conception, it does in fact snow in Australia! However, due to the land down under’s reversed calendar, November is off-season. This meant The Station venue was more than happy to give East Coast Cruise exclusive use of the resort for the weekend. To paint a picture of the venue, let’s start by pointing out that it…Continue Reading

Dakota Digital HDX Series Now Available

Dakota Digital is proud to unveil their ALL-NEW HDX series of instrumentation – a true innovation in gauge technology and personalization! The first products to debut in this family are the legendary 1955-56 and 1957 Chevy car applications. The HDX series from Dakota Digital is the latest in aftermarket automotive instrumentation technology. Expanding upon the extremely popular VHX-series, HDX takes personalization and usability to a whole new level. Available with your choice of black or silver alloy gauge-face styling, each HDX system allows the user to select their favorite illumination colors for the gauge readings and needles, as well as the TFT message center displays. Calibration and personal settings can be manipulated with the built-in, capicitive-touch buttons, or the available Bluetooth app for Apple and Android devices. Each needle hub is spun-aluminum and black nickel-plated to match the buttons. With the instrument system dialed in, including calibration of the speedometer and fuel gauge, the system can calculate your remaining fuel range, expressed…Continue Reading

Wild Thang: The Destination and the Journey

The build process of a custom car or truck is more often than not, a series of complex tasks testing patience and determination at each and every obstacle. Each item on the list brings with it, a unique set of challenges as well as offering satisfaction upon completion. However, it’s all the little details in a build that help define the journey as a whole. One small item to be built or addressed can cast a lasting shadow over an entire build. Any of us who have wrestled with a single bolt for more times than we care to count, will attest to this simple truth. The same principle rings true on a larger scale as well. The build means so much more than just the sum of these parts. Finding a suitable platform, casting a vision, finding inspiration, taking a course of action, seeing it through to the end,…Continue Reading

Slam’d KIDS: Boulevard Speed Shop

Boulevard Speed Shop is the long running project of Robert McDonald. As a career fabricator and custom builder, Robert has created a special personal endeavor, building custom trikes and bikes, reflecting his own styles and values. McDonald grew up on the sidelines of the drag strip and his father worked as a mechanic, owned and ran his own shop, and built and raced his own quarter-mile monsters. This meant for Robert that much of his childhood revolved around the garage and what could be accomplished in it. Photos: Robert McDonald and Deadend Mag | Words: Michael Phillips Robert’s involvement in the industry began well in the deep end, having been a drag racer driver himself of midget cars, from age 5 to age 8. He constantly tinkered, restored, rebuilt, and customized any vehicle he could get his hands on, all the while leading up to his first real automotive project.…Continue Reading

Brotherly Duo: Bodyshop Built SRT-10 & S10 Blazer

If there’s one thing the Slam’d crew values more than than a lack of ground clearance, it’s family. Thats why the story of brothers Chad Sperry and Cory Schiller is such a special one. There is nothing quite like the bonds of blood being combined with a shared love for all things low. Chad Sperry is the owner and operator of Chad’s Paint & Audio, which also conducts business as Auto Rod Technologies. Cory (Chad’s half brother) has worked in the shop since his early teen years and the two of them have dedicated their time and resources to building some seriously fantastic examples of Slam’d approved rides. Beginning with Big Brother, Chad Sperry’s daily driver is the perfect blend of OEM beauty, quality customization, and niche exclusivity. Viper powered Rams are plenty rare in their own right, however finding one of the elusive serpents equipped with air’d out suspension is nigh…Continue Reading

Event Coverage: Cruise to the Pines 2016

We are so glad to confirm that this years’ Cruise to the Pines event was every bit as amazing as it was in 2015. The event has quickly become one of our favorite, promoting joint celebration from owners, builders, and enthusiasts from many different facets of car culture, whom all appreciate low-slung automobiles – and mixing in some real CRUISING to top it all off! The CTTP show is hosted by the Phoenix, AZ based Perfect Poise club and serves as their primary annual event. Several other car and truck clubs, independent builders, lone wolves, and spectators alike made the rolling trek through Phoenix, and up to Prescott. For anyone unfamiliar with the north-western most regions of the Grand Canyon state, it spends portions of its year in stark contrast with the typical hellish temperatures commonly associated with Arizona. Prescott offers a wonderfully quaint change of pace to the boiling bustle of downtown…Continue Reading

Hot Rod Power Tour Journal: Day 8

Alas, all good things must come to an end and the 2016 Hot Rod Power Tour is no exception to the cruel laws of nature. As quickly as it arrived, the ultimate rolling car show vanishes again into automotive myth, only to make its return for another brief period of bliss this next summer. The final leg of the journey took place in one my my favorite cities in the world, Kansas City, Kansas, at the Nascar Speedway. The last time I visited this landmark of internal combustion I was just five years old. I don’t remember much, but what I do remember, is a nice view of turn four, a three foot long piece of licorice shared with my grandfather, and a stark declaration from the same man, that if the drivers had any genuine guts they’d be making their passes in figure-eight fashion. This was the way he…Continue Reading

Hot Rod Power Tour Journal: Day 7

As the final stretch of our journey with the Hot Rod Power Tour winds down, the SEMA YEN Team and rest of the involved parties made their way into the great state of Kansas. Our northern most venture of the tour bought with it a welcomed change of scenery with only just slightly more appealing landscape than that of Oklahoma, visible on the I-35 freeway. What made our trip thoroughly exciting however was the opportunity to take the tour route as opposed to the direct one. All week the Hot Rod Magazine bus and their traveling posse of hi-octane companions have taken a less than direct path between show venues. This scenic route included lovely roadside sites and glimpses of true americana along the way. Photos & Words: Michael Phillips Up until this point our super powered train of vehicles for the YEN team has taken the closest thing to a…Continue Reading

Hot Rod Power Tour Journal: Day 6

Thundering sounds clatter down the track, sweat and summertime heavy in the air, the scent of excitement and expectation covers all. Now, are you at a drag strip or a horse track? In our case, the answer was yes. The sixth day of the Power Tour shenanigans took place at Remington Park, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The park is a staple in the city of thunder,  a casino and race track combo, harkening back to the golden, more wholesome days of gambling. The Power Tour force felt as at home at Remington as it had at COTA. One is set for the raw animalistic power of fine horses, the other prepped for machines we have built, whom’s power is still measured by the force of the same beasts. Photos & Words: Michael Phillips Our time in OKC was spent ducking the sun as much as possible, as it shown down through the…Continue Reading