Houston Autorama – Thanksgiving Texas Tradition

Welcome to the Houston Autorama show. For the last half century plus, this show has built a Lone Star State Thanksgiving tradition amongst locals and out of town travelers alike. The massive automotive festival takes place in the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. Inside the monstrous and beautiful facility, more than 400 custom rides gather upon hallowed hot rod grounds over the Thanksgiving weekend to give thanks for wicked rides and the builders and companies that support them. Photos: Joshua Robinson & Matthew Gutierrez | Words: Michael Phillips The show welcomes drivable art in multiple categories, including hot rods, motorcycles, and of course, trucks. Houston Autorama operates as a candy-paint magnet, drawing passionate and talented builders from all over the globe to display their work for the masses. All of this thoroughly organized madness is managed by none other the Championship Auto Show Inc. and holds membership with the International Show Cars Association.…Continue Reading

Android App Now LIVE For Air Lift Performance 3H System

Its been said many a time that, “Champions don’t get ready, they stay ready.” For this reason, Air Lift Performance continues to support and develop their products, and provide superior service and innovation in air suspension. As described in other announcements, the 3H setup provides absolute control of height and pressure, allowing for infinite combinations of ride style and tune-ability. The 3H is the culmination of several years of R&D that have been poured into creating an unparalleled product. The 3H system uses height and pressure sensing technology to deliver the user’s desired ride height with minimal need for increased pressure, all the while allowing for the individual control of both. As a base system, Air Lift also provides the 3P, utilizing the pressure adjustment as a stand alone unit. The 3P system can be upgraded after installation, to the more advanced 3H height-sensing system. Both the 3H and 3P systems…Continue Reading

The Passing of a Legend: Frank Currie

A sad day has fallen on the world of Motorsports, yet again. March 2nd, 2016 now marks the passing of Frank Currie. Mr. Currie passed on peacefully this past Wednesday night. After 61 years of marriage, his wife and their four sons we able to be with him for his last hours. It is a time the Currie family will treasure above all others, for years to come. Frank passed in his hometown, Yorba Linda, CA with his family by his side. The legend was a Southern California native for the duration of his life and from there changed the world of Hot Rodding with everlasting effects. Frank Currie was born to a family of five children in 1929, in Anaheim. His influence in the origins of Hot Rodding is unprecedented as he helped to pioneer the building of Ford Model As and Ts. His work with over-head motor conversion…Continue Reading

Laid Out At The Lake – Trucks Invade New Zealand

New Zealand’s trucking scene is still relatively small, compared to that of Australia and the States. Nevertheless the New Zealand show making quite a splash in the custom truck scene, now known as Laid Out at the Lake has achieved great success – becoming a full-blown customs event in just four years time. The annual show began in 2012, founded by Ben Wolferstan and Kirk Lyons. Its first run featured just 25 vehicles and was made up of mostly minitrucks with a few ‘bagged cars. Although with the killer atmosphere and vibe, it was quite apparent that the event would take off, becoming something truly special with Laid out at the Lake growing exponentially over the last few years – with no signs of it slowing down anytime soon. Photos: Avit “Toasty” Chauhan  | Words: Michael Phillips & Promoters Laid Out at the Lake takes place in Taupo, New Zealand. There, The Great…Continue Reading

Double Trouble: Time Traveling With BJ’s Bronco & Ranger

Rounding out Issue 10 and our Truck Special is this Time Traveling blue oval duo. When one mentions the phrase Time Traveling, what is your immediate response? For some, the thought brings excitement, interest, and far-fetched hope (along with plenty of one-liners from Back To The Future). Since we’re on that subject, we need to quickly side bar that we’re still seething about the “hoverboards” brought to us in 2015. Quite frankly they’re nothing like that which Marty McFly had envisioned, nor the hot-rodded version that Biff and the boys used to chase him down. Even still, knowing its gargantuan unlikelihood, you’ll still take a moment to try and conceive what you would or wouldn’t do if given the opportunity to visit the past. Apart from all the truly wonderful (or terrifying) thoughts associated with traveling through space and time, we would be sorely wrong if we chose to ignore the similar magic…Continue Reading

Slam’d Kids: Max & Myles’ Speedshop Family Heritage

From day one, Slam’d has set out to make a difference with the next generation of automotive enthusiasts. As generations pass, we leave parts of ourselves buried deeply in hammered metal, worn-out upholstery, and iron blocks. Our cars need care takers, but more importantly, the world needs cars. There is an age old relationship between man and machine. For us, the automobile serves as a perfect slate to imprint our souls upon. Every member of the Slam’d family has a point in their life when they knew they possessed a real passion for cars; a passion that required expression. My own family tree is littered with car parts and racetracks. I can recall being 5 years old, laying on a creeper, spending the entire day underneath my grandfather’s dirt track stock car (number 00). He patiently answered my countless questions about this tool and that part, even attempting to explain…Continue Reading

Upgraded Audi B8 Pro Kits From Air Lift Performance

It’s no secret that we adore our Slam’d cars and trucks. Whether a car/truck is a new addition to the stable, an ongoing project, or a hand-me-down treasure, we drive and build with pride and joy. Many of us would even venture far enough to say that our vehicle(s) exists as a member of our family. All of us want what is best for that which we love. With so much attention and care given to our rides, few things are more appreciated than a company that listens to its users and improves its product based on that feedback. New Product: Upgraded Air Lift Performance Pro Audi B8 Kits Now Shipping In the ongoing pursuit of perfection, Air Lift Performance has released an all new, threaded body kit for the Audi B8 platform. The B8 platform underpins the entire Audi A4 and A5 model line-ups. This includes all FWD and Quattro (AWD)…Continue Reading

4Stunner Video Feature: Mark Ratkovic’s 1990 Toyota 4Runner

There is a time honored saying, something along the lines of, “good things come to those who wait.” We at Slam’d we have to respectfully disagree. In our language, the phrase more accurately translates to, “good things come to those who work hard for them.” For those who need to see in order to believe, we offer the 1990 Toyota 4Runner (aka 4Stunner) that belongs to Mark Ratkovic. By Mark’s own hands, dedication, and vision, this build has been in process for more than three harsh winters in Alberta. Though its owner assures us that there is always more to come, what we see before us now is certainly a tangible fulfillment, of the aforementioned proverb. Photos: Christine Elliot – Tailored Media Productions | Video: Vital Productions | Words: Michael Phillips Not all 4Runners are created equal. Assuredly, not all are built to crawl. Mark purchased his 1990 Toyota 4Runner for a mere…Continue Reading

Slaying A Fickle Creature: Landon Brown’s 1973 Datsun 620

The internet has helped turn the automotive hobby into quite a fickle creature these days. Owners vie for their 15 seconds of fame trying to score that “feature” on the million different regurgitated Instagram pages out there, which in reality brings very little satisfaction that a true passion for our beloved craft ought to. The satisfaction is intended to be about walking to your garage, to a vehicle that you get excited to drive. It’s meant to be a machine that you tediously molded into a piece of art, that you are proud of, no matter what the current public opinion is. It’s about a connection when you are behind the wheel and an escape from the lingering stress of earthly life. It is brotherhood and camaraderie, not just getting sloshed and raising havoc on hosting towns. This hobby we have come to love is about the laid back times…Continue Reading

Ocean’s Blue: Steven Bogue’s Gorgeous 1966 C-10 Build

Over the last few years, the Chevy C-10 has become increasingly popular as a platform for customs. This elegant and classic design is currently making waves across the truck scene and we’ve been privileged enough to see many beautiful examples (especially at this year’s SEMA Show). The Chevy C-10 has the ability to achieve the quintessential Slam’d look – as they have a directly proportional, frame-to-jaw drop ratio – making them ideal for the daily cruiser or shop truck style build. All of this is especially true of the gorgeous C-10 laid out before you, now known as “Ocean’s Blue” for obvious reasons. Despite their current trendiness, we know that Steven Bogue built his 1966 for purely personal motivations, and it is definitely one of our favorites to date. With the help of his best bud, Ron Wagnor, Steven began this particular project in order to check a box off his bucket…Continue Reading

Slam’d Mag End of Year Awards – People’s Choice 2015

Another crazy year has 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 photographed 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 from all over the U.S., Japan, Australia, Canada, Europe, and more. 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).…Continue Reading

Killer Kryptonite: A Super-Hero Slaying GMC

Like it’s namesake Kryptonite, Matt Dower’s 1993 Sierra is capable of stopping the most seemingly super-trucks, dead in their tracks. A proper intro ought to mention that Matt’s Sierra can leap the competition in a single bound. This GMC’s electrically emerald exterior is easily one of the most powerful colors we have ever come across, while still keeping it totally classy. This may not be a comic book, but we are proud to showcase Kryptonite, a clean and classy build, demonstrating Mr. Dower’s impressive work. Matt is no stranger to building stellar rides and he has plenty of them under his automotive belt. His resume includes several VWs as well as multiple trucks, built for both on and off road application. With this sort of experience on tap, this build came together in just eight short months. Matt was able to put together this ultra clean Sierra, blending the modern sport…Continue Reading