For all the haters, some of who I work with, that say VW can’t make a quality sports car (outside of Audi and Porsche – keeping the VW name)…fall back b!tches! Here you have one of the best looking roadsters to emerge in recent years and proudly sporting the infamous VW logo. The 6 Speed diesel leaps forward without hesitation and handles like it has adhesive tires. If I had to pick a new vehicle in 2010, it would be the all-new ‘baby-boxster’, the VW Blue Sport.

I’ve had a lot of VWs in my day, mainly primitive GTIs, Corrados and Jettas. Most of these spirited, well-intended German ideas were powered by a 1.8 liter, 8 valve 4 cylinder. The only car that even felt remotely like a decent accelerating and respectably handling car was the numerous VW Rabbit GTIs I owned over the years. To this day, I still love getting behind the wheel of these things. Though, there was definitely some room for improvement in the visual aspects of the boxy-looking bubble. The Blue Sport’s first and most important feature is its stunning streamline body breaks and uncharacteristic of VW; its fluid body lines.  I’ll be first in line to round up this thing come 2010. V-Dub. V-Duuuuuuub

Decisions, decisions..picking out the right set of rims to fit your. This is where the body style of your particular model really comes into play. You’re not going to put some Euro VW wheels on a Subaru (Dear God, Please..no). That’s like..a sin or some sort. Putting European styled or influenced on Japanese or any Asian manufactured car is a big no-no in my book; it just doesn’t look right. Mercedes Rims belong on a Mercedes, Audi wheels should go on an Audi. I have this thing with ‘keeping it in the family’, meaning that it would (theoretically) be okay to put Porsche 911 wheels on a Volkswagen because they stem from the same ‘family’. That might be stretching it a little, but you understand.

BMW Rims are notorious for their unique designs that seem to only work when they are on a Bimmer. Rims in general have come a long way since people began modifying their cars in the 1950s and 60s. Cadillac wheels seem to be as big as someone can fit underneath (or not) of their car. Acura Rims continue to change colors and emulate throwing stars and so on. I’m in favor of what looks right on the car; and that usually means the rims have been made by that manufacturer at some point. Adding some Cadillac Escalade accessories to something that isn’t in the family of  Cadillacs would just look silly. The same applies to Corvette Parts. Sometimes, as with this instance, certain parts will only look suitable on that particular car and nothing else. C6 parts look out of place on a C5. However, sometimes upgrading to the latest version of that model can modernize your car instantly. For instance, adding the current Jeep Wrangler wheels to your old roofless ride will make it look relative (no pun) again going down the highway.

Universal car parts are always a welcome addition to any car, regardless of the year, make or model. Okay, maybe not vertical door kits, but installing HID headlight kits can provide added light coverage at night and a lot of new cars still aren’t coming equipped with this state of the art lighting technology. Wide body kits can give your car and entirely new image simply by adding bolt-on body parts that make your car appear wider than it actually is. If you do go with one of these eye catching setups, you’ll definitely want to upgrade with some other performance car parts or you might get laughed at. Mustang body kits look fine as long as you keep the original Mustang Emblems because that is a car everyone can laugh at, even if they can’t tell what it is thanks to the hideous bodykit they’ve thrown on. If I ever see a customized ‘Stang roll through my hood, you’re leaving without an all out assault from my Paint ball gun. If you want to add some Acura parts to your Integra; great. Just be sure they look right with each other or your car might stick out like a sore thumb. That’s not always a good thing.

Over the recent weekend, my family got into a discussion, we’ll call it, about our favorite cars. While I was opening some of the BMW parts I ordered and my dad was bragging about the all Corvette parts he has added to his C6 since he got it, my brother walked in.

“All them parts you guys are talking about won’t do anything anyways; I don’t know why you guys waste your money,” he says he fine tunes his RC Car. The funny part is that he is probably more obsessed with that thing than we are about our actual cars. The only thing he’s done to his daily driver is add some truck accessories to his 4×4. Me, on the other hand; I’ve been adding aftermarket stuff to all of my cars. I added some Volkswagen parts to my Rabbit GTI like bolt on Exhaust. I even thought of adding one of the wide body kits available for it, but decided not to and two weeks later I wrecked it. I added custom Mercedes Parts to the SUV I had along with some HID lights.

I’ve got everyone in the family obsessed with custom parts. My mom even buys random things for her various patio sets. So we might not agree on which Performance Chip benefits which car more or what looks better with aftermarket spoilers installed, we all can agree we like putting our own touch on everything we do for a hobby. Sometimes, we spend a little too much time and money on whatever it is that we are currently into when we could be spending a little more of both on other members of the family.

What a day yesterday was. . Before I left for a bike ride, I ordered some personalized poker chips and watched The Minnesota Timberwolves bring on who I hoped they’d bring to the team in Ricky Rubio. I trolled around the lakes and came home to hear that Michael Jackson had died, an idol of mine growing up. Before I started becoming obsessed with collecting VW wheels and painting cheap body kits for people, I wanted to be an entertainer. Mike was the guy everyone admired. .before he became a complete weirdo in his mid 30s.

After that brief time period of finding my entertainment niche, I realized that I wasn’t built to entertain thousands with my dance moves. I was a car guy who loved to modify cars. BMW performance parts were some of the first mods I began playing around with. I found myself installing full body kits on E30s and other types of cars as well. My brother was all about the lights, recently the HID light kits that recently became available for any car. Personally, I was more concerned with performance and the look. It became my number one hobby; personalizing my rides.

In my free time as a child, I sifted through several hobbies before finding my love for basketball. I tried my hand with paintball guns; no dice. I looked for air hockey tables for sale for years so I could round up the neighborhood at my house, but that never panned out. And after I turned 16, riding my moped while wearing various cheap motorcycle helmets became embarrassing. I briefly experimented with remote controls; mainly electric rc planes. It was fun, I have to admit but I got sick of that too. I stuck with cars and helping my friends out when I could to learn as much as I could. I’ve now installed everything from Cadillac Escalade exhaust to custom Cadillac Rims to Mercedes Headlights. Though I work on fancy cars, that doesn’t mean you’ll be catching me eating cavier anytime soon. I tend to like the older, junkier cars that most people wouldn’t be caught dead in.

There long standing argument of what really is best performance car for the money is still debatable today. Chevy has done a great job of combining affordability with straight forward power (no pun) through the Corvette performance division of GM. The same can be said for the BMW performance team, who is constantly releasing high performance models. And you will always have the die-hard, American muscle fans who swear by Mustang performance through the various special editions that Ford releases. Granted, all of these vehicles are respectable in their own right, everyone has their favorites.

Personally, I love seeing the results on my car after I pick up random Porsche 911 parts and install them myself. There is some sort of satisfaction that comes with doing things yourself. Then again, you’re the only one to blame if you installed something incorrectly. For instance, my first install wasn’t some as complicated as a BMW supercharger. If I recall correctly I spent most of my time tinkering with old Volkswagens and swapping VW wheels on and off. I later helped friends with random parts they would pick up here and there, and somehow they made their way up to my place for a little assistance. Through experience, I learned that some of the most difficult items to install appear to be some of the easiest at first. RSX body kits and 350z body kits are hard to align correctly with the rest of the body breaks, but when you’re just looking at the pieces it appears you should just be able to paint and install the parts. Not so easy.

Some more things that appear to be easy to install at first glance, but aren’t necessarily are various add-on parts like Mercedes Performance Parts and Acura accessories. Both manufacturers have a huge following in the aftermarket and car lovers are constantly trying to put their spin on their ride through the addition of custom accessories. And sometimes, even though the car has just been released, companies have already begun developing and releasing aftermarket parts like the Dodge Charger accessories that are already out.

When you want make the decision to buy a 4×4 vehicle; you usually fall into at least one of three categories: 1), where you live gets a substantial amount of snow 2) Going off road in a car, mudding, whatever – is a hobby of yours or 3) you just want to look cool in something that is jacked up. You’ve seen the guy with all the custom Jeep Wrangler parts you can imagine installed on his roofless 4×4. He’s got the shades on, the bleached blonde hair and usually no shirt. Custom car accessories say a lot about a person and sometimes not in a good way.

You’ve got to take some consideration into what you’re doing, how it will look and what people will think when you start modifying your car. You wouldn’t want to pick a Subaru Justy and fabricate carbon fiber body kits to fit it. Not only is the car stupid to begin with, those types of custom car parts and accessories on that type of car only make you look like more of an idiot. That said, when done right, aftermarket car accessories can provide a nice accent to certain areas of your car as long as you don’t go overboard. If don’t think it’s a good idea to spend that much money on something that will only embarrass you, maybe you should just take some ladies out and buy caviar instead. That will impress them far more than a 1979 Ford truck with homemade clear tail lights and projector F150 headlights. Before you start installing custom Jeep Cherokee accessories on that old rust bucket, consider what it might look like cruising down the highway next to a late model BMWs.

One of the best things about shopping for RC car parts is they are all over the place. If you’re even moderately into aftermarket car parts for the car you drive everyday, you know that classifieds sections of several websites are flooded with used parts, new parts that were never used and other odds and ends. Having an RC car and putting some time and effort into ‘souping’ it up, can be very rewarding. You know the feeling you get when you take your car for the first drive after you’ve done some sort of modification; adding cat back exhaust or installing a cold air intake. You want to see the difference (hopefully gain) each part makes. It’s the same idea, just on a smaller scale. RC car racing is very competitive and if you take your machine out there without taking a few test runs first, you’ll probably get lapped or laughed off the track.

There is and has always been a big controversy over which is better; electric rc cars , rc airplanes or rc boats?   The truth is, they race them all, there is a huge enthusiast base for all and there is a huge replacement and racing parts aftermarket for the three of them. So really, it’s just a personal preference. Personally, I like the nitro rc cars because of the distinctive exhaust note that they produce; taking cues from a full sized car right down to the combustion engine and accompanying exhaust. There are both types of RC cars for sale all over the place. Usually you can find them at your local hobby shop, but some of the deals on the net are hard to pass up. Another growing trend in remote control cars are the mini RC cars. A mini rc car is simply a very small setup and usually intended for toying around the kitchen or patio, however recently people have started modding those too! People want to upgrade everything. When it comes to RC helicopters, people should really get the hang of flying one first, before tossing upgrades at it. ..could get dangerous if you reverse the order.

You’re sitting outside, it’s smoldering hot and you feel like you’re got all the time in the world. You’re chillin’ with your girl and she says, “You’re lazy”, but you kindly let her know that she needs to refer to your sedentary state as merely contemplating your next move.

Days get long when you’re bored and it’s hard to focus on one thing when you have a million things running through your head. Paintball gun action is always fun, but that means you’ll have to run around quite a bit and that’s no fun for anyone, unless you…well, like running. Your friend Billy is trying his hand at getting his Honda Civic to squeak below 18 seconds in the quarter mile by installing some performance chips, but that definitely doesn’t sound like fun. Your mom asked you to help her rearrange the patio set, but you can imagine how that might go over.  

I’m into European cars and picking up Volkswagen parts is always an option when I’m searching for something to do. My GTI seems to need something replaced every other week. I used to have an old Benz that was even worse. I’m not even sure why I like European cars so much; I spend more time underneath them than I do driving them. I sunk thousands of dollars into that piece, on Mercedes parts only to have the engine blow up on me a few weeks later. The roof later became the landing pad for my RC helicopters. Once the weeds starting growing through the windows, it was time to haul it to the crusher.

Last summer, my VW GTI was the recent recipient of an air ride setup that currently isn’t working out too well. It rides like I swapped out every OEM part and a 10 year old fabricated a bunch of Acura parts in their place. The car is a complete rattle trap and I’m thinking of just selling all of my cars, packing my suitcase and trying my hand with the poker chip next time the big tournament comes to town.

I’ve always been into tinkering, as I like to call it, with stuff. Turning knobs, flipping switches, and pushing buttons is somewhat of a pastime of mine. Yes, many times it’s gotten me into trouble. I remember the first time my brother bought some certain, undisclosed VW Parts and turned his old school bug into a flame throwing monster. It was the coolest thing I had ever scene at the time and it kind of sparked my interest in blowing stuff up. I first experimented on my own RC plane that I had received as a gift. I never did learn how to fly that damn thing and so I thought I’d get some real use out of it and just enjoy blowing it up.

I grabbed the best protection I could find, which was an old motorcycle helmet hanging in the garage and started conjuring up ideas on what to do with the RC airplane. It was quiet large and pretty intimidating to those who had never seen one flown before. I thought about strapping paintball guns to the side and figuring out a way to launch an all out assault on the neighborhood bully, but that idea never came to fruition.

Anyways, I managed to round up some firecrackers, M80s and what have you. A week prior I was grounded for ruining one of my mother’s patio sets with the remains of another explosives experiment gone wrong documenting my actions on her outdoor patio set. I had to be extra careful with this one. I thought the safest way would be to sift through my dad’s Corvette parts and find the gas can. I doused the remote control with gasoline, started it up and it flew for about 15 seconds before something melted and it nose dived into the ground. A complete waste of a time. Not only was I out my only RC air plane, wasted the lawn mower gas and didn’t impress anyone – I was grounded for another 2 weeks for being idiot.

I was thinking of a picking up a hobby that didn’t consume as much of my money or my time; which is hard to do. I tend to get lost in things and usually use (lose) a lot of money along the way.  The car-thing is fun, don’t get me wrong. However, it does require a certain amount of time, money and most importantly – space. After a recent move,  I don’t have much of the latter and the neighbors don’t really appreciate me changing my oil in the street.  So, here I am in search of something comparible; something to fill need for speed in my life without getting behind the wheel of one of my cars. Enter RC Cars.

Now, when you’re entering the chaotic world of Remote Controls, there are several options to choose from. The market continues to grow and so do the products for RC helicopters, RC boats and nitro RC cars. All of these remote controlled vehicles have a substantial following. Personally, I’d like to have an RC boat, but I’m afraid of the water. Okay, I’m not afraid but the idea of hundreds of dollars of electronics sitting on top of the water doesn’t sound like a thrill ride to me; sounds more like a potential meltdown in a public setting (which I can do without).  I decided to borrow some friend’s nitro RC cars to see if I could bring myself to shell out the money on one.

Okay, after some cohersing and bribery I managed to get my paws on some very fancy equipment. I really shouldn’t have been starting out with such a fast RC car, but I didn’t have many options. I supposed I could have taken up board games or picked up an air hockey table, but I value a good sun tan. Anyways, I drove this thing around for a good few hours and after about ten catostrophic wrecks and nearly injuring several elderly ladies, I decided this probably isn’t the best idea for me. I just pick up a poker chip set and convince my friends to play outside.