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I remember when I first started drifting, it was pretty close to 95% AE86s out there.  Those that didn’t drift an AE86 were myself and Mark Hutchinson with S13s, and a small handful of others.  I remember being the only 240sx at Drift Day… nowadays you will probably only see a couple AE86s with the rest being 240sxs (and maybe a Miata or a couple FCs, but mostly 240sxs).

Time keeps passing and the 240sx keeps getting older, which means the beloved SR20DET is also getting older and will eventually be pretty hard to come by.  I think you’ll eventually see the 240sx die out at drift events… but probably not as much as the AE86 has.  Drifting may die out too, but I think the 240sx’s popularity would die out before drifting would.

So what’s going to replace the 240sx?  The 350Z and G35 since they’ve been in production for almost 10 years from now and I think it’s pretty safe to say they are starting to become pretty affordable to buy as a dedicated track car.  Oh, and not to mention the obvious – these cars have huge aftermarket support.

Every once in a while, I’ll see a car and think to myself – I wonder what that would be like as a drift car.  I think a lot of people are starting to think that way… Now I see people buying Mustangs, Lexus GS300s, Cressidas, IS300s, etc.  I think we can also thank Formula D teams for showing us that it’s possible to drift almost anything (although maybe not always successfully at that level of competition).

I decided to compile a list of cars that I often wonder about as an alternative to the 240sx.  What do you think?

• Cadillac CTS-V – Would definitely be fun to drive.  I was also going to say these things are ugly and what’s the point… but then I found the image below.  Looks good to me!!  But expensive…
  
• Subaru Impreza STI – I think this car has a lot going for it… it looks good, it’s got a lot of aftermarket support, and it’s got proven engine.  Plus it’s a hatch, so you can fit plenty of spare tires in the trunk.  The problem (I’ve heard) is the suspension is setup for AWD, so there is no self steering as you’d find in a car based on the FR platform.
  
• Infiniti G35 Sedan (V36) – Engine is a blast, I can see it looking good, and I know that it drifts well, but expensive as well.
  
• Lincoln LS – I know that they  come with a V8.  But they also look like a yacht.
  
• BMW M3 (E30) – These cars are so gorgeous!  I just can’t see myself destroying one on the track!
  
• BMW M3 sedan (E36) – The reason I picked this is because I think we need to see more 4 doors drifting.
  
• Nissan 300ZX (Z32) – Street legal turbo v6… why aren’t more people doing it?
  
• Acura NSX – Just because I think the engine makes a great sound and it would look crazy doing some skidding.
  
• Hyundai Genesis – This is a pretty boring selection, but I think it has a lot of potential to become really popular in drifting.
  

I was reminded of my old SSR MKIII by my buddy Rob who is selling a bunch of cool used wheels from Japan.   All of my old 15″ wheels were bought from friends or businesses when they were already imported to the USA… except for my SSR MKIII.

Did You Know…

that my SSR MKIII were sold to me by one of the dudes in Night Zone?

My buddy Ogawara Ken was in contact with them and made the deal happen.

My car with SSR MK-III in the rear and MK-II in the front

Team Night Zone

Back when we would get kicked out of events and yelled at, we used to go to this track instead.

map

So many memories on this road.

On a side note, you can actually double click on the map and see street view. Nice!

I was looking for a picture of Suenaga and me back when I got my D1GP license, and I came across this blog…
Bleacher Report’s Who’s Hot and Who’s Not – All D1 Drivers and Notes on Who They Are

I was for certain I would be on the “who’s not” list, but he didn’t really have that. But being at the bottom of the list with 0 points since 2003 pretty much sums it up! NICE!

Article was written more recently than I thought – in October 2008.

Ladies, I still got it. Holla!