Norm Reeves Honda 7th Annual NHP Car Show
I recently attended and participated in the Norm Reeves Honda 7th Annual NRP Car Show. This event that has always been near and dear to my heart because its main beneficiary is the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life. As a survivor myself, I can tell you that Relay For Life is a life changing event that helps communities all over the world and celebrates the lives of the people who have battled cancer, to remember loved ones lost, and to fight back against this awful disease. I was very proud to participate and to represent DaYUUM.com at this worthwhile event!
First of all, I want to give a serious “DaYUUM” shout-out to the event host Chris Pinedo, Norm Reeves Honda Performance Parts & Accessory Specialist. As the point man for this event, Chris and his crew did a seriously great job to insure that everything was organized, on time, and as advertised. The show went off without a glitch, including the ‘roll-in,’ for both vendors and competitors. Plus, they obviously made sure that all the obnoxious ‘look at me go fast and hear my exhaust’ dudes, knew that they were not welcomed! On a very classy note, Chris took the time to match names and faces with the pix of the rides he had received and personally welcomed each and every participant. It was a personal touch that I would love to see duplicated in other shows I’ve attended. “Great job Chris!”
I must admit that I was quite surprised at the awesome reception I received when people realized that I was part of the “the DaYUUM Crew!” We love to get out and meet with the people who follow us and read the coverage that we put out there for your personal enjoyment. “We truly thank you for your continued support, and we'll always try to get better! 
One of the first people I met at the show was Glen Villanueva, the owner of Long Beach Auto-Tech, and the winner of “THE BEST S2000” trophy. He immediately took me over to his “911 Red” S2000, opened up the hood and proudly showed me his gold leaf ‘DaYUUM’ sticker on his engine. Needless to say, I was very impressed! But it got even better because everyone in his crew, who were also in the show, had ‘DaYUUM’ stickers on their engines, or the back of their seats, or even on their personal gear. They all wanted to buy more but unfortunately, I didn’t happen to have any with me! Glen’s S2K is definitely one of the TIGHTEST ones I’ve seen around and you can clearly see all of the love, time, and attention to detail that went into it. Should you find yourself out in “the LBC” and need to get your JDM fix on, then I suggest you check out Glen’s shop.
As with any Honda only show, the Civic’s were more than well represented; so you really have to bring your “A-game” to make a splash at one of these events. Even if you owned a stock Civic, you could have gotten enough new ideas to empty your wallet for at least the next 12 months or more. I always admire creativity and ingenuity, and it was in total abundance at this show! The Acura’s were represented on a smaller basis, and there was a small sprinkle of Prelude’s, even a Ruckus or two, but the Civic’s ruled this show! One of the Civic owners I met, who went by the name “Biz,” was probably one of at least a half a dozen guys there with K-24 engine swaps. I can also tell you that some of these guys had more dollars invested under the hood than the base price of a new Civic! “WOW!!”
I also ran into Rudy Guzman from “The ENDZ” and it was especially nice to finally meet him and connect a name with a face. They specialize in promotional services merchandise, event coverage and aftermarket automotive support. Rudy had his camera glued to his hand and picked up some serious nice pix. Another super good guy I ran into was Darryl Lamano from JPHUSA. It was great to see him out there showing all the Honda’s some love. In my opinion, JPHUSA is definitely one of the very best Honda JDM aftermarket companies around. Hector Consuegra and I were there representing Elemental Motorsports and Honda Elements; both Hector and Darryl drive 2008 Root Beer Metallic Element SC’s, and mine, “Darth Raider,” is a 2005 Element EX.
As usual, the “itsjdmyo” team was well represented out there, especially with Michael Mao taking home the honors for “BEST NSX,” as he should have! Flat out, this is by far one of the most beautiful NSX’s that I’ve seen out there. I always love to see a ride where you can clearly see that it was… “BUILT NOT BOUGHT.” Michael, you definitely get a big “DaYUUM” salute for one hell of a gorgeous build!
I also had the pleasure of meeting Chris Pham of “My8thGen” Accords, and his lovely lady, Marukh Madad. Chris took home the trophy for “BEST ACCORD” and as far as I was concerned, his ride was my thumbs up favorite in that competition. They were well represented including a serious ‘lowrider’ Accord that was bagged front and rear, and even one that was “DONK’d!!!” They definitely had a little bit of everything there to fit your taste!
You can clearly see why we like to get out there and ‘meet n’ greet’ as many people as we can. You just never know who you’ll meet, or, as in the case of Sean Corbett of JDMReverend...“what you’re going to see!” Sean drove all the way from Arizona to display his extremely rare RHD 1984 Honda City Turbo II “Bulldog,” and an even rarer 1981 Motocompo motor bike. Back then, the bike was an available accessory you could order with the car in Japan. Other than being in an actual Honda museum, these are two vehicles that you are NEVER going to see on the streets! The City Turbo was the brainchild of Hirotoshi Honda, who is the son of Honda founder Soichiro Honda, and he is the founder and owner of Mugen. So basically, this was the first car that actually put Mugen on the map. “Way to go Sean!!!”
On behalf of “DaYUUM.com” I just want to thank everyone who participated in the show for this wonderful cause, because every dollar counts in the fight against cancer. I tried my best to get around and talk with everyone, but if I missed you, then please say hi the next time you see me. I am still always amazed at all the great people I meet when I’m out there and how much you guys care about what we do. DaYUUM.com keeps on trying to outdo itself because we actually feel like we owe you that much. So please stay tuned and always remember that…I’ll see you out on the streets!!!Chief DéMarks
