VIP Style

VIP Style refers to the modification of Japanese luxury automobiles to make them more fashionable and even more luxurious. VIP Style are typically large, expensive, rear-wheel drive sedans, though automotive enthusiasts use other cars like minivans and Kei cars. Once associated with the yakuza, VIP Style modifications now are a subset of automotive modification.


Cars associated with VIP Style usually have common characteristics; usually large diameter rims (usually broad faced designs) with low offsets that sit flush with the fender, exhausts that stick out past the rear bumper (although not so much emphasized these days), a full bodykit or lip kit, glossy paint and a lowered ride height (usually with coilovers in USA or air ride in the Australia). In Japan, cars use primarily gas. It is not uncommon to see extreme negative camber on many vip cars. Traditional colors of VIP Style cars are usually black, white, grey and silver (although more recently almost any color goes as long as the style characteristics stay true).

Most VIP Styled cars are Japanese luxury cars such as the Nissan President, Nissan Cima, Nissan Cedric, Nissan Gloria, Nissan Fuga, the Toyota Celsior, Toyota Century, Toyota Crown , Toyota Majesta and the Toyota Aristo, many high end flag-ship European cars are also known to be modified in such ways (most of them German luxury sedans such as the Mercedes S-Class and the Jaguar XJ sedans from the UK).


As automotive enthusiasts began to do their own versions of VIP, everything from minivans like the Toyota Estima and Honda Odyssey, to keicars like the Suzuki Cappucino and Toyota bB have received similar modifications.

Cal Look

A Cal looker is any aircooled Volkswagen that has been modified in a style that originated in California in the late 1960's.

The California Look has changed during the 30+ years of its lifespan. The most typical (and traditional) way to customise the exterior is to change the wheels and lower the suspension of the car. The favorite wheels are period-style EMPI 5- or 8-spokes, Speedwell BRMs, or Porsche factory rims like Fuchs from a classic 911.


One of the original California Look modifications is to replace or remove the bumpers and trim, either to give a cleaner look or to reduce the curb weight; if bumpers are removed, push bars are common. The stock bumpers are usually chromed or polished, sometimes painted or powder coated.

Cal Look has also been exported to non Volkswagen vehicles, such as the Hillman Imp, Fiat 500, Porsche 356, early Porsche 911, its VW based sisters and many others. These cars have the same modifications as their Volkswagen counterparts and are seen as alternatives to the Beetle, either due to cost or the desire to be different.

Lowering

At one point in time, everyone one of us has seen a lowered vehicle of some sort. Whether it’s a Honda Civic or a Lincoln Navigator, the uses and methods used to lower vehicles comes in a range of cheap to expensive and dangerous to safe. In this guide, I hope to explain some of the most common methods used and my opinion of them when car styling.

Let’s start with the basics. What is the point of the suspension? It’s not to make your butt feel nice. It’s basic use is to keep the friction of the tire on the road. Without keeping the tire in contact with the road, the car will just go in one direction. You won’t be able to turn because there won’t be anything pushing your car in any other direction. Given that basic fact, no matter what your reason is for lowering a car (looks, performance, etc), you must make sure to keep that basic idea in mind.

So now that you have that understanding, what are the components to lowering the car. There are three basic components: Springs, Shocks, Leaves, and Torsion Bars. Springs and shocks are used mostly on cars and light SUV’s. They can either be separated or come as one unit called a strut(which is very commonly used). A strut is nothing more than a shock pushed inside the spring. Leaves are usually used in the rear of heavy duty trucks and we won’t cover it as not many people actually lower heavy duty trucks as much. Torsion Bars too Aren’t as popular.

Car Styling