Like I said though, I still have love for those that accept that they do not have the right platform but still want to go with the style and be cool with it.

I've been kinda silent in responding to this thread....but I'm compelled to speak now. If you have to ask "is it VIP?" it's probably not. I'm saying this generally and definitely not trying to e thug on anyone. But honestly it is clear.

If you take a look at some of the other forums around the web, including VSC and LJC this question is the recurring theme of a bunch of posts; however, it is very clear that the full size Luxury Japanese four door Sedans are really the beginning of VIP (This of course includes Toyota and not just Nissan).

I think this is just the latest fashion in USDM import tuning and people are anxious to be a part of it. So they ask the question hoping that someone will agree with them and "bless" their car as a VIP platform. The problem with this approach is that the true progenitors of this style are borderline obsessive compulsive about keeping it pure. That same JDM obsession has translated to a few individuals here in the US who are very protective of this form of automotive styling. I'd like to count myself as one of them....although I've got a lot to learn.

I'd encourage anyone who has questions about what "qualifies as VIP" to look purchase some of the JDM Mags. Your question will be answered fully...and you will be left with no doubt as to what platforms are "true" VIP platforms. Look at the pics of some of the JDM meets and VIP festivals. You will not see one 240sx where the owner is trying to pass it off as VIP....no matter what wheels...and how they fit....or how much stretch....or how low, .....with or without a table, and a fusa, they cannot be VIP.

Finally no amount of self expression can overcome the fundamental requirement to have the correct platform. If you are truly VIP you will have the proper platform. If you are VIP style then you are imitating the cars with the proper platforms while using a platform that may be able to pull off a good imitation. This is a fundamental distinction....It's not for me to bash your attempt at imitation...it is afterall the most sincere form of flattery but it is still imitation. If you want to be imitated then you buy the true platform and do your thing using whatever self expression you would like to achieve the fundamental VIP look.

Just keeping it real and trying to keep this style pure as the originators intended. Again if you have to ask....its probably NOT VIP.

Well put Omari!

Oddly enough most people don't even begin to realize that even to be VIPstyled you need certain key features unless you want to be some other BS like inspired cued or whatever......

4 drLuxuryJapanese only (with the exception of the 300c and Mercedes and Jags)and you have to try harder....

and on that note... i'll say this:

Leaders don't lead because they know they are leaders, they do so because they're just moving faster than the rest..... while followers follow because they can't keep up. I don't have a "platform" do I care? NO. Was I the first to attempt a G35 done this way PROPERLY? yes. I got compliments from many OG's and Japanese OG's.... I never insulted them by saying my car was VIP and they never insulted me by saying it wasn't..... we all agreed I had a sick car and that's that....... stop bickering and make this section what it can be.... awesome! But that won't happen till you get your heads out of your bums long enough to see it, and of course till Grant is the Mod here!!!!!!!!! you got your handsful here Grant!!!!

SikNLow wrote:Oddly enough most people don't even begin to realize that even to be VIPstyled you need certain key features unless you want to be some other BS like inspired cued or whatever......

4 drLuxuryJapanese only (with the exception of the 300c and Mercedes and Jags)and you have to try harder....

and on that note... i'll say this:

Leaders don't lead because they know they are leaders, they do so because they're just moving faster than the rest..... while followers follow because they can't keep up. I don't have a "platform" do I care? NO. Was I the first to attempt a G35 done this way PROPERLY? yes. I got compliments from many OG's and Japanese OG's.... I never insulted them by saying my car was VIP and they never insulted me by saying it wasn't..... we all agreed I had a sick car and that's that....... stop bickering and make this section what it can be.... awesome! But that won't happen till you get your heads out of your bums long enough to see it, and of course till Grant is the Mod here!!!!!!!!! you got your handsful here Grant!!!!

spoken like a true leader.... sik's car was exactly that.....sick....until it met its unfortunate end....i still miss admiring all the pics of it. BTW I can vouch for never hearing him say my car is VIP....he just did his thing and everyone watched and respected. That's what this type of modding is all about.

I want Grant to be a mod, but unfortunately, I don't think it will happen. I still value his opinion and hope he frequents the forum.

I also agree with what you said sik. Well said. Now let's get some more threads started!

yeahioll never be a modI dont like to spoon feed, so they wont let me.

Hey Grant, I resent that! It's cool though bro!

http://www.hincity.com/blogs/a...G6QNY

Source....

http://www.highsocietyvip.com/vipstyle.html

Oh, where did I read that a FUGA is not a VIP chassis...

....large, rear wheel drive, 4 door sedan, V8, major VIP aftermarket support, plenty of examples in VIP Car and VIP Style....I'm really confused...

so are mercedes...........doesnt make them VIP.

yokota180sx wrote:so are mercedes...........doesnt make them VIP.

yokota180sx wrote:If its not big, have V8 or a turbo V6, 4 doors, and the main aero companies dont make aero for it...its not VIP.

So according to you, the Fuga is not a VIP platform because........ ??????

.......because you said so ????

Seems like a conflict of statements here.

mrmark wrote:So according to you, the Fuga is not a VIP platform because........ ??????

.......because you said so ????

Seems like a conflict of statements here.

Actually, Grant posted earlier that there are a few 'original' platforms. The Fuga is a newer platform thus I believe it falls from the VIP platform category. Please try not to attack people in here. If you want to contest something, fine. Be a little more mature about it please.

I was going to jump in earlier, but I didn't see anything too bad. I wouldn't call the exchange an "attack". I feel that would be a little melodramatic.

If someone wants to clarify information or misinformation, fine, do so. There are ways to do it without calling people out and making them look bad. Grant clearly stated the differences and has said that you can always research his info.

My apologies if I offended anyone, I just want to make sure that everyone is clear that this sub-forum will be free of bitchassness.

Takahiro Taketomi himself DOES consider the Fuga to be a VIP chassis. But once again, it's up to discretion. I'm willing to allow it to sneak in just because it's nice, but VIP to me still conjures up images or Yakuza rolling around in the older (90's) sedans. That's the one reason I miss living in the Bahamas. Seeing those bad boys rolling around and waiting for my savings to pile up enough to get my own.(I don't mean actual Yakuza's riding around now, I mean the cars they sold off lol)

Taken from:http://www.luxuryjcars.com/forums/index ... owtopic=24

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/p.../1029

Standing in the middle of a convention hall outside of Philadelphia, Takahiro Taketomi looks a bit like Bogey. His eyes are stern and focused and ringed by the charcoal hue of lost sleep. His short black hair is neat and smoothed and shines. He doesn’t smile. In fact, he speaks with a grimace and like he is always about to light a cigarette.

Taketomi is one of the self-proclaimed founders of VIP style, the next great Japanese micro-trend to surface in America. “Bippu style,” as it is colorfully known in Japan, starts with a high-power luxury sedan. The car is slammed on ultra-thin tires and trimmed with boxy body kits. At first glance, a VIP style car might look like any tuner sedan on its way to Hot Import Nights, but there are specific details that set it apart.

A VIP style car might have a billet grille or metallic trim lines or polished wood inside. Window curtains are big. So are aftermarket emblems and hood ornaments. The look is a bit like Scarface Goes to Japan. And legend has it VIP style has roots in the yakuza (organized crime in Japan). True or not, Taketomi makes a strong case on its behalf.

Through a translator, Taketomi tells us he built his first VIP style car, a Nissan Cedric, in 1993. Three years later he founded Junction Produce, which specializes in products for VIP style cars. Today it is one of the best-known marques in VIP tuning and has its brand on everything from body kits to wheels to cuff links and bracelets. Junction Produce is also the first company of its kind to make a big push into the United States.

According to Taketomi, true VIP style tuning is limited to only 10 Nissan and Toyota models: Nissan President, Cima, Gloria, Cedric and Fuga; Toyota Celsior, Century, Aristo, Crown and Majesta. That’s it. Since most of those models come with powerful turbocharged engines in Japan, VIP style cars are rarely tuned for performance. More important is that they’re slammed as low as they can go on the widest wheels possible. Most of the other tuning parts somehow assist in this goal.

VIP stylers use air suspensions to raise their cars to install the wheels and tires and then lower the car on top. Tires are stretched beyond their limits to fit on oversized wheels. Extreme offsets are used so the wheel lips kiss the fenders. And it’s not unusual to see 245/30R tires on 19x10.5-inch wheels—the tuning equivalent of Fat Albert wearing the shorts of his enunciation-challenged friend Mushmouth.

Kelvin Tohar of Falken Tires, which is helping to spread the word in America, says, “It’s not the safest thing to do and Falken doesn’t recommend you do it for daily driving, but it’s the style.” Falken has partnered with Junction Produce to hawk its line of FR452 tires. In exchange Falken promotes Junction Produce at tuner shows and SEMA events, like the International Auto Salon, where we met Taketomi.

Tohar, who has his own VIP style Lexus GS 300 that he calls by its Japanese moniker Aristo, tells me elegance is the underlying statement. “At car shows, most [owners] won’t raise their hoods because it disrupts the flow of the car,” he says. “Even the Junction Produce exhaust is more of an aesthetic.”

Elegance is the word that’s repeated like a mantra by VIP style owners and companies. But it’s a strange sort of elegance. VIP style companies like Junction Produce, Wald and Auto Couture have logos that look vaguely Oxford Street but are more a Japanese version of mafia royalty, without any ironic subtext, like you’d imagine the parts delivered in purple velvet bags, à la Crown Royal.

And the parts aren’t cheap. Outfitting a car VIP style can run up to $20,000 and beyond. But as Tony Montana says in Scarface, “You gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.”

Nice find. I guess I was wrong (which as I stated in the first post, if any updated info is offered, or a correction, I will fix it.).

PantherRacer wrote: ....Falken has partnered with Junction Produce to hawk its line of FR452 tires. In exchange Falken promotes Junction Produce at tuner shows and SEMA events, like the International Auto Salon, where we met Taketomi.

Nice.....guess who's car was in the Falken booth in Vegas and IAS when JP and Falken first teamed up....

could care less

Fuga is not VIP.

yokota180sx wrote:could care less

Fuga is not VIP.

VIP God has spoken........so it must be true....

Next you're going to say the new LS is not a VIP platform....

Oddly enough what nobody understands is that VIP doesn't start or end with Taketomi. I'm sorry but it DIDN'T start with him.... he just made a business out of it, it's like saying the owner of APC started the Honda scene. I'm sorry but it also doesn't end with him, what he has to say has no bearing in this style, it's what the japanese enthusiasts do or say that dictate what is the end results of this style. They are the ones driving this not him, and they are the ones expanding on this style. Tradition is very important but it is never wise to live and die for it, meaning there will be change and believe me..... it is coming.

SikNLow wrote:Oddly enough what nobody understands is that VIP doesn't start or end with Taketomi. I'm sorry but it DIDN'T start with him.... he just made a business out of it, it's like saying the owner of APC started the Honda scene. I'm sorry but it also doesn't end with him, what he has to say has no bearing in this style, it's what the japanese enthusiasts do or say that dictate what is the end results of this style. They are the ones driving this not him, and they are the ones expanding on this style. Tradition is very important but it is never wise to live and die for it, meaning there will be change and believe me..... it is coming.

This is exactly why VIP has not really caught on here in the US. First, not enough of the "designated" VIP platforms made it out of Japan, and the "definition" or "guidelines" or interpritation" are very blurred. Even the site dedicated to VIP cars here in the US is full of different opinions, views, and intepretations. Some conflict, others flat out dissagree. VIP here has been, and always will be, a small niche market....not much we can do about it.

True, Takatomi is not the "be all, end all" authority on VIP...actually, no one is. Even in the 2 articles I wrote way back when, I went to different sources to obtain different views, and they varied too from manufacturer to manufacturer and from enthusiest to enthusiest.

I would say instead of being hard-up on what VIP or what it isn’t, take from the style and adapt it to what you like as an individual. Be happy with the end results because it’s something that you like, not what someone else tells you it should be. This may make the die-hard VIP enthusiasts cringe, but so be it. In the end, it’s your car…and your money.

mrmark wrote:
VIP God has spoken........so it must be true....

Next you're going to say the new LS is not a VIP platform....

LS is a VIP platformalways has been

you however, will most liekly never build a VIP platform

yokota180sx wrote:
LS is a VIP platformalways has been

you however, will most liekly never build a VIP platform

Did you mean build a VIP car from the proper platform? Or fabricate an original platform from scratch?

While it doesn't have crazy camber, this Gloria is pretty damn nice.


Modified by Haitian_King at 1:16 AM 6/8/2008

yeah, but i never viewed it as VIP.

i realllllly like that car, but its not low enough, fitment isnt good enough

BUT hey, its got a fusa right? has to be VIP

yokota180sx wrote:yeah, but i never viewed it as VIP.

i realllllly like that car, but its not low enough, fitment isnt good enough

BUT hey, its got a fusa right? has to be VIP

LOL....so a Y34 Gloria is not a VIP car??? LOL....

So my M45 is not a VIP platform and the stance is wrong too and poor wheel fitment....LOL

http://s16.photobucket.com/alb...p.jpg

http://s16.photobucket.com/alb...8.jpg

http://s16.photobucket.com/alb...7.jpg

http://s16.photobucket.com/alb...4.jpg

Too bad this is not VIP ..... but since you are the worlds VIP expert, I will take my humble little car out....

thats wnot what i said

all platforms of gloria/cedric are VIPbut the way that car (i presume is yourS) is styled, isnt really vipmore EXE than VIP in the pictures above

im not the VIP expert, but i know a decent amount.

But remarkable, with guess what...New wheels and a better stance, BAM hella more vip style than the before pictures.

so, that being said. are you just looking for reasons to argue with me?

i mean, with those other wheels on and monster ride height, it was hardly able to be classified as VIP unless maybe you took a poll on VSC, then it might be. But that would have been laughed at here in japan...but now, its clean.

mrmark wrote:
LOL....so a Y34 Gloria is not a VIP car??? LOL....

So my M45 is not a VIP platform and the stance is wrong too and poor wheel fitment....LOL

http://s16.photobucket.com/alb...p.jpg

http://s16.photobucket.com/alb...8.jpg

http://s16.photobucket.com/alb...7.jpg

http://s16.photobucket.com/alb...4.jpg

Too bad this is not VIP ..... but since you are the worlds VIP expert, I will take my humble little car out....

Is that the car from the IT article???

Yes.

I'm still a little shocked to find out that a VIP enthusiast of Mark's caliber is so close to me. And the shop is just a skosh further.

I wish there were more around here. Especially with that much enthusiasm.

ughreally though, i cant get over how good it looks on those wheels

complete 180