Text by Eric Lopez. Ohotos by Mario Cruz, Raymond Romero
Automotive Connection (AutoCon) - A day where the best of the best come out from vendors, cars, food trucks, models and enthusiasts alike as they all connect in a day that comes together seamlessly. AutoCon has been around a few years now and we were excited to be invited to this years' event. The location of the event was on display in front of the Santa Anita Race Track where the horses come to play. Knowing the general area we knew it would bring out some of the best because it is central to the Inland Empire and Los Angeles, with Orange and San Diego County not too far away.
For an event of this size we were shocked to see same day roll in, but with the structured setup and times for everyone to enter, all was up and ready for the masses outside the gate to come in and enjoy the show. Summer definitely is upon us in CA, as the temperature easily reached 100 degrees with not a cloud in the sky, but luckily we had a few choice breezes that came through to cool us down. Right in front we noticed all the food trucks lined up against the east fence of the event. Not your typical food trucks though: Buffalo Wild Wings truck with the staff that looked like they were recruited from the main model lounge. A Sushi Burrito truck which had a long line the majority of the day, and also a Hawaiian Shaved Ice and Boba truck, just to name a few!
As we made our way over to the Main Model Lounge, we see the Kuya Protection crew and Big Abe protecting the girls making sure everyone was on their best behaviors. Once we made our way through, we see an old friend of ours, The Real Jeri Lee signing a few photos for fans and snapping pictures. Nikita Esco was posing next to the AutoCon backdrop for a select few photographers. Melissa Riso, Corissa Furr and Marissa Hiroko stepped outside the tables for a few shots and the crowd flocked over with cameras to catch the trio together. Everyone definitely had their game faces on. AutoCon definitely did not fall short.
The highly talked about "Automotive Runway" took center stage as this is where featured rides get displayed for everyone to see. Vinyl wrap seems to be the new craze right now and Impressive Wrap came out and did just that. The new Scion FR-S was rolled onto the stage and within 10-15 minutes this company amazed us all with a complete roof wrap job by two of their elite employees. Later in the event they also wrapped an entire front end of a Scion iQ at their booth not too far away. Unfortunately halfway through the event, the MC asked for the RDB super truck to come on the stage, and before making it up, the ramp was damaged by the behemoth. This brought the runway to an abrupt end.
The vendors seem to never disappoint when they come to shows and today was a perfect example. JDM Sport with several giveaways, Whiteline with their awesome display of performance product and Impressive Wrap with their live demos. DaYUUM! with their "Hott Hunnies" displaying their product. RockStar Energy had their lounge giving away drinks and keeping some of the crowd cool, and the Geisha Events Ladies representing Cars4Cancer collecting donations in exchange for decals. Overall the day was a complete success.
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