Danger Ranger

The year was 2016, and I was beyond bummed when the news circulated on how Ford was to cease sales in Indonesia. Though never had the chance to own one, Fords have never failed to turn heads (mine at least), even during their Mazda-re-badge days.

What intrigued me the most was their "dull" design cues back in the 90's and early 2000's, you know the one, boxy with curved edges, found in Escorts, Lasers, Fiestas, and the likes. By the likes referring to their small trucks, the almighty non-North American Ranger - or at least for the first few generations of them. 

I remember growing up in BSD where a gardening shop owner has had a bright red single-cab 4x4 - the first-gen-Mazda B-Series-based one - using everyday to haul pots, plants, sacks of fertilizer, but still manages to keep it well maintained, even until today.

Fast forward to the other day, I was somewhere in East Java for work, and was supposed to be inspecting heavy equipment, when I totally got side-tracked by a couple of abandoned Ford Rangers at the lot.

Though not in prime shape as the BSD-roaming Ranger, but boy, call me weird, but it was like time froze for a few moments as I looked around the pair of single-cab 4x4 B-series in cowboy rattlesnake-skin boots.

Japan Catch-up

Since according to our Instagram Insights data, the majority of our reader are males, let’s start with excuses, as we are all very good at them. My excuse of why I haven’t come up with any write-ups since I arrived in Japan four months ago, is, well, I guess I have to use the all time greatest reason which is: Time. I am currently in a training program from the company I work for, so I have a specific schedule to follow and right after I arrived here I went straight to language class for two months. That, and a combination of other priorities and how driven my mood was when it comes to writing. But hey, readers don’t care about this and I guess from now on I just have to stop being lazy and start writing again. So let’s take a step back to the first of February and start talking about my first impression here.

First February, the day I got to Nagoya Airport. It was almost in the middle of winter, and boy, was it was cold. I arrived there and had to catch a bus to the city where I will be spending the next two years in. Honestly, this was not the first time I have been to Japan, but this was the first time I saw the country and its automotive scene as a person who actually lives here. This is one of the first pictures that I took here.

The famous and iconic Japanese Taxi. With its automatic door and pricey fares. Did you know that since Japan will be the host of the next Olympic Games, they have new fleets with more spacious leg and head room? I’ll try to take a picture of them and post it on our Instagram Stories.

This was the bus that took me to my city (not this particular one, obviously). Unlike the buses in Indonesia, they didn’t try to cramp as many seat as possible, therefore you get lots of leg room. Seat belts are also a must here. Off we go!

It took around one and a half hours to get to my city. My stop was the IC. IC stands for Inter Chushajo, chushajo meaning: car park. Almost every city has an IC near their highway exit and they are usually used as an intercity bus stop. So you can park your car there and take the bus to another city. I waited for the team that was in charge of my training program to pick me up there. It took a while waiting there that I decided I take a picture of that little Pajero mini that we posted in our Instagram (stalk us and check it out!)

In the same place parked this Nissan Stagea. Ever seen an estate Giddeyaahh? They are most likely converted from this car.

After about twenty minutes, the team finally arrived with their Toyota Probox (they’re like the Avanza of Japan, every compay had them for operational use), we grabbed a quick lunch and they took me to my apartment where I will be spending the next two years in. On the way to my apartment, I made the first encounter with the this blue Mazda RX7 on our Instagram feed (again, stalk us!)

So they explained about my room and the apartment rules (since it was owned by the company) then I had some free time. But, since on the way here, I spotted some cool cars in the apartment’s parking lot, I decided to take a walk around the area.

Like these Subarus. One for the weekdays and the latter for the weekends?

Do you remember this Daihatsu Mira from our Instagram feed (not gonna say it again). I just love how the Mira sits and rocked the steelies, looks like a fun little car.

And don’t forget this Celica in front of a romantic sunset.

Since I was already outside I decided to walk a little further to get some fresh air. Then I came across this pile of parked cars that reminded me of my project car. We will make sure to make an update for #project5outof10. We also posted this in our Instagram feed (yeah, do it)

As I was walking, I kept checking my Google Maps to make sure I didn’t get lost, but since I was still using my Indonesian SIM card, the directions hadn’t been very accurate, so of course it took me to some small alley where I saw this GMC Vandura. I learned that because my city is located near both the mountains and the sea, people around here love to travel with a van or small RV. How cool!

So I kept walking and my map lead me to some more unfamiliar places. It was getting dark and cold, and I was trying to find some familiar landmark, I saw this Beetle. Parked outside a house just beside a small canal, I assumed it must have had an oil drip catcher under it.

Just after I took a picture of this Bug, my phone decided to die. Perfect timing! It was getting very cold. Fortunately I finally  found the way back to my apartment.

So my first impression here? Well, this might be one of the greatest opportunities of my life in terms of work and personal experience, so of course it was very exciting for me. And knowing even that I live in a small city yet I am surrounded by cool cars? I can’t complain. So it’s a combination of excitement, surprise, and getting lost just one kilometer from where I live in freezing cold weather.

Believe me, I was just scratching the surface of how cool and diverse the cars around where I live are. On the next article I will try to show you guys some other cool stuff here, and of course also from other bigger cities. So stay tuned!

Sunday Morning Caffeine and Octane with the Instagram Famous Peugeot 504

It was an overcast Sunday morning when I started up my Bug at my quaint home in the suburbs of BSD. I had planned to get coffee with Ditto at my current go-to coffee joint in Kemang.

Many of you will probably already recognize Ditto and his Instagram famous white Peugeot 504 more than you recognize me and my Bug. Pictures and videos of it has been widely posted on the 'gram, but boy did it look, sound, and perform better in real life.

In this weather, he thought it was a good idea to have his car washed prior to coffee, so I tagged along and had the Bug washed as well at one of the many car wash places along the infamous Jalan Antasari.

The 504, christened Simba, apparently was bought brand new back in 1980 by Ditto's father, and had gone through the 80s-90s bapak-bapak mods by his uncle such as large Jap rims, modern Jap wing mirrors, a full body rattle can paint job, you know, the works.

After the car wash, we headed straight to Seven Speed Coffee. Simba turned heads along the way, and even did some skids past gaul big bike sunmori guys having breakfast near the Hooters in Kemang just to throw shade, it's a darn shame I didn't get any footage on that.

The skids had been made possible because Ditto has had his high-comp two liter 504 motor cammed, timed (courtesy of the legendary Saerah workshop in Solo), fed by a Peugeot 604 dual carb, and delivered those hon hon hon ponies through a 5-speed Peugeot 505 tranny and most importantly, ran 505 GTi one-way LSD's out back.

Soon after we got to the cafe, Ibi from Rideclique joined us in his Mercedes station wagon, a great investment to say the least, now that all the "car guys" are frying prices of any long roof cars, well, through the roof.

Ditto and I share a mutual stance on not giving a shit about what "experienced seniors", usually in the form of the more elderly car club members, have to say about old cars. You know how they all force feed others to follow "proper" methods on styling cars, and how everything stuck on the car is supposed to be immaculate, original, and by the book? Yeah, no thanks, om, we don't drive our cars for a "good" cause, we drive them for a good time, you catch my drift.

Having looked at and sat in - very comfortably, no surprise in that - Simba throughout the whole morning, I noticed that, frankly, Simba wasn't in as good condition as all the photos on the 'gram shows. It had rust spots here and there, there was a hole in his floorpan, tattered up interior, and the list goes on, and I love and appreciate that.

It shows that Ditto drives his prized car the way it should be driven, all while maintaining it along the way, he even mentioned that he was planning a reminiscence road trip to Solo, where Simba had spent its early life in, and I am one hundred percent looking forward to that and other shennanigans Ditto and Simba goes through in the future.

KendaRANT: JORR Jams

Have you ever driven around the Jakarta Outer Ring Road, and as you close in towards the TB. Simatupang section, and thought to yourself, “why are all these cars slowing down?” as you and all the other motorists around you slow down to a halt? Then as you inch your way towards the Pondok Indah section, the traffic speeds up once again at acceptable highway speeds, you let out a sigh of relief? I know I have.

After years of taking this route and analyzing all possible causes of temporary congestions as such, I have thought of two: cars hogging the right (fast) lane, and trucks and buses hogging the middle lane.

Let’s start with the former, we’ve all seen this. It’s probably safe to say there will always be a right lane hogger in the vast Jakartan toll roads alone at any given time, may that be some chick on her phone, or some grandpa trying to figure out where to take the next exit. If you’re not overtaking, nor are you going above the speed limit, it would be really cool if you’d just stay in the middle or left lane.

Now to the latter, the culprits who really grind my gear: trucks and lorries. Look at them, probably feeling all high and mighty compared to us puny cars, doing the bare minimum 60 km/h in the middle lane, leaving the left lane empty for a while, until the occasional below-minimum speed truck appears. It baffles me to think how these drivers don’t understand basic instructions that say “Bus dan Truk tetap di lajur kiri.” Short, sweet, and simple.

Combine these to together, and gradual, painful congestion on the toll roads is what you get, especially on elevated sections, where all these trucks tend to slow down and drop a gear in order to make the climb. So regardless of what you drive and who you are, please, for the love of God, get smart, stay in your designated lanes.

Singing at the Top of My Lungs

Singer, sebuah nama singkat yang tidak asing lagi di telinga para penggemar mobil dalam beberapa tahun terakhir, apalagi buat mereka yang menggemari brand otomotif asal Jerman, Porsche. Singer Vehicle Design yang bermarkas di Los Angeles, California ini didirikan pada tahun 2009 oleh musisi dan penulis lagu Rob Dickinson yang memiliki passion untuk merestorasi Porsche 911 (nama belakang Rob, ‘Dickinson’ sudah gak asing lagi, dia saudara dari Bruce Dickinson vokalis band metal legendaris Iron Maiden)

Singer, a brief name that might sound familiar to the ears of almost every car enthusiast in the past couple of years, especially those devoted to the Porsche brand. Based in Los Angeles, California, Singer Vehicle Design was founded in 2009 by British musician and song writer Rob Dickinson, who had  a passion for restoring Porsche 911’s.

Kurang lengkap rasanya jika kata ‘Restoring’ dikaitkan dengan Singer, mungkin ‘Reimagined’ lah kata yang lebih cocok untuk menggambarkan apa yang Rob Dickinson dan team-nya lakukan selama ini di Singer Vehicle Design. Dimulai dengan mobil Porsche 964 sebagai kanvas kosong, Singer melakukan perbaikan dan peningkatan pada sebuah mobil yang memang sudah bagus dari awalnya, dengan visi, design dan cara terbaik, sehingga slogan mereka“Restored, Reimagined, Reborn” dapat mendefinisikan hasil kreasi Singer.

Though ‘restoring’ might be an understatement for what they do over at Singer, the term ‘reimagined’ might be a more suitable word. Starting off with a Porsche 964 as a blank canvas, Singer thrives to improve and perfect the already magnificent car the best way they imagined possible, hence their slogan ‘The Porsche Restored, Reimagined, Reborn’ which wholly sums up their creations.

Menurut Singer Vehicle Design ‘Everything is Important’, karena sebuah perubahan walaupun itu besar atau kecil jika dilakukan dengan sangat teliti akan memberikan dampak yang positif dalam dalam membangun sebuah mobil dan juga pada setiap perubahan tersebut harus selalu mengedepankan fungsionalitas, praktis serta nilai estetika itu sendiri. Singer menamakan mobil yang mereka bangun sebagai ‘Commission’, dan setiap mobil yang dibangun atas permintaan masing-masing pelanggan mereka yang tersebar di seluruh dunia, sehingga hasil kreasi Singer antara satu dan lainnya unik dan tidak pernah sama.

Everything is important, according to Singer Vehicle Design, as it’s all the little details that make a huge impact towards the overall build, taking into account every possible improvement of the amenities to be functional, practical, yet aesthetically pleasing. As every single ‘commission’, as Singer likes to name their creations, is restored following the request of their customers from across the globe to suit, therefore making each and every car unique to the customers. 

Singer yang kalian lihat saat ini adalah mobil nomor enam, merupakan salah satu hasil karya awal dari Singer Vehicle Design dengan sebutan: The Indonesian Commission. Dibuat khusus untuk seorang kolektor di Indonesia, Porsche yang sudah dirubah sesuai keinginan pemiliknya ini memiliki mesin Porsche 964 air cooled twin-spark yang sudah diganti pada bagian internalnya dengan forged material, dilengkapi dengan individual throttle body, sistem pembakaran dan injeksi yang diatur oleh ECU dari MOTEC, digabungkan dengan transmisi transaxle dilengkapi Limited Slip Differential (LSD) dengan 6 speed yang dirakit dan melalui tahap penyetelan oleh Cosworth.

This particular Singer you see here is car number six, one of the earliest models reimagined: the Indonesia Commission. Specially made for a gentleman in Indonesia, this bespoke Porsche is powered by a Porsche 964 twin-spark air-cooled engine featuring forged internals, individual throttle body electronic fuel injection and ignition managed by a Motec ECU, built and tuned by Cosworth mated to a 6-speed gearbox with an LSD-fitted transaxle.

Susah bagi kami menjelaskan denga kata-kata bagaimana rasanya mengendarai sebuah Singer. Setiap input yang kami berikan baik itu menekan pedal gas lebih dalam atau melakukan manuver ke kiri dan ke kanan, secara langsung memberikan reaksi yang instan dan menyenangkan. Kami yakin siapapun yang pernah membawa mobil ini pasti akan tersenyum berhari-hari dan susah untuk melupakan rasa yang tidak bisa dijelaskan tersebut. Seseorang harus berada di belakang kemudi untuk benar-benar memahami pengalaman yang pernah kami rasakan ketika membawa mobil ini. sebuah pengalaman yang memberikan kenikmatan tersendiri pada indera pengelihatan, suara dan sentuhan.

Driving a Singer is indescribable by words nor speech. The way any slightest input you give it, the car gently throws an exhilarating response right back at your face, guaranteed to keep you grinning for days on end. One has to actually get behind the wheel of one to truly understand the experience as the engineering marvel pleases their senses; sight, sound, and touch.