Saturday, October 24, 2009

Cars, Cigars, and Champagne, the definition of trifecta.

On the evening of October 22nd, World Crush had the pleasure of attending Cars, Cigars and Celebreties courtesy of Bellman Jewelers in Portsmouth, NH. As part of their re-opening celebration, the talented individuals at Bellman Jewelers put on a fine event with some of our favorite things: fast cars, champagne, hand rolled cigars and a great conversation. We were graced with the presence of a vintage GTO and Corvette, a 500 horsepower Porsche 993 Turbo, a brand new Mercedes SL550 and Porsche Panamera 4S (which I hadn’t seen in person before) as well as a Ferrari F360 Spider and a Bentley Continental GT-C. It was nice to speak with so many accomplished motor sport enthusiasts.

World Crush would like to thank Bellman Jewelers in Portsmouth for a great time, most notably Leah Grace who was kind enough to invite us out. Thank you also to the restaurant that catered the event as well as the Two-Guys Smoke Shop who was there rolling fine cigars. Click the image below to check out the full gallery (please use any browser besides Internet Explorer to view the gallery, we are resolving a coding error) courtesy of resident photographer Erik D. Also send an e-mail off to Aaron for high resolution photos from the gallery.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Yeah I spell my name with a "k"... you wanna fight about it?

For most normal people, work doesn’t involve hanging out of a car at speed to capture that perfect shot. Fortunately for us, we here at World Crush industries don’t consider ourselves “normal people” – we are enthusiasts: we do what we love and we love what we do.

At the 2009 Fall Kancamagus Cruise, fast cars on pristine mountain roads accompanied by gorgeous views and lateral G’s made for one hell of a day. With somewhere around 170 cars in attendance, it was my job to try to capture the antics of the day in pictures. This was a great opportunity to experience the New England motorsport scene, while photographing some really nice vehicles and experiencing some of the most exciting roads I’ve seen in a while.

My only regret was that I was not able to be behind the wheel, navigating through the twists and turns of the White Mountains. While this disappointed me, Mark definitely delivered the excitement and a good dose of speed with his precision driving. For the amount of spirited driving I may have missed out on, I was well compensated with the amount and quality of photos I was able to get.

Click below for the full gallery of my coverage throughout the day and I hope you enjoy! Please make sure you are using Firefox, Chrome, or Safari as a browser, as our gallery software does not like Bill Gates or his Internet Explorer. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Two a's means i'm extra special, and not in a good way...

So I think I found the best way to wake yourself up in the morning: get a skilled driver to take you out on the highway at ridiculous speeds and hang out the window. This works much better when it's already cold out and the effective wind chill is brain-numbing. But hey, if my commute to work every day was in a convoy of 150 some odd finely tuned cars, I'd have to begin to wonder if I was dreaming.

The Fall Kanc Cruise '09 was a tremendous experience and gave me a chance to get the whole community vibe, something I'll likely never want to give up. The only problem with having so many great looking cars in one area is that I never know where to start taking pictures and I can never get all the shots I want. Seems like a pretty good problem to have.

The cruise was more than a great time and my apologies go out to my driver, Mark, for my continual violation of his number one rule, seat belts always on. I am a bit disappointed as I didn't get a chance to break my own record in the Civic by getting sideways with all four wheels off the ground, but there should be plenty more opportunities for that.

Check out my gallery by clicking the picture below. And don't forget, if you want any high res copies of any of the photos from any of our photographers just e-mail me at aaron@worldcrushindustries.com , just remember to note which photographer, the number of the jpg (this appears below the thumbnails in the gallery), and the resolution which you would like them in.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

My name is Ryan, I like rotaries...

This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending one of the best local cruises in the area, the NEMotorsport.com's Kancamagus Cruise. I have waited a good couple months, as have my friends, to participate in this gathering of and cruising with automotive enthusiasts and their plethora of vehicles from all over the New England area.

From exit 2 off of 101, our World Crush industries entourage and a couple friends took off around 9am to meet up with everyone else at NHTI in Concord. While late on departure, we were quick on arrival making up much lost time on some of New Hampshire's finest local highways.

After taking in the sights at the Reservoir, snapping photos and having lunch, my co-pilot and I were ready to roll out and start hunting down some twisty roads along Route 302 to Bear Notch. Unfortunately, shortly after our initial group of about 10 leaving Moore Dam, we pulled over and were informed that a member of the cruise was involved in an accident, at that time I was told it was the silver Honda S2000. An unfortunate accident, but I write this with the knowledge that both the driver and passenger of the silver S2000 are okay, having been released from the hospital with minimal injuries.

Running through 302 I was entangled in a dance of apex transitions and long sweeping bends as I chased down a Mustang GT. Nothing gets me more excited for driving than a spirited cruise with a formidable opponent, making this by far, my favorite part of this cruise.

To some, Conway is the tourist capital of New Hampshire, to others like me it is an obstacle in the way of one of the more anticipated roads for everyone on this cruise, the famous Hurricane Mountain Rd. Going miles out of our way from the Kancamagus has been a theme for the past couple years of this event. It is one of the most technical, winding, low speed roads you will ever come across in the region. Nothing is quite like this unique road. A two way road, with the occasional local traffic. You find yourself shredding away bits and pieces of tires as the road just keeps gobbling everything you give it, only to be assaulted with another set of extremely banked corners, and nice cresting hills. Catching air is not uncommon, nor is accepting the fact that this is as close to riding a roller coaster in a car as you can get. It is a true test of a vehicle's handling and braking abilities, and only the most clever drivers can find a way out in good speed.

The final meeting spot at the Loon Mountain parking lot serves as both a uniting point and a departing point. Much of the days excellent driving stories are passed around the local clicks of car enthusiasts. With such a great comradery between the enthusiasts, one can not help but be overwhelmed with the sense of pride that comes with finishing a cruise like this. It is inspiring to see people of all types and interests gathered in one spot for one reason: to drive.

Click the picture below for my gallery of photos from this incredible day.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Just another weekend at World Crush

So on Sunday we attended the infamous NEMotorSport.com Kancamagus run, and I think the pictures we're going to be rolling out this week will demonstrate it was one hell of a day. We left Dover at 8 and met up with Ryan and friends in Auburn. After stickering a few cars, we rolled up to NHTI in Concord at a 'reasonable' speed.

Its always nice to see a parking lot full of enthusiasts with one thing on their minds: the awesome route through some of the craziest roads I've come across in NH. From NHTI we headed farther north than I've ever been in NH. At the Moore Station rest area, NEMotorSport.com put on a raffle for the Make-a-Wish Foundation with the help of sponsors Ballistic Motorsports (www.ballisticmotorsports.com) and Motostar Wheels (www.motostarwheels.com), NEMotorsport.com was able to raise over $900! Mad props to them!

From Moore Station, we headed south east to run Bear Notch Rd. and Hurricane Mountain Rd. There's nothing like running crazy mountain roads with well prepared cars like a 500+ horsepower Supra and a nasty S14 240sx. With my front bumper still sore from the Hurricane, we came to a dirt parking lot between a corn field and a river in the middle of nowhere. Despite a slight navigational snafu, everyone made it without issue, less a techno violet e36 M3 whose rear strut decided to push through the bushing and bust into the trunk.

My favorite part of the day came just after leaving the dirt parking lot in the middle of no where. Deciding to bypass the return trip on the Hurricane, we headed for the Kanc. With people pulling over to check directions again, I chose to follow the silver Skyline GTR having seen pictures of it on previous Kanc runs and figuring he probably knew where to go. What ensued was one of my most enjoyable “Togue” experiences. Needless to say I found a bit of irony attacking a windy road in NH, in a Ford Mustang with a GTR for a guide.

After making fantastic time, we arrived at the Loon Mountain ski area. As we began regrouping, the sun set provided the perfect backdrop to the final stop. I have to give serious Kudos to Alex (OVRBST) and Shelby (83beast) for organizing it and for everyone that came out despite the worries of precipitation.

And then of course, on the way home it started snowing. I can't wait to show you all what we here at World Crush are capable of. Keep checking back, and you have my personal promise that ill content is going to be up here on the regular.

When we throw down, we wind up with sick parties

My name is Mark, I’m the latest contributor here at World Crush Industries and the president of the Electronic Dance Music Association of the University of New Hampshire. I throw parties, big ones.

This weekend EDMA held the Fairchild Throwdown. Usually we come up with more creative names and themes, but we had to get this event rolling ASAP. The party was held in a university residence hall at UNH called Fairchild (hence the name) in the basement lounge. This was a small event with a capacity of only 70 people. Despite the small capacity of the room, 158 people showed up throughout the course of the night. This party featured 4 djs: Keith Mattar, Robot Ears, PSY_FX, and Dex.

Electropulse did a great job of decorating the room with UV reactive 3D art. Four thousand watts of sound kept the foundation shaking all night while everyone was getting down on the floor. Then there was the wicked World Crush industries after party, but that’s a story for another time. Click the image below for a full gallery of the night courtesy of Erik.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Fall is in the air

Fall is in the air and the first frost has come upon us. This can only mean one thing.... winter sports are right around the corner and World Crush will be there. If you've got any sick winter sport events coming up we'd love to hear about them. Just drop a line to Aaron or Chris and see if it sparks our interest. But for now enjoy the cool air, scenic mountain roads, and improved horsepower numbers. We'll see you on the slopes.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Midnight in NE

A few nights ago the World Crush team attended NEMotorSport.com's Midnight Run through some of the most technical roads I've seen in the Seacoast region. Everyone had a great time, with the exception of a little motion sickness and one case of a Civic's rear wheels leaving the earth (the only time he's ever wanted a big wing I'm sure). I personally had a blast getting loose in a rally sandwich between the blue Evo X and the red WRX. Click the picture below to take a peek at the full photo gallery from the evening (courtesy of Erik and Aaron aka duble aa). And when you're done there, check out http://www.nemotorsport.com/'s forums.

World Crush would also like to extend a special thanks to Seth (Bayside Blue on NEMS) for putting this rally on, and for all those who attended!