Brought to you by the creators of Hot Import Nights,The RMP tour makes a stops at its favorite venue in Irvine California.

Show cars, competitions, stunt bikes demos, Flexmaster Funk, famous Dj’s spinning on the tables, hot bikini models including Miss RPM – Misa Campo and carnival rides! There was no way that EBC Brakes and The Queen Of Cars - Genevieve Chappell, was going to turn down an invitation to this summer bash!

We invite you to come out and have some fun with us. Of course you know where to find me..I’ll be signing all day and taking photos with attendees at the EBC Brakes booth.

By the way, if you have yet to see EBC’s newest pad Bluestuff brake pad (a full track pad that is street capable) you are totally missing out! Stop by and check it out – trust me you’ll be drooling!

Click here for more show info  http://www.rpmeventseries.com/

Location: Southern California

Venue: Hidden Valley Event Park

Address: 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine Ca 92618

When: Saturday August 7, 2010

Show Times: 10am-6pm

See you there!

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As many of you automotive enthusiasts already know, Pep Boys has spiced things up by adding a new feature to three of the current Pep Boys stores (Washington LA, Lancaster, PA & Exton, PA)…a Speed Shop!

Yep that’s right, you can now purchase and/or order premium, performance products over 5000 to be exact, right from our trusty ol’ friends Manny, Moe, and Jack. Among those products you’ll find a good supply of the worlds best brake pads and rotors – EBC Brakes - made directly in the UK.

The Washington store (first West Coast Pep Boys opened in 1946) was the first to receive a Speed Shop, last Spring, May 2009.

Lancaster and Exton, PA were next on tap – back 2 back – and lemme tell you, the Pep Boys crew knows how to throw celebration - we had a blast!

If you missed these celebrations, not to worry…Pep Boys plans on opening up six more Speed Shop locations (shhh don’t tell em’ I told you) in 2010 including locations in New Jersey, Florida, Texas and Los Angeles.

Charles, the store manager in Lancaster, PA was pumped about getting the second Speed Shop at his Pep Boys Hub store. Meet Charles…

http://qik.com/video/6443485

Here’s what Tony Farrel, Speed Shop manager, had to say about his HUGE expectations for the shop in Exton, PA.

During our tours and travels we always receive many compliments from very happy EBC customers. Here’s what Autocross racer Mike Tomma had to say.

Images from Lancaster, PA Speed Shop opening

Images from Exton, PA Speed Shop opening

View more videos from both events

Sign up for the EBC blog

Sign up for Genevieve’s blog

It was a time of distinction of muscle cars and high performance.

You could be Ford. You could be Chevy. But you couldn’t be both.

And the place that got your juices flowing was the Speed Shop.

Now Pep Boys brings back the glory days of horsepower with the Grand Opening of the Pep Boys Speed Shop at Pep Boys, 2080 Lincoln Highway.

This celebration is going to be high-octane. With DJ, food and special appearances.

Best of all, you are personally invited.

Saturday, May 1st from 9am to 6pm, and Sunday May 2nd, from 10am to 4pm.

With celebrity appearances by Genevieve Chappell, Matt Waldin, Heather Bell, and more. http://www.pepboys.com/speedshop/bio/

Plus product displays, demonstrations, advice and show cars on both days.

Whether you’re into muscle, tuner, off road or diesel performance, Pep Boys Speed Shop is your place, and this Grand Opening is your time.

See any Harrisburg Pep Boys store for details or click the link here Lancaster Event
http://www.pepboys.com/speedshop/

I’ll be signing a special addition Pep Boys / Speed Shop / EBC Brakes wall poster & calendar. Make sure to stop by to say hello and receive your personal  free autographed poster.

Can’t wait to see you there.

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P.S. If you miss this weekend, I’ll be doing my next  Speed Shop Grand Opening appearnace on May 15th & 16th at the Pep Boys in Exton, PA . Click here for the details http://www.pepboys.com/extonspeedshop/

On February 20th and 21st I was in Seacaucus, New Jersey at The Meadowlands Exposition Center for the BIG Show presented by Keystone.  The Keystone BIG Shows are arguably the best trade shows for specialty automotive equipment and accessories, outside of SEMA. These are organized by Keystone Automotive Operations, the leading distributor and marketer of specialty auto-parts in North America.

As with most shows of this type there was much business taking place, networking opportunities, parties, and educational seminars. Plus demos, giveaways and raffles with great prizes, including some of the hottest products for 2010.

One of my favorite things was getting a sneak peak at the hottest new products for the coming year. The Big Show coordinators made this convenient to do by putting the new products in one complete section on the show floor. And because this show wasn’t opened to the public, it wasn’t as crazy or loud which made it easier to speak with the listen to the company reps about the features and benefits of these new products. 

As with any good show, there are always automotive celebs and attractions. We just happened to be positioned across from the best ones!

The Edelbrock Build Live Show where attendees were able to get upclose and personal while Vic Edelbrockhimself directed the build installation of a new E-Force Supercharger system on a Ford Mustang, new for 2010  in real time. Along with Vic Edelbrock’s signing and interactingwith all of his fans. The line wrapped around the booth with eager fans young and old. If you know and/or have ever met Vic Edelbrock, you know he’s not only a talented, multi-skilled man, but also a happy man, who loves to joke around and sincerely engages his fans.

I  received an autographed gift from him, it was his book entitled Edelbrock Made In The USA. It’s a beautiful 324 page coffee table book filled with nostalgic photos, the history of this American icon, and inspiring stories from Vic’s life.  What a nice guy huh?!

Switching gears – we were on a high from the large amounts of terrific feedback we received from the attendees! Most of them were from the East-coast and Canada. They consisted of Speed Shops, garages, customizers, and pro-drivers. Every person who walked up kept saying that they had tried various brake pads and rotors, some were average, while some just sucked. Yet, EBC’s products worked and worked good! They are long lasting, and priced just right.  The only complaint we received, was that they wanted more products and they wanted them quicker! We reassured them by letting them know, Keystone is dialed in when it comes to everything EBC related. All they need to do is visit a store, call their rep, and/or order online.

We also noted that many of EBC Brakes current fans and customers were not yet fully aware of the Ultimax (Black pad) which is an OEM replacement pad with a price point that can’t be beat. Depending on the specific application, the Ultimax can be priced lower, the same, or a few dollars more than a generic label pad. Black coded in the EBC range EBC Ultimax is a fully ECE R 90 approvedbrake pad range (brake safety approval), Ultimax offers great value for your money with first class driving safety. Talk about more bang for your buck!

Next Keystone Show (the Midwest Big Show) will be held in Texas (yee haw) on  Saturday, March 13, 2010 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center from 9AM to 5PM.

Hope to see you there!

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AKA – Ms. EBC

Photos from The BIG Show.

Videos from The BIG Show

RTM Productions based in TN  knows automotive and motorsports and proves it with a strong crew of experts, one of the most beautiful female hosts on television, and a PowerBlock of automotive shows on Spike TV.

In January I was invited to join the PowerBlock crew to be a special guest, co-host with Courtney Hansen. 

As the EBC Brakes spokesperson, I featured the EBC Brakes sport rotors and pads, talked a little shop, discussed specs,  install techniques, and chatted with Courtney about my 2010 EBC Brakes campaign & Pep Boys tour schedule.

As you know, I’ve worked in and around the automotive industry for a long time. Yet, this was my first time working with RTM Productions, Courtney Hansen, and Spike TV and I’ll admit, I was a tiny bit nervous. However, weeks leading up to our shoot, the RTM producers and writers were sooo extremely professional, thorough, and friendly, my jitters were calmed, as  I felt as though I had known them forever (their great sense of humor and funny jokes helped as well – lol.)

When I pulled into the parking lot, I was impressed with the size of the property and building. Upon walking in I see a welcome sign that lists the names of all the featured special guests that will be shooting on the PowerBlock that day (thought that was a sweet gesture) the front office woman greets me with a warm smile “welcome to RTM, we are so happy to have you here today.”   Then out walks Justin Swanson one of the producers and I get a BIG welcome squeeze!

Justin walks me down the hall and introduces me to the man himself Joe St. Lawrence who couldn’t have been any more hospitable. We had a nice chat , a few a laughs, and Justin offers to give me a tour of the entire facilities including each studio, where I was able to get a sneak peak at the rebuilds and plans for each vehicle - pretty neato huh?!

In the waiting room, there is a large monitor where featured guests, waiting for their turn to shoot, can watch the PowerBlock being shot and familiarize themselves with the flow of production. I was the last guest to shoot and it had been a long day for the production crew. Yet, you would have never known it by the energy and attitude they all displayed. 

Now, I already know what you are going to ask me…because since this shoot, I’ve been asked this a bunch of times. Is Courtney really as nice as she is on TV? No, she is not! She is even nicer than she is on TV. Hahaha I got yha- lol! Courtney and I hit it off from the start and within minutes we were sharing fashion and health tips, talking about her wedding, family life, and of course about cars, engines and our favorite automotive products. The production crew (all males) were cracking up listening to us.

Working as a model for over 12 years, I’ve worked with many beautiful woman…but I’m going to tell you, Courtney Hansen is one of the most beautiful, friendly, funny, and down to eath women I’ve ever worked with. Oh yea…and to top it off, she also extremely intelligent. Sorry guys, you’ll have to keep dreaming, because she is engaged and head over heels with her fiance – lucky man right?!

My feature on PowerBlock will air in March, I’ll keep you posted on the dates. In the meantime, check out the line of EBC Brakes – the best sport rotors and brake pads in the world! Sign up for the EBC blog, and keep stoping by my site as well for new updates, photos, and videos.

Click here for a sneak peak of one of the billboards we shot

As you all know, SEMA is the “Super Bowl of Automotive” it’s the largest automotive display, party, business function and network’s paradise.

Normally, I’m there shooting an episode or two for a TV series, however, this year, I was there as the “official female spokesperson / TV personality” representing EBC Brakes.

When I arrived at the airport in Orange County, Ca I ran into my friend Bill O’Roake who is a long time employee of Mickey Thompson, to my surprise he was on my flight. The trip was off to a great start and I hadn’t even arrived in Las Vegas yet!

I landed and hitched a ride to my hotel with team Mickey Thompson. Before even reaching the hotel I started receiving text messages, tweets, IMs, emails, facebook notes, etc all regarding SEMA updates, unveiling’s, party invites and inquiries regarding whether or not I thought this years event was going to be a success or a ghost town (many individuals were extremely concerned about attendance, etc due to the economy.)

The EBC booth was exhibiting at the Las Vegas Convention Center and was located in the far right-hand corner of the south hall. Due to the location, none of us thought that we would see much foot traffic, till close to noon. However, that wasn’t the case at all! We were literally crazy busy from the time we reached the booth till closing every day! Personally, I feel that this is a nice sign for the automotive industry in 2010.

The other thing I really enjoyed about SEMA 09, was finally getting the chance to catch up with all of my long time friends. After all, SEMA is similar to a giant automotive family reunion – lol!

Special thanks to:

Team EB Brakes – I love working with you guys!

Dennis Gage (My Classic Car Host) and his crew for inviting me to join them at the SEMA banquet.

Steve Russo and Jon Van Buren (two of my newest team members) for all the SEMA still images.

Enjoy more images from SEMA here:

Gallery one

Gallery two

Behind the scenes videos on Qik shot with my N95.

With many new happenings, such as a new office, bigger warehouse, new products and a TV celebrity on board - EBC Brakes has much to celebrate!

We are inviting all SEMA attendees and current customers, vendors, etc to come by and visit our new uprated booth at the 2009 SEMA show in Las Vegas, November 3rd-6th.

Our Booth at SEMA is 24975

Below is a sample of what we will be featuring:

300 new part numbers of sport pads and rotors

The new 2010 printed and electronic catalogs

Handing out over 3000 new promotional posters and other promo goodies

Explaining our new B2B software and how you can order 24/7 online

Introducing our new 4000 plus parcels shipping warehouse facility

Staff from the UK factory and USA distribution centre will be on hand

TV host and personality Genevieve Chappell will be there Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for photo opportunities as well as signing a 2009/2010 poster / calendar.

We all look forward to seeing you there!

EBC Brakes Team & Genevieve Chappell

The new EBC Office in LA is at the following address:

EBC Brakes USA Inc
12621 Encinitas Avenue
Sylmar CA 91342

http://www.ebcbrakes.com

Recently on “Trucks” which is a part of Spike TVs, Power Block, the EBC Brakes, Sports Rotor was featured (click link to see video below)

http://video.powerblocktv.com/services/player/bcpid6270746001?bctid=17073958001

EBC Yellowstuff is an aramid fibre based brake compound with high brake effect form cold and is possibly one of the first ever compounds that can be used for street and track driving., EBC Redstuff High Performance brake pads have the lowest dust rating pads for Prestige imports and faster street driving. Designed for premium street driving offering better brake effect up to 600°C (1100°F). EBC Greenstuff has a high initial brake effect and gives drivers confidence from first application of the brake pedal. Manufactured using premium disc blanks mentioned above, the unique wide aperture slots in the EBC sport rotor actually draw cool air under the pad during heavy braking and reduce brake temperatures whilst also helping remove dirt, dust and debris and gasses created by heavy braking from the pad contact area.

There were big names, large companies and lots of media at the grand opening of the Pep Boys Speed Shop on May 30-31 at their Washington Blvd. store in Los Angeles.

Thanks to my sponsor, EBC Brakes, which is distributed at Pep Boys stores, I got to be on site both days to meet people, take pictures, sign autographs, and check out exactly what the Pep Boys Speed Shop is all about. Like the same sound it makes, at the Pep Boys Speed Shop you can get aftermarket go-fast parts for classic and muscle cars, and can get the parts installed on site. It’s a pretty cool place and definitely has a big old-school Los Angeles flavor to it.

There was a lot of excitement in the air, as Pep Boys employees from around the country were in attendance to see take part in the event and celebrate the grand opening of the new shop. Mike Odell and Scott Webb awarded me with a certificate of appreciation for attending the event – that was definitely a highlight!

Thanks to EBC Brakes, Pep Boys, and everyone who made this a successful event – be sure to take a look at my pictures from the event on my Flickr!

For a fun video clip, click here

The A5 has been undergoing an extensive test flight regimen. While designing an “average aircraft” can be challenging enough, delivering a truly great aircraft requires an enormous amount of work. We recently completed a series of rigorous hydrostatic and hydrodynamic tests. These tests were designed to assess the basic hull performance for typical seaplane operations, as well as expand the envelope into higher winds and rougher sea states. Additionally, given that the A5 is designed to be a pure sport seaplane, it was engineered to handle more aggressive maneuvering on the water in order to make your experience safe while being extremely exciting.
With the combined efforts of some of the world’s top marine architects working side by side with ICON’s engineering team, the A5 may, in fact, have one of the most sophisticated seaplane hulls ever designed. Ironically, getting the hull performance of a seaplane dialed in is one of the harder tasks. So far, the A5 hull has far exceeded our expectations and is a star performer.
The details: The seawings on each side of the fuselage provide outstanding stability both hydrostatically and hydrodynamically. The seawings also provide robust, buoyant platforms for the users to move in and around the aircraft while on land or in the water. They also function like the swim platform on the back of a ski boat facilitating easy docking as well as easy access in and out of the water.

The hull’s forebody design achieves effortless “on-step” acceleration with little to no deck-angle change throughout transition from displacement to plowing to planing modes. There is minimal porpoising tendency. In fact, the A5 will smoothly and quickly accelerate onto the step to takeoff speed in a stick-free condition requiring little to no pilot input until rotation speed. The forebody’s higher deadrise allows the A5 to handle relatively rough water on takeoff and landing for such a small amphibian.
During step-turns (the first photo), the seawings allow the aircraft to bank significantly more than outrigger-type sponson floats that you see on typical hull-type seaplanes. This allows the A5 to make more coordinated, tighter turns on the water. The seawings are designed to engage the water and keep the wingtip from touching throughout the normal maneuvering envelope. However, the A5 also has planing wingtips that not only provide additional hydrostatic stability in extreme crosswind conditions, but are effective hydrodynamic planing surfaces should a wingtip contact the water in extreme or inadvertent conditions (the second photo).
The image below is an unusual sight–an aircraft in flight with its wingtip in the water. It was taken while testing the planing wingtip performance in extreme or “out of the envelope” situations. While the A5 is certainly not intended to be flown with the wingtip in the water, and is only being done here by a professional test pilot, the test successfully demonstrated the wingtips’ effectiveness and increased safety margins should such conditions ever be inadvertently encountered.

Going forward there are a number of areas still being meticulously refined on the A5, including gear installation, aerodynamic refinement and drag reduction of the hull, water-rudder improvements, and spray-pattern optimization. Stay tuned.

Hydro Test Photo Gallery