Hey, where's your coverage from the 2012 V-103 Car and Bike Show?

Well, glad you asked. This year, I wasn't feeling it. I went, but I honestly wasn't thrilled like how I am with other car shows. (Note: With car shows, I'm like a little kid on Christmas day.) It was all wrong.

I guess they thought it was cool to leave it on the hitch.

First up, there's only two radio stations in Atlanta that plays Rap and R&B music, and V-103 chose to have their car show the same exact day as the competition's Birthday Bash Concert. Splitting that demographic wasn't smart because naturally people was going to go to Birthday Bash and partake in the events leading up to it- including the guys who had better cars that was featured in the show. Guys know how girls in Atlanta are, and most girls (not women) are attracted to shiny things, regardless if it's real or not. So of course, they would rather drive around and see how many girls they can pull.

Because of the first comment, there were more bikes than cars there. And the cars that were there, were mostly wheel and tire customizations. That's okay for a Bugatti, but for a Dodge Charger??? Bernie doesn't like wheel and tire shows, if that's the case, I would go to a car dealership.

Three, some of the cars there shouldn't have been there. Like this Dodge Magnum with the crappy matte black paint job. I have never painted cars. I've only painted my condo, and powder coated a wheel at SEMA, but I'm smart enough to know that paint jobs should be done even. I didn't photoshop anything in this photo, that's how uneven the car was painted. AND it looks like it took them five minutes to paint it.

Four: the reason why I liked this particular show in previous years is that the radio personalities put their cars in the show. The only personality from V-103 that put anything in the show was Greg Street. No Frank and Wanda and No Ryan Cameron. Major no no.

Five: Because they scheduled the show the same day as Birthday Bash, naturally the performers were going to go to Birthday Bash and perform for a larger crowd and get more money. Duh, I know I would have if I had any musical abilities. The car and bike show has pulled big names to perform- Rick Ross has been the headliner, so has TI. This year it was R Kelly, what song has he had since I moved to Atlanta? Step in the Name of Love was good, but it wasn't that good. What I'm saying is that they needed to go back to what worked in the past. Even Fat Joe pulled a bigger crowd and we're not on Trinity Ave in the Bronx.

SIX: WHY WASN'T  BABY'S, BIRDMAN'S, BRYAN WILLIAMS' BUGATTI and MAYBACH ROPED OFF FROM THE VERY START??? I know he can afford those cars, but don't allow kids with sticky hands and women with mile long nails to touch the cars. Auto Extremes had it correct from the beginning by roping off T-Pain's Bugatti. Duh, that's common sense. Halfway through the show, they decided to rope off both cars, but that should have been done before the doors opened to the public.

Seven: They did a last minute pull in, where if you wanted to be a part of the show, you could have arrived between 8am- 11am. But they didn't tell everyone that, so cars like this...

... couldn't be a part of it or they had to park outside, because they didn't tell anyone. And yes, they drove from Florida to be a part of the show.

Granted they still have a huge turnout. Girls bought out Rainbow, 5-7-9, Rave, Dots, Citi Trends and all the other $10 or less clothing stores in Atlanta to make sure they were seen.

Next year, I'm showing up when they're pulling the cars in, because I'm not going to be caught dead with the crowd that was there. And that's why I only showed off the photos on this page and not on my gallery because this show wasn't my best work. As a published photographer in print media that's sold worldwide, I'm big enough to admit that.

Always glad to run into Block and his donkasaurus... but I know there's a lot of guys who are ready to battle Block on the donk game.

ADV.1 Wheels shows off a Lamborghini Adventador

The guys at ADV.1 Wheels released shots of a Lamborghini Adventador. According to ADV.1, "Rounding out the final piece of our new OEM Lamborghini wheel collection is this fine example of our 19″/20″ staggered monoblock setups for the LP700. We outfitted the car with ADV5.1′s in SL configuration to shave as much weight as we could from the overall package. Rather than doing the “stormtrooper” look we opted to add just a shade of darkness on the wheels for contrast using our titanium finish."

Bernie's Car Show Coverage: 2012 Gold Rush Rally Meetup: Atlanta

This past Wednesday was the Atlanta stop for the Gold Rush Rally. Because I was a virgin to automotive rallies, I didn't know what to expect, so I went in positive AND with an open mind. And you know what? I'm glad I did.



I got there a little too early. Despite media registration being open from 10-5, I got there at 2, knowing I should have gotten there by 5. The Gold Rush Rally participants have partied way too hard in Vegas (well, who could blame 'em) and they got to Atlanta uber late. Which meant, when I got there, there were only 6 cars. But those 6 cars carried a bit of weight to them.



To park within the area and to partake in the actual rally aspect, you had to get decaled. Gold Rush Rally was smart, and they brought with them Vinyl Styles, a automotive graphic company out of San Francisco to decal every single car at every tour stop. Let me repeat that. Every single car at every single stop. I asked them, how many decals do you put on each vehicle. Their answer... 25. And they decaled every vehicle- from the stock Chevy Surburban that confused me to the matte black Bugatti, and all those in between.



There were 19 cars that showed up- not counting the Subaru that belonged to one of the media and the factory Chevy Surburban and GMC Yukon. There were Lambos, Ferraris, A Rolls Royce Phantom, An SLS or two, an Audi R8 that had a questionable front license plate (the Georgia Flag), a Mercedes S550 that had the AMG accessories, a Mercedes Benz CL63 that was actually the AMG level, and the car that stole the show- the Bugatti Veyron that stole the show. But everyone knows that a racing event can't be considered a racing event without the two vehicles that are considered God of the import world- the Nissan GTR and BMW M Series, and they were both there as well.



We're all friends here, so we both know that when it comes to shows, I'm a critical person. I like cars to be at shows. However, even though there were 19 vehicles there that totalled to over 5 million dollars (if they were brand new), the Gold Rush Rally stop was the most productive show I've been to since SEMA. I met some great people- The Vinyl Styles guys, The Vossen Wheel guys came (the same Vossen Wheels that I feature on my site often), Jason from ATL Autorsports, Sunny from Speed Mischief, and I did meet more but I'm horrible with names. Basically the people who showed up are those who truely had a love for cars, not guys who customize cars to get girls.



I really hope that Gold Rush Rally comes back to Atlanta. Rallies don't come here, those are mostly a West Coast thing. That's why I made sure I attended. If they do come back, I hope they listen to the Gold Rush Rally volunteer who suggested for the Rally to be in Buckhead as opposed to Midtown. Midtown Atlanta is okay, but it was a business area- everything closes early in a business area.

P.S. I wish Gold Rush Rally would have given me a gift bag. Certain media members got one and I didn't. For more photos, well not much more (I mean, there were only 19 cars), click here to check out my Gold Rush Rally gallery

Interesting List: 10 Most Expensive Vehicles to Own

24/7 Wall St released a list about the 10 most expensive vehicles to own in America. They compiled this particular list based off of depreciation, fuel costs, and repairs. And I paraphrased off of their comments, because they looked at every aspect of owning a vehicle, something that most lists do not take into consideration.

10. Nissan GT-R
Style: Premium 2dr Coupe AWD (3.8L 6cyl Turbo 6AM)
True cost of ownership: $117,892
Purchase price: $91,830
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 19

"The GT-R ranks among the top 10 most expensive thanks largely to two additional costs on top of its depreciation. First is the car’s maintenance costs, which average $10,043 over five years — the highest amount among all models. The GT-R also has the second-highest insurance costs, at $22,334 for the five years." Now I'm thinking back to all of those GT-Rs I saw at SEMA.

9. Land Rover Range Rover
Style: HSE 4dr SUV 4WD (5.0L 8cyl 6A)
True cost of ownership: $118,158
Purchase price: $88,862
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 14

"Compared to other models, Range Rover’s biggest expense is repairs, which cost an average $4,214 altogether for five years. This amount is the third-highest. Also expensive for Range Rover owners are fuels costs. Over five years, owners will pay nearly $22,000 to fuel the car, which gets a mere 12 MPG in the city." Most of Los Angeles and Atlanta are in trouble...

8. BMW 750i
Style: 4dr Sedan (4.4L 8cyl Turbo gas/electric hybrid 8A)
True cost of ownership: $122,076
Purchase price: $101,545
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 20

"The true cost of the car is much more than the $101,000 price tag. After five years, outside costs, including taxes and fees, insurance and financing interest, ownership of the vehicle averages more than $122,000. Sales also have been low, with only 118 registrations in the U.S. in 2011." The 750 as well as the 745 is the car people buy in Atlanta as soon as they get a little money.

7. Mercedes-Benz G550
Style: 4dr SUV 4WD (5.5L 8cyl 7A)
True cost of ownership: $126,714
Purchase price: $108,900
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 13

"The car has the third-most expensive fuel costs among all models examined, at approximately $23,500 for five years. The car gets a combined MPG of just 13, and just 11 MPG in the city. The G550 also has among the highest finance interest rates. Five years of ownership result in an average $12,000 in interest. Customers apparently do not mind paying these high costs, as the G-Class has been in production since 1979."

6. Lexus LS 600h L
Style: 4dr Sedan AWD (5.0L 8cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
True cost of ownership: $129,542
Purchase price: $119,019
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 20

"According to Edmunds, the full-size luxury sedan is the most expensive model that Lexus produces in large numbers. The car’s base price of $119,019 is the fifth-highest among all companies."

5. Mercedes-Benz SL500
Style: 2dr Convertible (5.5L 8cyl 7A)
True cost of ownership: $129,588
Purchase price: $106,718
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 17

"Although it is the seventh-most expensive when ranked by purchasing price alone, it ranks the fifth-most expensive model for overall cost of ownership because of its particularly costly financing interest and insurance. Total registrations of the car have dropped dramatically from more than 5,600 in 2007 to less than 1,500 in 2011." I never saw the big deal behind this body style. I think it's the ugliest one out of the house of Mercedes Benz.

4. Mercedes-Benz CL550
Style: 4MATIC 2dr Coupe AWD (4.7L 8cyl Turbo 7A)
True cost of ownership: $142,558
Purchase price: $121,671
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 18

"The CL550 has the fourth-highest purchase price and finance interest. It also has the third-highest cost of maintenance. Sales of the car have steadily decreased over the years. There were more than 3,200 total registrations in 2007. In 2011, there were 980." Of course, this is the best body style out of the house of Mercedes Benz.

3. ALPINA BMW B7
Style: SWB 4dr Sedan (4.4L 8cyl Turbo 6A)
True cost of ownership: $153,150
Purchase price: $133,445
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 17

"The car’s purchase price alone exceeds $133,000. It also has among the most costly interest on financing and insurance."

2. Audi R8
Style: 5.2 quattro 2dr Coupe AWD (5.2L 10cyl 6M)
True cost of ownership: $193,429
Purchase price: $170,175
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 15

"The two-door sports car also has the second-most expensive maintenance costs, reaching $7,370 over five years. It also has particularly high fuel costs, thanks to its 13 MPG fuel efficiency in the city. The R8 does relatively poorly by JD Powers’ standards, scoring a three out of five for both overall quality and design. Despite this, there were 1,173 registrations for the car in 2011 — the most of any year." I'm a little biased about this vehicle, since someone close to me bought one.

1. Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
Style: 2dr Coupe (6.2L 8cyl 7AM)
True cost of ownership: $245,469
Purchase price: $210,875
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 16

"After depreciation, finance interest, insurance, fuel costs and maintenance over five years, the car’s true cost of ownership during those years is nearly a quarter million dollars. This cost has not prevented the SLS AMG from being popular; total registrations of the automobile increased from 470 in 2010 to 707 in 2011." I'm sure that owning this vehicle isn't hurting Kanye West.

So the one thing we learned is that Mercedes Benz are the biggest car hustlers of all. If you don't believe me, look at this list again...

Forgiato Wheels shows off a Bugatti Veyron

Forgiato Wheels released shots of a Bugatti Veyron wearing their super luxurious type of wheels, the Forgiato F2.01 wheels. Remember just last year, Forgiato released the Forgiato 2.0 line, which is a high performance luxury line of wheels. Basically it's more luxurious than their original collection of wheels- because we all know that Forgiato Wheels aren't priced for everyone.

Girl Moment: Kimora gets gas for her Ferrari

Since I've been living in Atlanta for 5 years, I've been fortinate to meet a lot of famous people. A lot of people can say that they've partied with Sean "Puffy" (or Diddy) Combs, but I honestly have. One things for sure, I haven't met everyone that I always wanted to meet.

Case in point, the subject matter of this post. Kimora Lee Simmons. Is she driving a customized Ferrari? Nope. But is this one of the people who influenced Bernie to be the best person she can be, yes. And that's why I couldn't pass the opportunity to show off Kimora and her Ferrari with New York license plates.

And before you panic, she is the only celebrity inspiration I have. Although I do love Jay-Z...

Photos: X17online.com

Sanctiond Automotive talks with Platinum Motorsports

(You know the Keshishyan Brothers have the best photos of themselves on their site)

LA Native and Photography great Estevan Oriol shot an incredible video about "the Neiman Marcus of Car Customization Shops", Platinum Motorsports. He shot the Keshishyan brothers (George and Jack) and discussed how they acquired the business from their father and turned it into a powerhouse, their work ethic, and the work that comes out of the shop. Either way, it was a great look, even better than whatever articles that's been printed out about them.

Check out the video and see for yourself.



Even though they had a leg up in the business (meaning: the business was given to them by their father), you have to admit, they did turn it into something far greater than what the business originally was. Anytime you can do that, you have to give them respect.

P.S. You know Estevan Oriol does great work. He reminds me of Hype Williams- meaning the video he produces will have that same uber high quality like his photography. With Hype, his movie Belly looks just like his music videos.

CEC Wheels shows off a Ferrari 458 Italia

CEC Wheels just released shots of a Ferrari 458 Italia. According to CEC Wheels, the Ferrari is outfitted with lightweight forged Motegi Racing wheels. Motegi Racing developed this wheel specifically for GT cars. The GT racing version of this wheel is offered for center-lock applications which you can only find on the most competitive Ferrari GT cars.

CEC is proud to introduce the street version of this super lightweight forged alloy wheel on the Ferrari 458 Italia. With 9x21" front (Pirelli P Zero 255/30ZR21) and 12x22" rear (Pirelli P Zero 335/25ZR22) sizing, the 458's stance is greatly improved giving you street-credibility with an authentic racing wheel.

Available Finishes include:

GT Race Silver
Matte Black
Matte Gunmetal

Forgiato releases the Artigli-ECL wheel, and shows it off on a Lamborghini

Recently, Forgiato Wheels released the Artigli-ECL wheel. Accprding to Forgiato, this wheel design was inspired by the sharp lines and aggressive look of the Lamborghini Aventador, so what better way to release it for the first time than with a photo shoot on this car. On the Aventador, the wheel is pictured as 20×9, 2″ lip on 255/30/20 Pirelli Tires in the front, and 21×13.5, 4.5″ lip on 355/25/21 Pirelli Tires in the rear.

Check this out...

I really like the fashion approach to this shoot, you almost forgot that you're looking at a car ad, since something like this could very much be seen in Allure Magazine (sorry, girl moment)