The saying “less is more” apparently didn’t make it into the NWMotiv company handbook for 2011. This was a crucial year for us as we headed into our second full year as a new online magazine and production company. We’re happy to say with confidence that we came out well ahead of the pack.

Pictures by NWMotiv Photographers – Story by Josh Mackey and Armin Ausejo

This was a huge year in general for the Northwest, segregated from the rest of the country when it comes to events and meets. It’s very rare we get the big events up here, having to dig and forage for ourselves like we were abandoned at a young age. We’ve seen this for years and wanted the community to have the best 2011 possible with more events, better events and even better cars.  Teaming up with our excellent partners and sponsors, NWMotiv single-handedly brought you several big events that we think played a hand in having a good year.

NOS Energy Drink & NWMotiv Fast Five Premiere – 4/29/11

Perched on a garage roof top adjacent from Southcenter Mall was what could arguably be the kick start event of the 2011 show/meet season. Over 100 hand-selected, top tier cars filled the top of the parking garage as NOS raffled off tickets to the fifth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise.  Music, NOS, cars and an awesome movie captured what the scene is about: having fun and enjoying each other’s company.

NOS Energy Drink & NWMotiv Forum Fest – 6/25/11

One of the most anticipated events of the season was no doubt the return of Forum Fest. NWMotiv took over the planning and production of the show which resulted in a huge increase of show cars and participants from the previous year. With over 250 registered show cars, a dozen drift cars and countless drag racers, Forum Fest was great and we hope to bring it back for 2012!

NWMotiv Toy Drive & Winter Meet 2011 – 12/10/11

The Northwest has the most generous people by far, in any community. Always ready to lend a helping hand or donate a fresh toy, the NWMotiv Toy Drive and Winter Meet 2011 was just one of many charity events during the holidays to help Toys for Tots. With over 500 toys and over $250 in cash collected, our first annual Toy Drive was a major success and we hope to do it again next year!

As we usher out 2011 and introduce 2012, Armin Ausejo and Josh Mackey pick their favorite articles from the past year

Armin’s Top 5 2011

NOS Energy Drink & NWMotiv Fast Five Premiere – 4/29/11

While we had a successful meet at Griot’s Garage just a week or so prior, the Fast Five Premiere was NWMotiv’s first major event of the year that involved all of the NWMotiv staff. We were fortunate enough to get the top of one of the parking garages at Southcenter to host the event and although it did seem a bit chaotic at first, everyone settled down to make the meet a great success.  We knew we wanted to do bigger things this year, so this event proved to be a successful test for our marketing, staff, and organization.

NOS Energy Drink & NWMotiv Forum Fest – 6/25/11

I’m quite proud to be a part of the largest car show to take place in the Pacific Northwest in 2011.  This event kept me busy from the very start, but I’m very happy with how everything turned out. It was great to see our local car show scene thriving again and it gives me hope that next year’s events will be even bigger.

Formula Drift Round 5 Seattle – 7/23/11

Even though I was only there for Day 1, my annual trip to Formula Drift proved to be one of my big highlights of the year.  I always love shooting on the track, but this year we had our ringer photographer Kyle “KP” Pope with us and we spent a good amount of time trying to out-do each other on our panning shots.  Combined with his solid track coverage of Day 2, David “Gwag” Hintze’s equally solid car show and pits coverage from both days, we had Formula D coverage that catapulted NWMotiv to national attention.

Formula Drift Round 7 – Irwindale – Final Fight – 10/8/11

Formula Drift Title Fight – It didn’t matter that the final round of Formula Drift didn’t take place in the Northwest, since it still featured a number of Northwest drivers, including fan-favorite Walker Wilkerson.  Kyle Pope’s and Andy “Krzyzanotgonnaspellyourlastname” Krzyzanowski’s coverage of the event in our stead was excellent, plus they helped deliver exclusive information that gained the praise of many people outside of the Northwest. This has hopefully cemented a spot for NWMotiv coverage at Formula Drift for years to come.

The Walker Wilkerson Interview – 11/1/11

Walker Wilkerson Interview – We had planned to feature a Northwest driver the entire year, but when Walker won Formula Drift’s Fan Favorite Driver of the Year Award, it was almost fate that we landed the interview with him.  It was also no coincidence that we had a few pages worth of photos of him drifting, since he really made a big splash in the drifting world.  Given his popularity, our interview with him was shared over 100 times on the various social networks and put both him and NWMotiv into the spotlight.

Mackey’s Top 5 2011

NOS Energy Drink & NWMotiv Fast Five Premiere – 4/29/11

It’s hard to ignore that the Fast Five Premiere was one of the most wildly successful events of 2011, but it was not the easiest to pull off by a long shot. With one month of lead-time, NWMotiv was tasked with finding the best possible 100 cars to park on the top of the garage for the event. It came close but we ended up accomplishing the task and making a really exciting event for everyone to enjoy!

NOS Energy Drink & NWMotiv Forum Fest – 6/25/11

Forum Fest is one of these shows that just kind of came out of nowhere. The first year was great and  showed evidence that the scene had rebuilt itself and was ready to come big. Forum Fest, now in it^s second year, saw twice the amount of show cars and spectators from the previous year. The event for the most part went off without too many snags and was well-represented in photo galleries and videos across the internet!

Caught you lookin’ – 7/20/11

There is a lot that could be said about Brendan’s Mazda 3 article, but the one thing that stands out is that this is the one that broke the website. Shortly after we posted Brendan’s feature online, Mazda USA caught wind of it and quickly posted it to their Facebook. The huge rush of traffic simply crippled our server for the remainder of the day. Shortly thereafter a follow up was requested by Mazda, which we hope we’ll see online soon!

NWMotiv Project 3 – 2011

Mackey and NWMotiv introduced the NWMotiv Project Mazda 3 Sedan in mid 2011. Its goal: to take the average consumer sport compact car and build a practical, fully functional, luxury inspired car that everyone can take ideas from. Sponsored by several local companies, the car has seen a lot of publicity through local events, online forums, Import Tuner Magazine’s Power Pages feature, Spotlight of the Month’s and other various publications. There is a lot in store for the first project car in 2012! Stay tuned.

Formula Drift Round 5 Seattle – Day 2 Pit Coverage – 7/24/11

As Armin mentioned in his Day 1 coverage, Formula Drift 2011 in general was a HUGE event for NWMotiv outside the realm of producing. For starters, this was the very first event that NWMotiv was a vendor for and we unveiled of our new booth, tent and flags. We were super excited to have all this come together for the biggest race of the year and hope to continue the trend of supporting Formula Drift next year!

Armin’s 2012 Outlook

We made a pretty good name for ourselves in 2011, thus 2012 looks to be very promising.  We’ve got some great events in the works, such as The Showcase at NissanFest and the possible return of Forum Fest, plus we’re working on something really big with some major players in the industry. Last but not least, the advent of the Scion FRS/Subaru BRZ has us very excited, and could also prove to be another big surprise for the coming year. Stick with us, the NWMotiv ride has only just begun!

Mackey’s 2012 Outook

2011 concluded with what I had hoped for, good brand name recognition, several events under our belts and a really focused staff heading into 2012. We have a lot planned for 2012 with bigger partners and sponsorships lined up. We plan to make 2012 bigger in every way we can and hope everyone is along for the journey.