The First Automotive Influencer? | RJ de Vera's life in Cars from The Fast and the Furious to SEMA
About this episode
Very Vehicular welcomes RJ de Vera! Each season we like to bring on a guest from inside the automotive industry whose position and experience helps us better understand the issues facing car culture, and while RJ is more than qualified in that regard, there’s more that he’s done… much more! He was a foundational part of the import scene in the 90s, working as a writer and photographer for Super Street before ascending to Editor at Large. He was the go-to guy on the scene consulting for a plethora of OEMs and brands looking to break off a little piece of the magic for themselves. He even had a role in a notable movie franchise - word to the wise is he’s still collecting residual checks for his on-screen role to this day. Trading the underground for a storied chapter in the corporate world (twelve years at 3M / Meguiars no less), he’s now taken his rightful place atop the mountain as Vice President of Marketing at SEMA. Of most interest to us though? He’s a fully paid-up, card-carrying car nerd, with extraordinary stories and an insight into car culture you won’t want to miss. Enjoy!
Partners:
FCP Euro
Heatwave Visual
Wera Tools
KW Suspension
Producer: Nick Rutter @nickrutterarts
Editor: Julius Adorsu @adorsu.j
Music: SlikSound
Patreon: https://patreon.com/u37266647
https://bio.site/321actionaction
00:00 - Welcome & Introduction
03:36 - Car Culture Health Check
09:23 - SEMA Advocacy Battles
13:14 - Car Audio Nostalgia
14:27 - Magazine Era Memories
15:18 - Hot Import Nights Explained
23:16 - Was RJ the First Automotive Influencer?
29:38 - Sponsor: FCP Euro
31:14 - Fast and Furious - How That All Came About
35:19 - S2000 Movie Afterlife
36:48 - Fast Franchise Tipping Points
37:43 - Tokyo Drift and Drifting Boom
39:06 - Sneakers Meet Car Culture
41:25 - Mark Arcenal and Fatlace
46:02 - Before Fast Breakthrough
49:51 - Early Days with Super Street
52:13 - Building a Brand in 2026
55:09 - Sponsors: Heat Wave Visual, Wera Tools & KW Suspensions
57:09 - RJ’s Daily Driver - From an SLS to an Accord?
01:01:03 - TE37s on an Alpina
01:05:03 - Too Much Tech in Cars - ADAS, Last Good Year?
01:09:39 - Hunting A Honda Project - Everybody’s After the Same Girl
01:15:12 - Aston Vantage F1 Love
01:17:07 - Shooting Brakes And BMWs
01:18:25 - Was the Audi R8 the True Successor to the NSX?
01:21:40 - Only One Car To Keep, Scotto?
01:23:35 - Door Handle Obsession
01:29:37 - Gran Turismo Changed Everything
01:31:52 - Gaming Saved Car Culture: Theyr’e the New Magazines
01:38:26 - Brush with a Racing Career
01:41:10 - Favorite Tracks
01:45:26 - From Racing to Film Sets
01:48:18 - Fast and Furious Legacy
01:53:23 - Inspiring the Next Generation
01:58:11 - Why He Joined SEMA
02:01:09 - What SEMA Actually Does
02:10:44 - 3M Stands for Meetings Meetings Meetings
02:18:34 - Digital Media Shift
02:25:51 - Going to SEMA as a Civilian for Once
02:30:04 - No Seatbelts in Osaka, a Close Brush with Death
02:36:32 - Sketchy Ride Hall of Fame
02:42:22 - Motorcycles and Fear
02:44:47 - Rally Hillclimb Dreams
02:48:08 - Circuit Racing Aesthetics - Why Liveries Matter
02:52:54 - What are the Modern “It” Cars?
02:57:17 - Aftermarket Parts for 90s Cars - A Revival?
03:01:29 - Hope for Car Culture
Honda S2000
"Yeah. So my POV was like, so my S2000 was rented to the, to the franchise for the first..."
Land Rover Discovery
"... my 911 to my RS2, I even have a custom set in my Land Rover Discovery. And yes, that bloody thing does finally run."
Alpina B6 Alpina
"My Alpina. Yeah, I have a B6 Alpina. I had an Accord that was my daily, like right be..."
Porsche 911
"...y, right? You've had a lot of BMWs at a couple of 911s, right? Not too many."
Mercedes-Benz CLS
"...rts of Japanese cars. I think my first Euro was a CLS Mercedes. That I slammed with all the Brabis rock..."
Volkswagen Jetta
"And so then I ended up... My mom had a Jetta wagon, so I drove that for a while. And then I ha..."
Toyota Supra
"just like, I'm like, oh, I got a bike. And the Supra being a 5 on 120 and and Vogue Racing making a bu..."
Alpina B8 Alpina
"... And that's one of my like the, the B6 versus the B8 Alpina, the B6 still has. Yeah."
Hyundai Ioniq
"...acy Football Club and we had Leah Block driving a Hyundai Ioniq 5N, which like as far as EVs go, I really think t..."
Honda Accord
"I didn't have anything. I just had my Accord, which was lowered on wheels, but I'm like, how c..."
Acura Integra
"Started looking. Really, you're like an Integra guy, right? That's kind of."
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
"Yeah. And he got the new V8, his last generation V8 Vantage. And I love quirky things."
Mclaren F1
"...y, like I love things like an F1 or like... Yeah, McLaren F1 is top of the 14. Yeah, or like an F40 or things ..."
Ferrari F40
"...ah, McLaren F1 is top of the 14. Yeah, or like an F40 or things like that. But I don't know, I kind of ..."
Mazda Rx7S
"...h. Yeah, there's just like for example, I love FD RX7s because I love the way that they integrate the do..."
Subaru WRX
"It's just super clean. But meanwhile, even though I've owned them like GD STIs or you know WRX's, I hate the door handle. Like the door handle feels like an afterthought."
Chevrolet Corvette
"Just stick it on. It also bothers me about like Corvettes because like the Corvette door handle on like the..."
BMW New Bmws
"...But I think like, but the new door handles on the new BMWs are just like, it'll drive by and I'll just stare..."
SLR Mclaren Slr
"Which was. Well, there was the McLaren SLR and then the 722. That was at the 722."
Jaguar Etype
"Like in a modern day and had this long, I love long hooded cars because they're on big 50s and 60s, like European car fan, E-type Jag, 300 SL, any 250 Ferrari, right? Any of that stuff."
Ferrari 250 Ferrari
"...s, like European car fan, E-type Jag, 300 SL, any 250 Ferrari, right? Any of that stuff."
Mitsubishi 3000 Gt
"...at game. But the I have this love affair with the Mitsubishi 3000 GT because it was in that game. And you could do lik..."
Nissan Gtrs
"...cause there's a whole generation that loves Spoon GTRs because they played Gran Turismo 123 and then got..."
Toyota Prius
"...like this like kind of post recession moment. The Prius is the most popular car in Hollywood. You know, a..."
Volkswagen Lupo
"...her day, a friend of mine, Matt Kirk, he bought a Lupo Cup car, which is like a small Volkswagen, like a..."
Pontiac Fiero
"...ow how you walk back from going into space in the Fiero. Yeah."
Rolls-Royce Phantom
"It's not just like, what was it? Phantom or whoever does? Yeah."
Ford Mustang
"...ew people get invited to go see what the new Ford Mustang is going to be. They have to buy one usually."
Ford Bronco
"...MA, they already have the new part for the latest Bronco, 4Runner, Mustang, Supra, GT, whatever it is. So ..."
Toyota 4Runner
"... already have the new part for the latest Bronco, 4Runner, Mustang, Supra, GT, whatever it is. So what is y..."
Nissan R34
"...crazy like, you know, like a color shift, purple, R34, not midnight purple, but kind of one of those ho..."
Bugatti Veron
"Sure. The Bugatti Veron, which had just come out, only had a thousand and..."
Toyota Celica
"... up with like, you know, I think he's running the Celica there now, but there'll be guys who will like, wi..."
Toyota GR Corolla
"...r and luckily she drives manual. So we just drove GR Corolla and Integra Type S. Both of those cars, I think, ..."
Integra Type S
"...he drives manual. So we just drove GR Corolla and Integra Type S. Both of those cars, I think, are great, cool car..."
Subaru BRZ
"... trying to think if there's anything from Subaru. BRZ, which are basically the same thing as the 86. An..."
Volkswagen Gti
"What's in the VW world? I guess, GTI or R, but like they're all bigger and heavier. Th..."
Toyota GR Yaris
"Yeah. I wish they brought GR Yaris here. Yeah, I know."
Pontiac Gta
"... sick third gen LSA powered, sequentially shifted Pontiac GTA. On the flip side, he's got a 190E Cosworth Evil ..."
Mercedes-Benz 190E
"...shifted Pontiac GTA. On the flip side, he's got a 190E Cosworth Evil 1, if you know you know, plus a pro..."
Mazda MX-5 / Miata
"...Tide livery. What else? A Rad C for a vet, a race Miata, a GT3 RS, oh, and another NASCAR. I can't keep t..."
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