Cheers! Welcome to Evo’s new blog, your side stop for FF Honda eye candy, opinionated automotive commentary and breaking shop news. Somewhere amidst my sporadic spins on motorsport headlines, and KTL’s captivating imagery, I’d like to sneak in a new segment. Over the next several weeks, I’ll be inviting you to join me as I experience each of Evo’s unique vehicles on a personal basis. One by one we’ll take a seat in “the machines Mr. Ying built,” revealing their unique personalities, amusing quirks, and hidden potentials.

As a preface to these columns, I’d like to begin with a short segment sharing some of my perceptions on Mr. Ying, and his tuning philosophy. What follows are my own opinions and commentary, gained through experiences with Evo Garage and the man behind the magic. As such, they shouldn’t be taken all together too seriously but rather, they are intended to give a brief glimpse into what drives the enthusiast owner to create such amazing automotive art…

SIMPLICITY, DETAILS, RESILIENCE:

“The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed – it is a process of elimination”. -Elbert Hubbard

Each day, with flared forearms, Mr. Ying fervently attacks a more modern canvas: the automobile. Specializing in front wheel drive Honda’s, a collection of Civics and Integra’s usually litter the shops grounds, each waiting for their turn with the guru. The techniques used to transform a mundane commuter car into pavement pounding, corner hugging animal are no big secret these days. They have been tried and tested since the explosion of the Japanese tuning industry in the late 80’s. Even still, Mr. Ying’s approach is unique. Taking a simplistic approach to each individual vehicle, Mr. Ying is able to effectively tailor each car to each owner – cutting away frivolities. This affords him a higher level of attention to detail. Each component gets the masters once over… his watchful eye minding every feature.

As I sit and watch him at work I am reminded of how wonderful a thing pride is when it is embodied. And nowhere else, this side of the Pacific, is pride more personified than through Mr. Ying’s diligence in working on an automobile. Each nut is torqued vigilantly, and checked twice, before moving to the next. Everything is scrutinized and its purpose questioned, until what’s left is a simple, effective masterpiece, free of the lard that spoils countless modern machines. With nothing left to chance, and his pride poured into each project, Mr. Ying is able to stand by his work with a dignity not commonly seen anymore.

In my experience, the results expose the fruits of the labour… I have not before encountered such satisfaction in an automobile as I have in driving those he has had a hand in sculpting. I sincerely hope you’ll continue to stop by the blog over the coming months and join me as I indulge myself in these very special vehicles. First up, next week: a stunningly concise, bluntly powerful example of Honda’s 1995 Civic EH2!

– R. Dingle