Hey, what’s up!
We suppose some of you might have already heard of a fact that Upgarage Group Co., Ltd (former Croooober Holdings) owner, Makoto Ishida, started its business back in 1999 and his main purpose was selling JDM parts in order to satisfy car enthusiasts’ needs. And this mission still remains even today. In order to be closer and in more help to as many car enthusiasts as it is possible, there are more than 195 outlet stores including Full line parts, Riders parts, and Wheels stores across Japan now and we aim even to increase its quantity. Before the pandemic issue occurred, lots of Upgarage funs and car amateurs all over the world used to be visiting Japan for parts shopping, car events, but now it is only possible to enjoy everything online. Online shopping, tours, and even meetings replaced all previously existed real-time opportunities. Does it mean human beings’ communication became limited? Of course, no, because the digitalization world opened more opportunities where we just should become stronger and maybe even happier!
But why Upgarage is popular both in Japan and overseas?
Well, we believe it is due to the motivating slogan we have. It is saying “Expand the market, convey the fun. The FUN is yet to come”! The “Customer is God” policy has became stronger since and our direction in the future will be aimed at further emphasizing the focus on our customers. And the words you hear when entering the store in Japan like Welcome! How can I help you! Thank you for shopping with us! Thank you for visiting us! Please visit us again! are the most usable nowadays and the staff even performs daily training on how to serve and treat the customers. No business will last for long unless the customer is satisfied! While car enthusiasts` FUN is one of our main goals, our company back in 2001 decided to join and participate in the D1 Grand Prix (D1DP) as Team Upgarage with TOYOTA TRUENO AE86.
Look at our drift cars’ evolution and piece of history below!
D1GP is the drifting event where the winner is decided by the coolness when drifting. Where the biggest attraction of drifting is the extraordinary movement of the car. However, it is important to notice that the victory or defeat depends much more on the driver’s skills than on the performance of the machine. There are 3 categories of drifting competition in Japan and they are called D1 divisional series, D1 LIGHTS, and D1GP, where the last one is the one that is recognized as the highest one. As you might have already heard of our US representative, Kazuya Taguchi who is representing Team Upgarage in Formula Drift events in the USA now. But his drifting career actually started in Japan back in 2015 when he was riding machines like S15 and R35 GT-R.
Looking back to 2014 when he debuted in the USA arena on his red Nissan R35 GT-R and his current performance, we would say Kazuya was able to settle there and earn some fame. To be honest, we are proud of him and appreciate all of your support already done and will be performed in the future. His current yellow TOYOTA RF-S equipped with VR38DETT flaunts above 🙂
Any idea, what will the next machine be chosen next?
Now we are going to share with you one more important piece of Upgarage history. It was the long-awaited participation in the Super GT 300 class that was finally decided in 2015 with the Toyota 86 Mother Chassis. Looking ahead this bullet is retired and also being kept very carefully at our garage now and who knows, maybe when you visit us next time, you will probably be allowed to get behind the wheel which allows you to feel all the spirit of the Super GT race.
Life is a journey and our goal is to win the race! There is a victory in our piggy bank already which was earned in 2018 in the Okayama Circuit. The long-awaited winning brought with it some cool apparel stuff which is available here. Do not you find it cool to memorize the victory by creating the apparel series which might spread all over the world?
In 2019 Team Upgarage changed the machine and its park got a new Honda NSX GT3 as a new team member. And now we are going to share a secret, people are saying that our boss bought the same one for his private use. They also say that Upgarage staff is able to take it for a ride during one of the company`s events being hold several times a year. Do you think it is true and if yes, why is he doing it? The answer is simple, having the business involved in JDM culture where our staff selling tuning parts and even helping its customers to install them to their beloved vehicles, creating a fun environment is the most essential task facing the owner! Do you think each company owner is able to give the opportunity to ride his car, which costs like an apartment in Tokyo? It was a fantastic question, but who knows maybe our next article will include a video from our next event where you can see the answer!
Taking part in the Super GT race takes so much time and money, where our team should perform non-stop machine testing, uncountable engine set-ups, driver`s practising, etc, but it is worth it so that all spectators enjoy watching the race.
Have you ever seen the Super GT race in real?
By the way, we are performing a photo contest campaign that starts on September 27 and would appreciate it if you stop by and send us your car’s coolest picture so we are able to post it on Upgarage Instagram account and spread some positive mood in these not easy times during the protracted covid-19 epidemic. More details can be found in this post. The picture submission period ends very soon so please hurry up! Now, look around and smile at everyone who caught your eye! The world deserves happy human beings!
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