Trifecta Judges:
Troy Sumitomo: The Five Axis name continues to grow, growing the status of his clients as a result, and all thanks to his ber-brilliant designs and none-too-shabby build abilities. Where he finds time to launch a wheel line in addition to everything else he does mystifies us. But perhaps unlike self-satisfied editors, who only like to go on luxurious press trips and talk about how large the font should be for titles on page such and such, he actually has ambition and drive. Go figure.
Gary Bell: A man who needs no introduction. Bell builds some of the most badass demo cars on the planet at Alpine. The Mercedes R500 was a great example at last year's CES. By the time you read this we're sure everyone will be talking about the latest take on the annual Alpine project. What were you guys thinking?! We say that every year. By the following CES we usually catch up to their genius. Also notable for being a close friend of installer extraordinaire, Peter Johnson.
Mike Vu: A former builder at Alpine, Vu now runs MV Designz. What ego, you might say, he even named his company after himself, not something cool like, say, Five Axis. But apparently, his Alpine years (or was that one year?) weren't a fluke. Now Vu builds custom cars from Toyota and Scion, many of them on display at the SEMA Show. This guy is getting to be as famous as that other Vu.
Calvin Thomas: While not as famous as the other judges who have been on TV, built big-time OE demo cars or are constantly being asked for interviews by the automotive press, he's a lot nicer than those guys and good to have around. Kidding aside, Thomas has been one of the best builders/installers in the industry whose work has often been featured in CA&E.
Zee Siddiqi: Some of you may know him from Pimp My Ride; others may remember his cover car in the Dec. '06 issue of CA&E. Last year he finished third at the Trifecta Finals. Like Watkins will this year, he went from competitor to judge this past season. In addition to building cars for the TV show, he has been busy working on concepts and demo cars at GAS, including a vehicle for CA&E, soon to be featured in these pages.
Keith Turner: Turner is one serious dude. Those who know him may mock his penchant for wearing white tube socks with sandals or his lack of affinity for any really cool music, but what do you expect from a sound judge who takes his work seriously. Look for him on the SEMA episode of Overhaulin' wherein our Turner lends Foose his audio installation skills.