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As promised, AJ’s sending pictures and words for every day he’s in Doha, Qatar. And, since we like him enough, we’re reposting them here for you, the same day we get them. My (Andrew's) words are in bold, all the regular font is AJ. Pictures are his as well.
Day 1.
Its Wednesday…no Thursday… no, wait… It’s day time, I know that. I think…
We arrived in the Land of Far, Far Away last night and I could tell even by the name on the hand soap (“Nut Cream”) that people here take things quite a bit differently than we do. This little small town, country boy could spend the entire time just soaking everything in. Architecture like no place else, food that is only available six thousand miles away from home, and cars…oh the cars! There is one thing we have in common with our Middle Eastern brothers…the passion for the exotic. However, in Qatar, exotic isn’t enough. Cars here need to be uniquely exotic. Who could possibly drive a two hundred thousand dollar vehicle that looks the same as the next guy’s two-hundred thousand dollar vehicle? I mean that would be just silly… Right?
That’s where we come in. Fluid is taking the US by storm, and that storm is quickly reaching halfway around the world. If there is any question of our impact just take a ride down the street in our old (slightly dusty because it’s still not properly licensed) friend….
Today was our first vehicle. The approach on this one is mass production, so the exotic nature is quite toned down. Here, they drive Land Cruisers like soccer moms back home drive SUV’s. A plethora of electronic upgrades and fitment designs along with an intake design and cat delete measurements were on the list. First one done… next one scheduled to arrive in a few hours.
Stay tuned…it’s only day one…or two…no, one; yesterday didn’t count. Wait….f@#&.
And now, Part 2.
Day 2, or "Seeing a Real Life Camel…Priceless."
Our workspace…parking garage; our workbench…eight hundred horsepower SRT-10; one of these is more impressive than the other. Oh come on, Microsoft was started in a garage, too, and I bet more than one of you would have liked the opportunity to jump on that little train.
We have torn apart, documented, photographed, sketched, measured and reassembled two different models of Land Cruiser so far. Everything from intake upgrades to a special “Fluid MotorUnion Black Box” unit that is the brain child of our beloved leader OJ, have been accounted for between each of these vehicles. We are also searching for similar features between models and model years which would allow us to use the same design for multiple vehicles. What do they have in common so far? Not a damn thing…
My main goal when designing these mass production upgrades is ease of installation. Since we will be six thousand miles away when our product is being installed on a vehicle, we want as little opportunity for error as possible. Utilizing the stock mounting points assures us that the upgrade will both fit and have adequate foundation and support while driving.
Intakes seem to be the biggest dinner-bell ring when it comes to aftermarket modifications around here. According to a race team owner and potentially large distributor of Fluid in Qatar, all you have to do is mention intake upgrade and people will come running. He has offered (verbally so far) to buy the first fifty units from each model we put together over here because of that fact alone. Our intakes should be able to mount directly into the stock points but bring both an entirely different look under the hood and performance to the vehicle.
So, today we were taken to the Qatar sand dunes for a short relaxing session… Nothing says relax like being in the back of an SUV, hoping your driver doesn’t kill you in the middle of a billion-acre kitty litter box with no emergency vehicles or cell towers for miles. Our other fearless leader Craig thought it would be a good idea to try and run up one of the dunes…halfway up, he needed a little support from his cheerleader.
Day three is sure to bring more cars, more business, and more life-threatening chauffeurs…
Stay tuned for more updates as we get 'em!
Day 1.
Its Wednesday…no Thursday… no, wait… It’s day time, I know that. I think…
We arrived in the Land of Far, Far Away last night and I could tell even by the name on the hand soap (“Nut Cream”) that people here take things quite a bit differently than we do. This little small town, country boy could spend the entire time just soaking everything in. Architecture like no place else, food that is only available six thousand miles away from home, and cars…oh the cars! There is one thing we have in common with our Middle Eastern brothers…the passion for the exotic. However, in Qatar, exotic isn’t enough. Cars here need to be uniquely exotic. Who could possibly drive a two hundred thousand dollar vehicle that looks the same as the next guy’s two-hundred thousand dollar vehicle? I mean that would be just silly… Right?
That’s where we come in. Fluid is taking the US by storm, and that storm is quickly reaching halfway around the world. If there is any question of our impact just take a ride down the street in our old (slightly dusty because it’s still not properly licensed) friend….
Today was our first vehicle. The approach on this one is mass production, so the exotic nature is quite toned down. Here, they drive Land Cruisers like soccer moms back home drive SUV’s. A plethora of electronic upgrades and fitment designs along with an intake design and cat delete measurements were on the list. First one done… next one scheduled to arrive in a few hours.
Stay tuned…it’s only day one…or two…no, one; yesterday didn’t count. Wait….f@#&.
And now, Part 2.
Day 2, or "Seeing a Real Life Camel…Priceless."
Our workspace…parking garage; our workbench…eight hundred horsepower SRT-10; one of these is more impressive than the other. Oh come on, Microsoft was started in a garage, too, and I bet more than one of you would have liked the opportunity to jump on that little train.
We have torn apart, documented, photographed, sketched, measured and reassembled two different models of Land Cruiser so far. Everything from intake upgrades to a special “Fluid MotorUnion Black Box” unit that is the brain child of our beloved leader OJ, have been accounted for between each of these vehicles. We are also searching for similar features between models and model years which would allow us to use the same design for multiple vehicles. What do they have in common so far? Not a damn thing…
My main goal when designing these mass production upgrades is ease of installation. Since we will be six thousand miles away when our product is being installed on a vehicle, we want as little opportunity for error as possible. Utilizing the stock mounting points assures us that the upgrade will both fit and have adequate foundation and support while driving.
Intakes seem to be the biggest dinner-bell ring when it comes to aftermarket modifications around here. According to a race team owner and potentially large distributor of Fluid in Qatar, all you have to do is mention intake upgrade and people will come running. He has offered (verbally so far) to buy the first fifty units from each model we put together over here because of that fact alone. Our intakes should be able to mount directly into the stock points but bring both an entirely different look under the hood and performance to the vehicle.
So, today we were taken to the Qatar sand dunes for a short relaxing session… Nothing says relax like being in the back of an SUV, hoping your driver doesn’t kill you in the middle of a billion-acre kitty litter box with no emergency vehicles or cell towers for miles. Our other fearless leader Craig thought it would be a good idea to try and run up one of the dunes…halfway up, he needed a little support from his cheerleader.
Day three is sure to bring more cars, more business, and more life-threatening chauffeurs…
Stay tuned for more updates as we get 'em!
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