AMY SLADE: 350z Star Petrol Head! CLARION SPONSORED

I have had to wait a while before publishing this high level sponsored car. The owner, is Amy Slade, who is a real star, having impressed the heck out of a slew of hard bitten PR professionals, with her personality, achievements and media follow through skills. She looks to be the perfect media package. Hell, this editor has been champing at the bit to publish. From where I am sat, her only issue looks to be green eye from those who well, want to BE her!
What follows, is the horribly well written and presented interview and details of the car, an awesome Nissan 350z Amy has prepared and fettled. Authorship of what follows is Michael Hodges of MPH Communications in Posh-Thames-Land. They are the professional PR people that also handle mega brands STP and Armor All, as well as crack classic car auction gurus, Historics at Brooklands and Clarion of course. Top outfit.
Amy Slade Interview by Mike Hodges, MPH Communications.
How long have you had a passion for cars, particularly modified ones?
Since I bought my first car at seventeen, it began straight away!

Who inspired you?
The Fast & the Furious films. I feel a part of the “fast family”, the franchise has had that much of an effect on me. Huge F&F fan! I loved Paul Walker, he was my favourite actor, I am still and always will be very sad he isn’t with us anymore.

What cars have you owned before?
I have owned thirteen cars! Mainly all Japanese cars from the influence of F&F! My best cars have been; My Mitsubishi FTO – it was and still is the best FTO in the UK & maybe the world! We custom fabricated a steel wide arch kit and fabricated a one off body kit for the car! It won most shows it attended in the UK & the best part was it was picked by Universal to be the only car at The Fast & the Furious 4 – London film premiere! It was displayed on the red carpet outside Odeon Leicester Square, the full cast posed for photos with it. It can’t get any better than that! The day flew by, it was a dream come true. The FTO featured in many car magazines.

I also owned a lovely little Honda Del Sol show car, this started off as a run-around but I couldn’t leave it standard or alone! It was also one of the best examples of a Del Sol in the UK. I have also enjoyed owning a Civic Type R, A Honda Prelude & a Toyota Celica GT to name a few.
When did you buy the 350z and where from?
I have owned the 350z roadster now for almost three years. I bought it summer 2011 from Sammy’s car sales in Bedford. Sammy’s was just up the road and I had had my eye on the roadster for a couple of months, then one day they dropped the price so I went to see the car… that was it, I bought the car. I had looked at many 350z coupés before I bought my car but they all hadn’t been looked after well, roadsters were more money but I managed to get a reasonable amount off the car from my part exchange- the Honda Del Sol. Sammy’s sales men noticed the Del Sol was immaculate and modified. They asked and joked what I would be doing with the 350z. I said “no doubt I will modify this!” However I have done far more than I thought I would, its a bug. You can’t stop modifying once you’ve started. I plan to drive “Zed” back to Sammy’s to see if they recognise us!

Do you know the history of the car before you owned it?
I read all the history that came with the car… it is an import so it’s hard when it’s not been in the country long, I could see full Nissan service history here & the body work was extremely clean. I liked the leather tan & mesh contrasting seats at the time, they are quite rare. I found out it was Nissans ‘touring’ version of the 350Z roadster. I called the previous owner before buying the car. He was happy to talk and I still send him photos today of his old car! He is happy it is in good hands.

Was it modified when you bought it?
No absolutely standard!.but just for a week!!!

So, what did you get and when did you buy it?
A week later I bought aftermarket alloy wheels from a member of the 350z UK club, and an exhaust off another member, just to make it a bit more “me!” Then gradually I bought a very rare Amuse front bumper, Veilside bonnet, Chargespeed side skirts, Blitz carbon rear wing, more aftermarket alloy wheels! If it wasn’t for friends on the owners club I wouldn’t have been able to buy these parts, most were second hand off a good friend of mine on there called Del. I am the first 350z over here to ship & fit the Amuse rear bumper. Tarmac Sportz helped me get that. I am also the only 350z in a pale blue and with my awesome original Fairlady badge on the back! The seats are now a one off too, since the retrim, in blue and white. I think it’s all fitted together so well. Looking at my car today, it is better than I ever imagined it would be. And it goes really well with Clarion’s colours
I loved the idea of being persuaded by Michael to go back to its roots and repaint the car in Sora blueexactly the same factory colour as the first Datsun Fairlady was in 1964. it is very different and really suits the car.
I am very lucky to have good friends who work at garages, a family run business AutoBMC have looked after all of my cars mechanically – Norman & Bernie – and also the painter Jason Hicks (Norman’s son) at Spraytacular Coachworks has done a fabulous job, he took a lot of time and care to make the car’s excellent paint finish and for all the details to be there and right. My boyfriend Karl thinks it is funny on my birthdays or Christmas’s as unlike most girls wanting jewellery or handbags I usually ask for something for the Zed! He has helped me a lot with this project and I let him drive it too.

What are your next plans for the car?
I would love a big brake kit! And a new exhaust! Then it will be dressing the engine bay some more, with more chrome!

What car clubs are you a member of?
Well, 350z-UK.com is my car club, I also do car meets with AutoBMC.
How many events a year do you attend?
Loads! I like to attend as many as possible, I am a regular to the scene and car shows. I especially love Ace Cafe car meets, and Japanese ones like JAE, Japfest and a new favourite of mine is now Super Car Siege at Leeds Castle.
Why do you suggest more ladies should get into modified car ownership?
I am seeing more and more ladies with modified cars which is great to see. I have a plan to set up an all-girls club stand at a show. I am trying to make friends with these ladies to try and make that happen. I think it would be really cool for everyone to see our cars and how good they are!

Do you think guys can be envious/jealous?
Yes, some saw my car come out of the body shop & haven’t commented, even though I know they love it!

What and how many awards have you won for your cars?
I won two big awards at one of the last Max Power shows at Billing Aquadrome with the FTO. I won best girl’s car (which I was expecting that year….) and then I was called back up on stage as I had not only won that- but best overall car there! So I took home two of the main awards. I was so proud! I didn’t expect them to do that!
I won best Mitsubishi at an awesome Fast Car magazine show called Mod Gods and a £500 cheque!! The FTO beat a brand new Evo 10 at that show, and he didn’t look too happy hehe!
I have won ‘Judges choice’ awards a few times at Santa Pod shows, for innovation on the FTO – it had a cool motorised front splitter. Something that was one off and no one has got, even now. They loved it. Very handy for speed bumps too!
I got the FTO into Autoglym’s “Best in Britain” at Donny – only ten cars are hand picked each year. That was a huge deal.
There was nothing cooler than two Fast & Furious premieres under my belt though! The FTO was at the 4th one, and the only car there on the red carpet with the cast! And my 350z was at the 6th F&F – the world premiere last May 2013, Leicester Square again… this time they picked twenty cars to have on display and run a big competition- funnily enough my FTO was chosen for that too, so I actually had two of my pride and joys there, hand picked! The 350z won the competition, (after Clarion started sponsored me) of most-voted-for car. The comp was live online. And people could vote at the premiere. I won a couple of driving days which were awesome. I took my brother Rob too. He loves cars and helps me at shows sometimes.

When you aren’t with your car, what are your hobbies/interests?
I have a lot of varied hobbies, I am extremely passionate and I do loads. I am really into media, I am a video editor. I love editing and my job. I love TV & Film. I am a big fan of The Muppets! I go to the film premieres and DVD launches for the Muppets also and I have met Kermit the Frog. I love to dance, I do Zumba every week. I like to see my friends and socialise. I have three pet house rabbits who I also love to bits too. I am a big music fan. Take That are my favourite band and I will often go and see Gary Barlow. A friend of his management sorted out that I got a photo with Gary at an X Factor recording…. another best moment in my life so far!
What is your dream car and why?
I would love a Nissan R35 GTR!! It’s just an incredible car! My 350z was my dream car, so I am proud I got one. I also love many other cars. Too many to list but they are either supercars or old Japanese performance cars.
When the Fast & Furious distributors asked for my car to be displayed at the 6th world film premiere last year I knew I was lacking a nice modified upgraded interior. I was happy with the outside of the car mainly & was fed up with the old original stereo, the CD player never worked and I had a cassette tape adapter wire to play my iPhone tunes. I really dreamed of a nice interior with good sound quality and another talking point for the car build. I like a bit of bass also as I like RnB chart music.
I had a feeling my car would be able to “go places” and do well after I got the place at the film premiere. I knew I wanted Clarion to kit the car out and make my interior “show worthy”.
A bit of background from Clarion’s perspective
We immediately talked with Amy after her approach and her enthusiasm just shone through and Clarion followed with sponsorship – a full install for her in the 350Z, selecting the best top end Clarion product to suit the space and helping with fitment.
She is now a Clarion brand ambassador and we are involving her extensively in marketing campaigns for Clarion. We very rarely sponsor individuals with modified cars so Amy is pretty special!
Through our contacts at Yokohama (#Superstickylickysuckyrubber as licked by yours truly on a Max Power video! Ed.) who we have worked with on Clarion show cars before – we also arranged for them to supply her with complimentary tyres they are Yokohama Advan Nova AD08. Basically the best fast road high performance road tyres you can get, fitted to her 19in rims 275/35R19 rears, 245/40R19 fronts
Yokohama

Clarion
Yokohama
A bit about the installation, from Amy
I went to my owners’ club 350z-UK for aftermarket install tips, to see what I could do with the interior. They are very helpful on the club and many members have the same modified “bug” I seem to have with my Zed.
I was directed to the “Zed Shed” in Bournemouth – run by members Chris & Bob. So I paid the guys a visit, I was pleasantly surprised to meet their partners who both have Zeds too. So we all share the same passion for 350z’s. These guys know everything about the car so I was in good hands. They gave me a lot of knowledge & advice on what I can fit audio-wise and where I can fit it in my car. They let me have a good peek in their cars too, which are both well modified.
After inspiration and some advice from the “Zed Shed” two other 350z-UK members offered to help me fit all the Clarion install. Without friends on the club I really wouldn’t be where I am today! I can’t stress enough how kind they all are and how much help I was given.
Mark Davis has a mad orange Veilside 350z and lives down the road, turns out he used to hook up many audio installs so I knew I was in good hands, plus he knew how to take a Zed apart.
Mark NG is from Suffolk, so quite a long drive away from me but still offered to come and help us for a weekend. Mark NG was one of the first 350z forum members I met, back when I owned the FTO. At a car show at Snetterton I was admiring his 350z and we had a brief chat, I told him many years ago I wanted to own a Zed and one day we would meet again. It happened and we are good friends now. He also sold me his exhaust when he upgraded again, and a few other bits ! Mark NG and Mark Davis took my car apart in a scarily fast time.
It was literally in a thousand bits and they joked how calm I seemed to be even though my car was in pieces.
They fit all my audio – multimedia head unit with inbuilt touch screen, nav, audio, iPod integration, etc. etc., amps, subs and door speakers plus additional screen and the reversing camera, for me. It took a couple of weekends and Mark Davis even worked on my car his birthday weekend.
We were most worried about fitting the second screen – we didn’t know if it would fit and not many Zeds have a second screen. I had my heart set on two screens, so I can have Fast & Furious on one and on the other screen sat nav, TV , iPod or reverse camera. Luckily, the Clarion additional monitor fits and works perfectly.
Mark Davis built a custom box for the new 10in sub, and replaced my old sub. He put the two Clarion amps in my glove box behind the passenger seat.
My import 350z had a mini disk player and a DVD player behind the seats. Also, yet neither worked any longer when I bought the car. Well, I didn’t have a mini disk to try! Crazy Japs! (I had one, Amy. Ed)
When we took these out behind the seats it left two big holes. Both Marks came up with a plan to cover the holes and illuminate Clarion logos on Perspex there. I must say I love this.
Herewith the Clarion install equipment
Clarion NX702E multimedia – audio/video – double DIN touch screen head unit with builtin navigation. Bluetooth, iPod/iPhone integration, in built DVBT TV tuner, 7in high resolution screen (1,152,000 pixels (800 RGB(H) × 480 (V) × 3)
DAB302E (inc aerials) – Digital Audio Broadcasting Tuner for receiving DAB radio
XC6410 power amplifier – 600 watts 4/3/2 channel
XR2120 power amplifier 570w mono
SW2512 10in Subwoofer 600w
SRP 1722S Platinum series 16.5cm Comp speakers (pair) 300w max with tweeters and crossover
SRE 1732R speakers (pair) – 300w
CC4001U Colour Reversing Camera
CCA750 Video iPod connection
VMA773 monitor (additional screen
The wiring – Steve Patient from in car tec sponsored me- which was fantastic!
Incartec
After two long weekends with late nights, my car was back together. I’ve never had such a large grin as when I pulled off Mark Davis’ drive and my music was sounding so good now. It all transformed my interior to look much more modern and cool too.
The guys did such a great job, I love listening to music wherever I go in my car. It’s made the car great, outside and inside.
Last of all, Amy wears her finger and toe nails painted in the same colour as the car, and has sprayed her iPhone cover also in the same colour.