Two Car Shows On Two Continents In Five Days

Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force

Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force

Wolfgang Würth, smart electric bike

smart electric bikes, Niketown, Beverly Hills

The Jim Henson Company, smart forjeremy

Jet-lagged and tipsy: Mathias "MC Winkel" Winks and some muppet

James Bond Aston Martin DB5 Coupé, LA Auto Show 2012

Decadent lunch with Marcel Winatschek (Amy & Pink), David Fischer (Highsnobiety) and Mathias Winks (Whudat)

"A brand is your friend" — Word.

Slammed W108 with mascara (caption borrowed from Clemens Gleich)

Now, with a Chromjuwelen branding, this Opel Kadett is worth over a million. No — wait: Five millions.

Bon appétit!

Yes, you can. You can visit two car shows (LA Auto Show, Essen Motor Show), three world premieres (Mercedes-AMG SLS AMG Coupé Black Series, Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force, smart forjeremy) and several parties in five days. Here's a quick journal:

• Tuesday, November 27th (early): HAM-FRA-LAX

• Tuesday, November 27th: Arrival Los Angeles

• Tuesday, November 27th: Beverly Hills on smart electric bikes

• Tuesday, November 27th: Presentation Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force

• Tuesday, November 27th: Presentation smart forjeremy at the Jim Henson Company

• Wednesday, November 28th: LA Motor Show

• Wednesday, November 28th: Santa Monica

• Wednesday, November 28th: Departure (LAX-MUC-DUS)

• Tuesday, November 29th: Arrival in DUS

• Tuesday, November 29th: Dinner with Chem-Tools

• Friday, November 30th: Essen Motor Show 2012, meetings

• Friday, November 30th: AUTO BILD Race Night

• Saturday, December 1st: Essen Motor Show 2012, meetings

• Saturday, December 1st (late): Back in Hamburg

• Sunday, December 2nd: BRAINDEAD

• Monday, December 3rd: BRAINDEAD

What I learned: You need a really good condition (err ... really?). And some good friends, who help you.

I would like to thank Mercedes-Benz/smart for the hospitality, Klaus Rasch for saving me from the police in Santa Monica, Thomas Backe and Dieter Hofem for picking me up in DUS, Manfred Prescher and Stefan Müller for the wonderful Race Night — and DOTZ/AEZ for gallons of coffee.

And not to forget — thank you David Fischer (Highsnobiety), Mathias "MC Winkel" Winks (Whudat), Marcel Winatschek (Amy & Pink), Michael Kaune (QVEST) and Matthias Arens (Quality) for teaching me lessons in "Lifestyle, Ego-Blogging and Fashion"!

smart forjeremy: Haters Gonna Hate

The smart forjeremy rises

Jeremy Scott: "Few can afford"

Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam aka M.I.A. aka "Missing in Action" aka "Missing in Acton"

Dr. Annette Winkler (smart), Jeremy Scott

Landed: smart forjeremy

Winged smart fortwo electric drive

White

smart electric drive forjeremy

I have to admit I didn't know who Jeremy Scott was when Mercedes-Benz/smart invited me to join their exclusive "smart forjeremy" event in front of the LA Auto Show 2012. A quick search later I learned that he is a fashion designer who has built a reputation for outrageous designs favored by pop stars and celebrities: Madonna, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears — just to name a few.

Shame on me, but I am no fashionista. I may know some things about Winged Warriors, but neither I had heared about "The Wing(ed) High Tops", nor about the "Teddy Bear Shoes". As well I am really awful at things like pop music. After some of my diehard old school petrol heads heared that I would fly over to Los Angeles to watch the presentation, I saw a lot of scrunched up noses. "A guy who is into gaudy fashion is doing a car? And he is doing what — a winged plastic car? Are you kidding me?"

Well, I think the smart forjeremy is cool. And let me explain, why. The fact, that a car manufacturer — in this case: smart — cooperates with an artist — in this case: Jeremy Scott —, impresses me. It is sovereign and courageous, because it creates something new. And for smart it is long overdue to get such a remix, if you ask me.

And regarding those who dislike this project: You know how it is — haters gonna hate. It is always the same. But if you've got haters, you'll probably have done some things right …

Where The Wild Things Are: Our Latest Stockists

Red Wing Store (Hamburg)

Red Wing Store (Hamburg)

Red Wing Store (Hamburg)

Oettinger Sportwagen (Hamburg)

Burg & Schild (Berlin)

Burg & Schild (Berlin)

Oldtimer-Tankstelle (Hamburg)

Oldtimer-Tankstelle (Hamburg)

FUNC. functional furniture etc (Feldafing)

FUNC. functional furniture etc (Feldafing)

Previous articles like "In The Wild" and our Facebook-Page (make sure you follow it!) are already listing some of our stockists: Rider's Room Hamburg, Prototyp Museum Hamburg, Oldtimer Tankstelle Hamburg. In the meantime we teamed up with some more specialists, as shown above. We are very proud to introduce:

• Burg & Schild (Berlin)

• FUNC. functional furniture etc. (Hamburg)

• OETTINGER Sportwagen (Hamburg)

In this regard we would like to thank one person: Tobias "To" Pflug – as not only for showcasing our Chromjuwelen Motor Öl in the Red Wing Store Hamburg and consulting us, but also for providing us with his very valuable contacts.

Hemi Ride

5 friends, 5 selfbuild motorcycles and a mission to accomplish in Klitmøller, Denmark. This is a true story about friendship and freedom, and where it is to be found.

Drivestyle.

In The Wild: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

The other day we made our debut with our Chromjuwelen Motor Öl. In the wild, at the Oldtimer Park Hamburg. We are still thrilled, to be honest. It is a huge difference to see a ton of your products at one place, after you played around for a long time with a handful of home-made dummies. Wow.

As well we were priviledged to shoot some campaign images at the Prototyp Museum Hamburg, where the "Fetzenflieger" lives — Otto Mathé's famous racecar we are showing on our label. As I wrote before – if you will ever be in Hamburg, make sure to pay the museum a visit. It is gorgeous. And — btw —the Prototyp Museum sells Chromjuwelen Motor Öl ...

I would like to thank some people: 

• Ronald Szasszer for inviting us to the Oldtimer Park Hamburg and giving us his 1957 Porsche "Ed Parlett" 356 Speedster

• Helge "Motoraver" Thomsen for providing his 1973 Ford "Mad Max" Falcon XB GT Coupe for our Chromjuwelen Motor Öl booth

• Daniel Dimpker (24helmets.de) for showcasing Chromjuwelen Motor Öl at the Stadtpark-Revival Hamburg

• Michael Schade (Oettinger Sportwagen) for the perfect neighborhood

• Everybody who joined our premiere of Chromjuwelen Électrique at the Oldtimer Park Hamburg

At the moment we are working hard on shipping the Chromjuwelen Motor Öl to our stockists and finishing our "Online Store". Tragically one thing turned out to be more tricky than we thought: shipping the oil to the States. The freight charges kill us. So — if somebody reads this who wants to act as an distributor — please shoot us an email!

Chromjuwelen Motor Öl: Ready To Ship

Finally. We just launched an online store – which means Chromjuwelen Motor Öl is ready to ship.

At chromjuwelen-oel.com you will be able to order our products via a fulfillment partner next to you. At the moment we are looking for a partner in the US – as we are getting overwhelmed with inquiries. If you have got an idea who might be a perfect partner for our Chromjuwelen Motor Öl – don't hesitate to shoot us an email!

@ the rest – what'cha waiting for!

Chromjuwelen Électrique: Full Version & Bonus Videos

Not all that long ago we made a self-attempt: we eBay-ed a 1964 Imperial Crown and drove it from Los Angeles to Las Vegas – and back to Los Angeles. As you can imagine, we had a blast. You will find the video here. This time we switched to the other extreme: We travelled in a smart fortwo electric drive from Paris to Le Mans (Classic). Yup. Battery-driven. Of course – we know this electrified fellow isn't made for long distances. Even worse – we knew it will not be easy to find enough charging stations. But hey, that exactly was the challenge. If anybody of us speaks fluent French? Er ... no.

My favorite scene? Arthur's tribute to Stephen Brooks and all the dubstep video jockeys at 09:38.

Chromjuwelen Électrique features:

• smart

• Mercedes-Benz Classic

• Blenheim Gang

• Chartres

• Le Mans Clasic

• Frank Jacob (Springbok Sportwagen)

• Jochen Maas

Music:

• La Horse

• "Getting Along"

• mercedes-benz.com/mixedtape

• szoll

• "broke"

• soundcloud.com

• Tarpans

• "Rivers"

• mercedes-benz.com/mixedtape

• Advencher Club ft, Kai

• "Need Your Heart"

• soundcloud.com

• Edvard Grieg

• "Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 - I. Morning" (performed by Musopen Symphony Orchestra)

• musopen.org

• EmoShock

• "Kaboul"

• soundcloud.com

All filming & editing: Faust & Heisler. For a full (German) Travelogue visit chromjuwelen.com.

Chromjuwelen Motor Öl: THANK YOU!

It seems we did something properly – as we are getting such a tremendous feedback. We are turning as red as a beet and would like to say THANK YOU to everybody who is supporting us!

• AUTO BILD KLASSIK (Print; 09/2102)

• Blenheim Gang: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• Cool Hunting: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• The Dieline: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• Designbote: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• For Love And Glory: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl // The Beauty Of A Genuine Product

• fubiz.net: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• Gear Patrol: Chromjuwelen Classic Car Motor Oil

• Motoraver: Das läuft wie geschmiert

• notcot.org: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• Packaging Of The World: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• The Pixeleye: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl — Pre-Order Now!

• race-dezert.com: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl — Pre-Order Now!

• Stipistop: Otto Mathé feat. Chromjuwelen

I am sure there is more on it's way — I will update this article regularly.

A special THANK YOU goes to Oliver Schmidt and Thomas König, as they are not only supporting us with Otto Mathé's "Fetzenflieger" for our packaging, but also opening their awesome Prototyp Museum Hamburg for our shootings. If you ever come to Germany — make sure you will visit their beautiful museum!

X-RAY MAGAZINE: Hamburg – City Of The Classics

Im Vollbildmodus anzeigen

Im Vollbildmodus anzeigen

The other day x-ray magazine ("fashion business intelligence") asked me if I would like to write an article about "Motorkultur in Hamburg". What a question — of course! This is not only a perfect opportunity to present Hamburg amongst the other featured cities Los Angeles and London, but a good way to thank all those people and places who inspire me every day.

If you ever were looking for a perfect Motorkultur travel guide regarding Hamburg, here it is: Hamburg – City of Classics (English; page 64-67), Hamburg – Die Stadt der Klassiker (German; page 64-67).

Featuring (in alpahbetical order): 

• 20 Flight Rock

• Artistocrat (Zsolt Machat)

• Hafenbahnhof Hamburg

• Hamburg Harley Days

• Hamburger Stadtpark-Revival

• Heliumcowboy Artspace (Jörg Heikhaus)

• PLY (David Einsiedler)

• Prototyp Automuseum Hamburg (Oliver Schmidt, Thomas König)

• Queen Calavera

• Rider's Room (Sven Eden)

• Oldtimer Tankstelle (Alex Piatscheck, Jann de Boer)

• Jules Wenzel

 In this regard I would especially like to thank two persons: Oliver Breitwieser for taking all photos, Sven Wiesner for slamming his Rostkäfer. And yeah, needless to say: I <3 Hamburg.

Chromjuwelen Électrique: Trailer

We had a blast. Thanks to smart & Mercedes-Benz Classic for letting this happen!

The "Director's Cut" will be released September 2nd. In the meantime – here is our (German) Travelogue and a full loaded gallery.