Mobile Electronic News

M.E.N visits Peterborough for possibly the best consumer show of the season for the car audio market.

 

Modified Nationals is one of the most established shows on the calendar and, while it had a faltering start with changes of venue, it’s always had a great atmosphere and been well supported.
Thanks to the hard work of the promoters it’s continued to grow and has now been at the East of England Showground in Peterborough for recent years. Bad weather dampened things a little in those first years at this new venue, but with the opening up of the impressive indoor area, not even heavy rain or gale force winds can get in the way of Modified Nationals now.

The show carves a unique place for itself in the show calendar, resisting the temptation of basing itself at a racetrack to cater for the performance enthusiasts and sticking with its roots of show cars, car clubs and, significantly for the mobile electronics market, the audio enthusiasts. This gives it a completely different slant from most other events now and that is certainly no bad thing. With the indoor arena many visitors suggest that it’s reminiscent of the old Max Power Live events at the N.E.C, with top quality, freshly released show cars mixing with big trade stands and a continuous supply of scantily clad promo models and Max Babe wannabe entrants. It may not be the same kind of scale inside as those halcyon days of Max Live, but it has the trump card of providing acres of outdoor space and on-site camping, making it much more accessible to the masses. With Max Power’s offices only a spit away too, it’s no surprise that the magazine’s banners were prominent throughout the show and the stage areas, only adding to those comparisons to their own, now defunct, event.



Taking place over two days, Modified Nationals also manages to create that ‘big event’ feel, as enthusiasts plan to make a weekend of it with hotels booked or tent pitched and great evening entertainment laid on. The other benefit is that in the case of poor weather on one day, there’s always the chance of the sun coming out the next. This was the case for 2010, with rain keeping a lot of visitors inside the hall on the Saturday, but Sunday’s sun allowing them to spread across the event. Even with the sun though, the inside area remained extremely busy, with the area just outside of the hall constantly rammed with visitors. This again is great news for the audio market as the FOUR Masters Car Clinic and EMMA competitions were being held in that area, meaning visitors were exposed to audio whether they wanted to be or not! And it wasn’t just their eyes that were focussing on audio, perhaps the standout aural delight in that area came from the Hertz-filled Fiat Panda that Chris Woods of FOUR was playing with most of the weekend. Set up to effectively be a PA system, every type of music from opera to Iron Maiden was thrown out across the show in perfect clarity, upstaging the actual PA system of the nearby stage. It’s an impressive thing to hear if you get a chance, the loudness, crystal clear sound and ability of it to play all types of music with equal brilliance an experience worth listening too.



Further away, the dB drag was set up on one of the grassy areas allowing for the competitors to spread out nicely, and not too far away from them was Armour Audio’s stand. This outside spot may not have been great on the slightly damp Saturday, but on Sunday they were drawing crowds aplenty and really getting into the spirit of things. Holding competitions that involved two blokes holding bass boxes with outstretched arms while being danced around by the Armour promo girls was great fun, and certainly entertained the onlookers. Naturally they also had a number of demo cars on hand, including their Mutant Mitsubishi Colt, to show off their impressive range of brands.



Also outside were the ever-present Steve Watson Car Audio (with In Phase’s 350Z parked by its side) and Electronics Worldwide, both offering show deals on audio for the visitors. Electronics Worldwide also had a large stand inside the hall enabling them to attack the event on both fronts which was a great move, the inside stand looking particularly busy throughout the two days. Normally the inside area is always dominated by the audio companies and 2010 certainly wasn’t about to change that. Midbass once again took a prime position at the entrance to the main hall, the VIBE truck never failing to look impressive and sound equally impressive to those brave enough to step inside the bass tunnel. Stretched out in front of it were numerous demo cars, both those built by Midbass and those of customers, including a freshly finished, black Peugeot 107 that Highdown Car Audio and Security unveiled to the owner at the show. Packed with Vibe audio it had some great touched such as the water feature in the back window which allowed for a great visible show of the impact of bass!

Talk Audio took a stand just opposite Midbass, using Ian Pinder’s van to get attention on the Saturday before replacing it with a fresh new creation on the Sunday as Ian headed outside to compete. This new creation is a self-built vehicle by one of Ian’s good friends…and the influence has clearly rubbed off. Taking a Volvo estate, it now houses 100 speakers of various ranges, a sealed section in the middle of the vehicle (visible through Perspex with ultraviolet paint detailing), a full fibreglass remodelling of the cockpit and an amp rack at the back which swings out into full view. It’s possibly one of the most mentally arranged ICE cars to hit the scene in a while and a real feat of workmanship and imagination.



Bringing some more understated but no less impressive audio to the masses was Car Audio Security, who fronted a long row of high-class demo cars on their stand. Their Ferrari, Impreza and TT always manage to attract the cameras of visitors, and this time they were joined by a pair of Golfs, including the excellent G-Werks Mk4 Golf, which supports the perfect attention-grabbing stance. Kenwood were also there with their classy Scirocco, a car that saw last season in with style and now boasts new OEM wheels to keep it fresh. Interestingly, at either end of the Car Audio Security were House of Kolor (paints) and Alcar (alloy wheels), who both used audio-filled cars on their stands too. The former used a Hyundai Accent with fantastic Alpine install and extremely stylish remodelling of the dashboard, while the latter employed a Mitsubishi EVO with clean JL Audio install in the boot. Surely this is a great sign for the audio market as even those not in the sector see the attraction great installs can hold.



Pro Plus was another company inside the hall, using their space to simply show-off the installs of various demo cars. Naturally the Rockford Fosgate filled Mk2 Golf stole most peoples’ ability to hear, but there were some other treats like the Orion install in the EG Civic built by Sound Evolution. Towards the other end of the hall, FOUR also had an inside stand with the Source Sounds built EMMA competitor Mercedes running Audison audio on display. On the Sunday they also moved in a stunning little Polo, which employed Hertz audio products in the boot with sub and two amps visible. Hit a switch though and the floor raises on hydraulics to reveal a spectacle beneath, including the red lit internals of the two amps on that moving false floor. Interestingly a company called Garnishdip had a car on this stand too, showcasing a novel way of covering plastics, metals, carbon fibres etc. At first it looks like vinyl wrapping but the process is very different and much more versatile for smaller areas (including engine bay covers), so could provide some great scope for twists to audio installs.



Aside from all of the stands though, one of the most encouraging things for the audio market was with the enthusiasts who were bringing their own cars to the show. Throughout the outside areas installs were highly present in various forms, but inside with the Show ‘n’ Shine competition, they were of another level. Perhaps due to the judging criteria virtually every car in the shining line-up boasted a great audio set-up, which is bound to help inspire visitors into creating their own installs. Xquisite Automotive, perhaps more renowned for their impressive bodywork creations but a FOUR Master and extremely accomplished installer, had plenty of their customers’ cars in this area including a newly released Corsa. This used a hot rod influence including a bench seat up front, yet managed to perfectly fit an DLS Reference Series install amongst all the sculptured leather. As a showcase for audio installs, this area where each car could be seen from the front and the rear, was exceptional.



In summary, Modified Nationals 2010 was a great show for visitors, but it was also a great show for the audio market and one that should be put in your diary for 2011 immediately. The organisers have always made a big thing of this element and thanks to the efforts of those companies who attended with stands and demo cars, plus the fact installs were given prime attention within much of the show, it’s likely visitors were leaving with thoughts of audio products rather than performance or styling ones. That’s an excellent thing for the industry, it’s just a shame Modified Nationals only happens once a year!

 

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment