Hey Garrett, how does the A90 Supra feel, once you start throwing mods it?
People really bashed the A90 Toyota Supra heavy when they saw the collaboration with BMW. Obviously – I’ve owned my fair share of Japanese cars, and I tend to lean towards the Japanese cars due to their sharp styling & reliability. When it comes to driving, the S2000 was by far one of the best driving cars I’ve experienced to date (hence why I’ve owned three of them). And when people ask me how the new A90 Supra drives, the best way I can explain it is: It has AP2 S2000 characteristics… with German power. It feels like my S2000 & my F80 M3 made a child. A weird child with some weird issues… but it almost feels just right. And like come on – what other company would you want to build you an inline-6 turbo?? Absolutely no one! BMW has mastered that craft.
Personally it doesn’t bother me that Toyota worked with BMW on the A90 Supra. What bothers me… is that damn automatic transmission! Does it bother you?
When it comes to the car lacking a manual transmission, it actually doesn’t bother me. Trust me – I love the raw spirit of driving… but I’m also a huge fan of BMW’s DCT, and Porsche’s PDK. Not gonna to lie, I was very worried when I saw this car was getting a ZF automatic trans and not a dual clutch. But the trans in this car is very responsive. It feels just as fast as the DCT in my F80 M3… with less clunks and jerks.
Supra aside, how the heck have you owned so many cool cars?
When it comes to owning cars – I admittedly turn & burn them too quick sometimes. The only cars I haven’t sold (and probably never will) is my ’69 Camaro, and my ’67 Corvette.
But I love building newer chassis when they hit the market! Being one of the first people to get into the R&D of all the new parts being made has always interested me. It also puts you in a good position to network with some big companies.
How have you managed to break into the ‘industry/sponsorship side’ of this car culture?
When it comes to marketing yourself and building sponsors with companies (or better yet relationships), my main advice would be: Just be nice.
Look – if you’re a negative person, and/or gravitate toward negativity… companies see this stuff. The aftermarket industry is not that big lol, and no one wants to be affiliated with negativity and/or drama-prone people. Be human, just because you may have 100k followers on social media doesn’t mean you shouldn’t respond to people. If you have any questions about builds, issues, wheel specs… or even want to talk… I’ll gladly message you back. We’re all people!
Wooley here…
Ok – the article above was a Q/A with Garrett Stacey Jarboe, the owner of this A90 Supra. Sometimes it’s hard to transfer ‘mag/print designed articles’ to the website… so I thought I should clarify that. But I’d also like to expand on Garrett just a little bit. Garrett said “just be nice”….. and there’s total truth in that formula. But he’s also just being humble.
I’ve known Garrett for a long time now. We’ve been friends on social media for a decade, and I’ve kinda watched him grow into his own so to speak. He says the key is “just be nice”. But frankly it’s MORE than that.
If you want to make car-culture a lifelong passion, marry yourself to it!
If you’re looking for trends in success, it starts there… commitment. So write your vows! And the crucial part of this marriage… isn’t what you vow to do. It’s what you vow NOT TO DO. Meaning – you’re marrying yourself to the CAUSE… not the details. So make the pledge that: You’re gonna choose heart & passion over safety & sensibility. That’s the way it’s gonna go down… for this life! If you happen to be in your 20’s right now… early adult life is trying to beat the dreamer out of you. But if you can just hold strong into your 30s… you kind of… earn it. Really.
And it’ll define you. Hell even if you’re in your 40s+, it’s never too late. What they all call ‘a midlife crisis’… is really just you all the sudden waking up to the fact that you’ve been f*cking your life away in some rat race. There is no shame in coming to that realization! And change tastes even sweeter when you’ve already been on the rotten side of it.
BUT… you’ve gotta create a ‘sense of purpose’.
There’s gotta be some honest self awareness. A sense of maturity amidst your immaturity lol. That’s what separates. Like Garrett said, this aftermarket car industry is not that big. Well… it IS big… but it’s a tightly-bonded group of people. This industry is built around passion, and for that reason, everyone knows everyone. Friendship & camaraderie is at the root of most business in this industry. It’s pretty awesome actually.
