Teams

Dorm Livin'

Garage Headquarters: Long Beach, CA

Driver: Victor Lopez

Mechanics: Fernando Celdaron, Alex Rambo, Antonio Ylanan

Nuts and Bolts:

“We wanted to build a car that represents college life,” states Antonio Ylanan. Antonio has more than enough collegiate background – the 22-year-old is a “fifth-year senior” at Cal State Long Beach, where he and his teammates Joebel Go, Steven Lee, Alex Rambo, and Jimmie You are members of the Executive Board for the CSULB AMA. (For the acronym-challenged: that’s the California State University, Long Beach branch of the American Marketing Association.)

It’s apparent that their schooling has paid off. These teammates really do know how to market themselves. Just listen to Antonio’s savvy retorts to interview questions. In response to a query on why the team entered the contest: “We thought, ‘Sure, why not apply?’” (Now that’s inspiring.) And in answer to a question on the crew’s relevant skill-set: “Our team has never built a soapbox before.” (Well, at least he’s honest.) Perhaps it’s not surprising that the group’s theme will center around being tardy for class. Antonio explains, “Our skit will involve one of us being late and needing to get to class fast. My team will be trying to wake me up, and when I pull up to the starting line, our bunk bed turns into a car and we ‘drive’ to school.” Hmmm… maybe these guys have some good ideas after all. Getting in the swing of things, Antonio elucidates, “We expect to win the crowd through the new hip-hop dance craze called jerkin’ – and also, though we can’t reveal it, the co-driver on the top bunk will be hilarious. Watch for it!”