In our latest interview we spoke with George Ciordas, owner of the amazing olive green/carbon fiber wrapped BMW 335i you see here. If his name sounds familar it is probably because you remember him from the hit show on SPEED “Tuner Transformation”. On the show George and his team would literaly make enthuiasts dreams come true by taking their car and completely “transforming” it into a show car, performance car, or track car. Since the show ended George has become Marketing Manager at KW Automotive who are well known for their suspension systems that you can find on anything from a daily driven civic to a Formula Drift car to a Porsche 911 GT3 track car. Recently, we caught up with George to talk about his current BMW project, its future, and what it was like to be a part of Tuner Transformation and to currently be a part of KW Automotive.
Wraptivo: How did you catch the “car crazy” bug?
George: I’ve always been fascinated with cool cars since I was young.
Wraptivo: What was your first car?
George: My first car was a 1984 Tercel Wagon. I used it all through college. It was much better then relying on the subway or bus to get around.
Wraptivo: Some of our readers out there will probably recognize you from the show “Tuner Transformation.” What was it like to get paid to customize cars on television?
George: It was a great experience and being paid to do what you loved was a bonus. I had the opportunity and freedom to modify the vehicle to what I thought best suited the individual. Forced induction mods were usually my favorite.
Wraptivo: Do you have a favorite “transformation” from the show?
George: My favorite episode was the Audi A4. The modifications where tasteful and performance oriented. We made slight styling enhancements to the interior/exterior and focused on performance upgrades to the turbo, ecu, exhaust, suspension and brakes. The finished vehicle was something I would drive.
Wraptivo: Since the show ended you have become a big part of KW Automotive’s American operations. What is it like to work for such a huge suspension company like KW?
George: It’s been great working for KW Automotive North America but a large part of it is the support and expertise from KW Germany. Their knowledge and dedication to providing a top shelf product is a testament to their success and is truly amazing. I came on board while KW automotive where setting up their North American offices and been here ever since. It has been exciting to see the growth and market position KW suspensions has established in the short period of time.
Wraptivo: You chose to wrap your personal BMW 335i. When you were shopping for a car what made you decide to go with the BMW?
George: I’ve owned most of the popular import vehicles, VW GTI 16V, Toyota AE86, Honda Civic SIR, Nissan S14, BMW E36 M3. So I wanted to stay with rear wheel drive and own a european vehicle. It didn’t leave much choices and I didn’t want to own a Mercedes. Plus Klaus the owner kids me that I bought a “real” car now.
Wraptivo: What did you think about automotive vinyl wraps before you tried it?
George: I really didn’t think too much about it other then I felt it was more reserved for buses or commericial vehicles.
Wraptivo: What was your impression of Wraptivo when you first heard about it?
George: I was confident in the Wraptivo product as I knew Meguiars is a repetutable company and wouldn’t get involved in anything that wasn’t top quality.
Wraptivo: What was it about vinyl wraps that made you decide to go that route for your BMW?
George: I bought my car as a CPO last August and decided in late September to go to SEMA. I ended swapping out the bumpers for BMW M-sport bumpers, upgraded to a later model hood and added a Vorsteiner trunk. All were different colors. I had no time to paint and didn’t want to commit something so permanent. Wrapping the car made perfect sense.
Wraptivo: Since you wrapped your BMW it has gotten a lot of attention and even a few features. Are you planning on re-wrapping the BMW with a new color/texture scheme?
George: The attention is fun, most people can’t believe it’s a wrap and are stunned by the quality work by Josh at Daley Visual. Yes – a new color is planned for near future. I won’t quite say what, but you’ll probably find it online in a few months.
Wraptivo: Are you working on any new projects for SEMA 2011?
George: I’m working on a Silverado project for one of KW automotive’s other brands – Belltech. People can keep track of the progess on our Belltech website or Facebook page.
Wraptivo: Where can our readers find out more about KW Automotive parts?
George: The KW brand of companies consist of kwsuspensions.com, stsuspensions.com and Belltech.com
[Top Photo: Auto Eclectic Digital Magazine]
