Last week at SEMA, eBay invited me to witness its first-ever live broadcasted car-auction and to interview one of the auctioneers — none other than Fast & Furious star Sung Kang. Here’s what I learned talking with one of car culture’s great ambassadors.
Last week we asked: “What Questions Do You Want Us To Ask ‘Fast And Furious’ Legend Sung Kang?” and though I didn’t have time to ask everything you wanted to know, I did get a few questions in during my time at the eBay Live booth. Let’s get into them.
The first question, from “That Belgian Guy,” may have been written in jest, but it helped push the interview in an interesting direction.
Why Car Culture Is So Important These Days
Screenshot: The Autopian
The acting legend began by talking about how much he loves SEMA. “[The Show] is like a reunion with old friends… it’s like the car guy’s Mecca…When I talk to Mike Spagnola, the president [of SEMA], he always is blown away by how this culture is growing and growing and growing.”
“Today, I think everyone needs a place to connect. We feel like we’re connected because of social media, but we’re not,” he said, going on to mention the value of in-person car shows and the superpower behind car culture: Its ability to bring people together.
“The cars are cool…I mean, there’s so much you can talk about — you know, body kits, your motor — but for me, it’s always been the people behind the cars. The best mentors, brothers, the sisters, the best fathers, the best sons — I’ve met [them] through the car community. Even my dream of directing a film, Drifter, came through the car community.”
He continued on: “Larry Chen, my buddy, talks about all the time… our religion, our politics don’t matter — you leave that at the door. You come here if your passion is a Ford Mustang, or JDM cars, or a monster trucks — all of a sudden, you know, we’re brothers who have something in common. People need that today. I need that.”
In What Order Should You Watch Fast & Furious?
From there, I asked Sung Kang a question suggested by our very own Matt Hardigree. “In what order should you watch Fast & Furious? Chronological or movie release? And where does Better Luck Tomorrow fit in?” I asked.
When I mentioned Better Luck Tomorrow, Sung Kang couldn’t help but gasp: “Ahh!” He liked that I mentioned that film in my question.
“Well, yeah, there’s a line in Better Luck Tomorrow about Fast and Furious. And unbeknownst to me and Justin as a director, we never knew we were going to be in the franchise. So I would say you start with Fast and Furious 1 because that lays down the foundation of that world. And then I would say go into watching Better Luck Tomorrow because you get perhaps the origin of Han there, right? Because Han is in high school, you know, in Better Luck Tomorrow. Then I would say go to Fast 2. Makes sense, right?”
Then things got complicated.
“And then… I think I think you would go Fast Four, then do Tokyo Drift. No, no, no, you can’t do that! No, no, no, you actually can’t do that, because Vin comes out at the end [of Tokyo Drift] and says Han has been into American Muscle.”
“Yeah. Okay, so after Better Luck tomorrow, go to Tokyo Drift, then go to Four, Five — I die… do I die yet?”
We laughed.
“Six. eight, nine. Personally for me, I don’t want to watch 7, because it’s too emotional. So I would say, last.”
Imposter Syndrome And How Sung Kang’s World Changed After Fast & Furious
Autopian reader TheDrunkenWrench suggested I ask about how Sung Kang playing Han changed his life.
“It’s really just access,” he told me. “And the luxury, I would say — the blessing — to be able to have the time and resources to actually be able to build a car.”
“The cars were part of my life when I was a kid, but I did not even know that it was a culture…I grew up with a neighbor that was restoring a 63 Impala SS, and they would let me hang out with them. I was an old Korean war vet. I didn’t know that was “car culture.” It was just an old dude smoking Lucky Strikes, just kind of, like, letting me hang out in his garage, right? But he taught me these lessons, like, unbeknownst to me, right? That the wiring is important. It’s not just the paint job, it’s not just horsepower, how much care you take in the body work — the things that you don’t see [matter]. And then, as I get older, I go, ‘Oh, he was actually teaching me a lot of these lessons.'”
Then Sung Kang surprised me by saying he, a legend in the car community, sometimes struggles with imposter syndrome:
“Once I got into the Fast and Furious franchise, um, essentially, I say this all the time, it’s like, I got a garage clicker connected to everyone’s garage — their car story. [Being Han] gave me access, but, you know, I think, like many of us, you know, you do kind of have these voices in your head, and you…worry about imposter syndrome. Because I’m not a mechanic. I’m not a race car driver.”
“The beauty about the car community, man, as long as you’re authentic to what you know, what you don’t know, and you’re not faking … like, people want to share their passion,” he continued. “And we’re only as good as the community, the community needs to grow. And even with, like, gaming…you know…if you have…Forza, and you can modify your car, but maybe you don’t even have that car, but you have your dream car, you’re, like, driving around. Like, the gamers can essentially…build your dream car, and those guys [with simulators]…are sometimes better drivers than the dudes that are actually on the track and they know more about the cars than even the owners!”
He’s right about how car culture should be open to all, even those who don’t own cars. If you love cars on video games, you still love cars.
How Fans Helped Bring Han Back From The Dead
“I’m going to finish with a question from someone who’s, I think, a mega fan of yours, so it’s a very complimentary question,” I preface before asking my final question.
“Um, my hair routine?” he replied.
Clearly he gets that a lot.
I then asked ChefCJ’s question above about how Han — arguably the most badass character in a franchise of badasses — was brought back. He replied by telling me about a movement I hadn’t heard of.
“I don’t know if I’m a badass. I don’t see myself as that. I see myself as very fortunate to be able to do what I love for a living, and this is where I go back to, you know, community, you know, the car community, the, you know. I don’t even call them fans, you know, this tribe that has supported the Fast and Furious franchise. And his overused, you know, word, like family. But, yeah, I’m actually mean it.”
“They’re the ones that championed Han to come back. You know, they’re the ones that did this whole thing with “Justice for Han.”
I hadn’t realized that, after Domic Toretto (Vin Diesel) welcomed Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) into his crew, fans were outraged by the lack of accountability for Shaw’s murder of Han. You’re going to just become buds with a dude who killed Han? Fans weren’t having it, and, per Sung Kang, this movement played a role in bringing the character back.
After The Interview, Sung Kang Became An Auctioneer
Not long after I posed with Sung Kang for the picture above, eBay Live started its marquee auction of the four cars I drove around LA a few weeks ago: A 2006 Dodge Viper, a 1992 BMW 325i, A 2022 Chevrolet Corvette C8, and a donk-like 1975 Chevy Nova.
To prime me for what was about to happen, Vice President and General Manager of eBay Live, Jesse Kiefer, talked to me about what eBay live is:
“In the eyes of a car enthusiast, eBay Live is a new way to engage in commerce…Live shopping is a trend right now. eBay has been around for 30 years; we’ve stood for trusted commerce for 30 years. But on the last couple years, have we really leaned into live shopping as an extension of our marketplace….We really focused it around connecting communities of enthusiasts around inventory that they’re passionate about…And…our automotive category, you know, vehicles here [at SEMA] with the eBay Most Wanted collection, is kind of a natural fit…That’s what eBay Live is. It’s a new way to connect with inventory, with communities, with their passion.”
To prepare for what was coming, I hopped onto my eBay app and found the Most Wanted Collection, shown above. I clicked it and it sent me to the upcoming auctions for the four cars. Here’s the Viper:
Once the auction commenced for each vehicle, I’d go to the eBay app and click on the car, which would reveal a live video with live comments:
The video showed some uploaded footage of the car, but more importantly it showed Sung Kang and auto content creator Hert (hertlife) acting as auctioneers, really trying to talk up each car during the 6 minutes they were up for auction.
Here are some photos of the auction, which was very well attended and a lot of fun thanks to the two hosts and the cool cars, which started at $6 each:
The buyer of the BMW (for $28,100) was there in attendance, and received Sung Kang’s shirt off his back; talk about customer service!:
Image: Tyler Moore
View this post on Instagram
The guy who ended up winning the Viper for $68,600 (the Corvette went for $63,600, the Nova for $10,300) had actually been standing around the car earlier in the day. “You should bid on this thing,” I told him. He said he figured so many people would be going for it it’d be out of reach. “Just give it a try. These cars start at $6 and the auction is only 6 minutes. There are probably deals to be had.”
Sure enough, the man hopped into the auction and snagged this beautiful blue Viper:
The auction was a lot of fun, and so was my chat with Sung Kang, which reminded me of just how many people feel like imposters in our space. So many car enthusiasts feel like they’re “not legit” because they can’t wrench on a car. To them I say:
Being able to work on your car is not a prerequisite for being a car enthusiast. There is one, and only one, requirement for being a car enthusiast: You must love cars.
I’m not entirely sure why I just block-quoted myself, but it seemed like the right thing to do, because I want to emphasize that point. If you love cars, you’re a car enthusiast. That is all. And I say that as someone who has spent the past decade participating in some extremely challenging builds — I can wrench, but I don’t care if you can’t. I care only that you love what I love.
[Writer’s note: eBay has been The Autopian’s brand partner, specifically on our wild WWII Jeep build. -DT]
Top Image: David Tracy
I see zero mentions of the Toyota Sienna, which this man says is “the best vehicle for mankind.” He’s very proud of his and it’s an LE. I thought that would’ve been in the Autopian wheelhouse!!