(June 16, 2006) — American society seems to have recently become quite fascinated with the topic of car maintenance. Yet despite the smashing success of shows like Pimp My Ride, Monster Garage and Top Gear, few of us are competent to do more than change oil and an occasional air filter. One man has dared to defy this mould, and that man’s name is Oshin Baghram. Baghram, currently a senior at Clark and a self-proclaimed “car fanatic,” has “always wanted to work on [his] car, making it better than the rest.” Recently, he has spent countless hours modifying cars for increased performance and superior looks, but his interest began long ago. “My passion for cars started back in the sixth grade, when my older cousin purchased a sports car and started to make it unique with different projects,” he said. “I began helping him with some of the projects that he worked on with his car, and it quickly grew into a passion.” “I plan on taking over his company when he retires,” Markosyan said. After learning from his cousin and getting some help from “online forums and vehicle owner manuals,” Baghram was able to begin experimenting on his first car, a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle, which he said was a car he didn’t worry about modifying. With his newfound ability to try out projects without worrying about damaging the vehicle, Baghram quickly became skilled in the hobby that was rapidly consuming his life. After sufficient experience working on the Beetle, Baghram moved on to his current speed machine, a 2003 Volkswagen GTI 1.8T, which he was “convinced would be the perfect car to work on.” Through the modifications he has undertaken to date, including installing a cold-air intake, blow-off valve, turbo piping, three inch exhaust, sports spring, manual boost controller, short-shift kit and turbo inlet pipe, as well as numerous cosmetic enhancements, he has been able to raise the stock engine from 180 horsepower and 173 foot-pounds of torque to 215 horsepower and 185 foot-pounds of torque. “In the future, I plan to pursue car modification as a hobby,” Baghram said, “but I don’t think it’s what I want to do with my life.”