Nick Lue shows his full range

The Kingston-St Andrew-raised 39-year-old Nick Lue is one of Jamaica’s biggest and most seasoned motorheads. Popular for automobile vlogs, primarily car reviews, history, import tuner trends and vehicle customisation highlights, as well as tips for new and current car owners, Lue has expanded his range to electric vehicles.

In a recent partnership with Project eDrive, an e-mobility ecosystem initiative developed through a partnership between JPS Foundation and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Lue took a tour of the north coast heading to Montego Bay debunking EV myths for his ever-growing audience of approximately 108k YouTube subscribers, and over 130k followers on Instagram.

The vehicle of choice for the day was the all-electric BMW iX1 provided by ATL Autobahn, which he discovered only cost $3,800 to charge from zero to 100% for the complete trip. Conversely, the conventional Subaru G4 costs roughly $6,000 for the same journey.

As the owner of a custom-coloured, neon green M340i, Lue is no stranger to the brand BMW but admitted, “driving the BMW iX1 is definitely different”. The second-place winner in the 11 Second Class at the last Drag Rivals series, held at Vernamfield in April, further revealed that he is a speed-chaser and has his eyes on the electric vehicle Elon Musk named as his go-to ride - the Tesla Model S.

“Persons will not see Skvnk Lifestyle and don’t see adrenaline and high intensity. I don’t have an EV in my catalogue currently, but, if I were to get one, I would want it to be a Tesla Model S. They are one of the fastest out-of-factory [vehicles] apart from the Rimac Nevera,” Nick shared.

With the ability to speak about EVs as effortlessly as he accelerates in his famous BMW affectionately called Poizin, Lue recalled his introduction to the car world.

“Growing up, I observed as my older brothers (Craig and Dwight Lue) were always into cars. This fostered the passion and interest in the automotive field, which technically was ingrained in my genes. I tell people, sometimes certain things in life are chosen and I think this life or lifestyle has chosen me, instead of the other way around,” Lue remarked.

The lifestyle Lue speaks of has made way for several partnerships like the one he has formed with Project eDrive, enabling him to showcase his passion for the automotive industry.

“I’m all about new experiences and, when the JPS Foundation team reached out to me, I thought it would be a great collaborative opportunity. I’ve never driven an all-electric vehicle to Montego Bay from Kingston.

“When I heard that the idea was to bust myths initially, I didn’t know what to expect. But I learnt a lot about EVs from doing that journey overall,” Lue added.

Meticulous about the content he creates for his audience, the YouTuber had clear intentions for his loyal viewers, the ‘Skunkers’ from the myth-busting eDrive tour.

“I wanted to open their eyes to realise that travelling long distances with an EV can be done but it has to be done under good management, and also show that EVs operate similarly to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles,” he noted.

Lue is happy about the influence he has made on a generation of young Jamaican motorsports enthusiasts and experienced automobile professionals by creating organic content, vlogging and supporting annual auto events. He is equally pleased that he has managed to maintain this relevance with a wide audience that is known to be extremely crew-focused. He has earned the respect and attention of all the “nations” a person can name - Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi. It does not matter if a vehicle is Japanese, American or European-made, Nick applies the Jamaican national motto of ‘out of many …’ to content-creating.

For more than a decade, the motorsports influencer, who also operates Fr3sh Panda, an auto performance shop and car detailing service provider, has been collaborating with various crews, influencers and car owners to showcase various facets of automotive lifestyle, and also Jamaican culture.

“Most often, you might have a particular part or performance from one brand that, when combined with another, makes a perfect match. For example, some tunes may use an engine out of a Toyota, for instance a 2JZ-GTE motor, that they would swap in another brand like Nissan, to give it more reliability and improved performance. Even the eDrive project and tour required some amount of collaboration,” he said.

With his personal and professional goals aligned to own multiple businesses through which he can inspire others, and a mission statement to ‘Live to Give. Live to Love’, Nick is charged up to share more of his knowledge and expertise with Jamaica’s growing car community and the new generation of motorsport and tuner culture enthusiasts.