ANTONIO SENA VISHAL SHENOY | DHRUV KERAI writer | writer
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enior Antonio Sena embraces his Italian heritage through his car: a 2014 Fiat 500 Abarth. On the weekends, Sena can be spotted at Bay Area “Cars and Coffee” events or local car meets. Sena earned the funds to purchase his car by working for his uncle in San Diego this past summer. Said Sena, “We were building airplane parts and construction […] I was there for about a month.” Sena’s passion for cars stems from his family of gearheads. Said Sena, “Both of my parents had sports cars when I was young. I also have other family members, like my uncles and grandparents, who were all into cars. That certainly helped.” Sena’s favorite part about the Abarth is its manual transmission. Said Sena, “I [initially] wanted an older Japanese car […] but I really just wanted a manual car because it is a lot more fun than an automatic.” His current dream car is
PHOTO | Rishita Shah
an FD Mazda RX-7, one of the most celebrated JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) cars ever released. “It is so cool that the car was made in the early 1990s and looks like a car that would be made today,” added Sena. Said Sena, “Most of [the car]
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IF YOU MEET [CAR ENTHUSIASTS], THEY WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET STARTED.
ANTONIO SENA
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is stock. I have a weighted shifter in it, which makes shifting a lot easier. I also have a roof rack because I go surfing.” In the future, Sena plans to continue modifying his car. “I would like to build it as a daily but also a car I can take to the mountains,” said Sena. “I would like to do coilovers to lower the car and have better turning performance and add an
intake to it. I would love to do a lot with the car, but it’s expensive,” Sena said. A common problem that most car enthusiasts in high school face is affording modifications. Sena plans to pay for modifications by securing a job, adding that he plans on applying for different jobs and working over the summer. The Bay Area car community is inclusive to high schoolers. Said Sena, “Sometimes people meet up behind T4. Those people really helped me when I was first getting into cars, just planning out builds and mods for the car.” For CHS students interested in engaging with car culture, Sena recommends following Instagram pages such as @bayareacarmeets to learn about local events. Said Sena, “If you meet [car enthusiasts], they will tell you everything you need to know to get started ”
