Car Crazy Canada’s Best Round Table

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With voting for the 2013 Car Crazy Canada’s Best competition coming to a close this Sunday the Meguiar’s crew and myself thought it would be interesting to have a bit of a round table discussion about who we think is going to Vegas for SEMA 2013.

I’ve always liked the idea of round table articles and I’m very happy that each of these people took some time out of their busy day to sit down and write a few words.

Terry Denomme

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you think will win this year?
I’ve been lucky enough to see a handful of these cars firsthand while attending shows in the past few years. We’ve even featured (or plan to) some of them so it’s hard to pick just one. There are a few standouts for me however that I think should win.

I remember seeing Ron Vance’s blown big block ’64 Pro Street Corvette at the Calgary World of Wheels a few years ago and thought it was just gorgeous and bad ass at the same time. Beautiful build.

Vote for Ron Vannee

Dennis Verrrier’s 1935 Northern Star Chevy Roadster is a masterpiece (and a cover car from Volume 5, Issue 5 back in 2010.) This car was a Great 8 Ridler car in 2001 so it’s my sentimental favourite as only two Canadian cars since then have earned a Great 8 honour, (Three Canadian owned cars have won the Ridler).

Vote for Dennis Verrier

It started as an all-steel genuine ’35 Chevy coupe and was masterfully transformed into a custom roadster by Maurice Cahill of St. Pierre, MB and chassis fabricator Bill Bourbonnai now of Kelowna, BC. Just stunning and worthy of the title of Canada’s best.

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles would you like to own ?
I love wagons so Paul Roy’s Manitoba-based 1954 Plymouth wagon would be fun to own and cruise in but I think for sheer seat of the pants fun I’d love to own Rick Lojko’s 1969 Camaro (Cambridge, ON) because its twin-turbo BBC means there’s 1,000+HP on tap if (editors note: he means when!) you want it.

Vote for Paul Roy

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you find the most interesting or unique from a build point of view?
Well, I’d have to go back to Dennis Verrier’s ’35 Chevy Roadster…the body mods are numerous..including 2” taken from rear quarters, 4” added to length of doors and ½” width, which were also rounded and given the suicide treatment.

The front fenders no longer really resemble ’35 Chevy fenders as they were lengthened 4.5” and now more resemble the sweep of a 33/34 Ford. The rear fenders were bobbed and custom running boards were fabricated…the list goes on and on.

I also think the custom work that went in to Harry Teepel’s 1950 Buick Roadmaster is unreal and especially love the hood beneath the hood look..but that’s only the beginning. Two well thought out cars built by very talented builders.

Vote for Harry Teepel

About Terry Denomme
Terry Denomme
Publisher/Editor
CANADIAN HOT RODS MAGAZINE

Danny Braga

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you think will win this year?
All of these vehicles are impressive with their own distinct character. It’s a difficult choice. However we see Rick Lojko’ Camaro out of Toronto to be very impressive with the potential to win.

Vote for Rick Lojko

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles would you like to own ?
All of them. No. No. That’s greedy of us to say. We must admit we can draw up a sweet laundry list of vehicles to own from these Canada’s Best finalists.

We can narrow it down to two – Perry Jamart’s ‘56 Chevy pickup from Calgary and Rick Lojko’s Camaro from Toronto.

Vote for Parry Jamart

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you find the most interesting or unique from a build point of view?
It would be Rick Lojko’s Camaro out of Toronto. What Rick has achieved under the hood is breathtaking – 2200HP and 2100 ft/lbs of pure excitement.

About Danny Braga/Street Concepts
StreetConcepts is an integrated media company whose knee deep in the automotive industry and Automotive Lifestyle since 1998. We have strategically built the StreetConcepts brand that has attracted, both young and old, automotive lovers on a global scale from our home base in Toronto to the US, Sweden, Columbia and Australia.

Frank Maguire

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you think will win this year?
I think Perry Jamart and his 1956 Chevy 3100 will be the overall winner come Canada Day. I think Perry’s build has a very broad appeal; the style of Perry’s 3100 not only appeals to young car enthusiasts, but at the same time I can see the older guys really being wowed at the craftsmanship and the dedication that has gone into his truck.

When Meguiar’s revealed the “sweet six” earlier this week. I was shocked that Rick Lojko, and Ron Vanee were not among the top 6 in votes. However, I say this every year, anyone can win this contest. It’s all about knowing how to promote yourself.

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles would you like to own ?
Without a doubt, I would take Rick Lojko’s 69′ Z28 Camaro RS, as the one responsible for gathering this year’s multimedia content for Meguiar’s I had the pleasure of photographing and filming every single finalist vehicle, and when I saw Rick’s Camaro. It was love at first sight, and that’s because the hood was open.

One look at that 2200HP/2100 FT/lbs TQ power plant and I was mesmerized! This car was a mechanical masterpiece!

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you find the most interesting or unique from a build point of view?
I would have to say that would be Scott Fitzsimmon’s 1937 Ford Pickup. The ethos on this truck is so freaking cool! The truck was once owned by legendary rocker Ronnie Hawkins; the truck originally came from Arkansas where it was used by a watermelon farmer back in the day. I thought that was a pretty cool back story.

Vote for Scott Fitzsimmons

The other vehicle that jumped out at me, is Perry’s Jamart’s 56′ Chevy 3100; I fell in love with classic trucks last year when I had the opportunity to get up close and personal with Jim McLauglin’s 3100 when he won the 2012 Canada’s Best Car Crazy Competition.

Perry’s 3100 in contrast is vastly different from Jim’s, much more appealing to someone my age. It’s bagged, has a beautiful finish and is highly modified. I don’t think there is one thing on that truck that remained stock. I love modified vehicles so this one really stood out for me.

Frank Maguire
President of Race Day Media – Digital Marketing Communications and Multimedia Production

RDM has worked hand in hand with Meguiar’s Canada for the past 4 years. Lead promotional marketing communications and multimedia production for the Canada’s Best Car Crazy Competition since it’s introduction to the Canadian automotive scene back in 2010.

Matt Desormeaux

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you think will win this year?
It is hard to figure that out, it all depends on how hard people work on getting votes, but also on how hard they worked on their ride. If I was to pick a ride for a possible finalist it would be hard as all the vehicles are worthy, but Perry Jamart’s Chevrolet 3100 Series definitely stands out in my mind.

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles would you like to own ?
The vehicle that I would pick for myself to own would be, Paul Roy’s Plymouth Plaza Wagon 1954. The endless looks and versatility of this wagon, make it a head turner and (it has) a ton of room for packing.

121017 54 Plymouth12 bm.JPG
Vote for Paul Roy

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you find the most interesting or unique from a build point of view?
I find everyone’s car unique. The 1954 Plymouth Plaza Wagon, is unique due to its rarity and its smooth and simple color scheme on the outside but the interior is decked out and screams attention.

About Matt Desormeaux
Matt is the previous winner the Car Crazy Canada’s Best contest, taking home the prize in 2011 with his RX-7 pictured below

Arthur Chiang

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you think will win this year?
Christian Vigneault’s Mustang Shelby Super Snake. Winning a vote is as much about the campaign and being able to leverage social media as it is having a vehicle with broad appeal.

I believe the Super Snake will resonate with the widest demographic and earn the win with it’s aggressive body work coupled with huge factory power in a year that we should all be celebrating the works of the great Carroll Shelby.

Vote for Christian Vigneault

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles would you like to own ?

My pick is Rick Lojko’s Chevrolet RS Z28 Camaro 1969. The looks is timeless, with the right mix of Vintage Muscle car aesthetic and all the modern tech to make an extremely potent street machine. The wheels are a perfect modern compliment to the menacing classic Z28 RS body.

Under the hood you have a mix of beautiful details and more power than you could ever need. Interior is subtle at first glance with a few modern updates to the classic interior.

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you find the most interesting or unique from a build point of view?

Joe Siep’s Chevrolet C10 1967 strikes me as a total one off custom creation. The mantra here is pick a chassis you love, pick a drivetrain with the power you crave and make it work both mechanically and visually.

Vote for Joe Seip

The whole build looks minimalist and modern from the interior to the engine bay, and I bet even without the supercharger this thing would have hauled.

About Arthur

Competitor (Auto Slalom, Time Attack, Drag Racing, Rally Cross, TSD Rally, Performance Rally)
Car Show Judge (ImportFest, Fitted, Battle of the Car Clubs, etc.)


Some Industry Accomplishments:
Scion Tuner Challenge Finalist, Team TDS
Sema IAS Award Winner
HIN Multiple Award Winner
CSCS Multiple Best of Show Winner
Importfest Multiple Award Winner

Dave Thomas

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you think will win this year?
I’d like to see Perry Jamart’s 56 Chevy 3100 walk away with the crown this year. With a hopped up 427 under the hood, Air Ride Tech suspension, and a 4 link IRS suspension setup I’d wager this truck can get up and go a lot better than people are willing to give it credit for.

It’s really the complete package and I think the fact that it’s currently sitting in the top six is a testament to how well put together it is.

Vote for Perry Jamart here

Also just look at that paint! It’ proves you don’t need to go too wild, just pick a solid colour than dances just right under the right lighting.

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles would you like to own ?

Jean-Francois Croteau’s 32 Ford, It’s got that period correct look to it that will never go out of style. While my long term goal is to some day build a classic truck if I could have my cake and eat it too I’d have a truck (perhaps like Perry’s) and a 32 like Jean-Franciois.

Vote for Jean-Francois Croteau

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you find the most interesting or unique from a build point of view?
The most unique build I saw while the competitors were getting finalized was Harry Prokop’s Ford Anglia and I was really disappointed to hear that he couldn’t participate in the contest .

Out of the current list of finalist Paul Roy’s Plaza Wagon stands out as one of the most unique. It’s certainly not the type of thing you come across often at shows and would probably look pretty good if he threw some bags under it and let it lay frame.

Runner up for most unique would be  Dave Frost’s Ranger. It’s the lone mini truck of the bunch and it’s a generation of Ranger that most people completely overlook or completely forget about.

Vote for Dave Frost

About Dave Thomas
The man who inserted all of the typos into this post.
(My ‘real’ bio can be found here).

Good luck to all of the competitors and be sure to get your vote in at Canadasbest.ca before 11:59:59 p.m. EDT this Sunday June 16th.

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