Ford

Ford Escorts came in several very different flavors. There was the North American Escort, the superior European Escort, and then the Escorts second cousin twice removed the Ford Orion. A quick peek at the wikipedia page reveals that the Orion was a four cylinder motivated, UK only, saloon version of the Escort hatchback that didn’t sell particularly stellar or make much of a splash.

There’s something about American vehicles from the 50's and 60's that is universally appealing. Pristine examples of this vintage can be found in a variety of locales in which they were never sold, imported by those drawn to the style they convey and period they represent. Cars and trucks from this era capture a time when vehicles were built simple and to the point, not over burdened with driving aids, or designed with pedestrian safety in mind. They were constructed to look good, drive reliably, and withstand the tests of time.

On Saturday I posted a picture of this Bronco II on the Fan Page with an open call for more information. A couple minutes later @hothweelsnick shot me a link to a 2010 Minitruckin' feature on the truck. The feature revealed that there is more going on here than a curious front end swap and a considerable ride height adjustment.

About a month ago the idea to do a follow up to the fairly well received 'Old School Minitruck' Theme Tuesday began to creep into my head but it wasn't until I came across The Coalition of OG Minitruckin on facebook that it really came together. After almost immediately losing an hour of my day upon discovery, I sent the page admin an email and we agreed that it's been far too long since some OG (traditionally styled) minitrucks have been posted on Stance Is Everything.

Picking a car to end the 2012 SEMA coverage with wasn't exactly an easy task but I think this Ring Brothers built 65 Fastback is a fairly solid choice. Known as "The Producer" it's one of the best all round Mustang builds I have ever seen and the recipient of this years Goodguys Optima Batteries Street Machine of the Year award.

Looking back it's a little strange that one of the events I was looking forward to most at SEMA 2012 was the roll-out at the end. They were pushing it pretty hard in the media centre and my imagination conjured up visions of an epic parade full of awesome cars dragging, drifting, and generally acting a fool on the streets of Las Vegas.

A couple weeks ago I was at my mom's place flipping through an old issue of Ride BMX when I stopped on a photo of former Schwinn sponsored pro flatlander Andrew Faris doing a half...

Here's a bit of a head twister; somewhere in America a clever hotrodder decided that the way traditional small block Chevys work was too boring so he flipped everything on it's head putting the exhaust where the intake was and the intake where the exhaust was. This creates a completley unique looking motor that on first glance leaves you wondering how in the hell it all works.

I thought about doing another women of SEMA Theme Tuesday for 2012 but as it turns out I only took about six photos of models this year four of which sucked. That means it's time to fall back to an old favourite, 'Classy Car Models'.

I love American classics and this year I didn't get the chance to check out nearly as many classic cruise nights as I would have liked so SEMA served as a great way for me to catch up on American Iron. There were awesome builds literally as far as the eye could see and I had to constantly remind myself not to spend all of my time (or card space) on the classics.

The Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational is an event that happens every year right after SEMA so it's only fitting that most (if not all) of the competing cars are on display at the show. With a field consisting largely of classic American vehicles modified to go fast and handle pretty well every car with the OUSCI sticker on the door was right up my alley.