Mini

Given their small size and unique look Mini's have always been one of those vehicles that don't need a whole lot of modifications to stand out. A set of wheels, a bit (or a lot) of low, and keeping the shiny side shiny is more often than not all that needs to be done.

Sadly no 'women of Importfest' Theme Tuesday this year (model photos will just be rolled into later coverage) but what I do have today is another collection of awesome photos I've found collected here and there. They really don't have anything in common aside from being awesome, but that's ok.

Canadian readers have probably heard of Illmotion before but for those of you may not have Illmotion is a group of enthusiasts from Calgary who in 2010 decided their scene needed a bit of a kick in the pants. Last Sunday they had their second annual "Sunday School" show and shine at the Max Bell centre in Calgary and like other great events in the Calgary area guest contributing photographer Mike McConnell was there.

Some people build cars and some people assemble cars and personally I have no issue admitting that I assemble cars, meaning that my car is comprised entirely of off the shelf parts and is easily re creatable. The goal of course is to one day be like Jeff who at the age of 19 has already proven himself a car builder by creating a vehicle worthy of accolades from enthusiasts world wide.

In celebration of the fan page surpassing the 8k milestone (thanks) I've decided to debut a new category on the site called 'Olivers Travels'. Who's Oliver you might ask? Well Oliver (Ollie) is a long time reader and knowledgeable enthusiast who has submitted a few things here and there before.

Is this seriously only the third rolling shot edition of Theme Tuesday? I could have sworn I had done more than that, I suppose the rig shot one kind of counts, either way they were both several months ago so here we go again. I've taken zero rolling shots myself this year and had none taken of me. I should really fix both of these issues before the season is out.

After the Indy on Saturday my Steve and I swung by my place grilled some burgers, picked up our better halves, and rolled out to the Street Classics Cruise in at Canadian Tire #70. This was the first one of these events I had been to in 2011, and the first I had been to in quite some time where the forecast was great the entire day.

2011 marked the 25th Anniversary of the Toronto Honda Indy and thanks to my friend Steve I got to check out the anniversary festivities on Saturday. This was the day before the big show but that didn't mean there wasn't a lot taking place on and off the track for us to check out. Canadian Touring Car Championship cars were all over the place, along with Ferrari Challenge cars, and Izod Indy light cars. Not to mention the booths, tents, and displays from event sponsors.

My friend Jeff recently got out of dodge and skipped to Thailand for an extended vacation, on one hand this sucks because he was a blast to work and one of the best bosses I ever had, but on the flip side it rocks because now I have someone out in Thailand who is willing to go to events (that have women) and take pictures of the cars (and the women). Here are some photos from his recent trip to the 32nd Annual Bangkok Motor Show. Pretty cool to see what a motor show looks like in different country.

My mindset is still somewhat performance driving oriented this morning after spending the day out on the track yesterday for the first time (more on that later this week) so I figured I would roll with it and post some photos from March 6th - 1st Solo Championship in El Paso Texas submitted by reader Aaron R. Jackson. What he sent through is just a small sampling of the cars that came out but nonetheless it shows that the auto cross community in Texas is not only thriving but also encompasses a variety of different cars.

After reading other sites with weather envy all winter it felt pretty good to head out to a local event and get some photos this weekend. A lot of people have said that PW wasn't as good this year in regards to turn out but I think for a show at the end of winter the turnout was pretty good. It takes a lot of dedication to get your car all cleaned up for three days and then drive it back out in the muck right after. This year I've decided to switch things up a bit by posting the more modern Imports, Euros, and American cars first leaving the rat rods, traditional rods, and muscle cars to later.

According to their website the Tokyo Auto Salon is "the world’s largest auto exhibition with more than 600 vehicles on display". To me that reads as ' SEMA, in Japan, and larger'. While I didn't get to go Peter from Nextmod worked it into his well deserved vacation from the shop and uploaded a ton of photos from the event to Nextmod's facebook fan page. He gave me permission to re post some here for those of you who are not yet fans of theirs on facebook and I jumped at the opportunity.