Other

Heading back outside of the Las Vegas Convention Center for this extra long SEMA coverage post today. I'm not sure the exact criteria for parking outside of the Convention Center but if I were to guess I'd imagine it's similar to one of the larger "invite-only" car shows in the states.

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.

Traditionally a Theme Tuesday post would be in place of this one but since I didn't have time to get one finished before leaving for Vegas I am going to get right into the 2012 SEMA coverage. Since attending in 2010 I've been itching to get back and based on what I saw outside the convention center yesterday SEMA 2012 is going to surpass my expectations.

Recently a couple s-10 owning friends of mine stripped their trucks down to bare metal and seeing them both paint and rust less (at least for the time being) triggered this weeks Theme Tuesday. Interestingly enough it was common to come across posts that read 'this car was later painted' due to how hard it is to keep a bare metal car looking pristine no matter what you coat it with.

Got tagged in a Crank & Piston post on instragram by Meg over at Cars X Girl with the words "seems like something @stanceiseverythingcom would like" so I checked it out and sure enough she was right. This isn't the first time I have seen or posted a lowered Rover here but it is certainly the first time I've posted a Defender.

Contrary to the number of times I've mentioned it (I think this is at least the third) I wasn't a huge fan of the show Family Matters, in my opinion Urkel was annoying and Carl was much more likeable in Die Hard. Nevertheless it was on TV so I watched it and it served as my first introduction to the BMW Isetta.

At the last round of the 2012 CSCS series I spotted a vehicle sitting amongst the show and shine cars that I was more accustom to seeing running the quarter mile. This isn't entirely uncommon as people often park in the show and shine for a bit between runs but what made this a little different was the fact that previously I had never been able to identify this car.

As I mentioned in part one CSCS finale events are always some of the most exciting to attend and heading into this rounds CSCS I had visions of shooting the track coverage from different locations than I had at previous events. Sadly, a bum (fractured) foot, and a disturbingly cool breeze, put a bit of a damper on those plans and I spent most of my time camped at familiar corners. I'm still pretty happy with most of these shots though and shooting from on the track as a whole.

The CSCS season finale is always an exciting event to attend because while some are gunning to set records on the track others are looking to secure year end awards in the show and shine. For myself and several others the excitement began on the way to the track with a surprise emissions/safety spot check by the Ministry of Transportation right off the highway.

My friend Keith gave me the heads up on the Roadmates Corn Roast a few Saturdays back so I swung by in the loaner FR-S for about an hour on my way down town with the misses. Similar turnout and atmosphere to last year, less about the cars and more about hanging out amongst cool cars.

Lately a number of people have been subtly (and not so subtly) suggesting that I should make the switch to air. While I have yet to make up my mind one way or the other I will say that the idea of having the ability to lay sparks down whenever I feel like is pretty damn appealing.