Makes

Today's portion of coverage from Mega Speed 2013 focuses almost exclusively on the tuner hall which this year was fairly self contained from the rest of the show.  Apparently this was done based on feedback from last year but personally I would have liked to have been a little bit closer to the rest of the action.

Before I get back into another round of Mega Speed coverage (read: finish editing the photos) I thought I would put up some snaps of the 2013 Mega Speed Grand Champion the '56 Hauler. Mega Speed was actually my second time seeing this truck in person. The first time I saw it was at the Detroit Autorama (where it took home 1st place, Radical Truck, Best Truck, and Outstanding Display).

I like to believe there are at least two universal truths among car enthusiasts. The first is that everyone loves the e30 m3, and the second is that everybody likes a good burnout. Personally I love a good burnout and while I agree they have their time and place (leaving a meet is neither the time nor the place), I wouldn't be opposed to seeing more tires evaporate into clouds of smoke this year.

Sometimes I come across builds that leave me completely floored in every way imaginable and this dwarf Mercury is one of those builds. Originally intrigued by it's small stature I set out to find more info and what I thought to be some sort of fibreglass reproduction was actually quite the opposite. This Dwarf Mercury known as the Rebel Rouser, is a completely hand built steel vehicle built by Ernie Adams.

After dragging our jaws around the floor of the Cobo Center for a few hours Blair said before we left AutoRama we had to go downstairs to check out the other part of the show. Not knowing there was a down stairs I was pretty intrigued by what else the Detroit AutoRama had to offer.

Going through my coverage of the Detroit AutoRama, and looking at the attention to detail in all of the builds, it's hard to not want to roll my own car directly into the nearest body of water and never look back. So many of the cars are closer to works of art than they are vehicles and If I ever get to the point where I can build a car half (maybe even a quarter) as nice as those I saw in the Cobo Center on Saturday I'll die a very happy man.

The Detroit Autorama is one of those shows I've been meaning to attend for several years but always put off until next year because of it's distance from my house.  Having now attended the show I feel foolish for letting a drive that really isn't all that far keep me from a show that is really worth attending. Autorama showcased some of the most impressive builds of any show I've been too. Traditional Hot Rods, Customs, Mini trucks, and several things in between were all jam packed into the two levels of the Cobo Center.

Quick post today as it's been a bit of a crazy week and in a few minutes I am heading to Michigan with Blair (of Taylor'd Customs), John (Widebody Mazda 3 owner), and a friend of theirs. First stop Air Lift Performance in Lansing then if time permits the Henry Ford Museum.

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To some a lowered Subaru is a wasted Subaru, and a bagged Subaru is a complete abomination. Those individuals are typically purists who don't really believe that people are free to do whatever they want to the car they currently own for better or for worse. In the case of this Subaru, in my opinion, putting bags on it was for the better.

Generally with WTF Friday posts I like to have more info than I do today but try as I might I can't seem to drum up any additional information or photos pertaining to this particular car. Here is what I know: the chassis is a Terraplane (a Detroit company active between '32 and '38) and sitting between it's frame rails is a radial motor that one can only assume is from an air plane. Pony Fotos took photos of this car in 2012 at an event called Headbanging and somehow it seems that no one else even noticed it.

The recipe for a pro touring build, according to Pro-Touring.com, is simple;" Start with a classic muscle car and apply modifications that will make the car handle as good, or better than modern day sports cars." Of course, realistically, there are no hard and fast rules as to what exactly qualifies for a pro touring build.  Generally speaking they are older cars --many of which people thought could never handle-- that have been upgraded to the point where they handle far better than most are willing to give them credit for.