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Slowing things down a little today coverage wise for another SEMA Showstopper. Erik actually spotted this car on opening day (while I was off getting married) and suggested that I take a peak inside the car once I was done looking under the hood.

This Theme Tuesday was pretty well inevitable. With the popularity of the FR-S/BRZ/86 everyone expected more than a few at the show and the car deservedly took home the award for Hottest Sport Compact. What I didn't expect going into SEMA 2012 was how similarly modified many of 'Toybarus' would be to one another with the majority being equipped with either a Rocket Bunny aero kit, Vortech Supercharger, and some manner of air ride.

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.

Did my first full day of SEMA yesterday and all I can say is 'wow'. There are so many incredibly well built projects this year that picking a place to start was a little difficult but this Juanky Built Dodge seemed like as good a place as any. It's one of those builds that drew me in initially simply because it was old and low but once I got closer I started to appreciate the small details slipped in by the builder.

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.

Quick post today before we head out to wander around Vegas more and grab our passes from the SEMA media center. I spotted a few black and white photos of this car on RA64 Freddy! and liked what I saw so I went hunting for more and found what I believe to be photos from the original photographer on the cyclone motor gallery.

Since reading about the incident involving COR Forged, a Mustang owner, a failed wheel, lawyers, and Jalopnik I have become a tad obsessed with it. I've  had the chance to discuss it with some intelligent (and sadly some not so intelligent people) and though it feels a little bit like throwing a few kicks in at a dead horse I am going to discuss it here as well.

I don't often post cars like this Laurel. Not because  I don't like them, but more because I don't know a whole lot about Japanese cars of this vintage and a few of the blogs I follow (like High Top Fade) do such a damn good job of presenting them that I might as well concede defeat and look for another truck to post. However this Laurel caught my eye and I couldn't resist.

Shortly after Importfest --where he won both Stretch & Pokes' aggressive fitment category and the best assisted Stance award sponsored by Stance Is Everything-- Ryan asked if I would be interested in shooting his car for a feature on Stretch & Poke. Dave (at Stretch & Poke) and myself have been looking for a way to collaborate for a little bit now and this was really the perfect opportunity.

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.

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.

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.