It's no secret that people here in North America are becoming increasingly obsessed with the enthusiast culture in Japan. Print publications like Super Street periodically run features on shops and gatherings in the land of the rising sun, while on-line media houses like SpeedHunters have hired Japanese correspondents to provide an in depth, on-going look into their scene. On the flip side Japanese enthusiasts have begun to take great interest in what we are doing and one of the magazines providing those in Japan a close look at the North American Enthusiast culture is USDMFREAX.

I've posted more than my fair share of eyebrow raising motor swaps and conversions both here on the site and on the fan page but I think this one just might take the cake. Regarded by many -including Enzo Ferrari- as one of the most beautiful cars ever built very few people see it necessary to do much of anything to the Jaguar E-Type.

Every year tucked away in a small corner of Mississauga The Roadmates (One of  Canada's Oldest Hot Rod Clubs) hosts a corn roast for members and friends a like. This event has an atmosphere very similar to the Majestics/Luxrious BBQ making it another one of my favourite events of the season. One of the elements that makes this event so enjoyable is that there is never any shortage of stories being tossed around by people who have been doing this whole car modification thing for longer than I've been alive.

In the middle of a few Theme Tuesday ideas right now so I decided to fall back to all old faithful topic this week. Funny in Part 2 of this series I was debating the switch to air and that I have it I have yet to produce any dragging photos...something to try out on my winter wheels (Works would tear my quarters to shreds) perhaps.

Since opening their flagship Markham store in '09 Nextmod has been steadily working hard to become a household name among tuners in Canada. A Montreal store is in the works and their Ottawa location opened mid summer. Exactly one week ago Nextmod opened their third store in Mississauga to an extremely positive reception and large turnout.

On the fly adjustable suspension has come a long way since the days of yore. Companies like Air Lift make kits (or at the very least can provide a starting point) for basically every car on the market and if hydraulics are more your fancy institutions like Hydroholics are capable of doing the same. The need to re purpose old air plane systems, semi truck equipment, or any sort of other retro fit no longer really exists. However that doesn't mean there are not people who are stilling willing to take up the challenge to make something not exactly designed for automotive use work in an automotive application.

If I am to be perfectly honest it took me a awhile to warm up to Mazda's last production kick at the rotary can. In stock trim the RX-8 didn't do a whole lot for me and many I saw at shows were hilariously over the top. It wasn't until I saw Moneesh's car  that I realized the RX-8 really just needs a refined tasteful touch to look 'just right'.

Ventured out to Meeting of the Mazdas for the third year in a row and like always I had a great time. These events have always had a very laid back feel and this year the Toronto Protegé Club did an excellent job organizing the festivities. I must have spent more time than I thought talking to people because I was pretty surprised how few photos I walked away with at the end of the day.

While writing the feature on Gerrot's awesome turbo LS1 powered s2000 I began to wonder what kind of applications his old F20 could be used for. I'm well aware that the f20 has become pretty commonplace in the ae86 chassis --there are at least four in Toronto alone-- but a bit of Google searching revealed that it's usefulness extends well past the Hachi-Roku. Here are a few examples I've found so far but I know there are more out there so feel free to share a few I may have missed!