Last night, after SEMA, I hit up the Lowballers SEMA VIP meet.
I knew I had to make a point to head out to this meet from the first time I saw the ad because the Lowballers do it big and the VIP scene in Toronto is still pretty small still so this meet served as a great opportunity to check out an established VIP scene.
While at the meet I also got to meet John from VIP Style cars and hang out with Toronto VIP boss Sharad from SK performance with whom I chatted with while my girlfriend worked her way around the meet taking the following pictures.
Low ballinSC on what look to be CCWs?Aggresivley fitted Speed3 on highlighter yellow wheelsThe Miata game in the states is serious buisnessStick em upPlate winDialed G35Big BMWSittin properThe whole Vegas experience really turned me around on the new boxesNeek lurkinOne of several sets of Junction Produce curtainsNow that's a shift knobJust some of the lineup, these guys roll deepFlawlessVIP cars are so cleanOne of my favorite cars of the nightAnother killer LexI'm normally not a big fan of pinstripes but I didn't mind this oneAnother one of my favorite cars of the meet so sick in personLow.
Big shout out to Neek, and Sean D for the Vegas hospitality and the great meet. Wish I could have made it on the cruise but there is always next year!
At this point we are all done the shooting at SEMA and now all I have to do is sort through the 100’s of photos to give you guys the best of what I’ve got.
In addition to standard Event Coverage, like today’s, from SEMA (which now has it’s own category) I have a few special types of posts in mind for some of the more in depth coverage I’ve got.
For now here is a good variety of cars that were in the Central Hall.
Spectra Chrome
Spectra had a pretty cool booth, depending on the price I could see a lot of people messing around with this.
Crazy ATVDennis Anderson's King Sling, I have a cd about this I have yet to watchI'm not going to lie the kid in me was stoked to see Dennis Anderson
Classics, Rods, and Customs
This was actually the first SEMA photo I took, I should frame itGassers are one of the originators of functional stanceThis was sitting in the American Shifter group boothClassic Industries shop truckHouse of Kolor Ultra RoadsterI've always had an appreciation for Customs but SEMA made me appreciate them even moreSo many nice 32sDeucenberg 32 Ford, my god it was nice
American
Long truckSo many new Camaro's at SEMA this year here is one from Stewart WarnerTwin forced inductionAnother Camaro, super slammedThis one was superchargedThe wheel wells on these new Camaro's just swallow up big rims
Imports
Hyundai is really out to step up their reputationAutofashion x HyundaiIt was rad to see a CRZ with a BMX up topEven cooler to see it was Drew's colorway. Google Drew BezansonCRZ's are killing itTin/Fortune CRZSo niceBisimoto Hybrid CRZ projectPretty crazy build all aroundThe coolest mods list ever?
For now I am about to head out to the Miracle Mile and do some shopping with some of the money I won at the slots (true story) but when I get back later, and before we do some shows, I will post some photos from last nights Low Ballers VIP meet.
The first day at SEMA was intense, the show basically blew me away in every regard. It’s larger than I could have imagined. If you think you have anyway of getting out to one of these do what you can to make it happen, it’s a car enthusiasts paradise.
Each hall is massive and the parking lot out front of the show is the size of a large car show never mind the multiple halls that actually make up the event.
Today’s coverage is a small lot that was behind the Center Hall that was all Source Media Interlink feature cars.
Random
Is it wrong that I wanted to drive this?
Probably the closest to driving a real one I could get...
4×4’s
I don’t normally post many 4×4’s but I don’t normally see one’s like these…
This rig could articulateAs could this oneThis Chevy was awesomeClose up of the awesomeWow.I'm sure one of you know more about this than IMonsterous
Rods & Classics
This highboy was done traditional and clean as hellAnother awesome FordLoved the color scheme on this Street RodOne of many beautiful Impalas I saw today and yesterdayThe bay of the above ImpalaLoved the contrast of the two types of vehicles in this shot
Minitrucks
Laaaaaid out dualieBeauty shave jobLaying rockerLoved this truck, which I believe was a Truckin' mag featureHomie @solefoodog shot this truck at WCNIt's quite a work of art all aroundThose lips...
Lexus
Lexus had a few heavy hitters out in this back lot
Remember when everyone was on Mr. ING for his splitter? HmmmDammmmmmmmmmnRotiform is killing it at SEMA lots of cars had their wheelsThis set was a good reason why
Other cars
Nice clean RalliartThis GTI caught my eye because it was clean, simple, and something I could see as a daily...and of course it was sitting right on LM'sDori DoriKeep drifting funLots of poke out frontThis is the type of classic JDM you just don't see in the GTAToo nice
The Chronicles…
I was very excited to see some of the cars I see from The Chronicles… in person.
The NSX that used to just sit buried in clothesBisimoto wagonBig Mike's Prelude is crazy clean in personI just stared at the bay for some time taking in all the detailsIn person I liked the color way more than I thought I would
Yesterday was a long day, we woke up at about 5am Toronto time to hop on a plane to Denver, stop over for about an hour and then go to Vegas. I can’t really remember what time we touched down Nevada time but I do recall being tired and hungry.
While we could have just rushed and went to SEMA in our current state, this is also our first time in Vegas, so we decided to do some Vegas sight seeing instead and head to SEMA fresh today.
This is probably the least car dedicated post to ever appear on Stance Is Everything but don’t worry the next few days will probably have some of the best content to appear on this site so it evens out.
The sights
As much as people say it over and over Vegas really is one of those places you have to visit. I’m not much of a gambler but I enjoy having a beer on the sidewalk and watching people piss their life savings away.
Oh and women if you like women come to Vegas.
This is the view from the tower on our hotel, The StratosphereVegas is seemingly all about the skin tradeWe didn't stay at Circus Circus but we checked it outInside Circus Circus was Zoltar, these things are creepy and funnyYou could also win these funny Rasta Bananas, oddLet your imaginations run wild guys...The Wynn apparently has a great buffet, can't wait to try itMandatory Bellagio fountain shot
Cars and Vehicles
Here are some of the cars and vehicles I saw just out and about on the streets of Vegas and in the Casinos. Nothing compared to what I will see today of course.
I can't recall the last time I saw a Fiero not masquerading as something elseThere are a lot of lifted trucks in VegasNice rod cruising the strip, note the truck in the background alsoJust barley caught this oneProbably one of the better looking newer Lincolns I have seen in awhileSaw this Vette chillinThen later out on the stripIf there was an actual decent chance I could win this in Penny slots then maybe I would gambleThe Siren of Treasure Island bike was insaneIt's all hand formed scrap Metal, nutsRight down to the boots
Alright thanks for sticking with me while I played tourist. Now it’s into the shower then off to SEMA!
For this week’s Theme Tuesday I decided to go with a vehicle I have yet to dedicate a day to instead of doing another series theme. While I’ve posted, and featured, IS300’s before I’ve been slacking at posting up a real solid collection of them, until now.
There isn’t really much to hate with the IS300, It’s a versatile rear wheel drive platform built on Toyota/Lexus’s past successes. After a day or so of searching here is the tip of the IS300 iceberg.
Expect this to be a one of many IS300 Theme Tuesday.
I'll warn you now this car will appear more than onceWater based doriFrom what I read this picture is a few years old but regardless this car still looks greatThis one is a little different, but still pretty cleanNice and straight forwardGod damn!Downright beautiful bay. If anyone has a build of this let me knowTold you that this car would appear againEpicSomehow this yellow paint almost hides those flaresThese cars have really great looking front ends...Can't forget Mr. VIPNot much needs to be said herePerhaps one of the sharpest rolling shots I have ever seen.One of these things is not like the other...but still radThis car proves that you can be creative and still cleanProps to the owner for being originalI think I'm going to end this part of IS300 Theme Tuesdays here
Now I’ve got to run and catch my flight, my next post will be from Vegas for SEMA 2010!
Cruising to a Halloween party on Friday night out of the corner of my eye I noticed a familiar looking Civic coming up in my side mirror, as he got closer I realized the car belonged to Erik Morrison of Nine-O-Five Rides.
After trying, in vain, to communicate on the highway with the windows down we cruised together for a bit before I exited and he continued on.
As he vanished into the night I remembered that he had some pictures and info on this Civic I had yet to post.
Erik picked up his beater for $1100 and even though it’s not his show car he figured why roll stock when you can roll low?
Gotta love a slammed beater
After picking this EK up with with 255km on the clock Erik did typical ho hum maintenance before getting into the modifications that would make the car a bit more bearable.
Imagine this, at night, and that is how we rolled
Here is a quick rundown of what Erik has done to the car and how little it set him back:
Factory escort GT wheels with tires (painted gold) – $80.00
Ractive sleeved coils – 20.00 (brand new!)
Front and rear lip kit – 160
Tint -$250
Roof rack – $200.00
Stereo – $300.00
Tucking tire on all four corners
In addition to the above mods Erick put a lot of elbow grease into restoring the cars finish.
Now, if you are wondering why Erik has been driving this Civic for the past few months and not his deep dished, well, you will just have to wait until next season for the answer 😉
Erik also sent over a bunch of winter shots but those will wait until snow
Have you ever had a conversation with someone who doesn’t know a lot about cars and they might say something like “If I don’t take my car to the dealer the motor may fall out” or “the mechanic said my motor was dropping out”.
I’m paraphrasing of course but I have had some really weird conversations with people who treat cars like appliances, anyway, it never really occurred to me that if you hit something hard enough your motor may just indeed fall out.
Well I guess in reality that is a little inaccurate as it didn’t so much fall out as it was forced out of the engine bay where it previously resided by the poor judgment of either the driver involved or someone else.
One way of parting a car
I’d like to hope that everyone involved in this accident was ok but judging by the damage, I dunno… it takes some serious force to make a motor fall out.
Next Tuesday morning I fly out to Vegas for SEMA and everything is finally falling into place.
My laptop, after much ordeal, finally arrived so I will be able to do nightly coverage (provided the Vegas lights don’t distract me too much) and I had 2 custom shirts made at a local shop near by work.
If you see someone in these shirts at SEMA say hi, it's me
In regards to actual production of these shirts to sell, I am going to look into it for the future but I probably won’t be making any moves until after Christmas.
When I do I will be sure to post a lot about it and make sure those who want shirts get them.
Flashback Friday
Let’s kick it back to a Theme Tuesday that’s all bagged vehicles. Bags ain’t just for groceries.
We had some crazy weather here in the GTA last weekend and previous featured photographer Edwin Tan aka Dougboy took it upon himself to go out and snap some pictures of his ride out in the fog.
Call me slow but before these shots I had no idea Edwin was actually rocking two different color sets of wheels. This touch helps put his already unique TL further into the original category.
Side ANow flip the cassette back over and listen to the other side
When I saw pictures of this truck on Low Tech (via Phils Car Blog’s blogroll) I was floored. This is one beautiful vehicle and the photographs that capture it are equally beautiful.
Some may argue that a vehicle with narrow wheels, lots of sidewall, high ground clearance, and no fenders to speak of doesn’t have stance. I beg to differ, this car has stance, class, and attitude all rolled into one clean classic package.
This car is customization at it’s finest, let’s respect the elders in the game!
If I was cruising down an alley and saw this hiding I would slam on the brakesThe Cabin was a 29 sedan and the bed is all custom, under the hood is a Triumph motorMexi flush? 😉AcesThis truck is just fantastic
Emilio, is one of those photographers who’s threads I am always sure to check out on jdmrides. Whenever ‘b20bomber’ appears below a thread title in the Photo and Video Gallery section I can always be certain that inside are a number of great photos of clean cars.
Recently Emilio went out to Ottawa to meet up with some of his fellow Honda owning friends and produced the work you see here today, this full set along with a whole lot more can be found on his TWOLITREmedia flckr account.
While none of these Honda’s are going for the lowest, or flushest, ek title all of the Civics in this shoot are clean and very tastefully modified and are excellent functional daily drivers which could also rip up a road course or auto-x at the drop of a hat.
GSR blades are one of Honda's best wheel designsThis Midori hatch looks sick on gunmetal K1'sCPR's are a great wheelI can just picture this car putting down great numbers at a lapping day or auto xThe problem with fall colors is that it means winter is right around the bend...Emilio's personal ride looks great alsoThe four spokes SSR's are quite uniqueI have linked his build at the bottom of this post worth the readOntario's capital has some nice buildingsThey hunt in packsWhat shoot would really be complete without rolling shotsMore Midori greatnessThis shot has a great feel to it