My apologies on the late start to Winter Wednesdays this year, it’s been so cold (and not snowy) in the GTA that I’ve just been trying to pretend winter isn’t happening.
Here’s a few shots of Travis Bishop’s S15 out in the snow shot by the talented James Tippet.
What other site would you find a bevy of Chevrolet Camaros posted the day after a glimpse into what’s currently going on in Japan?
Put aside visions of less than pleasant, rusted out, half running v6 models and get ready for a few outstanding versions of all generations in this post.
(skip to about 55 seconds for dyno pulls)
AE86 slanger Jover, designer/builder/drifter/wise-craker Martino, and fellow Garage Collective members Anthony, and Yazan, are currently over in Japan enjoying the heck out of themselves on a trip to the 2015 Tokyo Auto Salon.
Between mind-blowing cars, life changing ride alongs, and vending machine dispensed corn, Martino has been sending over pictures of their exploits.
Today’s post contains a few of his photos from the Fresh Tokyo Car Meet, as well as their first day at the Tokyo Auto Salon.
Enjoyment on their end is high, as is jealousy on this end.
Super Street, All That Low and Hardcore Japan teamed up to put together a meet in decks at Tokyo Beach. From the looks of it a lot of people rolled through and it was the first stop for a lot of the out-of-town folk.
Once photos started popping up on their collective instagram accounts (@jover, @vsmartino @garagecollective) it became pretty apparent that one day I really need to go to TAS, I’d better start saving my pennies.
Hopefully Mike sends through some more stuff but based on his instagram(@VSMartino) he’s pretty busy having an awesome time.
Late last year, when following up on the Maserati Quattroporte powered Miata build I posted in October, I was saddened to learn that project appears to have been permanently moth balled.
No answers from the owner in the thread, and it showed up on kijiji for a quick spell.
Surprisingly someone else has taken up the challenge, this time with an NC chassis Miata instead of an NA.
The process this new builder is taking couldn’t be more different than the last, focusing on the motor and transmission bits first instead of immediately getting busy with an angle grinder.
The build is very much still in its infancy so that’s about all that has happened so far (minus the front end coming off the Miata) but progresses on the ‘Miaterati’ project can be followed here.
This Mazda Maserati mash up actually isn’t all that far away from me so I might have to try and get in touch with the owner and go check it out.
Shortly after I got my tank done by Christian Melchoir Art Malczewski of dropculture.ca paid him a visit to get the lettering redone on his freshly re-finished Sprint Hart CPR wheels.
Like myself he brought his camera when he went to pick up his wheels and took a few snaps of Christian’s prize possession.
Christian’s S10 is yet another perfect example of less is more. Re-spray in the factory color, new interior, cowl hood, rally wheels and a ride tech suspension system.
All killer no filler.
For daily duties Christian drives a C10 that is equally clean.
Summer sure can come back anytime now!
While watching Team Canada take Junior Hockey Gold last night (had to mention it) I thought to myself, ‘self you have not done a Theme Tuesday dedicated to FC chassis RX-7s’. However when I woke up this morning and started pulling it together I realized I had. Don’t trust anyone includes yourself I guess.
Anyway the last one was three years ago now so part two is most certainly in order.
Wow, 2015, we’ve finally caught up to the year Doc Brown found the technology to not only reach 1.21 gigawatts of power without the use of lightning, but also defy gravity and negate his need for roads.
When I started (admittedly quite haphazardly) penning posts for this site in 2009 I never expected to be still be doing it so many years later. I figured –like many of my ideas– I would grow tired of it in about a year, two tops, and move on to something new.
But that never happened.
Day by day, and post after post, I discovered new events, met new people (several of whom are now great friends), and gained access to automotive opportunities previously inaccessible to me, and with each year being better than the one before it I saw no need to stop.
As time went by the ‘blog-sphere’ changed fairly significantly. In 2009 Instagram didn’t exist, and Facebook pages were a new shiny thing, today those two technologies make up the entire on-line presence of some brands.
The word ‘stance’, which was more or less up for any interpretation, is now almost exclusively tied to aggressive fitment, and has been drug through the mud and shoved into the beginning, middle, and end of hundreds of “lifestyle” pages that bring next to nothing to the table.
Simply put now is perhaps one of the worst times to be an automotive blogger.
However every time I feel like throwing in the towel, every time I think about packing it all in and sitting on the side lines disgruntled, I get an awesome email, read a great comment, or meet someone who says my blog helped influence a blog of their own, or better still their current build.
The fact that I’m still here doing this today is without a doubt because of all of you reading this, so before I kick off another year I must say thank you, thank you for the motivation and overwhelming support.
It’s that support that keeps me going from event to event taking pictures and writing posts, and writing is something I plan to do a bit more of in 2015.
I share a lot of my own thoughts about the scene and attitudes within it on my own personal Facebook, and often I’ve been encouraged to do the same here. This year I’m finally going to listen to those urging me to record my thoughts and try my best to write op-ed pieces on at least a bi-monthly basis.
So in addition to Theme Tuesdays, WTF Fridays, event coverage, and features brought to you by myself and Drake Nolte, Chris Johnston, Nathan Powers, and Mike McConnell who make up the contributing photographers, this year you can expect to read more about what goes on between my ears.
The hope is to encourage thought and meaningful conversation instead of ruffling feathers, but we’ll have to see how it goes. The first few might be a little rough while I “find my voice” but hopefully you guys will stick around and see me through it.
Thanks again for reading, and welcome to 2015!
When it comes to building cars Kevin Ehm (@framebanggang) doesn’t just go against the grain, he flips the entire table on its side, cuts it up, and re assembles it in a way he thinks a table should look.
His Mazda 3 has changed significantly the last few years; stock body lots of camber, flared with stretch, flared with meaty fitment, two door olive drab and now platform no man’s land.
Despite stating numerous times that this isn’t how he intends to leave the car, people have already begun worshiping the ground he walks on yelling ‘Game changer!’, or throwing their arms in the air screaming ‘Too much!’
For those of us who’ve been looking at low cars for far too long this all seems a little familiar. Remember the Kawashima Celica when the owner/builder started its most recent incarnation?
The stretch trick –1″ larger step lip on the outside, and the tire mounted to the step giving the visual illusion of insane stretch– and unfinished body work provoked knee jerk reactions from damn near everyone (self included) because put bluntly it didn’t look very good.
However when the final version came to light a lot of people (again self included) said ‘ah, so that’s where he was going’, and I predict the same for this car.
Is it something I would do to my car, or something I want to see a lot of? Nope not hardly.
Am I willing to keep watching and see where it goes? You bet.
Like any hobby car enthusiasm isn’t immune to trends (good or bad), and in 2014 there were a few that really stood out in my travels across Ontario, Quebec, and the USA.
There’s a good chance I missed one or two so feel free to contribute your own in the comments!
What can really be said about this trend that hasn’t been said already? Executed both poorly and exceptionally in 2014 flares are something we are going to continue to see a lot of for years to come.
With no intentions of wailing on this dead horse any further, I’ll let you decided if this is a good or bad thing.
Often seen housed inside fender flares, tire paint really took off in 2014 (especially with street cars) to the point where several companies are now selling stencils that allow you to spray their brand on your tires, or simpler still sticker kits that take the guess-work out of it.
While not for every tire (there’s no reason to advertise Triangle brand) this look really suits those running ample rubber.
Quick release bumpers were the tow hook of 2014, spotted on a lot of show/street cars but few track cars.
The elastic ones can be a bit of an eye sore, but the dzus ones that started to become more common at the end of the season are much more visually appealing solution to a problem I didn’t know so many people needed solved.
Completing the race car inspired group of modifications is the big wing, an emerging (and suggested) trend in 2013 well endowed wings started to show up in places you really wouldn’t expect them to in 2014.
Another that could have made the 2013 list, but really took off in 2014, was the ‘blast pipe’ style exhaust.
Upturned, shin bangers, or short and sweet, welders and tube benders got creative in 2014.
Three years ago when it came to new (ie founded within the last five years) mutli-piece wheel brands Rotiform was pretty well the only one releasing wheels with widespread appeal. Now there’s almost a limitless number of new manufacturers to choose from.
Brada, Mtehcnica, K3 Projekt and Dampfhammer are just a few of the brands that have reaped the rewards of people thinking outside of the Work, BBS, SSR and CCW bubble in 2014.
The Vossen Marketing machine kept churning in 2014, further establishing Vossen as the go to brand for those looking for affordable, large diameter, single piece, cast wheels.
Known for their eye-popping visual media Vossen switched things up slightly in 2014 by offering a limited edition, small run, wheel known as the VLE-1 to their catalog.
Budget cut backs by large publishing houses forced the closure of several long-standing automotive magazines in 2014.
While it could be argued that blogs like this one are what have contributed to the decline of print, I still feel the physical medium is of great value and I hope that those magazines that weathered the storm have figured out how to keep the doors open long-term.
When it comes to Dapper brand I’ve heard everything from it’s a car club full of genuine enthusiasts focused on quality, to it’s a bunch of spoiled rich kids who get a rise of being exclusive.
While the authentic stickers may have to be earned, your local vinyl cutter can probably cut you one on the low making Dapper the Illest of 2014.
Many of those who talked about killing the game in 2014 really didn’t do much of anything memorable, while the ones who didn’t talk about what they were doing and just went out and did it actually delivered something new and innovative.
My advice to the blowhards; stow your ego, remain humble, and have fun building your car for you.
Time to send off another great year of Theme Tuesdays with a collection of my own favorite shots from the 2014 season.
While some of the more recent photos are fresh in my mind, a few of the earlier ones I completely forgot I had taken until I went back and started curating this list.
Narrowing things down is always pretty tough, but as of this moment I’m happy with this lineup.
The Canadian International Autoshow is always a great way to wind up the event coverage machine, and one of my favorite cars of the entire show as this Heffner twin turbo R8 from Pfaff Tuning.
Any day but media day this shot would have been impossible, but Pfaff Tuning‘s Marketing Executive Matt Berenez hooked it up by removing the stanchion for me.
Fitted Lifestyle 2014 was an epic event all around, and the coverage here on the site did tremendously well.
Shooting the roll in at this event always yields great photo opportunities, and when Low Level out of Montreal rolled up it really made for great photo-op.
There’s no denying that crew is all about their aggressive fitment!
This GTI is a perfect example of the K.I.S.S. philosophy. Nothing crazy or over the top but still stands out all its own. Seen without being scene.
Photo wise this shot is really similar to a shot I took of Luke’s bug last year which is equally clean.
An extremely heavily trafficked post for 2014 was the feature on Trevor’s VR6T powered s14. I’m really happy with that entire feature as a whole, but interior shots are always something I’ve struggled with so I was really pumped on this.
Of course since Trevor is changing basically everything I doubt it will look anything like this in 2015 and I will have to shoot it all over again.
JP has been worked on this car tirelessly for 2014 and after he took me for an all too brief ride, I thought I should pay him back by getting a decent snap of it.
Silly me left it to literally his last session on the course to even attempt the feat. Luckily I managed to get this photo with both he and I are pretty happy about.
Ask anyone who’s met Jover and they will tell you he rules. Super nice guy, been involved in the scene forever, and pretty much always has a smile on his face.
I’ve tried to get a decent shot of him drifting for a few years now and it has always alluded me, but not this year!
From the first time I heard about the Jalopy Jam Up I knew it was going to be a special event, and I’m still pretty jazzed that the soggy coverage managed to go live over on Speedhunters.
The event organizer Jeff Norwell has one of the best traditional hot rods in the area, and it is just extremely photogenic. I had a hard time picking which of the two photos were my favourite so I’m giving him two shots.
This shot was a bit of a scramble. I saw this rag top leaving Classics On The Square and only had a few moments to get into position before the car got too far down the road.
As luck would have it the shot worked out fairly well (it’s a little soft) and had it not been shot at a pretty notable Mississauga location one could almost believe it was California.
As far as drifting goes Dylan is a photographers best friend. Predictable lines every time and lots of smoke.
He’s also a bit of a showman; case in point this qualifying lap where he threw up a peace sign, then flipped the bird.
While setting up for the lowrider hop off at the Reunited Car Show this shot just happened to present itself.
Lowriding really is a family affair, and I think this photo really illustrates that.
Four years had passed since the last time I saw this truck so I made sure to take quite a few photos of it at Northern Showdown.
I sent this shot over to Speedhunters as a sample of the coverage hoping it would be enough to entice the powers that be to let me do a second guest post.
I couldn’t be happier that it worked.
I fell in love with this Ford Monterey the first time I saw it, and when I spotted it again at Northern Showdown inspiration struck when I noticed the tall grass.
It’s some kind a miracle I didn’t kneel in goose poop.
This photo was really just a right time, right place kind of moment. In this shot the Urban Outlaw himself was walking a friend through the finer details of his latest build.
Here it almost looks like he’s hyper focused on a small detail everyone else would miss.
Once an e30 kid, always an e30 kid.
CATuned did an exceptional job with this car, and I found myself returning to it over and over at SEMA. It was almost enough to make me want to get another e30.
Almost.
The traffic going to Eurokracy is less than ideal and a bit too much fun the night before, combined with a bit of a scramble to find an ATM, meant I actually missed most of the burnout contest this year.
What I did not miss however was this A3 laying serious waste to a pair of tires. I don’t do black and white pictures much at all but this one really lent itself to it.
2014 has been an unforgettable year mostly because of this little guy.
Pfaff’s year-end show was right around the time his personality started coming out in full force and I feel this shot really captures it so you’ll have to indulge me with a little proud father moment.
Onward and upward for 2015!
