Event Coverage: Cruisin For The Cure 2009

By

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Sep 21, 2009

On September 13th, the day after Import fest, the 3rd annual Cruisin’ for a Cure charity car show took place at Chingauacousy park in Brampton Ontario. I have mentioned time and time again that I am a fan of charity car shows so I make a point to hit up as many as I can. Cruisin’ for the cure had a pretty decent turn out (although some cars had left by the time I arrived) and a few very unique cars.

The Possum
I saw this car on the road awhile back and wondered what the heck was going on a mural with some dudes face on the front of a tour bus, weird. Well turns out the Possum is a country singer names George Jones, or no show Jones when he is drinking.

Eco Friendly vehicles
Green cars are nothing new, people have been trying to make fuel efficient vehicles for years.

Pretty neat reading about these cars, smaller than the Isetta!

1981 Freeway HMW (High Mileage Vehicle) — 1981 Freeway HMV (High Mileage Vehicle)

$3500 brand new.

The Skorpion
I really should have talked to the owners of this vehicle but I figured I would be able to figure out what it was via google, product of working on the internet I guess, however I have not been able to figure out anything about this car. Can someone help me out?

I've never seen another one of these anywhwere

Sting Ray
This Sting Ray was pretty wild, I have never seen one with swing up doors before, the flame job is pretty dope though, wonder how old the owner is.

Realistic flames are always works of art

The Triumph
This Triumph was awesome, I would really enjoy a ride in it.

My librarian in Elementary school drive a Triumph

However I am pretty sure his did not have this under the hood

Trucks

This is basically a train that goes on the highway

The plate says Bubba's 71 and Bubba has probably had it since 71 — The plate says Bubba

It's interesting that older Chevy trucks used to be so round compared to what came later

Muscle

Growing up I loved these 76 Camaros They look a little dated now

These z28s just get better with time — These z28s however just get better with time

The new Camaros are nice for sure but I would still rather a classic

Good to see the new Chargers have almost as much presence as old

Street Rods and Hot Rodbs

The owner of this rag top saw me coming and sat on the hood to give it a bit more stance — The owner of this rag top saw me coming and sat on the hood to give it a lower stance

Highboys always get lots of love from me

Another sweet custom rod whose origin I can't pin point

If you don't like Cobras something is wrong with you

You don't see T buckets done this well very often

This three window coupe had quite the laundry list of modifications

Featured Shop: Simply Tire

By

DaveT

-

Sep 19, 2009

4

Some shops do great business due to great pricing, others with a wide selection of products, a few get by with good service, but a great shop does all of these things and this feature shop, Simply Tire, is one of those. My own experience with Simply Tire is proof of this since first experience with them I didn’t receive my product, however what makes this so remarkable is that where other company’s would have accepted one lost customer and bad review in exchange for 10 new ones Simply Tire makes sure to keep every customer they encounter no matter what the cost.

Simply Tire is a sponsor on many of the local GTA message boards so when I needed winter tires for my Mazda 3 I joined a Simply Tire organized group buy on Toronto Mazda 3. Last year however due to Quebec instituting a law that made it mandatory for cars to have winter tires it made it tough for vendors and therefor consumers to get their product. I was a little miffed at the idea that I put a deposit for tires I never received but Allen’s many satisfied customers assured me that he would make up for this.

Winter had long since passed and I had kind of forgot about the whole incident since I did end up with a set of tires (which are for sale) but Allen then sent me an email reminding me that I had a credit with him and that we should work something out to settle up finances and settle our differences. This gesture meant a lot to me considering I had forgot about the deposit and he could have easily kept the money.

So I took the trip down to see Allen and had my calipers painted black and Mazda decals applied with the amount left on my deposit. Both Allen and his wife were courteous, honest hosts and the Simply Tire Shop was one of the nicer ones I have been in and this includes big box tire shops such as Active Green and Ross.

Some of the wheels on display at Simply including the Sportmaxx 002s

Upon my leaving Allen informed me that I would need new tires for next season, which was 100% true, and that I should come by when I do and he would hook me up with a great price. Knowing I was going to be wheel shopping later in the summer I told him I would be back to get set up with no rollers.

Over the course of the summer I was entertaining a few different wheel ideas and had PM’d Allen about some wheel choices that would work and he was willing to set me up with a great deal on a set of Sportmaxx 002s and tires. Even though I ended up going a different route entirely with my wheels I did go see Allen for tires and as promised he hooked me up with a great deal on tires, centering rings, and lug nuts.

One of the best things about Simply Tire is that when you book an appointment with them you are in within 15 minutes of the time you reserved, with my chronic lateness this has meant that my car has been taken care of as soon as I show up. Simply also has a great waiting room with a flat screen tv, comfy chairs, magazines and free coffee cookies and tea. Since the customers at Simply are also not in as bad a mood as customers at most other automotive shops (due to the great prices) casual conversations are normally going on to help kill your waiting time as well.

I have been to a lot of dealerships that don't offer free coffee and tea

Simply Tire is open Tuesday to Friday 10-6pm Saturdays 10-4pm and Sundays from the 10-4 during the months of April, May, June, July & October November, December, and January they are closed on Mondays

Simply is located at:
Simply Tire
515 Champagne Drive,
Toronto, Ontario,
M3J 2C6

The best way to contact them is by far the telephone (416 916 9233) or email at [email protected]. Respone times for phone calls is normally within a few rings and if not then withing 1-2 phone calls this is due to Allen being extremely busy every time I have been to the shop. However once you speak with him he will take the time to answer your questions and accommodate your requests even if it is after business hours.

Email responses are normally within 1-2 days depending on the season, peak times for Simply, like any other tire shop, are very busy so don’t be surprised if you end up dealing with his wife or even mother on occasion, it’s a family affair.

Allen is the type of business owner that works for his customers and therefore the type of shop that Stance Is Everything fully supports.

More Photos from my day at Simply Tire

When a shop owner drives a car of this cailiber you know you are in good hands

Another shot of Allens Porsche — Another shot of Allen

The Simply Tire office is full of promo gear

WTF Friday: Street Legal Bumper cars… wait what?

By

DaveT

-

Sep 18, 2009

3

If the title of this post threw you for a bit of a loop that’s because seeing a bumper car drive down the street would do the exact same thing and yet it seems like this is quite common place in some cities, San Diego in particular. The real question is how did this come to be?

Amusement parks shut down all the time and if the bumper cars do not get sold to another amusement park or fair they are often just sold off to collectors. Some collectors (the lame ones) just put them in their house and stare at them where others slap they body on a custom frame built around a motorcycle motor and drive them down the street.

I am a big fan of the latter type of collector and a big fan of these vehicles.

This would turn some heads rollin down the street

The fact that so many of these exist warms my heart

I wonder if I could find one of these on ebay one day, maybe make a 4×4 version with a roll cage and have some real fun. Let’s hope I never get my hands on one for my own safety.

Nice 2002 build

By

DaveT

-

Sep 17, 2009

0

The BMW 2002 has always been interesting little car in my eyes since had a fairly futuristic name (for when they came out), a small light nimble chassis, and can fly turbo or s14 motor equipped. Tie that in with a unique vintage look and you have a winner of a car. This is why when I saw this build on maxbimmer I figured I would throw it up here for any other possible 2002 fans who read Stance Is Everything.

The 2002 in question has already received a resto-mod a few years ago and that made it an interesting little head turner.

The 2002 before going under the knife for the second time

However after being daily driven (I had seen this car in the snow) for a few years the car needed to go under the knife again for some body work so the owner figured it was time to take the car to the next level.

I will be following this build on maxbimmer.com and you are welcome to join me.

Time to step up our car show game

By

DaveT

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Sep 17, 2009

0

I recently saw a post on a local message board about the right way to do a car show and inside was a link to a video from the Carstyling.hu Tuning show in Budapest. After watching the video it became dreadfully apparent that we got some catching up to do on this side of the pond in regards to our shows.

Not only is the production of the video amazing the cars, girls, and stage events are better than anything I have seen here. Anyone want to fly me over to Budapest next year to cover this event? I would be forever in your debt.

CarSytling.hu Tuning Show 2009 Video (Scantily clad women may be NSFW)

CarStyling.hu TuningShow 2009, 11-13 April, Budapest, Hungary from Polar Bear StudioWorks on Vimeo.

Photos from previous events via their press kit

The charger looks like the one from the Fast and The Furious not sure if it is though

These rims don't come this big over here.

We don't get these cars over here either

This Rx-7 is seven types of crazy. Seriously. — This Rx-7 is seven types of crazy. Seriously look at all that CF

Not just a show and shine but drifiting events as well

Budapest models are serious — Why so serious girls? Crack a smile

For more info on the carstyling.hu show and how to send me there visit: http://www.carstyling.hu/show2009/

What’s up Windsor!

By

DaveT

-

Sep 16, 2009

1

Stanley, the owner of this flushed out Subaru, sent over some pictures of a local Windsor mini meet. Windsor really isn’t all that far and my friend Steve claims the bars there are awesome so who knows maybe you will see me out at a Windsor meet sometime soon. If you want to send in pics of your local mini meet drop me a line at [email protected]

Toronto or Windsor lakeshore's make for great backdrops

10 cars and one bike is a very respectable mini meet

A chill local hangout is essential to every scene

Being natrually aspirated this makes me jealous — Being naturally aspirated this makes me jealous

Just Tekken advantage of the traffic boost….

By

DaveT

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Sep 15, 2009

0

Just thought I would take a second to everyone who came over from the Tekken Much post on Kotaku showcasing the ‘unique’ Ford Contour from this years Import Fest. Getting a link back from a major blog is one of the things I recently wrote down as a goal for this site and the gawker network has some of the biggest networks on the net so it was really exciting to see it happen so soon.

I appreciate everyone who took the time to click through (all 700 of you) and join me here at Stance Is Everything I hope that some of you continue to check out the site however if you are just going to read and run I have one more interesting themed show car you should check out before you go, the 944 Batmobile.

The following is what happens when one die hard Batman fan owns a black Porsche 944 that is a little rough around the edges, while not as raw and powerful as the Tumbler, or as iconic as the TV series Batmobile, or the first movie Batmobile this one is still better than that Batman Forever monstrosity.

Even someone with pockets as deep as Bruce Wayne needs a daily, the 944 mobile is way easier to park than the Tumbler

I really wished this was functional but alas it was not

One of those switches has to operate the oil slick

Theme Tuesdays: Air Bag Love

By

DaveT

-

Sep 15, 2009

0

The concept of theme Tuesdays here on Stance Is Everything is simple, every Tuesday I pick a theme and post a collection of vehicles with that theme that meet the stance criteria (modified suspension that fit the vehicles overall theme). This weeks theme Tuesday topic is: Bagged Rides

Decided to actually go with a theme this week and not a type of car. For awhile air bags seemed pretty much restricted to mini trucks, however times have changed and everyone is getting on the bandwagon and rightfully so since bags are the best of both words, low when parked or cruising, and higher when you need to get down to business.

Minitrucks
The originators of all this air bag business, drag that shit.

This picture is famous but just gets better the more you see it

This car is so disturbingly awesome. Check out the build link under this photo — This truck is so disturbingly awesome. Check out the build link under this photo

Project Syborg

Muscle cars
If you build it someone will bag it

Muscle cars gettin in on it, check the rear dish

VW
The VW crowd is not one to be left out of anything ever.

Bagged GTI on stock rims vs a normal GTI

Audi, Mercedes, Minis
Audi and Mercedes fans follow suit.

I've posted this bagged mini before, it's illy.

VIP
Vip builds are always pretty serious and big wheels with tight fitment and low slung stance are essential. So adding air ride is just an extension of that.

VIP build over on the chronicles, I think these are 22s and they bagged it in a day or so — VIP build over on the chronicles, 20 Brabus wheels

Girlfriend shot my car

By

DaveT

-

Sep 14, 2009

4

I’m not a really big self hype kind of guy I would rather toss over the accolades to someone else and let my work continue to be the platform to showcase the work of others. So that being said here is a collection of exceptional photos of my girlfriends first foray into automotive photography using my ride as the test mule.

Lyndsey did an excellent job of choosing great locations for all of these photos all I had to do was wash my car, show up, and park.

For those of you viewing from out of town (or even out of country) all of these shots were taken at Exhibition Place in Toronto with the backdrops spied out by Lyndsey’s creative eye.

If you want to head out and use this venue for photos of your own security is really light on days when there are no events.

What looked like an average wall to me turns into an artistic backdrop

The architecture around the Ex is pretty rad

Sunday is a bike company if you were wondering

The chairs seen in earlier shots were used for these angles

Just noticed the area is surprisingly litter free

We were worried security would be all over us but no issue

Her photography site at ellemariephotograpy.com is not fully up yet but her email is up and running at [email protected]

Event Coverage: Importfest 2009

By

DaveT

-

Sep 13, 2009

11

This is the first time I have been to importfest in probably 9 years. Last time I went Randys Sparres e30 was still around. This show is hyped as the biggest car show in Canada so I guess my expectations were really high. I’ve been to a lot of shows this summer so that lead to me having seen a lot of the cars already. However I had not seen a lot of the models already so I took lots of pictures of them to make up for it haha. Let’s go.

Random Stuff

Rollin on 29's. No clue how much these weight but probably too much

Pink rims I wonder if the proceeds go to breast cancer

$40 Honda Civic lips, so many people bought these. Wonder how they fit...

I guess if you need an edge up real bad a car show is the place to get it

Models
This is what you guys came to see don’t front. Most of the model pics are candid or flash poached because my camera set up is not serious enough for them to want to pose for just me.