It’s that time of year when we all like take in a car show and hang out with friends and family, eat a lot of food, stay hydrated and talk a lot of car talk. Aaron Von Minden and I tried to make it happen together but he had some loose ends in So Cal he had to finish up and so we spent the day in Livermore California with 700 other cars all parked on the street in the downtown area. We won some goodies, ate lunch in one of the more colorful watering holes while watching the final laps of the Nascar race and met lots of friends old and new.

Cars show are a great way to spend the day especially with my wife and kids and our grandson and they are in some way I suppose a family tradition that all of our kids have been involved with. We all enjoyed handing that same tradition and love of all things automotive down to our grandson Tyler. For me, many of the cars have stories and even though I may not know the owners, I am still reminded of memories from the past… First car, first ticket, first wreck, first date, first kiss, first… ER, well never mind. I think you get the idea but there are so many other memories of friends, places, and special times from my past that make many of these old cars seem as if they can rewrite the entire story of my past and I am sure thess same sentiments were happening in the minds of so many others that were there as well.
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While our man on the West Coast, Gary Faules was cavorting at the Monterey Historics this weekend, here in Ontario The Garage was deep in car show land. We helped organize the first annual Subaru show at Willowdale Subaru along with the folks from the Toronto Subaru Club.

With the freaky weather we’ve been having in the GTA this summer, we were lucky to have a bright, sunny day with the exception of a few sprinkles in the afternoon. The sun was more than welcome in the park like setting that we enjoyed courtesy of Toronto Hydro. Not only did the grass and shade trees to keep things cool, but don’t black cars look better in the shade?

The sporting side of the Subaru community was well represented with all manner of street tuned cars and a couple of special guests. Planet Motorsport graciously sent over a couple of full on rally cars to show what the truly hard core enthusiasts have to offer. The 95 Subaru Impreza of Mark Williams is quite a special car, with a very unique history that will be the subject of an upcoming post. It was joined by the Impreza 2.5RS campaigned by MaNick Rally.

With a DJ pumping out tunes, great food, great cars and an enthusiastic crowd. We had all the makings of a great day. Here at Willowdale Subaru, we couldn’t be happier with how the day went and can’t wait until next year’s event.

After the break, we have a huge gallery of the day’s fun.
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Considering the meltdown we had here in The Garage yesterday, some of you may wonder why things have been so quiet around here. Well, beyond some good old fashioned vacation time, I’ve been deep in organizational mode for our show this weekend.

Willowdale Subaru and the Toronto Subaru Club are hosting their first annual joint show this Sunday. Tuner Subies and the odd rally car or two are just the beginning. There will be a DJ and I’m told that there will be wandering hotties too.

Oh yes, and somehow we’re having a visit from a V8 powered Volvo drift car!

If you are in the Toronto area on Sunday, be sure to drop by for a visit. If not, you know I’ll have photos up in the afternoon.

Hot on the heels of Chicago and Detroit comes the Canadian International Autoshow here in Toronto. Spread out at the base of the CN Tower, the CIAS is the largest show in North America, covering a whopping 850,000 square feet. Opening to the public on Friday, the fun starts tomorrow evening for us lucky media types and wannabes with the annual Chrysler media dinner. Wednesday will be full of press launches and unveiling’s and Thursday is the open house, where we get to see the show before Joe Public.

The production version of the Dodge Challenger, which will be built here in Canada, will be on display for the first time on it’s home soil.

To get details visit the AutoShow website

After the break are some of the vehicles that will be shown in Canada for the first time.
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Strictly by chance we came across a car show at Ajax Downs yesterday, while on our way to Costco. The intent was for this to be a big affair, with a huge, visible lot and a full stage complete with Torte Elvis, but we hadn’t seen or heard boo about it.

Likewise, there was apparently a pretty big 2 day Bug show here in Durham but I didn’t see anything about it until Sunday afternoon.

It never ceases to amaze me how poor a job the local car show promoters do. Let’s face it, I’m pretty much hooked up in the automotive world, yet somehow I haven’t heard about these decent size local shows. Come on guys, there is lots of free and easy promotion to be had if you really want to promote your show.

Anyway, there were a handful of really cool rides on hand at Ajax Downs, and a ton of OK drivers. No wicked rats, no race cars and no muscle cars that mattered, so it took us about 10 minutes to walk the show. The cars that were interesting were sitting unattended, so there were no stories to be had either.

Grabbed a few cool shots though.

Oh yeah…the quote of the day comes from some 50 ish guy…

Hey, there goes that Corvair. You know the engine’s in the back!

He just figured that out…40 years later.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

One of the cool things about modern, old skool rods is that they are built to be driven. In some cases even flogged, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rod running an autocross course! That was part of the scene though at the Good Guys Nationals a few weeks ago in Nashville. The Garage’s roving Nashvillian, Scott Simmons from the EditBlog was on the scene and scooped tons of pics. Everything from rat rods to modern muscle, 32 Fords to Ford GT’s and just about everything in between. Even a killer Short Bus.

Check out Scott’s giant gallery after the break
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This weekend is the first ever Canadian Motorsports Expo, hosted by Glenn Butt who most enthusiasts know from his involvement with Mosport. With a many Canadian racing stars coming by for autograph sessions, it looked like a promising day, so I took a couple of the kids out for a walk around.

For the first year of the show, I think Glenn and friends did a great job putting together a nice gathering in a really great venue. While the show is still small, there was a bit of something for everyone. There were open wheelers, stock cars, race bikes, showroom stock sedans and even an off road race truck and buggy. The line up of racing stars is incredible, with names like Ron Fellows, Scott Maxwell, Pete Shepherd, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Shane Jantzi and even Chris Economaki.
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One of the things I love about The Garage is that I’ve come to learn about (and in some cases meet) some incredibly cool people who are just as entrenched in the car hobby as I am. Coop is one of those guys. An artist who is heavily involved in the SoCal Hot Rod culture, Coop is one of those rare individuals who is actually able to help mould the culture.

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As the weather gets cooler, it’s time to start planning for next year’s auto show circuit and the North American International Auto Show has launched their new web site to give you a head start. 2007 marks the 100th year for Detroit’s big show and organizers are gearing up for another great year. On the new website they are offering a free screen saver with images from the history of the show, along with travel resources and lists of local attractions for visitors from out of town.

Press release after the break

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The Mopar folks put on a strong showing at AutoFest this year. From a Dodge Power Wagon army truck, to an R/T Cuda and Hemi powered Rat Rods, there was all sorts of cool stuff.

More pics after the break

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