With Julian and Erik in Vegas this past week for SEMA, it left the interns to head up from home base for Simply Clean 3. Myself and Richard took a leisurely cruse up getting to the show “when it opened,” only to find it packed way past capacity. Cruising down line after line of cars to find parking spots, one thing was clear; the Best of the best in Euro and JDM stance showed up to Simply Clean 3.

On the Euro side of things aside from the usual VW MkIV, MKV, and MKVIs, older models were definitely in style. Richard was shocked to find that he wasn’t the only MkII there, but instead he was only one of four and every one of them was done right. Another crazy surprise was a nice ‘stanced’ out Volvo 240 that almost blended in with the collection of BMW 2002′s and E36′s that were featured on the “hard parking” section.

On the JDM front sea foam was in-style. One of the first cars that caught my eye was a slammed civic painted entirely sea foam green with white wheels. While that description may put a bad taste in your mouth I loved it. On top of that, a few Nissans and Hondas were seen rocking the same vibrant colored wheels.  Then there were the usual bad ass JDM race cars: Skylines, S2000s and WRXs all showed up in force and earned our respect for sure. One black Skyline on green Works specifically turned heads as I didn’t see a single person pass buy it without taking a picture with their camera, phone or at the very least mind.

Simply Clean 3 was an awesome show, over flowing with the freshest cars from the JDM and Euro scenes. I can see this show growing with time into an event that is on par if not larger than SoWo, H20 or the other major euro events, as it draws from two huge car crowds. If you’re located in the South East or willing to make the drive, and have an appreciation for all things stance, then Simply Clean certainly would be a show I suggest marking on your calendar for next year.

Click here for the rest of the Pics

Words: Rob

The SEMA Show truly has something for everyone; from the monster truck to the mini truck, from the lifted 80′s sedan to the slammed coupes of the future. If you are even remotely into cars, trucks, bikes, tools, or anything automotive, then SEMA is the place to be. However, it’s only open to industry professionals. Sorry to get your hopes up.

I’ll skip a long introduction on what SEMA is, what it stands for, how it came about, etc… as there is a slim chance you’re reading this and don’t already know what SEMA is. It’s been on countless “docu-drama” style TV shows where cameras follow the most recent pseudo-celebrity of the automotive realm. If you don’t know what SEMA is, Google it. Why waste space on that when there are the Falken Tire girls and the Mobile models to drool over.

This year’s SEMA show seemed to be dominated by American Muscle and big boy toys like jacked up Ford pickup trucks, Internationals, and other monster pickup’s that could easily parallel park over the cars we are used to seeing at euro-themed shows. Large auto manufacturers’ booths like Hyundai and Subaru were surprisingly well stocked with modified versions of their production vehicles, and of vehicles yet to be released. The rest of the show was jammed packed with innovative products and top-of-the-line accessories to satisfy any enthusiasts’ tastes. From RC cars to RVs and everything in between. Suspension setups, Air Bags, Brake Kits, Garage Flooring, Performance Parts, Software Components, Wheels, Tires, more Wheels, Electronics, Interior Accessories, and the list goes on and on.

After having worn holes in my Puma’s at last year’s SEMA show, I made a point to download a Pedometer app for this year’s SEMA show so I could track the amount of miles I would walk in a day. After too many hours at the craps table and not a long enough nights sleep before the first day of the week-long show, I forgot to set the counter. Each of the other days I was just too damn tired to remember to turn it on. Despite that, I am going to guess we walked close to 100 miles in 4 days and I am probably not off by much.

Just when you think you have exhausted the show floor at SEMA, there is AAPEX at the nearby Sands Convention Center. This show brings whats seems like every automotive accessory manufacturer into one place from the fuzzy dice guy to the pine tree air freshener guy. So log another half-day walking that show. Now it’s time for a break right? Hit the buffet. Blow some dough at the Blackjack tables.. Nope. Now it’s time to hit the manufacturer sponsored cocktail parties, press release conferences, SEMA awards gala, and to visit other high-end manufacturers like ADV.1 Wheels at their decked out suite in the Encore Hotel. The fun never ends.

Most people go to Vegas on vacation. Not many of them end up like Nick Papagiorgio winning a half-dozen cars at the slot machines, but none-the-less, most visitors end up having the time of their lives. We, on the other hand, are dead tired. Our feet are sore, our backs hurt, and we smell like second-hand cigarettes and cheap casino booze. Even though we did not catch the famed Bellagio fountain show, or watch pirates duke it out at the Treasure Island show, we did still have the time of our lives. That is, until the 2012 SEMA Show.

Click here for the rest of the SEMA 2011 GALLERY

We all know that what you put on the end of your spindles plays a major part in setting your ride off from the crowds. In the current trend of just slap some Rotiforms on your ride and call it a day, I was quite surprised to see the plethora of variety of wheels being rocked at this year’s tremendously infamous H2O. Hope you enjoy the joint obliterating  knee positions we had to endure to capture these: lol.

Here are the rest of the ‘Wheels of H2Oh so sexy” GALLERY <– Clickity Link!

A4/S4 variants? Now THAT’s what I am talking about. I’ll take mine with the 3.0 supercharged FSI motor…

For all of you who once spent hundreds of hours as kids building anything and everything out of Lego, there may be one more kit you will want for Christmas. For this holiday season Lego will be releasing a limited edition VW Camper Van model with all the classic bells and whistles of the actual car. Classic two tone red and white, check. pop-top camper, check. And hippie memorabilia, check. It has everything you would expect to find in a sixties VW bus just miniaturized in tiny brick form. All-in-all a solid model that is perfect for any Volkswagen fan who once had a love affair with Legos. Now the question is who will figure out how to slam it?

(Source: Autoblog)

The title says it all. Porsche’s new 911 7-speed manual…

You’ll want to watch this sober… well maybe not. Still baller. Anyone recognize the Red Rum Mini Cooper?

<