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Iron Horse Car Show – Mineola, Tx

November 5, 2011 in Events / Meetups

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So we have been out of town visiting family in East Texas this last week or so. The Mineola, Tx Iron Horse festival is a long standing event that has been held downtown for years but has usually been centered around the towns railroad culture and history. Recently they have been having a car show during the event and this year they weren’t messing around.

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1950′s Packard anyone? Sucker was in mint condition. Gotta love a car who’s hood ornament is a 9 inch tall swan.

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Got pearl? How about pearl on pearl? This guy was doing it right. Not always a fan of painting the chrome but it works with this one.

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I knew somebody would be flush with the ground. The event area covered the train depot area as well as a dirt road and grass area that isn’t exactly stance-friendly, but this was one of the few that were dropped this low.

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Some cars were completely restored, others were ratted out, and some were in a fun in-between area.

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More Camaro’s, Bel Airs, and Farm Trucks than a mere mortal could handle. Honestly the Bel Air is like the 350Z of the Classic Car Show.

More photos are available on facebook and below the post. Great to see some American muscle and old school beasts for a change. And yes there was ONE Japanese car, an 84 RX-7. lol It was a perfect day outside for a car show, no clouds, cool but not cold, middle of the day so you could actually SEE the cars. Props to all the owners and the City of Mineola for putting this all together!

 

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CCMX: Cupcake Meet Dallas, Tx

June 27, 2011 in Events / Meetups, News / Updates

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This past Saturday we drove all the way to Dallas just to see a bunch of cars. :D Seems like every Cupcake Meet gets just a little bit bigger every time they have one so it was no surprise when we rolled in at 4pm it wasn’t until 5 that we were able to park and get out of the car there was just so many folks. From what the original info showed we would be parking the large parking lots around the fairgrounds, but instead we parked inside the park itself which was a very interesting setup. It spread the cars out much more and gave more room for folks to walk around. Also totally got to park in front of the ferris wheel which was worth the trip itself. Leaving was interesting because even though we had room to walk, squeezing cars in and out of some areas was tight but not the end of the world.

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Now, we know what you are saying, “Why did we drive all the way up to Dallas for a car show?”. Easy, going to shows in the Austin area brings the same cars and crews out. Being able to see what the Dallas folks are driving was a bit of a breath of fresh air. Not only that but there were tons of other crews from other towns that showed up in cars that you don’t always see at these kind of events, mainly the new-school American cars. Parked in front of the main stage were tons of Chargers, Magnums, and Challengers. Usually you see a few Neons but it was nice to see some of the bigger cars there too.

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Being Dallas, we were afraid of a mob of DUB’d out Caprice’s and Escalades but there were very very few of them at the show. There were hordes of Civics, Integra’s, WRX’s, and you couldn’t throw a stick without hitting a G35 or 350z. A good deal of the cars were lowered but not too many. There was a really nice mix of cars that were obviously rich folk show cars and those that were working folks daily drivers.

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While the event itself was a blast and was really nice seeing all the cars and watching the little RC drift cars scoot around, it was about an earshot under 100 degrees outside. Now for those of us that went to the 512 Meet a few years ago know how sweltering a 100 degree car meet can be on blacktop, the fact that this show had actual shade and concrete made it just bearable enough. I think we drank four gallons of water and the dude selling snow cones must have made bank that day. Try as we might to stay the whole show (and me just recently having surgery a few weeks ago) we only managed about 4 hours. But it was worth it and I have awesome video of our ride out of the event. :)

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Oh, and apparently they totally had cupcakes at this event. Whenever we tell people we’re going to a cupcake meet they always ask if it’s some sort of confectionery get-together. (which would also be awesome) But in the past the cupcake part has only really been in the name of the event, we believe it was the name of a late pet of one of the founders or something. But anyway, this time around they had a cupcake competition at the show and folks were giving cupcakes away and selling them. We think these were the best of the ones we saw hands down.

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So yes, even though it was crazy hot and humid, and it took a while to get in the event  it was worth the trip.  Going to most car shows can be hideously depressing when all you see are sponsored cars with 100k worth of crap dumped into them. These meets allow real people to show up with what they did themselves, which of course is way better than having a sponsor or sugar daddy to front all of your mods. Video of the whole shabang coming soon!!!!! More pics here.

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Hot Dog Meetup @ Dog Almighty

April 20, 2011 in Austin Area, Events / Meetups

lined up
Monday was the last day to file your taxes for the year so we thought we would celebrate getting the whole ordeal over with by getting together for some delicious hot dogs after work. I had heard nothing but good things about this little place called Dog Almighty down on South Lamar, not far from our Gourdough’s meet up last Saturday.

beer again!
Can anybody say $1.50 Lone Stars? Yes Please!

dog almighty

Now for the food snobs there is a whole manner of toppings you can add to your dog but I am a simple person and for some reason like to taste the meat in things I eat so I always get my hot dogs plain. Hand dipped onion rings and homemade corn dogs were awesome as well! The dogs are actually grilled and had those wonderful grill marks unlike many places who either fry them on a flat griddle or boil them. Yes, the corn dog looks like a turd on a stick but that batter was astounding.

the subarus

Hope to see everyone at the next meet! I liked the parking area for this place, lots of room. We might have to do another meetup at the Torchy’s Tacos right next door to take advantage of this. :)

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Donut Meetup @ Gourdough’s

April 10, 2011 in Austin Area, Events / Meetups

Gourdough's

It’s been a while since our last meetup with all the guys and what better way to have fun than eat huge donuts in the middle of the night! A few of our fans on Facebook suggested we check out this little food trailer park located on South Lamar and try out Gourdough’s which is open until midnight on the weekends. Being open super late was a huge bonus for us because all of our working-class members were able to come by.

This was the crowd at 11pm

It was a hoppin’ little spot for sure, I didn’t think it would be this crowded at 11pm but apparently we weren’t the only ones who had a craving for late night donuts.

the area is BYO

Since the area is open and you get to sit out on pick-nick tables in the middle of the circle of food trucks, you can bring your own drinks, which Dev and Jeff graciously did!

davids strawberry shortcake donut

It had been pretty hot during the day Saturday but by the time night fell it was really nice and breezy out. Perfect weather for sitting outside with a beer and talking about cars for three hours.

oh noes almost out of beer

We had fun getting back together with everyone from over the years and look forward to seeing them all again soon this summer for more late night meets. Maybe next time it will be coffee or pizza. Anyway we would like to thank all our friends who came out to grab a bite with us and hope to see them as well as some new faces in the next few meets!

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CCM9: Cupcake Meet Austin,TX

February 6, 2011 in Austin Area, Events / Meetups

Last night we got to check out the Cupcake Meet held here in Austin at the Travis Co. Expo Center. There were tons of cars there from all makes, models, and styles. Groups came from all over Texas to show up at the event that was donating the proceeds of the entry fee to local Austin schools. This is not the first fund raising event held by the Cupcake Meet folks but this certainly looks the biggest.

Many of the members of CCM live in Dallas and Houston as well as the Austin and San Antonio areas, so there were plenty of new faces and new cars to see. Most of the groups parked in the pavilion were teams and clubs from all over who got there early and set up. If you think that looks like a bunch of cars there were at least triple the amount out in the parking lot outside! Considering it was 10 dollars per car to get in, I think they did well.

Overall this was a great show and had a hefty turn out considering the entry fee, as that kept out a lot of the troublemakers I’m sure! Next time they come to Austin we’ll see about having a booth there and sell hot dogs or something because if it’s one thing I’ve noticed about car meets this large (project 512 for example) is that there is always 3 or 4 booths handing out energy drinks but nobody selling water or food at a 4-5 hour show which means folks will have to try and drive out of their spots to go get dinner which always seems dangerous to me. (Edit: Tiffany told me there was a concession stand open in the pavilion I just missed it!)

Other than the lack of vendors (which considering its a meet up and not specifically a car show where they would be expected) the meet up was great. They even had this group come out at night and do a dragon dance for Chinese New Year which was pretty cool. The weather was perfect for a car meetup, even though it got pretty chilly after dark it wasn’t anything a jacket couldn’t fix.

Check out the pics below!

car lineup

inside the pavilion

srt-4's

painted innards

all kinds of cars

tiffany's ajima car and shwag

subie with rack i want

clean and tucked

State Fair of Texas – That New Car Smell

September 27, 2010 in Events / Meetups, News / Updates

This weekend kicked off the start of the State Fair of Texas up in Dallas. I know it’s not in Austin but the cars are worth posting up here. Each year the big companies show off the new year models for the public to sit in and play around with. Here are some of the highlights of the show:

bumblebee
fancy stuff
grape srt
viper
zr1
3 blades for a closer shave
5.0 mustang
boss 302
boss 302
boss 302
2011 sti
race bike

But not everything was good:
Flappy Paddles:
flappy paddles

Bad graphics:
flush xb

And Chevy’s new iPod:
chevy volt

Salt Lick Meet 2010

September 12, 2010 in Events / Meetups, The Forums

For some reason about this time of year folks flock back to the forums, whether they are back in school or suddenly have money again we don’t know but we like it. Of course when folks come back they also want to have meets. Our biggest issue is finding a location for such a thing on days everyone can come, therefore our AT meets tend to be small lunches or dinners. :)

Today we went to the Salt Lick bbq out in Driftwood, TX:

the salt lick pit

And yes it was as good as it looks.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

While we waited for our lunches to show up everyone got a chance to reconnect from the summer break and talk about new car projects and potential builds. All was fun.

beef ribs

So yes, check out the forum for more updates on meetups and get togethers as they happen. The next big one may be our yearly Halloween party, just dont know where we will have it just yet. :D

Cody and Tyler looking over the menu

Cobb Tuning Austin,Tx Grand Opening

July 26, 2010 in Austin Area, Events / Meetups

When we found out that Cobb Tuning was moving to good o’l Austin we just had to come see what all the fuss was about. For those who don’t know, Cobb is a company that specializes in performance tuning, parts, and software for Subaru, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Honda, and Mazda models.  Since they started out with Subaru performance you can guess the number of Subarus that showed up to this event!

cobb offices

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Of course you can’t have a decent car show without a couple of skylines in the mix:

hello old school skyline

gtrs

Scoops and wings for miles!

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The event was very cool, we showed up in time for a free T-shirt as well as free BBQ from the Salt Lick which was astoundingly good as always. :) Great grand opening and really cool to get to see the inside of their shop and offices. Nograde nearly applied for one of their programming jobs they have open, which would have been pretty cool. Who knows, maybe sometime in the next year we could have a Dyno Day out there! (they have a mustang dyno for 2 and 4wd)

512 Project – Hellaflush x Stanceworks = win

June 27, 2010 in Austin Area, Events / Meetups

Cody and I went out to the 512project this Saturday hosted by Stanceworks and Hellaflush. This was by far the most well organised and well planned meet I’ve ever been to so far. Cars from all over the country were there in all shapes and styles. Of course, there were rules to have your car entered – you had to meet their standards of “wheel fitment” which varies from car to car. There was maybe two whole ricey cars there but they were expensively done rice. The only thing this event had going against it was the heat. I swear I’ve never sweat so much in my life but it was totally worth it. :)

I would have to say about 35% of the cars out there were a 350z or variant of such. There are over 200 photos here if you want to look through ALL of the cars, I tried to get a pic of each one.  There was one e30 and I took pics of it 4 different times. If it wasn’t so hot and I wasn’t so pregnant they would have had to escort me out XD.

so many cars

burmmrbummmbummmm
look more z's!
fancy rx7
yellow submarine... a yellow submarine
raaaah im a lotus
240
i liked this one better
e30 m3 with SMILEYS!
several Z's today
ultra low old chevy

In the end the meet was great, Cody and I got some stickers and t-shirts. I got the T-shirt cuz it’s limited edition, Cody got his only because by the end of the day we were both soaking in sweat and needed a fresh shirt! :D

Here is a short video of basically me walking around looking at all the cars, nothing special, no fancy camera angles or lenses (don’t have em) so you can deal with my shaky-blair-witch video taking. :)

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Why the AT Burger Meat DIDN’T Fail!

February 21, 2010 in Austin Area, Events / Meetups

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As you may or may not have read earlier in the week and on other forums that due to the overwhelming response to our facebook event we posted for this meet we would end up getting kicked out of the parking lot and the cops would run us off before we ever sat down to eat. Well, all I can say is after a few last minute phone calls to local authorities, store owners, and Mighty Fine Burger the entire thing went off without a hitch. :D  Even with a few louder cars and some super-fun light up Scions we had no issues what so ever.

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The meet was the largest we have had hosted by our forum members and along with the help of the CupCakeMeet crew we had great fun meeting new car folks in our area. Our core group, Avendi, Nograde, Jetgirl, UnclePow, Adrenalinerush, etc. were all there as well as a great deal of our new friends from the CCM. It was great to meet everyone!

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The weather was great and thank God it didn’t rain on us or that would have been a disaster. We all sat outside on the patio tables while we ate our burgers and talked cars. After dinner we all headed out to the parking lot to check out everyones cars. When we had arrived the lot was pretty packed with shoppers and such so parking all together was a small issue that was resolved by the time we were done eating and most simply moved their cars all into one nice group.

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We had a good mix of cars show up including a handful of Subarus, Hondas and Nissans. There was a couple of Tiburons that made an appearance as well. One awesome BMW, a blacked out Audi, and most of the Nissans were 350z’s. A couple of modified Scions with custom sound systems and lighting were also present.  There was one very well done turbo 700+ turbo setup that was down right incredible. However, I think the one car that everyone was gathered around for most of the night was the GTR. I know this because out of half the pics I got off Nograde’s camera were of it, and it was awesome. :D

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Thanks again to everyone who came out and ate with us, even more to those who stayed around to check out the cars! We really appreciate everyone who supported us and made the night a success even if it was a tiny one to them it was a big deal to us.

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