I read through the answers, and was inspired to respond, but by the time I saw the status everyone had moved on.

Despite being late to the conversation I couldn’t shake the conversation from my head while wandering the halls of Motorama 2019.

What makes a build. It’s a seemingly simple question, but is also a question rarely given the consideration it deserves. Nine times out of ten the immediate shotgun answer is “Well it’s more than just wheels and a drop!”.

Once that statement is made everyone feels satisfied they’ve put the aggressive fitment crowd in their place and moves on.

Even someone like myself, who’s written, at length about several cars where wheels and a drop are two of maybe six modifications in total, can admit that at first blush that answer makes a lot of sense.

A simple bolt on ride height adjustment, and the right set of wheels can absolutely be all that’s needed to make a cool car –stance is everything after all– but coils and wheels don’t make a built car, by anyone’s definition.

And, that’s totally fine, not every car needs to be a overbuilt to be enjoyed. The enjoyment to build level ratio is a very interesting topic, but one worth discussion in a post of its own.

So to the point, in most cases wheels and a drop do not a build make, but those two items are an extremely fuzzy metric on which to measure a build.

I’ve seen hours, upon hours, of fabrication sunk into a car that, from the outside looking in, seems to only have the controversial “wheels and a drop”.

Depending on the platform wheels and a drop can snowball something fierce. Suspension pick up points need to be moved, and working angles corrected long before the four holes at each corner of the car, transmission tunnel, and firewall get addressed.

Calling a project like that anything less than a build wouldn’t be just because custom fabrication is the most common bar used to categorize build from non.

Once more, at a high level, using fabrication as the defining factor for a build makes the utmost sense. If you whip up something unique for your project then certainly your “build badge” is safe.

Those who create functional custom components will always be deserving of respect. Especially when those custom components are exceptionally well-built.

But does that mean that those who don’t build their own parts can’t be considered builders?

In garage’s around the globe there are weekend warriors who’ve spent five, ten, fifteen years restoring their high school sweethearts back to prom night condition.

All of the parts for said restoration may have come from a catalog, but the effort put in has to be worth of some level or appreciation, no?

It’s 2019, and there’s arguably more aftermarket parts available than ever before.

The number of engine mounts, angle kits, swap kits, and chassis options available at the end of a few key strokes means it’s possible to assemble an absolutely mind-blowing car without owning much more than a basic set of hand tools.

If some puts together a competitive race car, using off the shelf parts is that not a build?

Those of you reading this who feel the need to answer no, I challenge you to go tell someone who has done exactly that their car can’t be considered a build.

That would be a direct insult to the amount of time they’ve put in both behind the wheel, and behind a desk analyzing data, making their car into the perfect performing machine for their needs.

While you’re at it, go tell someone who’s hired out a significant portion of their car that it isn’t a build. I touched on the built not bought debate previous, and my opinion remains the same:

Get there however you feel is the safest way to get there.

But this article isn’t completely one-sided. I understand why people feel the need to try to protect the definition of a build. Often it’s in reaction to a car they don’t like receiving some sort of accolades.

Be it exposure, or an award, typically the prime motivators for stripping the label of “build” from another individual is some level of jealousy or frustration.

Saying “yeah well that isn’t even a build” or “he just paid a shop to build that car” is a quick way to feel better about hidden insecurities.

Sure it’s nice to be rewarded by others for your hard work, but if that’s your end goal then I’ve got another article you should read as your priorities are quite off base.

If your concern is the number of “non builds” getting exposure then I’d suggest changing where you’re getting your automotive media.

With so many corporate and self published media sources in existence today there’s simply no reason to pigeon-hole your self to one and put up a stink when they post content you don’t enjoy.

So then to wrap, what is a build? Well I can say, I’m about 800 words deep at this point and I don’t exactly have a definitive answer.

But if I were to try, I would define a build by any of the following metrics.

Did it bust your knuckles and leave you wondering why you started? If yes, then it’s probably a build.

Did a smile linger on your face a week after first start-up? If yes, then likely you’ve got something built.

Does researching it occupy your every spare thought and claim every last bit of pocket change? Then yeah, you’ve probably got a build in your garage no matter what someone else says.

And finally in a field of cars, does yours have something that makes it stand out as wholly and uniquely yours? If so, then not only have you got a build.

You’ve got something worth keeping regardless of label.

2018 has been one of the busiest years of my life; both automotive media related and non. My wife opened a photography studio, my son is a fully functioning small human with ideas, interests and ambitions of his own, and I started a new day job.

If that wasn’t enough, I picked up BMX Racing again completing my first provincial series since ’98. To pile on, because at this point why not, I did over 50 freelance pieces for a variety of print and online publications.

The Canadian International Autoshow kicked off the year. CIAS is an event that always manages to sneak up on me despite being the same time every year.

One minute I’m think it’s been awhile since I’ve touched my camera, the next I’m surrounded by my friends at the Metro Toronto Convention Center enjoying complimentary beverages and the latest offerings from the large oems.

Following that freelance work took me out to Detroit for Autorama.

I was really only able to post a few cars outside of the  Pirelli Tires Great 8 here, but, I did a robust series of posts over on Rod Authority.

Two weeks later Autorama was swiftly followed up by Ontario’s Motorama and it’s import counterpart Spring Fever.

I really enjoy Motorama’s methodical approach to growing this multifaceted event. Each year they make slow, incremental changes: none of which boil the ocean but each make the event better overall.

For 2019 they’re adding a room specifically for traditional hot rods that I’m keen to check out.

There was then only a small break between Motorama and Import Expo, then an even smaller break between Import Expo and Driven both of which were swiftly followed by Fitted.

After that two month onslaught, I took a break from shooting and writing about the local Import community to instead focus on hot rods with my friend Kenny Kroeker.

He and I actually cranked out two separate articles on our mutual friend Keith MacIntyre and his shop Binbrook Speed and Custom. One for Canadian Hot Rods Magazine (which dropped mid summer) and the second for Autostrada Forum which just hit shelves recently.

After a half second to get my life together, it was time to start chronicling Ontario’s newest Drift series, Drift Jam.

Head up by personal friends Devo and Jover I put my best effort into getting as many photos as possible in this series’ inaugural year.

I try to support my friends as much, or more, than I’d like them to support me so I was happy to give this series plenty of love.

The close proximity of two of the events, and the constant mid school hip hop sound track, certainly helped this event earn a spot in my aggressive summer schedule.

When time didn’t allow for me to personally attend, I called on local photographers to lend a hand.

Nik Dimitriou helped me out with 2018s third round and the fourth I handed photography duties over to my son Ash.

His solid efforts made posting my own photos from the event really quite unnecessary.

I managed to allocate a few Sunday morning hours to Engineered Automotive‘s Cars and Coffee events. These gatherings remain a constant source of entertainment and inspiration.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll damn well say it again, Ontario has a plethora of amazing cars and owners that need their stories told.

Hopefully I can tell good chunk of them before I hang up my hat.

London’s East London Timing Association rolled out the red carpet for all of Ontario with their first Summer Bash/Big Go Drags held outside of their long-standing London Based Club house.

The move is something that might take people a few years to get over, but a necessary one given the size, scope, and reputation of the ever-growing event.

I had a great time at the Summer Bash and look forward to attending the (now) track side event for several years to come.

2018 also marked a venue change for The Jalopy Jam Up Ontario’s first traditional hot rod event. I’m certainly not going to complain about this event moving closer to the city.

Gray County’s Ghost Town was cool but it was a haul and near absolutely nothing.

The new venue will allow the event to grow and hopefully bring out a few more of the great traditional hot rods from Ontario and beyond.

Making it to the last CSCS  only came together a few days before the event. We’re a long way from the days when I could cover every round, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have love for the series.

Hopefully in 2018 I can switch things up and head to the event opener.

It’s closer to my house and it’s been years since I’ve found myself trackside at Canadian Tire Motorsports park.

SEMA then followed, a show that I attended for Speedhunters. It was great to return to the fabulous Las Vegas after a four-year hiatus.

Shooting the show for an external publication really helped my focus throughout the massive event.

Rather than bounce around the halls overwhelmed I walked with intent and got a lot done.

Though it didn’t feel like it while I was in it, Project Why Wait actually saw its most eventful year, with five updates in 2017.

That’s nearly bi-monthly and the most out of any year since the project’s original kick off.

I’ve been steadily working on it since the last update, and there will be a new post within the first two weeks of January.

The year wasn’t all triumphs however. 2018 marks the first year there’s been no official vehicle feature on the site since its inception.

On the one hand I’m a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to nail down an exclusive feature. But on the other I did my best to make that up with a few mini spotlights but it’s my goal to get at least one exclusive features roped up for next year.

Based on my current backlog of personal and professional projects it’s safe to say slowing down for 2019 isn’t an option.

Opportunity doesn’t knock twice, Carpe diem, whatever quip you want to use I’m going to keep the shutter clicking and keys clacking into the next year.

Peace out 2018. Hope to catch y’all in 2019.

No matter how you slice it building a car is a form of skilled labor, and there’s a learning curve to every new task. How-to articles and YouTube videos have made these learning curves smoother, but the road from idea to execution is by no means straight.

It’s full of switchbacks, hair pins, forks, cliffs, dead ends and everything in between. Say nothing about the number of roadside distractions (life, other projects, etc) that appear along the way.

The challenges one encounters during a build are virtually endless and frustratingly, not all of the challenges are fun. Some are even downright stupid –s10 motor mount engineer I’m looking at you– but each offers a teaching moment.

Be it how to do a specific task, or just another lesson in being proper planning and patience.

In moments of frustration it is important to remember that every project hits peaks and valleys. From the best of the best, to the weeknight, or weekend warrior. Everyone finds more rust than they expected, more damage than they thought possible, and more fitment issues than they care to admit.

All these unexpected ‘gotchas’ come with building a car because, well, that’s just what comes with building a car. The saying “if it were easy everyone would do it” might be cliché, but it’s true.

As an amateur builder I spend lots of time drooling over the fabrication talents of those with skills that far surpass my own. Mike O’Brien, Rob Ida, Nigel Petrie, Keith Charvonia  and Gene Winfield, are just a few of the people who make up a long list of builders I admire.

At face value it might look like they each have some sort of superior deity given talent, but, while it’s true there is such a thing as mechanical inclination, they’ve each hit the limitations of their skill at some point.

The key is they’ve pushed through.

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Day 2 at @semashow met a whole bunch of great people today, caught up with friends that I hadn't seen in a while and just cruised through appreciating the level that these builders are on. It's been a real experience and I'm taking a whole lot away from all of this.

A post shared by Nigel Petrie (@engineeredtoslide) on Nov 1, 2017 at 7:47pm PDT

They too also all look up to builders they admire. Everyone strives to be better, and often the best way to learn is to observe those who are better.

Creating anything, from a car, to a business involves overcoming a series of challenges and struggles and there’s beauty in that struggle.

Each bloody knuckle, burned through panel, or outright failed approach offers a lesson. Some of these lessons come at the most inopportune times (as I’m sure anyone who’s had a failure at the track can attest) but persevering through them is where the magic happens.

Through the darkness of blown deadlines, depleted budgets, and late nights of limited productivity there is a light.

So next time you toss a piece on your scrap pile in frustration. Or find yourself stumped, remember in the end you’ll know more than you had at the beginning. Not one person who knows what they are doing today knew what they were doing when they started.

When you are done and it’s just you and your creation doing what you built it to do it will all be worth it.

That is of course until you tear it all apart to start again.

In those seven years several similar sites have come and gone and the staying power of SIE is not something I take for granted. Be it stupidity, stubbornness, or both, I am not ready to let this site go the way of the Dodo. Standing strong and maintaining a loyal readership is something I am incredible proud of and therefore I’m in it for the long haul.

Each year has marked some sort of growth and change for Stance Is Everything and 2017 has been one of the most challenging so far. The blog life balance certainly skewed a bit more towards life this year, but because this blog has crossed over into so many parts of my life those scales tipping isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

2017 served up several significant demands on my time, one of the most import (and fun) being this guy:

As any parent can tell you having ‘threenager’ is a challenge but I’m quite lucky that my son Ash is –at least currently– quite into cars. This means he’s happily tagged along to a number of shows this year.

He’s also begun to take quite an interest in the mechanics of the vehicles asking to see under the hood, or stay at certain cars a little longer to take in a detail or two.

Ironically his tastes seem to be skewing towards lifted vehicles… time will tell if that remains the case of course.

Another, significant, draw on my waking hours has been freelance work. I’ve contributed photography and text to a number of publications this year and it’s looking like 2018 will continue this trend.

This is something I am certainly not going to complain about because that work directly contributes to funding the final time hog, Project Why Wait.

Be it time spent on the computer researching parts, working in the garage pushing past build milestones, or generating piles of scrap learning how to fabricate, one of the most popular post series on this site is at odds with the amount of time I can spend working on the site.

But, however many hours it steals away from my life, the journey thus far has been incredible. It’s been all the challenge I’ve wanted (and a bit more if I’m to be honest) and the support and encouragement I’ve received as I fumble through has been overwhelming.

I appreciate that so many of you have picked up on the passion I have for the project and offered support in any way you can. I will do my best not to let all of you down and see this project through to the end.

Hopefully by the end I will have inspired a reader or two to pick up some tools and give a project a try.

With all of that said 2017 has still been a very successful year for Stance is Everything. From a sheer numbers perspective the amount of events and vehicles featured in 2017 might have been fewer, but the diversity and quality remained at the level you’ve come to expect from SIE.

I had the opportunity to attend the usual suspects, Fitted, Lowrider BBQs and a few cruise-ins as well as returning to a few of my favourite local events, namely CSCS and The E.L.T.A Summer Bash.

Of course I also manged to hop from a style oriented drift event one weekend, to a classic car show the next, because diversity is a mainstay of this website.

Weaving in and out of the several automotive niches is a large contributing factor to this site’s continued success.

Niches are great, but I like a bit of everything, and if you’re reading this you like a bit of everything so while you can expect some change in the day-to-day operation of Stance Is Everything, the diversity won’t be going anywhere.

There are plenty of events I’ve still yet to attend, and several vehicles left for me to shoot before I put a fork in this site and call it ‘done’.

Combine vehicles and events, with a few editorial topics I have yet to touch, and “done” isn’t something you have to worry about labeling Stance Is Everything in 2018.

I’ve got a lot of ideas, and plenty of drive left, so with few tweaks under the hood, and plenty of support, SIE will keep rolling on through to 2018 and beyond.

So thanks again for your continued support this year, and hope to see you again next.

Whether or not he meant the entire community, or specific individuals, doesn’t matter at this point because he’s achieved his goal of gaining publicity for his Roadster Shop built SEMA project.

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Man I haven’t really wanted to go to #SEMA for at least 15 years or more. Just seems like minitrucker dipshits, giant dumb wheels, and clown builds that are just a huge waste of tubing and sheetmetal. That’s going to change this year. I’ve wanted a 64 Polara for so long and finally getting one that will be over the top! It’s in the very trusted hands of my good friend Jeremy at @roadstershop and using some of the best in the Industry to piece it together like @turbobygarrett @boninfante1 @classic_instruments @teamkalitta @xrpracing @ticonindustries @bowlertransmissions @billetspecialties @fuelsafe @baer_brakes @radiumengineering @forgeline @4xspower @wegnermotorsports @brandondumelle Make sure you follow @roadstershop and all these other MFG’s and if you’re going to SEMA stop by Roadster Shop’s Booth. You just might see me hanging out ogling my new ride! #jessejames

A post shared by Jesse James (@popeofwelding) on Oct 7, 2017 at 7:37am PDT

Jesse has never been the type to make friends with his words, but in this case he’s just the most famous in a long line of people to throw undue shade at a community that really doesn’t deserve it.

Minitrucking has been around for at least thirty years and innovation and creativity have been a part of the community since day one. Putting a truck on the ground is much more complicated than replacing springs, dialing in some camber and rolling fenders.

To get things sitting properly minitruckers borrowed attributes from other scenes and meshed them together in their own unique way.

A truly well-rounded minitruck build fires on all cylinders. Body drops,  panel shaving, suicide doors, rag tops, widened wheels, wire tucks, are all incredibly common place among the truck community.

As are completely custom chassis, oddball platforms and off the wall motor swaps of all kinds.

Simply put the minitruck community is not a bolt on one and the resourceful, creative nature of minitruckers has led to technological breakthroughs that extend far beyond the confines of a truck bed.

While many won’t admit it, or just plain don’t know, the modern air suspension community owes a lot of its advancement to ‘idiots that just want to drag bumper’.

Had minitruckers not been early adopters, and work out the kinks, the air suspension industry likely wouldn’t be where it is today.

It’s through their experiments with chains of valves that compact valve manifolds were born. Similarly the need for something more than a switch box lead to advanced digital management systems.

Airlift and Accuair each have minitruckers embedded in their operational and development staff.

Companies like Flo AirRide and Thirty 3 Pneumatics, who are on the bleeding edge with modular tanks and heated valve blocks, were built on the backs of hard-working individuals with roots in minitrucking.

From a fabrication stand point the minitruck community has always had shining  stars. Sure in the early days crude mono leaf set ups may have been prevalent, but today well-engineered and thought out multi link suspension kits, or complete custom chassis are the norm.

Many of the best fabricators I know, and several I don’t, have backgrounds in the minitruckin industry. In fact there’s so much useful knowledge tucked away in the minitruck community that there’s even a book coming out focused on properly engineering suspension systems to go as low as possible but still be safe and reliable.

In the right hands this book will lead to better built trucks overall. Combating the stereotypes that minitruckers are hacks.

 It’s easy to criticize minitrucks as an outsider but let’s be real, overly ambitions back yard builders keen to ‘waste metal’ and armed with a 110 amp stick welder and a six-pack of beer exist in every subset of car culture.

For every dodgy s10 back half in the minitruck community, there’s a botched flare install in the import scene, or terrible ‘rat rod’ atrocity in the hot rod world.

Aesthetically Minitrucks are typically known for skulls, scallops, wild paint and all sorts of over the top airbrushed magic but there’s been a shift in recent years towards building trucks of classic ‘resto-mod’ quality.

The most prominent example of this is the ‘Stranger’ built by Little Shop MFG, a truck highly regarded as one of the best minis ever built. This truck proved that it was possible to build a minitruck at the same level of quality (and maybe even higher) of any other genre.

The Stranger, and trucks like it, catapulted the quality of minitrucks tenfold. Attention to detail returned to the forefront and since then highly detailed truck projects have continued to emerge across the globe.

Sure you can argue that minitruckers might have their socks too high, hat brims too straight, and get a little too wild at shows. But all that aside they really are not any worse off than other genres.

I challenge any of you reading this who are skeptical of the minitruckin community to go to one of their events and take a hard look. Chances are you’ll see something you like.

Call them dipshits if you want, but they’re some talented dipshits for damn certain.

When I got my first car it was during a transition period where internet forums/message boards really started to take off and become commonplace. High speed internet finally became affordable (hands up if you remember 56k warnings) and as a result I lived on ‘boards like r3vlimited, e30sport (then e30tech) and Maxbimmer. Later, when I switched vehicles, I became an s10forum member, and then a torontomazda3 and mazda3forums member.

Additionally I was a member of several forums of cars I was just plain interested in. Vip cars, off-roading, kustoms, hot rods, I’ve got memberships to at least one of each.

Forums quickly became an incredibly popular, and more importantly, useful tool. Message boards helped bridge the gap between what was left out of magazines due to space, and what’s glossed over on television in favor of scripted drama. They also helped fill in the blanks between the straight forward maintenance approach of the Haynes manual and what you actually wanted to do, modify your car.

The information I’ve gleaned from vBulletin or phpBB powered scripture has been invaluable to my progression as an enthusiast. I’ve also managed to pinch many a penny through classified sections and made lifelong friends through meets organized on forums.

Yes, I’m a big proponent of the value of forums and honestly have probably spent more hours than I should have on Message boards, grades, sleep, work be damned.

I’m sure that I am not the only one who’s raced inside (or now checked my phone), mid project and fingers greasy, to re-read a post on how to un-clip a stubborn connector, or how to route a part around a steering rack just to side step dealing with rusted bolts.

I’d also wager that I am not the only person who, after reading a build thread felt motivated to start on a project that I previously saw as out of reach. Seeing someone of the same approximate level of skill succeed at a task usually reserved for a shop full of the latest and greatest tools and trained employees, is extremely motivating to the weekend warrior do it yourself enthusiast.

Forums are not of course flawless trolls annoy, spambots irritate, and misinformation is common but for the most part forums bring more to the table than they take away.

Sadly I’ve noticed that many of the forums I used to frequent have become quite inactive. Some of that can be chalked up to life, as familiar faces transition to new platforms, or lose their free hours to responsibility such as 9-5 jobs and children. But, it also seems that in general people are signing up to forums less.

Not being a forum admin I don’t have any numbers to back up my claim, but my gut tells me the clock is ticking on forums as people move to other platforms.

Instant gratification seems to be what people blame a host of the worlds problems on, but in the case of forums I think it has certainly been a contributing factor.

It’s easier to post something on Instagram or Facebook than it is a forum. A few quick taps on a mobile optimized interface and you’ve instantly given people an update on your build or got the answer you were searching for.

Unfortunately those platforms are largely self-serving. Answers don’t live forever and the community aspect is lost. How many of you are in Facebook groups where the same question is asked several times a month? Previously in a forum based community we could refer the user to the search page.

Frustratingly Facebook search returns primarily what Facebook (the company that has share holders to appease) wants you to see, and Instagram search isn’t really designed to pull back any useful information a timely fashion.

YouTube isn’t the worst substitute, but it lacks the easy questioning and answering ability provided by the quoting feature on forums and well, we all know what YouTube comments can be like.

All that said, though the writing has been on the wall for the last few years, forums have still manged to hold their value if nothing more than as archives. That was of course until a few weeks ago when they were put on life support thanks to the unlikeliest of sources, PhotoBucket.

Dead links have always been a problem in older threads, but PhotoBucket’s choice to charge $399 a year for the ability to use their service on third-party websites is a big deal. To put things in perspective I pay less than that to host this site and register the domain year over year.

Thanks to Photobucket’s recent play for the wallets of web users everywhere thousands of useful threads have been rendered nearly useless. This is akin to someone walking into a library and removing the images from 80% of the how to books and about 70% of the inspirational magazines.

It’s a serious blow to a system that is perhaps getting too old to take it. Yes there are alternatives but going back and updating the past is a daunting task that few are going to take up the torch and do.

Am I over-reacting, seeing the world through my doom and gloom glasses once more to romanticize a dead technology? Maybe, but I also think that without these archives, these globally, available caches of knowledge fewer and fewer are going to venture forth under their hoods and try things themselves.

Sure, enthusiasts prior to the advent of the internet had to learn the hard way, and managed to do incredible things when left to their own devices, but we live in a different time now. Auto shop isn’t in every school, and sure as hell isn’t mandatory. Cars are becoming more complicated to service at home, and, with the drive towards automated vehicles who knows what might happen to the modern enthusiast.

The naturally mechanically inclined will continue to make headway on their projects, but the rest of us? Well the rest of us better start saving what we can before forums are gone for good.

We’ve taken them for granted assuming they would be around forever but now more than ever we should cherish the ones that are still alive and active, they are the last of a dying breed.

Some were, and still are, hopping mad about the cars. Others like myself enjoyed what we saw and a third group of skeptics observed with quiet curiosity.

Like many my first introduction to the ‘Rough World’ ethos came via the un-apologetically raw Stella Artios. The literal street sweeping stance, combined with matte black paint and gold brake dust caked Work wheels remains, in this author’s eyes, the best embodiment of RWB ever.

It wasn’t prim, it wasn’t proper, and it damn sure wasn’t polished. It was a street car that had the attitude of a track car.

The cars that followed through to about 2010 were more of the same. The ‘golden era’ RWB cars perfectly represented what early articles about RWB conveyed. Individuality sprinkled with an unwavering sense of defiance and a desire to be driven.

By 2011 I still hadn’t seen one in person, but every time I saw one online I could smell raw fuel and hear the sounds of stones hitting the under carriage while carving through a back road.

Sure the motors in nearly all of them are stock (Note: Christian Coujin has six none of which are mechanically stock) but their image, combined with brief glimpses of the Idlers endurance race, suggested that these cars were driven to, and often passed, their limit with some regularity.

Since at this time the cars were quite a distance away, they were shrouded in secrecy by location that helped with their fame and image. The fact they couldn’t easily be accessed gave them an intangible presence through media.

I have no shame in admitting that I fan boyed a little when I saw Unfuckwithable in person at SEMA in 2012. After all this time building these cars up in my head I was thrilled the car delivered in person on all fronts. After the show I honestly wondered if I’d ever get the chance again.

Little did I know that shortly after that everything would change. Nakai-san started building more of the cars in North America. He refined his process to keep up with the demand, and the cars became more refined to suit.

In the process they lost their edge.

The first RWB I saw and didn’t like was in 2014. It was too high, too clean, and for an RWB build it lacked the in your face attitude that was consistent in all the others.

It was around this time that the cars had become not only a fashion statement but fairly common place. Not common place for everyone globally but at least online.

There’s nothing wrong with cars that are fashion statements, plenty are, but few have transitioned from unattainable and mysterious, to tangible and revealed so quickly. Nakai-san is now essentially on call year round to build the cars for whoever is willing to foot the bill.

In 2016 Nakai-san seemed to be in a constant state of travel. He stopped in Canada several times, both in Toronto and Vancouver, the United States and Thailand.

According to SpeedHunters he built sixty in total for 2016, more than one a week. That’s an impressive, nay, damn near ridiculous number.

So far in 2017 he finished three in Dubai, and another six in Australia. With at least one new car rolling out every month the peanut gallery has had their bag of peanuts topped up and is throwing them relentlessly. Further still they’ve had former members of the opposition join their ranks.

There were always criticisms that Nakai was doing nothing original, but the more that his process is revealed the more people start to question the merit of his work.

Will he ever change his designs drastically? Why does he free hand everything? Does he treat the metal after the cuts? Why does he act like hardware store silicone is some secret sauce? Does he realize the effect he is single handily having on the Porsche market?

All questions I’ve seen recently. But despite these questions, and a growing number of people asking them, the demand for Nakai-san’s work has not faltered.

The adage what goes up must come down seems not to apply here. People call it a fad, but how many years in does it take for something to not be acknowledged as a fad? How many cars need to be built for a style to be considered timeless?

I recently read that Nakai himself doesn’t actually read, or care for, the internet. This means that there is still some purity in what he does. He modifies these cars because he genuinely wants to do it. Hopefully the critics can take some solace in the fact that underneath it all this is a man simply doing what he loves.

Without getting to philosophical finding ones calling in life is difficult. Nakai-san is in the privileged position that not only has he found his, but he’s found a way to market it.

The allure and mystery around RWB may have faded, but if the past seven years are any indication, Rough World is here to stay.

Many words have been written about the topic, and admittedly we may not need more. However after becoming quite familiar with the Ridler competition this year I was compelled –some might say triggered– to share a few thoughts.

With an extreme focus on engineering, creativity, and workmanship the Ridler is one of the hardest best of show awards to win.

People may debate each of the Great 8 finalists aesthetic merit but from a craftsmanship view-point they are all remarkable.

After immersing myself in the selection process, and writing a few articles on the cars, I noticed that there is some level of contempt around the competition. One of the most prevalent criticisms is that it has become a cheque writing exercise.

Some enthusiasts turn their nose at the entire competition because it doesn’t lend itself to the back yard builder, despite the fact that there are no rules against their entry.

Detractors state that it is easy to build a car to Ridler standards when money is no object.

But it’s not. Just ask any of the builders involved if it was ‘easy’ to put together a car of Ridler caliber.

Pundits also claim that those who have someone else build their car are a lesser form of enthusiast.

But they’re not. Talk to any of the vehicle owners and try not to hear the passion in their voice as they talk about what is now their car.

The notion that a build is any less remarkable because of the money that went into it doesn’t really make much sense. Owning and modifying a vehicle is not a great numbers game. Often it is cheaper to buy a car than it is to build one. Furthermore purchasable options are also usually easier to maintain, better performing and an overall better investment.

But in a hobby where individualization is an integral part, buying something that anyone else can fails to impress.

Creating a custom vehicle takes much more than money, it takes vision and execution. More often than not it also takes a combined effort from a number of individuals.

Devaluing a build because it was paid for by someone with the means to do so unfairly takes away from the people who put in the work. Those individuals had the talent, the client just provided the medium and often the idea.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of capable builders out there whose work goes virtually unnoticed because the right project never comes along.

That might be fine for some but there are many who both want and deserve for their work to be seen. It’s unjust to dismiss the efforts of these builders simply because they were hired by someone who could afford to pay for their talent.

Similarly dismissing everyone who commissions their builds as a lesser enthusiast is an arrogant and narrow-minded perspective. Yes, there are some who write a cheque at the beginning and only reappear at the end. But, there are also many who can’t/won’t/don’t spin a wrench but stay involved throughout the entire process.

These enthusiasts have sketched the car of their dreams out on napkin several times over, but have opted to have it built instead of building it themselves. Many race car drivers do not built their cars, are they not enthusiasts?

The reasons for outsourcing a build are plentiful but the most common is skill. Not everyone is capable of building something themselves. The analytical thinking, attention to detail, and motor skills required to safely build a vehicle is not a common trait among all people. Is it better to try, and potentially put yourself and others in danger or know when you are in over your head and call in the pros?

This question is rhetorical, and one I am constantly battling with on my project.

I am, at least historically, more a car assembler than a builder and there plenty of things outside my wheelhouse. Some of those things I have a desire to learn, or improve my skills at, and others I have little interest in and thus problem with outsourcing.

Time is money and sometimes its more worth my time to pay the money.

Most who chant built not bought are in the same boat but too afraid to admit it. I’m sure there are plenty of cars with built not bought stickers on them sitting incomplete in garages around the world. The owners of these cars would no doubt love to have them out sooner if they could but a few extra dollars towards enlisting some help to lift them past the next hurdle.

There’s really no shame in that either because time is the second most relevant reason to call in the cavalry.

Life doesn’t want anyone to build a car. There’s only 24 hours in a day to figure out a problem, and most of those 24 hours are dedicated to things other than the build.

Days become months, months become years, and timelines are easily blown out as priorities change. Paying a shop, a good shop, means that a build will be done by an established date.

If you’re the type who enjoys the drive more than the build then paying makes perfect sense. For those that enjoy the build over the drive paying someone else for the fun part doesn’t make sense.

But really it’s just two different sides of the same enthusiast coin, and often the ones who take the time to build things correctly don’t criticize those who pay to have things built.

Usually the reason for this is because they are the one’s being paid to do the building.

The die hard do it yourself crowd may not realize it, but the pay someone to do it crowd is an important part of the enthusiast community and industry.

Many of the best back yard builders are given the opportunity to do what they live for a living simply because people are willing to pay them for it.

If you’ve gotten this far I’m sure you are wondering how I feel about people who buy completed cars that were modified by their previous owner.

Honestly, those people just might be the smartest of all. Cars are, typically, horrible at holding their value and there are tons of great deals to be had if you know where to look.

If you’re comfortable with buying a finished or unfinished project then by all means give it a go. I’m surely not one to talk or judge, the chassis going under Project Why Wait is one I bought and didn’t build.

Finally, contrary to what those who live by built not bought mantra might think, paying for a build is not easy. It requires resources, and usually these resources come from hard work. Hard work in a different way perhaps, but hard work all the same.

One person’s talents might lie in creating a frame from scratch and another’s might lie in working the stock market, or renovating a house for profit. It’s all relative and one skill is no less valuable than another if it contributes to a car build.

The choice to build or buy is rarely ever a simple binary decision, and instead of drawing lines in the sand it’s much easier to let people do what they are comfortable with while you do the same.

Built not bought, bought not built ultimately doesn’t matter if at the end of the day it puts a smile one your face.

Today it’s not all that uncommon for someone, who for sake of illustration we will call Person A, to post their car (usually modified to the upper extremes of their style choice) online and have it shared on a social media outlet where Person B says “that looks awesome” , person C concurs, and person D says “With modifications one, two and three, I think four through five are not really necessary and take away from the car’s overall look”.

At this point Person A replies with something to the effect of “whatever haters motivate me”, B and C quickly add he didn’t build it for you, and people E through F come out of the woodwork asking “if you don’t like style xyz why are you following Xyz Society?”, before ending with “no one asked for your opinion anyway, hater”.

This alphabet soup example might seem contrived, and depending on what areas of the internet you frequent unrealistic, but trust me it happens with alarming regularity. Calling people “haters” and then completely disregarding what they have to say, no matter how valid or eloquently stated, has become the adult equivalent of covering one’s ears and saying “lalalala I can’t hear you”.

To be honest considering how thin the skin of many enthusiasts appears to be I’m surprised they’ve managed to wield a wrench without it coming through the other side of their hand. Heaven forbid someone try to offer up constructive criticism of any kind and not just an opinion, that might just cause all out anarchy.

Do you think car modification icons like George Barris, Boyd Coddington, and Ed Roth (if for whatever reason those names seem unfamiliar how about Nakai San, Wataru Kato, or Magnus Walker) expected everyone to like what they did and no one to speak up otherwise?

Their styles are all heavily studied, debated, and criticized but, but at the end of the day they all own their aesthetic choices and stand behind them, not behind a sticker that claims they didn’t build it for your approval.

If you want to build a car that represents your taste and personality by all means go for it, but don’t expect everyone to like it and the notion that if you’ve got nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all, is far better suited for the kindergarten classroom than it is in a community made up primarily of adults.

Differences of opinion, especially in a hobby as subjective as car building, is a good thing, and criticism isn’t often meant to insult.

Using myself as an example, just because I don’t like a particular feature of a car, or a particular style of modification, doesn’t mean I don’t respect the build, the builder, or style.

There have been several times where I have lobbied a criticism or query about a modification, or stylistic choice, and received a very detailed valid justification for its execution. That bit of perspective often leaves me respecting the build that much more.

Sure I still might not like it but, if these individuals truly built their car for themselves, and not me, that shouldn’t matter.

Continuing to chastise and drive out those who think differently, or challenge what is currently in fashion, simply encourages more of the same lather rinse repeat, brighter, wider, lower, louder, formula that people are already beginning to tire of.

To sum thing sup as succinctly as I can, I am not proposing a community based on negativity, but rather one where constructive criticism is both effectively given and received without resulting in fierce stand offs and open minds. Sure it might be an idealistic goal, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t one we should all strive for.

Until we get there however just remember If I don’t like it, I don’t like it that doesn’t mean that I’m hatin’.

Whenever these discussions start, be it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or otherwise I have to wonder if people are talking about the same province in which I reside. No I’m not delusional, I know that Ontario is not California, Vegas or Austin, and certainly not Japan, but that doesn’t mean the scene here is terrible or in dire straits.

To prove this point I’ve interspersed photos of several unique, creative, high quality (or all of the above) builds into this post. Something that, if the title statement were true, I wouldn’t be able to do.

To double down on my point all of these photos are exclusively from the 2016 season.

In the time I’ve spent shooting and writing about vehicles in Ontario I have, year in year out, come across builds that are just as creative as the ones I see online from other parts of the globe. The rub is that these cool builds are not going to roll past your front porch while you shake your cane at those damn kids with their titled wheels, or drop you an email just because you discovered a cool cursive font to use for a logo, and put the letters ‘est’ in front of the current calendar year.

Finding the true gems takes a little effort.

By a little effort I mean making a point to check out events different from the ones you usually do, rather than going to the same shows year after year and being disappointed.

If you don’t like a particular show for whatever reason, be it previous experiences or the type of vehicle they cater to, then don’t go, it’s that simple.

Going, then complaining after the fact is counter productive. There are several shows in the area that simply exist to make money, it’s unfortunate but it’s true, and as long as they have the entry fee of the participants and enough spectator ticket sales to make it into the black, these shows are not going to lose sleep over criticisms lobbied after the fact. Why? Because based on support (read: dollars) there is no reason that they should.

The only way these shows and events will realize that people are tired of their lather rinse repeat approach is if their pocket books are affected.

Otherwise come the same time next year they will wind their marketing machine up making claims of quality, but ultimately failing to deliver because they’ve done nothing to attract or uphold any level of quality or originality at their event.

On the other side of the coin if you run a show and are constantly taking shots at the local scene leading up to, and after, your event ask yourself what are you doing to encourage the creativity and eye for detail you’ve identified as a problem.

Do you start to let cars slip past your “rigorous” screening process once it becomes clear you’re not going to met your minimums? If so perhaps you ought to take a page from some of the more pro active events in the area.

It’s no secret that I hold Northern Showdown in high regard as one of the better outdoor shows in the surrounding greater Toronto area. The organizers not only put in a lot of work the day of to make sure things go smoothly, they spend the months leading up to the event hitting the pavement and finding the quality builds hiding out in the pockets of Ontario.

This proactive approach has allowed them to maintain and grow a fresh show field full of vehicles that are both of high standard and unique. Doing away with the typical first through third class in model for awards and opting for an over all top 50 is a quick way to cut through the politics that often ruin shows and prevent people from returning.

I’m not encouraging trophy hunting by any means but if the same cars win the same awards year after year, especially when there are better cars in the venue, why should people come to your event with their latest build?

Showdown isn’t alone either, the Jalopy Jam Up is another show born from a desire to do better. Jeff Norwell and crew didn’t see an event catering to the traditional hot rods they wanted to see locally so the Jam Up was born, which isn’t too far off from what David Soo at Fitted did on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, or what the organizers of Berlin Klassik have done with their events.

Shows of course only represent a subset of the community here in Ontario and anyone criticizing the local scene that hasn’t been to a cruise-in isn’t giving Ontario it’s fair shake.

Some of the craziest builds I’ve come across were not found at shows but instead casual weekly, free, cruise-ins that take place all over the province.

Any enthusiasts skipping out on these free events is doing themselves a disservice, and if you’re from the greater Toronto area and have never been to Engineered Automotive‘s Cars and Coffee you’re missing out on a great monthly summer event.

Still find the cars you see there lackluster? Then dig deeper still, go to BBQs and open houses held by local shops and at these events make friends and connections, word of mouth is how I’ve become aware of many of the best events I’ve ever been to.

You’d be surprised just what level of build lay in some of the most unassuming garages in the corners of town you don’t often travel. This is to say nothing about the absolutely mind-blowing projects sitting at some of the higher end outfits in the area.

Getting to know people at these events also allows you to become better embedded into your local scene rather than someone who sits on the side wagging a disapproving finger.

Still disappointed? Then maybe stationary cars are not your thing, instead of taking time out of your day to harp on those who don’t like to go fast take advantage of the plethora of track events, and race series, we’re lucky to call our own in Ontario.

It’s impossible to go to a track event and not see something cool on the track and in the parking lot, and if you want the best if both worlds the Canadian Sport Compact Series is a great place to start.

Finally if you’re standards are so high that you really can’t find any cool cars to your liking then build one yourself. Become the bar that you want people to aspire to, if absolutely nothing else at least the journey along the way will be worth it, and you will have a great build to show for your efforts.

No cool cars in Ontario? Well that statement just couldn’t be any further from the truth and if you think it is I urge you to put in a little effort to take a better look around or pick up a wrench and show us all how it’s done.