CPTuning Meet & Canned Food Drive

It's getting close to summertime, and car season has officially begun. And with car season comes car meets. One of these is the annual charity meet at University of Maryland. A fun little event, with canned food items standing in for the admission cost.

The event was fun, despite the oppressive heat. I heard accounts that it was bigger last year, but the lots seemed pretty full to me. However, most people, including myself, had left after a couple hours, so I guess there's something to that.

There was a nice mix of brands and countries represented, along with a good blend of style, from ratty daily drivers to ultra-clean show cars. Definitely a lot of eye candy on display for enthusiasts like myself.

Meets like this are always a good way to get a genuine feel for what's happening in the local car scene and what people like to do to their cars. Here's a few impressions I got:

Drifting seems to have made its final evolutionary step. Now, much like drag racing, the die-hard enthusiasts remain, but it has lost it's status as the hot trend everyone wants to follow. I think this is a good thing, honestly, as the sport will begin to become more open to newcomers now that all the haters have found something else to get on their high horse about.

I definitely saw my share of crazy wheel fitments out there, some better executed than others. I honestly like a flush setup once in a while, although I'd never do it to my own car. However, as usual, some people take it a bit too far. If your tires are scraped up from your fenders, you're not a badass, you're an idiot.

One thing I definitely don't get is this new trend with engine bays being painted a different color than the rest of the car. To me, no matter how good your paint job was, it still looks like someone did a shitty respray on your car and neglected to paint the engine bay. I just don't like it, but if it's your thing, enjoy.

Wire tucks: Always amazing. I love them.

That's it for today: Remember, there's a bunch of pics on the Facebook page, so head over there if you haven't already. See you next week!