User:Brandoml/sandbox

= Car Meets = A Car Meet is a gathering of car enthusiasts, where they will meet in random locations and show off their car with their friends or any car lover. These meets can occur on any given date at any given time and are usually located in empty parking lots in plazas, they can consist of a small group of cars to a large group, varying from different brands of vehicles. Many Car club communities will host their own car meets, enthusiasts of brands such as; Ford, Subaru, Honda, Dodge, Mazda, etc., all have offline and online communities where they share a common love for their vehicles. A place where all cliques are brought together, one where rivalries and hatred from online forums and social media gets set aside. All cars: American, European, and Japanese, come together to show off their vibrant colors, brute power, and tightest fitment possible. Their owners share a parking lot, not just any lot however, a lot where appreciation for the automotive industry occurs.

Car Meet Examples
There are various forms of car meets; ranging from meets early in the morning called "Cars and coffee" to community car meets, or just general meets held by friends.

Strada is an example of one of the more popular car meets located in the Greater Toronto Area, throughout the spring and summer. Strada is known to host car meets bi-weekly on Wednesday nights, and hundreds to thousands of people will show up in attendance to indulge in the car culture. In most cases they even charge an entrance fee, which helps the event planners spend money on entertainment and food trucks to liven up the meet.

One of the more professional examples of a car meet is Import Expo, which is usually hosted indoors and charges a heftier entrance fee to all vehicles. This car meet presents various trophies for different categories; including best vehicle of a certain brand, best (Stance (vehicle), best sound system, etc.,.

Culture
The culture of car meets has been growing exponentially, movies and games such as Fast and Furious and Need for Speed created a new wave of individuals who enjoy Car tuning and showing off their latest builds. These meets allow people to gain knowledge on various car modifications, hang out with friends and meet new people. It is a passion, the enjoyment of cars and the community it brings. Whether it be waking up early for a Cars and Coffee meet or stay up late at a night meet, car enthusiasts love anytime they can be out enjoying cars. There are also apps and websites  that allow users to connect with car communities and find out when the next car meets will be. In addition, there are even Instagram accounts dedicated to connecting users to the nearest and most recent car meets out there. 

Modifications
Many of the car meets show off various builds people have done to their vehicle, ranging from an insanely low car (Stance (vehicle) to a car with the craziest sound system. Tuned cars are built for the pleasure of owning and driving. Exterior modifications include changing the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle via side skirts, front and rear bumpers, spoilers, splitters, air vents and lightweight wheels. Other visual modifications include different paint schemes or wraps to change the appearance of the vehicle to the owners liking..

Wheel Fitment
One of the most sought after achievements in the car scene is achieving perfect fitment of your wheels and suspension. This includes getting the proper wheel size, offset and ride height of your suspension. The offset is the distance from the hub-mounting surface to the wheel's true centerline. It is measured in mm and can be either positive or negative. A positive offset means the hub-mounting surface is closer to the outside edge of the wheel, while a negative offset means the hub-mounting surface is closer to the inside edge of the wheel. There are many suspension options as well, you can leave your car stock or opt to switch to; lowering springs, coil overs or air suspension - with each option becoming pricier.

Negatives of Car Meets
Unfortunately, Car meets are not perfect and from time to time there can be implications that arise. Over crowding in public locations, noisy exhaust systems and stereo's, littering and vandalism are a few examples. In some cases the police have to get involved if the car meets get out of hand. Therefore there are a few simple rules to keep in mind when attending a car meet to ensure the community does not become toxic.

What Not to Do At a Car Meet
Burnout (vehicle), Excessive revving, Speed in the lot, Park bad, Litter, Touch someone else's car, Block photographers and blast your stereo. All of the above listed things create havoc and taint the image of a car meet. A car meet is meant to be a fun and safe event for individuals to show off their vehicle.