___The much anticipated, first annual Fiesta de Europa car show finally came to pass this weekend and it was a show for the record books! With cars rolling in from Austin, Dallas, Corpus, Mc Allen, and everywhere in between this was a great turnout for San Antonio's first all European car show. The mix of BMW's, Mini's, VW's, Audi's, and Mercedes made it an interesting walk down the isles. I couldn't get enough of the classic air cooled rides that showed up along with the old school BMW's courtesy of Bert's Motorweks and Javier's beautiful M6. This year's show put major emphasis on cleanliness of the car and boy did some people take that to heart. It was evident by the immaculate engine bays and the beautiful paint jobs on the cars.

___Like I mentioned before, this was the first year San Antonio has put on an all European car show and it turned out to be a great success. We hope that this years' show laid the foundation for much bigger turnouts in the years to come. In the end there were 76 cars that registered to show and many other sweet cars in the parking lot that didn't show. Take this car on the left for example. It didn't enter in the show but I think the paint job alone is a nice example of what you can find at this show. Some may not like it but you cannot deny the craftsmanship and quality that went into this car. There were countless other examples that followed this same basic theme but it would take me pages to go through all the cars that I thought should be mentioned. But I know you guys don't like reading so i will spare you the trouble.

___There were also some very understated, classy cars at this years' show. Take a look at the Passat to the right. There is nothing that jumps out at you about this car other that it being a very nice looking car. But the wheels, coilovers, snake print leather interior, and sound system in the back make it a very sweet car. There were many other examples of cars that followed suite. There was Dave's Z4 who was sporting his new sound system and Bob's M3 that both were very classy cars that really left a mark on the judges. I don't know about you guys, but seeing so many different cars at shows like this gives me so many ideas on things to do in the future. I hope many of you all walked away with the same feeling from this show.

___There was also no shortage of creativity at the show. There was the car to the left with the basketball floor for a trunk. There was an Imola 20th anniversary GTI with the same idea but took it a step further with the German beer. Both of these examples were done very nicely and had a lot of creativity involved in the buildup. And who can forget the green MKIII GTI from the Hot Water Blast with the chalkboard hood? I love it! There was also the sick MKII GTI over by the MJM Autohaus booth. Not only was it sporting no bumper because of the outrageously huge intercooler in the front, when we were sitting there talking the grille fell off. Now that is a true race car! You have to give it to Billy T. for making one of the sickest and fast dubs around. That car is rumored to put down over 600 horsepower at the wheels! I can't wait to hear how it does at the track.

___There were also some vendors at the show. MJM Autohaus had their own booth and so did Deep South Tuning. We really appreciate all the support that these guys give us throughout the year. Most of the cars at this show have been built with parts from these two vendors. Hopefully they can start pumping out even more products to local customers and help make next years show even better.

___This year's show would not be possible if not for the support of not only the local clubs but the ones that made the trek from different areas around Texas. It is always refreshing to see cars that are different from the norm and you get that whenever you bring in cars from different parts of the state. The Jetta to the left is a perfect example. I haven't seen such a clean Jetta here in San Antonio and was glad to see that the owner made it to the show. There were a group of beautiful cars that made it down from Dallas and each of them was unique. Julio and his members from Volkspeed also brought some members up that had some very impressive cars; Julio's being one of the sickest MKIV GTI's around. EuropeanAG brought about 10 or so member from Houston and what can I say about EuropeanAG? They always have the sickest dubs from around Texas. I can't say how jealous I am of their group of cars and hope that they can continue to make showings in the years to come. Strictly German Performance also brought up some cars from Corpus and they also have some very impressive rides. I couldn't stop drooling over the blue S4 in the parking lot.

___There was also no lack of support from the local groups. Eurosport Underground had their EZUP setup in the corner and sporting their newly made banner. They have a very impressive lineup of cars. I especially love Steffen's .:R with the killer roof rack setup and bike on top. I am a sucker for roof racks. Members for StrictlyEA also showed up in pretty good numbers. Bobby and Javier took the most awards out of our group as usual. It seems like every show either of them go to they walk away with two trophies to add to their huge collection. They no doubt deserve it though. Both of these guys have dumped serious amount of cash, time and energy into these cars and they truly deserve respect for their efforts. I finally got a new front lip painted and put it on my car so no more ugly front end on my car. I just wish the new wheels I bought came in a week early so I could have had them on for the show. I guess there is always next year right? :-p

___I can't thank everyone enough for making this show all that it was this year. I want to thank Dale for putting in all the leg work in for this show. Dale is the one who made this show a reality. Without him pushing every step of the way this show wouldn't be anywhere close to what it was this year. So thank you Dale for all the hard work you put in, it was truly worth it! I also want to thank all you guys that came in from out of town. I wish I could go down the list of everyone in StrictlyEA that helped me out. You guys are truly the best members anyone could ask for. Thank you for the support and hope to see you guys at the many meets to come. We will show up in bigger numbers next year and I know you guys will be ready for it. For those that didn't make the show this year, you need to keep an eye our for it next year. We are going to have a lot of fun next year as well. So stay tuned and happy motoring!