Shane Seaman, owner and founder of So ill Apparel and Decals, came up with the idea for the Parking Garage Party as a way to bring these dying events back to life.
“Enjoy live DJs, a concert stage and lighting, live graffiti artists, industry vendors and the most exquisite cars in the Midwest, all while taking in the beautiful views from the top level of the garage as the sun sets on the city in the suburbs!”
This event description was a brief precursor for what was to come when you arrived. People often relate these shows to having either a Tokyo Drift or Hot Import Nights atmosphere with music, friends and, of course, the cars that bring everyone together for a good time. Personally, I’m a big fan of this type of show solely because of the atmosphere.
The last parking garage show that I can recall took place in 2012 in Palatine, IL. That event was Another Level, which still takes place each year at a new venue and I’d been impatiently anticipating another show like it. In terms of this event, the turn-out was decent with a moderate amount of quality built cars, as well as some new cars. There were a few vendors and shop booths to contribute to the attractions of the show.
I’ll admit that initially the lines of where and where not to park became a bit blurry. Next time around, it may more sense to block the entrance to the parking lot once it becomes full instead of cycling everyone through the full parking lot.
I think parking garage shows are a must and should be brought back from the dead! And I have faith that Shane will build this into something great in the years to come. On to the photos…
The first car that caught my eye was the Fahrenheit Edition Jetta, which wasn’t even part of the show but just happened to be along my route to top of the garage.
As we came out of the stairwell, I saw the notorious Varis-kitted STI you saw at the beginning of the article. Soon after snapping a photo of the must-see STI, I moved on to this two-wheel unit. Unique is the perfect word for this hard tail!
This old chop-top Ford rat rod found itself parked amongst the supercar section of the show. Having grown up around old cars like these, I’m always happy to see people throwing them into the mix of what most people are used to seeing!
So far this season, I’ve noticed a flock of “new” old hard bodies and I can only hope to see more – like this Datsun, for example!
Yes, this is the beautiful GTR owned by Chris Hill – as seen in the 1320 videos.
Something else a little different was the Grand National that was sitting rather low. Notice the plates?
This 370z was parked at the Just Drift It co. booth; it looks great on the Weds Kranze LXZs.
Shane Seamen’s boosted, bagged, EK Civic front end-swapped Honda del Sol gets better and better each year!
Alan Castro’s R32, freshly painted by Shane Seaman, looks fantastic!
This S14 was nearly spotless! It definitely made me regret not taking my car.
This Celica, parked next to Mike Gesselles, captured the true essence of the Shakotan style.
This VR6-swapped MK2 VW Rabbit had everything going on, with a shaved bay, a fully custom interior and air ride suspension.
Have you ever heard someone say, “A show car isn’t always a race car, but a race car is always a show car”? Well, this fit that saying. Still sporting the Gridlife banner, I’m sure I’ll get a picture of this on the track at Gingerman raceway next weekend!
This was my first time seeing this VW Saviero!
This female-owned Subaru is almost flawless!
When the sun started to disappear, the lights came on.
This Mercedes SLK was simply perfect.
The DJs were there to keep the good vibes going till the very end of the show.
I’d like to thank everyone at So ill and Stance Down Low for founding and hosting the event, and everyone who attended. I’m eager to see where it goes!