This was my first time at Taste of Little Italy although I have been to Taste of the Danforth many times so I kind of knew what to expect, namely local restos setting up roadside food stations, live music, big crowds etc. They are expecting 250,000 people over the weekend!

Lots of crazy food options

Including some of my favourite restos like Café Diplomatico and Duff’s Famous Wings

My initial plan was to have something Italian like this

But I got drawn in by G Dog and WE Burger

I had the Germany dog

Making the dogs

And here it is!

There were lots of cool shopping options too. This was my favourite of the street vendors

I picked up a pin of the Twins from The Shining lol

There were a few vintage stores as well

I also took the opportunity to do some more serious shopping! I have seen Wonder Pens at the Scriptus Pen show but have never been to their actual store, located right in the middle of today’s event.

As usual, I did some pre-show research and went in with intention of checking out the new Sailor Area 51.

It was nice although i didnt end up buying it. I did pick up some Wearingeul Tick Tock Croc ink though. They have the best marketing lol. BTW, very nice people at the store.

I was also SUPER happy to discover a new airsoft/tactical gear, and knife store!!!!

I find John Wick everywhere! Lol so funny. I was talking about John Wick in connection to this event yesterday and here are his guns.

I picked up a training/airsoft karambit and some John Wick patches

In addition to walking the entire length of College from Bathurst to Shaw for Taste of Little Italy, I also walked on Ossington from College down to Queen for some more exploration. Here is what I saw…

A little car spotting with a McLaren

Bar Isabel (I went here on my last birthday..amazing bone marrow and Pappy Van Winkle!!)

And for Morgy’s past birthday we went to Baby Heuy and Sweaty Betty’s

More great shopping options, Tilley Hats

Carhartt Work in Progress

I Miss You Man pre-loved designer clothing

And my last stop for the day, Camouflage!

My scores

In retrospect I wish that I had tried more food but that’s ok, the great shopping made up for it. Glad I finally made it.

RL

This was my first time attending the Quebec Outdoor, Hunting, Fishing, and Camping show and I was suitably impressed! The show is easily as big as our Toronto shows and it was packed with people!

My first stop was to check in with my good friends Gilles at Mossberg and Donald from Evans Group.

Gilles walked me through Mossberg’s latest lineup

Including novelties like the 940 Pro Tactical SPX, which has a newly designed forend that features an integrated heat shield, multiple M-Lok accessory slots, and QD ports. It also comes with a Vang Comp 6-Shotshell carrier system!

Next the 590RM mag fed. The “RM” stands for ambidextrous Rotary Safety Selector with  the first production double-stack Magazines made for pump-actions.

Love the camo pattern Silver Reserve Eventide – Turkey

The short stock on the 500 Bantam is so cute lol

More from the lineup

Now from Evans Group. The Pedersoli shotgun muzzle loader is so cool! Not something you see everyday.

Sabatti out of Italy has been making firearms for 300 years and are known for their unique Multiradial rifling that doesn’t work like traditional lands and grooves (see my TACCOM 2023 review for a lot more details).

I like the ST-18

Next my friends at MD Charlton to see the latest from SIG

and even a Christensen Arms MPR.

I like the SIG Cross

And P365, as used by Halle Berry in John Wick 3

SIG optics

I liked the binos with Optical Image Stabilization

I covered Antler firearms at TSS a couple of weeks ago. As a reminder, they are entirely made in Quebec from design to manufacturing. They focus on being lightweight and very precise while being highly configurable with multiple options of stock type and colour, barrel (carbon fiber or steel), and action

For more tactical long-range shooting, Elite Precision can customize your rig, such as this Cadex in .338 Lapua. They also offer precision shooting courses on a range that goes out to 1,600 yards!

Rec-T-Fire laser system designed to align the scope or sights of your firearm without ever firing.

Speaking of lasers, the CCFR was running their Laser Rifle Target Shooting

You can see the red dot in the centre of the target on the right

So easy a kid can do it! In fact, it was quite popular with kids with lineups all day. Great way to get them started early.

I managed to sneak in for a pic

CCFR advocating for gun rights

Now on to knives! Good to see MAB Impex again

Huge selection of Damascus blades

Got this little knife…thanks so much!

More knives

Retailer selling bows from Bowtech, Hoyt, and Matthews

There were long lineups at the archery test ranges all day

I have always been a fan of Sitka gear so it was great to see they had a booth and reps on site! I knew that Sitka matches their “camo” patterns to the visual spectrum of the game you are hunting but I learned a lot more talking to the rep. Not only do they consider visual spectrum, they also consider the animals’ perspective, for example, waterfowl looking down as they fly overhead or ungulates looking up at a hunter in a tree stand! BTW, Sitka refers to their proprietary patterns as “concealment” not “camo” and the company is owned by Gore (as in Goretex). Their patterns are licenced out so you can get bows and firearms matched to your concealment clothing!

Their newest pattern

I love balaclavas

Handwarmer is super cool too

Variations of their Optifade

New all Gore-Tex boots that are 12 oz. lighter than competing boots

For even more concealment, Nature Tracks Scented Shoe Covers. They come in three options: Vanilla and Anise to attract big game such as bear, moose, and deer, or Unscented for a neutral approach.

If you prefer to be seen, Traktiq offers a ton of hi-viz gear.

Great shades from Costa Del Mar

And Rapala

You already know I love fur but wow such unique pieces from Creations Nous Deux!

check out these wolf gloves!

And keychains made of animal paws!

Seal!

Fur can cozies!

Ok now these are fur goals!

We both bought the seal paw keychains at the same time lol.

Lots of taxidermy at the show. This bear looks angry!

Bears look so much friendlier with a baseball cap

This guy looks angry too! I wonder who wins in a fight against a bear

Some great racks

Never seen this before! Life-size elephant to promote African hunting safari

Custom game calls from Recall Designs

There was even a hall full of boats! You know I love the police and SAR boats! Not a Zodiac but a similar RIB used by the RCMP

Mustang Survival flotation gear

I just had to try it on

More flotation gear at the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The CCGA is a not-for-profit that provides support to the Canadian Coast Guard and National Defense. They perform three key tasks: 1) assist with search and rescue and environmental response, 2) support Transport Canada’s Safe Boating Program through public outreach and education 3) assisting in checking aids to navigation. They also offer humanitarian assistance, mechanical engineering and maintenance of vessels and equipment, coordination of fundraising and special events, and support media relations.

Thanks for the upclose view

I’ve seen Argos but never in camo

Check out the tracks on this Yamaha Kodiak

Or if you want to cover your tracks….

Huge crowds all day

My swag from the show

Once again, a fantastic show! It had all the elements I am used to seeing at outdoor shows like guns, knives, archery, hunting and fishing equipment, fur, all terrain vehicles, and boats. Definitely worth the drive. Great job on social media by the organizers as well. A very friendly crew!

Btw, I haven’t covered my post-show meals in this series until now as food is so much better in Quebec lol. I wanted something French and authentic but wasn’t hungry enough for poutine so I went with escargot pizza at Mille et Une Pizza!

With cheesecake by local bakery Badoum

RL

Klipsch fans will rejoice with the introduction of revamped versions of the Klipschorn AK7 and La Scala AL6.  I was fortunate to attend the well-organized media event and love the new product.

The event started with introductions from our host

Steve from WiiM giving us a background on the company and introducing us to three new products including the Ultra digital hub and Vibelink amp (all music for today’s demos was streamed through WiiM)

Renown Klipsch acoustician Roy Delgado provided a detailed technical briefing of new features. Some examples include a 3” midrange compression driver, fully one inch bigger than drivers used in previous models, a shorter 2” throat on the midrange horn, custom Heritage Active Crossover, and even a new finish American Auburn. The changes increase efficiency while providing a more natural, immersive sound experience.

Without the grill

So great to meet and chat with Roy! Pro tip, he likes fishing!

And now the moment we have all been waiting for, auditioning the Klipschorns!

And look who was sitting behind me, Audiophile Junkie! Great to see you again!

One last pic for size reference

Some have felt the La Scala could use more bass and Klipsch responded by providing exactly that! The upgrade to a patented horn loaded, vented system provides the benefits of both a horn-loaded system and a bass reflex system

We were only able to listen to it in mono as the pair got damaged in shipping

It still sounded amazing! In fact, I dare say that I preferred it to the Klipschorn! And this is coming from someone who (as you probably know by now) is obsessed wth bass!

Again for size comparison

Klipsch also brought a system from their RP line to help showcase the new WiiM products. The whole system costs under US$5,000.

The demo included 10” subs but they are of course available in larger sizes

More WiiM and Klipsch products

TEAC provided all electronics for today’s demo. Once again, we were treated to a history of the company (I didn’t know it was an acronym for Tokyo Electro-Acoustic Company) and technical briefings on new introductions.

Finally, an introduction to Pro-Jects first-ever Turntable Configurator with 17,280 custom combinations of colour, tonearm, and cartridge!

I really enjoyed the media briefing! It was well organized and the atmosphere was very welcoming! Definitely one of the best parts of my Audiofest experience.

Hard to top such a great start to the show but if anyone can, it would have to be Acora!

Acora was showcasing their MRC-2 speakers for the sound demo.

Audio Research electronics

VPI Model One turntable

It was so great to chat with Val and get his perspective.

How does it sound? Amazing…like everything Acora produces

The newest additions to the Audio Research lineup

More beautiful static displays of Acora MRC-3 speakers and Audio Research electronics

MRB bookshelf speakers

Even their “business cards” are amazing lol

Another top contender for best room, Bliss Acoustics! They really brought the heat this year with TWO rooms full of Nagra, J. Sikora, and CSport.

Let’s start with their main room featuring my beloved Nagra Reference turntable, Nagra electronics from the Reference and HD lines, a J. Sikora Reference turntable, and Audio-Nec EVO-3 speakers! Wow!

Seeing the two Reference turntables side-by-side really emphasizes their different approaches to isolation.

Unfortunately I didn’t get a sound vid but I can say that it sounded amazing.

I got Renee’s latest Audiophile reference album. Thanks so much!

Wish I had a Nagra Reference to play it on. In the meantime, guess I have to fire up the Bang & Olufsen lol

Bliss’s second room also had a side-by-side comparison of turntables, this time a J. Sikora Standard Max and CSPort TAT1 M2 with air floating string drive and CSPort battery powered Phono Preamp C3EQM2 along with Nagra Classic electronics. Oh, and the world premiere of the new Audio-Nec Open Baffle speakers! Did I mention that Bliss brought the heat? Lol

Another top room that I was really looking forward to visiting, Von Schweikert Audio, showcasing their VR30. It sounded great and I like the brand, really nice people!

And now for some show surprises! Magico A3 speakers! I was not expecting that as they were not on the exhibitor list so it was a really pleasant surprise. The Magico was paired with beautiful Baetis Audio. In fact, Magico often uses Baetis servers/streamers to demo their speakers. I really like the look and feel of those.

Details of the full system: the streamer and Roon Cores were Baetis Audio Reference 4 Mingo+ (high end) and a Prodigy LE2 (entry level), all made in Montreal along with German made T+A DAC and pre-amp (DAC 200) and amp (A200). The power filter was from Saturn Audio while Tough Nut (btw, both of these brands are from Ontario) made the racks and vibration cancelling platforms (PIRS and GP3). The sound absorbing curtains behind the gear were provided by Coherent Audio.

It all sounded great, definitely one of the best rooms in the show!

Another surprise, but for different reasons, Marten Mingus Quintet 2 speakers at the Watershed Group. I must confess that I entered this room to see the Clearaudio turntable and I was not familiar with Marten speakers. But wow, I was blown away! The bass was so good that many people in the room (including me) were asking “where is the subwoofer?”

The speaker actually has five drivers, including a pure diamond tweeter, pure ceramic mid-range and aluminium sandwich bass domes and down-firing bass ports. Great Audia Flight electronics too.

My final “show surprise” came from Focal and I will get to that in a minute but first, the Diva Utopia. I covered these at Toronto Audiofest so as a reminder, the Diva is a powered active bassreflex speaker with built in Naim electronics with Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology wrapped in felt OEKO-TEX skin.

I didn’t wait for the hourly sound demo as I had already heard the Diva. On my way out of the room I was struck by thumping bass and a small crowd around the Focal Theva N°3 + Naim Uniti CI-102. Woah, what’s this? Definitely my “best bang for the buck” winner of this year’s show!

As you may know from my past reviews, there is another Focal that I love, the Utopia headphones! I wanted to see how the new wireless Bathys MG measure up to those so I headed over to the EARVANA section of the show.

spooled up my usual reference track lol

and here we go with a listen

They are good but don’t match the Utopia.

Same track for head-to-head comparison

Then again, to my ear (and my taste in music) no other headphone matches the Focal Utopia, not Stax, Audeze, Grado, or even the $75,000 Sennheiser HE1!

Another great room, Bryston, showcasing their speakers

And one of the coolest components at the show, a Magnum Dynalab MD90T FM Tuner with SR-100 Silver Ribbon FM Antenna

BCD-3 CD Player

BDA-3 DAC

Bi-200 Integrated Amp

14B3 Stereo Amp

28B3 Mono Amp

Thanks to the rep for the detailed walkthrough

Now for two classic brands that I own, JBL and Marantz.

JBL L100…I just love that JBL sound

Marantz paired with B&W

Although they do make their own speakers

Model 10 Reference Integrated Amp

More Marantz goodness

Including a turntable

Marantz and B&W displays of their internals

More B&W on display at DR Acoustics

with some pretty serious cables

Always a strong performer, DALI Epikore 9 and NAD

Legendary SVS subs

In room demo

Stable 33.33 is based in Quebec and they were showing their latest model, the Innuable for the very first time. I had a great discussion with Sylvain, the turntable’s designer and learned the name is a synonym for stable and it is exactly that!

It is mounted on three ISO ACOUSTICS GAIA IV and can be leveled easily via two rotary knobs. The main structure is made from 1” thick FORMICA while the platter is made of Delrin. Another cool feature is that the tonearm is 3D printed from a carbon fiber reinforced polymer!

The turntable was paired with Davis Acoustics The Stage speakers

Porting on the side of the speakers

And here is how it sounds

Marchand Audio Video also had Davis Acoustics speakers, this time The Wall, which has two woofers in a push-pull load and a pretty beautiful finish! Powered by Jadis tube amps.

Sound check

Speaking of beautiful finishes, check out this Lemay Audio electrostatic speaker, the Dayton Wright Hommage 9.4

McIntosh with Sonus Faber and REL subs courtesy of Son Ultime

Another room with Sonus Faber, this time powered by Bryston (sounded really good)

And yet another with a Lumina III

Golden Ear T66 with powered bass

Vimberg Mino sound demo and Borresen static displays in Wynn Audio’s room

Motet Distribution showing beautiful Triangle Magellan – Cello 40thspeakers

More J. Sikora! This time an Initial MAX with Wolf Von Langa London speakers. I covered these speakers at last year’s show so as reminder, it has a 10.5” cone driver with a passive radiator and a ribbon tweeter that sits inside of a magnetically attached acrylic panel that can be moved to adjust the treble.

And more REL! Actually lots of cool gear in the Codell Audio room. Dynaudio Contour Legacy speakers, Brinmann Audio Bardo turntable wth Supatrac arm etc.

Monitor Audio with Rotel and Michi electronics

Totem, made in Canada

Spendor speakers

Martin Logan and their famous electrostatic speakers

Although this time they had a sound demo of their boxed speaker Motion series

Note the overhead speakers

Final Audio electrostatic 

Diptyque

Lots of brands represented by Altitudo Audio. I listened to the Elacs, again great performance for a bookshelf.

Fyne Audio Vintage Classics Gold X SP speakers

Revival Audio ATALANTE 5 award-winning loudspeakers crafted in France

Audionation showing Ruark Audio

SB Acoustics and Primare

eQuation speakers with gear from Actinote, AGD, SilentAngel, Hifistay, and HzProject on display

Fosi Audio, very affordable options

They always have an exotic car on display at Montreal Audiofest, this time a McLaren

Usually I close my reviews with a recap of my favourites but there are too many to list here. Instead, I will make an observation based on my experience in attending trade shows. I noticed that when you attend a show in a particular hobby for the first time you tend to focus on the gear. Then as you go to more shows your focus shifts to the people. This was my fourth audio show and I am already feeling that.

It was great to see familiar faces like Audiophile Junkie and Rene from Nagra/2xHD, Dragan from Bliss, Adrian from Audio Excellence etc. It was super cool to talk to the designers from Klipsch (Roy), Acora (Val) and Stable 33.33 (Sylvain) and meet other industry folk. And again, all teams involved in media briefings did a great job as did the organizers of the show. Thanks for a great Audiofest!

RL

This must be some sort of record as I attended three different trade shows in three cities in three days!. We are talking over 1000 miles of driving and hundreds of pics taken!

First up, I stopped in for a quick visit to the Boat Show at the International Centre on my way to Montreal for Audiofest and Quebec City for their Outdoor, Hunting, Fishing, Camping show.

This year’s Boat Show at the International Centre occupied Hall 2 only so given the smaller size and my short stay, I didn’t take many pics.

Of course, I had to get the Halton Police Zodiac Hurricane! Note that this is different than the two police Zodiacs at the January show

Beautiful Raymarine racing cat

Alukin landing boat

I discovered Frauscher at last year’s show and remember that they have been in a Bond movie lol

Scout, I believe this is from their LXF luxury centre console line

Nimbus, I think this is one of their Tender day cruisers

Chris Craft Launch 27

Ski Nautique Ski 200

Interesting design and colour scheme on this Blackwater MXCAT 330

Dog flotation vests

And lots of pontoons! (I didn’t get any pics)

So not a huge show but still some standouts. Hopefully next year they bring back the Donzi Classic as that made the show for me last year.

Ok on to Montreal Audiofest and Quebec City Outdoor shows…

RL

Back in the day we had the ESP/Psychic Expo with the cheeky slogan “we know you will be there.” Now we have Meta Expo and Gem Expo, held in neighbouring conference rooms in the same hotel, making them essentially the same show. The show(s) features psychics, mediums, astrology, Tarot readers, metaphysical products, gems/crystals and more.

This was my first time attending the new format. It was also very timely as I just looked at guns / knives / archery / hunting / fishing equipment at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show a day prior so Tarot and healing crystals the very next day makes sense lol.

This won’t be a full show review as I only took pics at four tables. Why is that? Well first of all, it didn’t feel right to take pics of the psychics, Tarot readers, Reiki healers etc.  (especially when they were with clients). Secondly, well how do I say this politely, I didn’t find bins of crystals conducive to a photo review. I mean this show is great if you are looking to buy individual crystals or a batch to make jewelry or other artwork. Sure, there were ready made jewellery and such but still not my type of review.

With that said, there were some really interesting tables, starting with The Happy Healing Heart. I loved her creative use of crystals!

Her Crystal Buddies were my favourite

I picked one up made of clear quartz infused with Titanium! Leave it to me to find a “tactical” Crystal Buddy. Thanks also for the rose quartz, my favourite crystal and a perfect match to my custom Three of Swords custom Mala from Sovereign Souls.

Next, Spellbound who had, imho, the most interesting table of the show! So many cool things here.

Love these candle cauldrons

Lots of other candles

Lotions

Her spellcasting must be very good as I was compelled to pick up a couple of things lol

Amazing pyramids from Scalar Orgone

Another exhibitor making creative use of crystals, Touched Through Spirit.  I especially liked the knife shaped one for Reiki chord cutting.

I liked the arrowheads made from agate by traditional knapping even better!

So much so that I had to pick one up!

I love the way it was cleansed in a singing bowl…everyone should do this!

Worth a visit if you are into the metaphysical. We know you will be there (lol, you knew I had to say it)

RL

The Outdoor Adventure Show has been around for a while. Initially more of a diving show, it has since expanded into camping, canoeing, and other outdoor activities. The show features outdoor gear, exclusive travel deals,  hands-on adventure experiences and expert speakers.

This was my first time attending the show. In fact, it was rather unplanned but my good friend scubagreg (scuba instructor and CCFR field officer) was in town for the show so I went for a quick visit. As such, this review will be a bit shorter than my typical and of course I will focus on my interests so I hope you like axes and knives because you will see lots of them lol.

On that note, let’s start with my favourite booth of the show, Axcadmy where you can take Blacksmith courses to learn how to forge!

Budding Blacksmiths can take courses for railroad spike knives, hatchets, and two-hander axes among others, examples of which are shown here.

I liked this Khukuri shaped railroad spike knife

A typical steel billet you would use to forge an axe head

Such as on this beautiful two-hander axe

If you prefer your axes ready made, not to worry as there were plenty at the show, such as these Bisons from Germany.

My favourites were the double bit

And throwers

They had one of the nicest booths of the show. I like the way the axes were displayed on barrels.

Even their business cards were snazzy…made out of wood!

More European axe options with the legendary Gransfors Bruks at Canadian Outdoor Equipment Co. BTW, it was good to see them back at a show (I used to see them at Toronto Sportsmen’s Show).

Along with Esker axes made in Canada

And Helle knives from Norway

My favourite of which was the Viking Knife (gotta be careful though as it doesn’t have a guard)

I also looked at the Temagami designed by Les Shroud and found the handle to be quite thick, which is well suited for its intended use as a bushcraft knife and less suited for a “tactical” role.

Algonquin Outfitters also had some Helle knives along with axes from Council Tools and Hultafors 

And now for a completely different type of axe, the TiCa Ice Tool from Suluk 46.

It features a titanium head/spike and a shaft in either carbon fiber or titanium in various lengths. All of the carbon fiber shaft models weigh less than 5 ounces!

I can attest, it is light!

Known for their “ultra-light backcountry gear”, Suluk 46 also offers folding saws

With its aluminum handle, the Yuka 240 weighs just 6 oz. with a 9.5” Silky Gomboy blade installed!

Speaking of folding saws, the Agawa booth was one of the busiest of the show with a lineup to get in!

Mastiff Gears also had axes and cutting tools

But I was most interested in the WJQ-308 Chinese Military Shovel.

Ok that’s it for cutting tools! On to other gear. Great to see my friends from Fenix again.

I especially liked the TK30R White Laser Flashlight, which has a 1,500M throw!

Effortlessly hitting the ceiling

Lol someone flashed a light as we were taking pics

Another highly reputed maker of outdoor gear, Jetboil

I loved the MiniMo cooking system especially in Sunset. All components fit in the “cup” for storage and transport and the whole package weighs just 14.6 oz. (I swear it felt even lighter than that!). When deployed, it will reach a boil in just over 2 minutes.

Fine leather gear from Dirty Leather, who recently became a CCFR sponsor. Always nice to support one of us.

With scubagreg

Kite optics with the world’s first stabilized spotting scope

Drench waterproof pouches rated to 10M

I liked the clear fanny pack and roll down bag

wallet was cool too

Nice to see Afraid Knot again (another TSS exhibitor) the only Canadian manufacturer specializing in vehicle recovery gear

Canadian Search and Rescue team

Canoes and custom paddles

Canoe demo

A chance to do some climbing

Dive safety courses from Dan

And of course, what trade show would be complete without hot sauce? This time from Neil’s Real Deal, as featured on Hot Ones.

“black garlic” from Tucan Holistic

Thanks again for the ride scubagreg, great to see you again.

Thanks also for encouraging me to visit this show, glad I did. Now to sign up for some axe forging courses…

RL

This was my fifth time attending VIP Night at the Canadian International Autoshow so I knew what to expect. Namely, a party atmosphere with well-dressed industry folks surrounded by free food, alcohol, DJs, live music (Blue Rodeo!) and of course, amazing cars! Most of the cars are unlocked too!

As usual, I started out in the Auto Exotica section at the Autostrada booth. I heard they were bringing the Pagani Huayra R that I saw at Pfaff a couple of months ago. At the time, I thought it was one of the most beautiful cars that I have ever seen, possibly even topping the Zonda R. It is the only one in Canada and has been sold for $5 million so this may be my last chance to see it again.

Full shot of the Autostrada booth

F50

F40

Diablo

Countach

Carerra GT

Lexus LFA

Cobble Beach Classics Tribute to Mercedes featuring a collection of the brand’s cars spanning 135 years (from 1886 to 2021!)

2021 Mercedes-Benz AMG GT Black Series “P-One Edition” with 730 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. There are only 275 of these available exclusively to AMG Project One buyers.

2015 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT Final Edition (I have driven this car at an AMG event)

2006 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Coupe

I’ll cover the other booths on this level later but first, Grand Touring who brought another Pininfarina Battista, this time a red Edizione Nino Farina. Thanks to its 1,900 hp it can rocket from zero to 100 km/h in 1.8 seconds!

Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport with almost 1,500 hp, and one of only 60 in the world

Aston Martin Vanquish

Bentley Continental GTC Speed. I could use one of these! So beautiful.

Lamborghini Revuelto, the first super sports V12 hybrid plug-in HPEV (High Performance Electrified Vehicle)

Rolls-Royce Cullinan

The “coach doors” (do not call them “suicide doors”!) were open for us to take a look inside

The Spirit of Ecstasy, don’t touch it!

Ghost with an incredible green metallic paintjob

The Ghost interior

Maserati MC20 Cielo, which features butterfly doors and a cool retractable electrochromic (smart glass) roof. Even better, its Nettuno V6 engine is equipped with an innovative Formula 1-derived pre-chamber combustion system unique to Maserati. This system, along with dry-sump lubrication, large twin-turbos, and optimal cooling design, allow it to produce 621 hp from just 3.0 litres.

The GranTurismo Trofeo also has an Formula 1-derived V6 engine, inherited from the MC20 super sports car, with 542 hp in this incarnation.

Barbie Maserati

Ferrari 296 GTS

 V12-powered Ferrari Purosangue

Ferrari Roma Spider

Now on to the Barrett-Jackson display

My favourites were the 1970 Chevelle SS

and 2017 Viper ACR

Lotus Emira and Elise courtesy of Gentry Lane

Aston Martin at SimStaff’s booth

Lamborghini Huracan

BMW at RClub

McLaren at Pfaff’s booth

Matching Lego Technic and actual McLaren P1

And another McLaren at BetMGM

Alfa Romeo Giulia and Tonale PHEV

Ok now the German cars! Good to see Mercedes, BMW, and Audi back at the show! Mercedes had 12 or 13 cars, my favourite of which was the Maybach EQS 680 4MATIC SUV.  

It definitely had the coolest wheels I have ever seen, made of little Maybach logos.

Luxurious interior

The G-580 EQ Technology was also impressive. It can climb up to a 100 percent grade (45 degrees), as showcased on this 11.5-foot-high display!

AMG E53

AMG GT

AMG SL 63

Not at the Mercedes booth but I came across a Sprinter

BMW really went all out for this year’s Autoshow. They are the first automaker to ever occupy Level 600, which is between the North and South buildings,  as this level has never been taken over by a single brand. Labelling the area the “Level ///M” takeover, BMW is showcasing several cars and motorcycles from their M lineup.

Including an actual racecar

And the rare M4CS (so happy to see this) which will do 0-60 in 3.4 seconds with its 550HP.

For even more of a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” the M5 Touring has a twin-turbo V8 with electric power to produce 727HP and will do 305 km/h

The M2 puts out 480 HP for a 0-60 of 4.0 seconds flat.

In case you were not aware, BMW also has ///M Performance versions of their motorcycles.

In addition to the ///M display, BMW had booths to cover all parts of their lineup including internal combustion, battery-electric, and Sport Activity Vehicles, as well as MINI. They were also offering test drives of the all-new X3 M50, the award-winning i4 M50, i5 M60, iX M60, MINI JCW 3-door, and MINI Countryman SE. Attendees also have the opportunity to capture memorable moments with a special photo opportunity, as well as the chance to enter a draw for a grand prize travel experience.

I almost missed the Audi booth as I was about to head home but remembered there is usually a display in that area. Glad I stopped in as I really liked the “vibe” and there were some great cars to see, like the Audi RS6 Avant GT. I love performance wagons and this one fits the bill with 621HP and 0-60 in 3.3 seconds.

Performance sedans are my favourite and the RS3 is a great one. Although it has a 2.5 litre 5-cylinder with “just” 401HP, it will do 0-60 in 3.6 seconds, all for under $65,000.

The venerable R8 V10 that I am sure you have seen in countless movies

RS Q8 Performance if you want an SUV that accelerates to 60 in 3.4 seconds and does 190MPH

RS e-tron GT Performance with two numbers you need to know: 912 and 2.4.

Now some American cars. The Mustang GTD, powered by a supercharged 5.2L V8 engine, set a lap time of 6:57.685 around the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany, making it the first American production car to complete a sub-seven-minute lap!

The Corvette ZR1 is gunning for the GTD’s ‘Ring record with 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 engine that generates 1064 horsepower and 828 lb-ft of torque. With optional carbon fiber aero package, it generates 1,200 pounds of downforce at top speed!

I loved the styling on the Corvette’s Z06 GT3 car

A bit more discreet but highly capable with a 6.2L supercharged V8 putting out 668 HP and 659 lb. ft of torque, the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing. It’s incredibly comfortable inside. Definitely high on my list when it comes time to buy a new car.

I actually prefer the styling of the CT4-V Blackwing and it is also very comfortable but I prefer a V8 over its twin-turbo V6

If you want essentially the same engine (tuned to an even higher 682HP) as the Blackwing in a giant SUV body, the Escalade-V is just for you. I think it’s beautiful, especially in all black.

Some concept cars from Cadillac, the Celestiq

And Sollei concept

I love the Willy’s variant of the Jeep Wrangler! This spec adds 33” offroad tires, LED headlamps and fog-lights, locking rear differential, trailer-tow and auxiliary switches. And it looks GREAT!

If 33” tires aren’t enough….

The Dodge Charger Daytona, the brand’s first all-electric vehicle and the world’s most powerful muscle car, with Track, Drag, Donut, and Drift modes

Ok I know I have been focusing on super expensive cars so here is one of my show favourites in a much more reasonable range, the Toyota GR Corolla now available with automatic transmission and still 300HP.

Ineos Grenadier from France

Awesome Terradyne armoured vehicle

Not sure what this was, but I liked it!

Blue Rodeo in concert!

So which were my absolute favourites? Too many to pick just one, even by category. So here is a my attempt at a shortlist. Guess I need a bigger garage.

Hypercar: Pagani Huayra R, Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport

Performance car: Mustang GTD, BMW M4CS, Bentley Continental GTC Speed, Toyota GR Corolla

Performance sedan: Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing

Performance wagon: BMW M5 Touring, Audi RS6 Avant GT Performance

SUV: Terradyne, Cadillac Escalade-V, Tesla Cybertruck, Maybach EQS 680, Jeep Willys

RL

Wow this was one of the best motorcycle shows in a while! It wasn’t the biggest in terms of number of bikes but whatever was there was straight FIRE!

Case in point, upon walking in to the show I saw this bike from a distance and stopped in my tracks to say “is that a Buell?” It sure was! The 2025 Buell 1190SX!

Even better, they had two of them! The 2025 Buell Hammerhead 1190!

Off to a great start!

Next, I went over to MV Agusta. I thought their Superveloce S was the most beautiful bike at last year’s show but understandably there were always crowds around it so I want to get another look (we’ll come back to this one in a minute). MV Agusta one-upped me though with the 1000 Serie Oro version! I think there are only 6 of these and almost every part is carbon fiber or titanium. It is able to go 300+ km/hr with its 208HP engine. Cost is a staggering $95,000!

Although a bit tamer, the 800CC Superveloce S is still an absolute stunner.

Next to it, their 3-cylinder F3

And the Brutale 1000 RS

Triumph had an amazing booth this year! Loved the paint scheme on this Daytona 660

Rocket 3 GT with its monster 2500CC triple

All new TF 450-RC Edition. Wow it looks good!

Tiger 900

Speed Triple 765

And the new and bigger Speed Triple 1200 RS

New Scrambler 1200 X Icon Edition

Ah I forgot to check if they had the Bonneville Elvis edition or the Speed Triple Breitling edition on display.

I just saw the BMW ///M bikes on display at VIP Night at the Autoshow but they are certainly worth another look in the better lighting here.

Wow did I not tell you there is fire at this show! We are not done yet!

Aprilia RSV4

RS660

Tunono V4

Moto-Guzzi V85

KTM Duke 990

I love how you can get a Trak Pack on this one

Ok on to the Japanese bikes! Starting with my favourite Honda, the Africa Twin

Fireblade

Yamaha R1 with its crossplane crankshaft engine

Tenere 700

The XSR900 was quite popular so it took me a while to get these pics

Suzuki and Kawasaki did not have booths this year (or if they did, I missed them)

Royal Enfield Himalayans

Last but not least, some American iron. Indian FTR 1000

and 101 Scout

So glad Harley brought a CVO Road Glide in their Hot Lap paint scheme (that’s a $5,000 paint option!) as I really wanted to see that in person.

I also liked the camo paint on the CVO Pan America

And of course my favourite Harley, the Fat Boy

I already have the Terminator glasses and Arnie watch, now I just need this bike and the Chiappa Tmodel

The Harley stunt demo was awesome! The wheelies were cool but I especially liked the drifting. My video does not do justice to the sound and exhaust fumes lol

So once again, fantastic show! Hard to pick a favourite as there were soooo many that I liked and about 15 that I would actually buy lol. I guess if I absolutely had to choose, it would be the Buell.

RL

In anticipation of attending Meta/Gem Expo next month, I was doing my usual pre-show research on the exhibitors when I came across Sovereign Souls. I was very impressed with his talent and creativity. I liked the way he makes Malas, tying a knot between each bead. I also liked the “vibe” of his website, which details the associated benefits of each stone used and his Instagram page full of great videos with great music lol.

What I liked the most though, was Sovereign Souls’ idea of making Malas inspired by Tarot cards. What a great idea! It inspired me to get a custom one for my favourite card, the Three of Swords, which seems to describe my perpetual state lol.

I wanted the Mala to represent both positions of the card, upright and reversed, heartbreak and recovery (image source: Labyrinthos).

Rather than following traditional Mala patterns like Japa, Tibetan, Mantra, Zen etc. I wanted something that literally portrays a sword plunging through a heart just like the Tarot card! A metaphysical weapon is so in keeping with my collecting physical weapons!

And here he is presenting it to me!

Sovereign Souls clearly understood the mission!

The “handle” of the sword is made of Black Obsidian, a powerful protector and remover of negative energy (image source for all crystal meanings: New Moon Beginnings).

Following the handle is a “guard” (note the double meaning lol) made of Rhodonite, a Heart Chakra stone that soothes relationship issues and facilitates unconditional love and Smoky Quartz, which is also protective and relieves stress and worry.

Next, we get to the sword blade made of Hematite, a Root Chakra stone that removes negativity and restores balance, plunging through the Rhodonite. There is also a layer of Smokey Quartz in keeping with the intention to have both the upright and reversed positions of the card representing heartbreak and resilience.

Finally, the Rose Quartz, a Heart Chakra stone of unconditional love that opens you to re-discover love.

The Mala is finished with a caged heart pendant with Rose Quartz stone. Once again, this captures the two meanings of the Three of Swords Tarot card as on one hand the pendant can be seen as a “captured heart,” on the other as a “protected heart.”

So, this Mala should do a great job of healing and protecting my heart.

As backup to my metaphysical heart protection, more protection from Nepal in the form of Khukuris lol

I should mention that it was great to work with Sovereign Souls. We had a lengthy discussion about my intention and then I was shown a work in progress with the opportunity to make any adjustments. I opted not to make any changes as I wanted to “trust the process.”

Thank you once again to Sovereign Souls for exceeding my expectations in bringing my vision to life. I am glad the Universe brought me to you in my healing journey.

RL