SEMA Garage Products, part 1

Founded in Switzerland in 1945, Lista originally manufactured a wide variety of metal products. During the 1950s, the company began focusing on producing modular storage systems and office furniture. Soon, manufacturing operations began at our Holliston, Massachusetts factory.

Auto enthusiasts who want to realize their dream garage have uncompromising standards and discerning taste. That’s why so many home garage owners rev up their organization with featurepacked, highly functional and clean workspace systems. Built to last, these products are made from heavy-gauge steel and have the look and feel of a high-end automobile.

Die-cast GMP collectables

For me it started with Tonka trucks and plastic model cars. For others it might have started with Hot Wheels. I think we can all trace our fascination with cars to our youth and the toys we had. If you're a car enthusiast you probably have some automobilia around that includes a few die-cast vehicles. Quality, detail, and rarity can vary by manufacturer, but GMP die-casts rank among the best.

GMP is headquarted not far from Atlanta and I had the opportunity to tour their facility last year. The offices have models of die-casts covering the walls, inside display cases, and on every desk I saw. It was like attending an amazing car show in 1:18 scale. I've always been a GTO enthusiast and I saw a display of GTO's in a rainbow of colors, hardtops and convertables. But the displays that included 1:12 scale replicas blew me away! The quality, craftmanship, and detail make these a true works of art. Yeah, they're on the expensive side, but after you get close and examine and handle them, you begin to wonder why they aren't twice the cost. There are more than cars on display. GMP has produced a series of replica dashboards from a '57 Chevy to a '65 Mustang to a Ferrari. In the past they did a series of Fender guitar replicas. My personal favorites are the GTO's and '32 Ford Deuces. If you haven't seen them you should check them out. If you have GMP die-casts you know what I mean.

Garage Essentials...first is a garage vacuum

OK...it's a new year, maybe the year you get moving on the garage project you've been dreaming about. Where do you start? A garage vacuum is where I recommend you start. Not a noisy shop vac, but a wall-mounted, quiet, powerful vacuum with a long hose. Now you can clean the seats and carpet anytime with the push of a button. No more broom and dust pan when cleaning the garage floor. Now you can reach the far corners with your vacuum and in minutes have a clean floor. When you're ready to do something with the garage floor the vacuum will prove itself in the floor prep. There are several choices for a wall-mounted vacuum, but my choice is GarageVac. It's made in the USA and has a 6 year warranty. GarageVac has a sleek, injection molded from polycarbonite exterior, and a 12 amp, 113 cfm twin fan 5 hp turbo motor. So get off the couch and get in the garage...Spring is just around the corner and you know you want a garage to show off to your friends.

Surf City Garage Car Care Products

I really like their products and that's why I sell them. Surf City Garage developed their car care products for their use on the huge car collection they own. You can learn more about their products on the Surf City Garage website and view videos on youtube.

DASH-AWAY is great for your interior but I've used it to clean my convertible top also.

Road Trip works great on the difficult road grime. I recently used it to remove duct tape adhesive from my track car and it simply melted it away.

Japanese Classic Car Show

A couple of weeks ago I found my trip to Southern California was over a weekend when the Japanese Classic Car Show was being held in Long Beach. I've owned a few Japanese cars over the years and thought this event might bring back a few memories. Only in California will you find Datsuns and Toyotas never sold east of the Mississippi. I saw well preserved sedans, station wagons, and pickups I've never seen before. Lots of Datsun 240Z cars and a bunch of Datsun 2000 sports cars. Mazda was represented by a number of early RX7 models in showroom condition and a couple of rotary powered pickup trucks from the early seventies. The interesting Toyotas included a 2000GT and a big sedan that had a sign on it with "JDM Palace" written on it. Besides the pristine originals were a few highly customized show cars and race cars. It was great to see a show dedicated to the admiration and preservation of foreign cars that were not then or now priced for only those with deep pockets. The passion was evident in the crowd attending this event. When I arrived there were about 200 people in line to get tickets and two hours later when I left the line was still that long. Southern California seems to have admirers of everything foriegn or domestic that has wheels.

Do you collect die-cast vehicles?

Our interests in all things automotive likely began with a Tonka truck. Or maybe it was the Hot Wheels collection. If you're a car enthusiast you probably have a few pieces of automobilia in the garage, gameroom, or even your office. In your collection of automobilia there is probably a die-cast car, truck, or motorcycle. Your die-cast collection might be a model of a car you once owned, currently own, or wish you could afford to own. The quality and detail can vary between manufacturers as well as the pricing. My personal favorites are GMP cars and First Gear trucks. Being in the Atlanta area I've had the opportunity to visit the GMP facility for their annual car show. Roaming through their offices will have you feeling like a kid on Christmas morning. The walls are covered with various collections they've produced over the years. There are display cases for 1/64th to 1/12th size cars. A collection of artwork is displayed throughout the offices and halls. If you've been, you know what an amazing collection is there. If you ever have the chance to visit...do it. Got any favorites of your own? Tell me about your collection.

Car care product winner is...

The August winner is Hotrodnation. The Surf City Garage Car care package has a 24oz. spray bottle of Speed Demon detailer, an 8oz. bottle of Beyond Black tire treatment, and an 8oz. bottle of VooDoo Blend leather treatment. Congratulations! I'm also giving Surf City Garage swag to Chevywagon55 and racerdon. I'm doing it again for September! More Surf City Garage products for a lucky follower or someone who comments on a blog.