Oh Canada - Driven Halifax

Let’s get this elephant out of the room first - yes, we have bad at keeping up to date with new content here; even though we promised on our mid-year update we would be getting back into things soon! 

But as summer has started, all three of us have been busy as ever with our lives outside of HiddenPalmTree. Our main guy Asher has been continuing to network in NYC, I myself have been hard at work with the CarFarm team and some other media projects in Hong Kong, and over in Canada, Davis has been busy with school. 

But over the past month, the Canadian climate has been warming up and the snow is gone (at least until Winter). So that means - car season for the Great White North is back up and running! 

 

 

And Davis has wasted no time getting out there to get his first taste of the Canadian car scene; in fact, as this feature delves into, he is reporting back from his first Canadian car show! Specifically: the Halifax, Nova Scotia stop of the touring ‘Driven’ Canadian Aftermarket Car Show at the Halifax Convention Center.

Currently in between its stops in Vancouver and Winnipeg for the 2022 tour, the Canadian-exclusive show is - similar to SEMA, an event dedicated to showcasing all of the latest automotive trends, builds, and businesses within the industry, paired alongside a standing car culture showcase, car limbo, and even a live drift display. 

Coming from the car scene in Hong Kong, as seen through the lens of Davis’s camera - its obvious that the Canadian automotive scene definitely contrasts to what you may find in his home city. Especially in a place where car modifications are more welcomed - at least in everywhere outside of Vancouver (Canadian readers will know). 

In fact, from the first few images alone, this doesn’t look far off from a typical show you would encounter in the States - with just as many builds focused on stance, fitment, and a few American Muscle cars here too. 

 

For one - its rare to come by a Dodge Viper, even over on that side of the world. So getting to see one of these V10 beasts, especially the last iteration of the Viper model is always a treat. 

You can’t go wrong with some old school muscle cars either - straight from America. Ever since I moved back home, I never realized I took seeing those domestics for granted. 

 

The latest generation of the 86 - the GR86 has been out for a few months now, and while the aftermarket scene is already trying to see what they can do with the latest platform from Toyota, the preceding ZN6s - both the GT86/FRS and BRZ are still very much ‘in’ - here it is no different. 

 

Remember Scion? These guys still do - and its nice to see that the support for that platform is still somewhat going strong, while the brand itself has long gone. 

 

With our main man being a Silvia/180/240 owner himself, we obviously have to give appreciation to those cars here - which there one or two at the show.

 

Then there’s the drifting showcase that also took place during the event. Even in the rain and cool weather outside, that didn’t stop plenty of spectators watching this trio: a 240, a S14 (200SX), and RX7 FC3S taking advantage of the damp surface to put on a nice display. 

 

With some fire thrown in to ‘warm’ up things - heh. 

 

You know the saying of where the other half of the car show lies: its in the car park of the show itself. Davis left a bit earlier as he wasn’t feeling well, but not before snapping some clean cars out in the parking lot. 

 

Can’t get enough Hondas - new and old. I see the appeal of the Civic Coupes (EM1), not going to lie. 

 

Or even this very immaculate Mitsubishi Evo X - Blue is just the perfect color for Nova Scotia. 

 

As for what Davis himself though of his first major car event in Canada (and his first one with a media credential - fun fact) - I'll let him say a few words below: 

 

“It’s very different from Hong Kong, people mod their cars in a completely different way. There are a lot of builds with engine swaps out there which is very uncommon back in HK. I certainly don’t see too many Japanese cars in the scene but we do have a lot of American cars here, especially classic muscles. Generally I’m liking it so far - I'm looking forward to attending more events and meeting more people.”

As for anything that stood out for him at this show? 

"...K swapped Nissan S15 at Driven; which to me is just a really cool concept: a Honda engine in a Nissan.."

 

“There were some builds that sparked my interest at Driven. For example: there was a K swapped Nissan S15 at Driven; which to me is just a really cool concept: a Honda engine in a Nissan, it’s amusing to see the details in person."

"...it’s not extremely modded but it just looks right.”

 

“The other build that caught my eye was a 11th gen Civic on bags [air suspension]; it’s not extremely modded but it just looks right.”

 

“Overall, it [Driven] was all pretty cool. Everything well organized, the people who worked there were super nice. There were a lot of cars there as well, we’ve got American cars, Japanese cars, supercars, all sorts of interesting builds - I had a fun time shooting the event!”

 

Thanks again to the Driven team for giving us the opportunity to cover this event!