We know that an increasing number of you are getting more adventurous in the shows you visit. The get-together at the end of your street no longer holds your attention and you’re looking for a bigger rush. Traveling cross-country to check out a big show on the opposite coast is becoming more frequent, and overseas visits are gaining in popularity.inline_mediumwraptextright27014260/eventcoverage/eurp_0911_edition_38_volkswagen_showeurp_0911_01_z+edition_38_volkswagen_show+brown_volkswagen.jpgTrue

It's 3am on a Friday morning and we're having trouble sleeping. Project TDI and Silverstone have been polished, oil topped off and fuel tanks filled. But for some reason, shuteye seemed next to impossible. It was probably because we'd spent too long on the West Coast without a Euro car show to enjoy. That was until the third annual Wüstefest arrived on the first weekend of June. For three days, we'd be jam-packed into a caravan from several different states heading to Las Vegas, where we'd be treated to a car show, barbecue and, of course, Sin City mischief.inline_mediumwraptextright30973866/eventcoverage/eurp_0911_wustefest_las_vegas_nevada_2009eurp_0911_01_o+wustefest+aerial_photo.jpgTrue

Going into the Castrol Syntec Top Car Challenge, we had everything going for us. Our fearless combatant was Mike Ghaemi, a passionate Audi enthusiast and speed demon from Van Nuys, CA; his weapon - an all-wheel drive 700whp '01 Audi S4. The car was ready for war with its 2.7 liter bored to 2.8 using JE pistons and Cunningham rods. It also had ported and polished heads, upgraded cams and larger Garrett GT28RS turbos from Autospeed Performance. Even the suspension and brakes was dialed-in by Stasis Engineering, while the tires were the stickiest around thanks to Nitto's NT01s.inline_mediumwraptextright25606952/eventcoverage/eurp_0911_mike_ghaemis_audi_s4_top_car_challengeeurp_0911_02_o+2001_audi_s4+peeling_out.jpgTrue

After a long week in the office, we hopped on the last flight to Seattle, WA in anticipation of the ninth annual Leavenworth Drive. Heavy rain slapped our Boeing 737 as we entered the Pacific Northwest. With a gloomy forecast for Saturday, it was looking unlikely that the record of 600 cars from last year's amazing turnout could be surpassed or even met.inline_mediumwraptextright26752150/eventcoverage/eurp_0911_leavenworth_drive_european_carvaneurp_0911_01_o+leavenworth_drive+convertible.jpgTrue

A well-established part of the regular Euro scene in Southern California, SoCal Euro has gone from a small event in an office parking lot to a major event at the Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego in a few, short years.inline_mediumwraptextright26721334/eventcoverage/eurp_0911_socal_euro_gtg_get_togethereurp_0911_02_o+socal_gtg+group_5.jpgTrue

If we're honest, this year's Kreuzerfest was an unknown quantity. It's our traditional caravan to Waterfest and we'd been working with Volkswagen of America to again use its Herndon, VA headquarters as the starting point. Unfortunately, things had come together at the last minute and word got out late. So inevitably, we were concerned about how many would make the journey with us, and how many would share the delicious breakfast VWoA had provided.

The Best of Waterfest 2009 With only a small team to cover this enormous show, we've never really managed to cover everything to our satisfaction. In past years, our drag racing coverage has been disappointing, which led us to concentrate on the quarter-mile action from the Show & Go series (et 3/09 and 8/09). However, we were determined to try and capture some of the racing at Waterfest 15.inline_mediumwraptextright24989906/eventcoverage/eurp_0910_best_of_waterfest_2009eurp_0910_01_o+best_of_waterfest_2009+drag.jpgTrue

Eurowerks 2009
Minnesota is becoming a true hotbed of European car activity. Eurowerks car club presents its annual car show last June with more than 300 cars, plus tons of activities. See the full report in the December ‘09 issue of eurotuner.

One of our favorite shows of recent years is the slow-burning Dustoff. This local event is perfectly timed in late April to avoid the East Coast's winter chills. It's also perfectly located within the third-mile banked oval at the historic Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, MA. The steeply sloped turns create a natural amphitheater to display the cars, the concrete walls providing impromptu seating.inline_mediumwraptextright24936025/eventcoverage/eurp_0909_vw_dustoff_new_england_2009eurp_0909_02_z+dustoff_event+intercoloer.jpgTrue

It's totally possible that Daytona Beach is still recovering from the third Annual WinterJAM Weekend that hit town back in February. The Volkswagen lifestyle event organized by Joe Arbucci and Bill Dwyer from VolksVision MediaWerks offers enthusiasts four days of sun, sand, surf and VWs at a time when most of the country is buried in snow.

The Best of Waterfest 2009 Despite the forecast of rain and thunderstorms, the East Coast's hardcore Dubheads came out in force to show their work in the warm sunshine.inline_mediumwraptextright29836047/eventcoverage/eurp_0910_best_of_waterfest_15_2009_show_carseurp_0910_02_o+waterfest_2009+r32_manifold.jpgTrue

Housed in the practical, if not uninspiring, grounds of the Telford International Centre, which straddles the border between England and Wales, the weather for Ultimate Dubs 2009 was dismal. With rain pounding down, it was a relief to be indoors. However, the popularity of the event suggested it may need to find a new home. Traffic around the venue led to gridlock, with insufficient parking forcing show-goers to abandon their cars by the side of the road and walk to the event.

Eliminations
Matching the fastest with the slowest qualifying cars, Marc Hubert would run against Ed Woolsey in round one. The resident of Deer Park, NY was claiming 815hp from his '02 GTI 1.8T thanks to Forcefed Engineering allowing the turbo to boost at 40psi. Despite the huge power, the car is street legal, registered and inspected; it even has a full interior. Sadly, he was experiencing transmission linkage problems and despite a 12.513sec run at 129.19, he was eliminated by Marc who ran a relatively easy 11.761 at 97.45.

Housed in the practical, if uninspiring, grounds of the Telford International Centre, which straddles the border between England and Wales, the weather for Ultimate Dubs 2009 was dismal. With rain pounding down, it was a relief to be indoors. However, the popularity of the event suggested it may need to find a new home. Traffic around the venue led to gridlock, with insufficient parking forcing show-goers to abandon their cars by the side of the road and walk to the event.

Pioneer AVH-P4100DVD Head Unit
People want to pack more information into smaller spaces, leading to compressed music files. Designed with digital music in mind, Pioneer's AVH-P4100DVD double-DIN ($580, www.pioneerelectronics.com) restores lost sound to those compressed MP3, WMA and AAC files. The 7" touchscreen (with new interface) makes scrolling through your iPod or iPhone a breeze. Plus, you can watch iPod video, DVDs, DivX or your own jpegs on it. A true multimedia unit, it allows you to hook up other PMPs (portable media players) through the USB port or mini-jack input, as well as satellite radio and HD Radio tuners for more music and a Bluetooth adapter for hands-free calling.

The fifth annual Port Townsend Cruise kicked off the season for the Pacific Northwest community when Redmond, WA-based tuner Achtuning took the reins and organized the event this year. With a possibility of snow in the forecast, it was uncertain whether people would brave the cold, dreary weather. Fortunately, the temperature never fell below freezing and the expected precipitation held off long enough for everybody to meet.

It's hard to describe M-Fest 3 in words. You really need to be there in person to experience its true splendor - over 300 M owners, accommodations at the Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, private track day at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, show 'n shine at the Venetian, insane raffle prizes (such as a free supercharger kit) and an official party at the world-famous Tao Nightclub... The first M-Fest started 13 months ago with 120 cars, but on its third try the event has gained momentum to become perhaps the premier experience for diehard "M" owners.

Back in the autumn of 2008, Venom (Volkswagen Enthusiasts Network Of Milwaukee) Motorsports continued its 11-year tradition with the Fall Kettle Kruise. The 150-mile touring event is named for the Kettle Moraine state forest, where most of the cruise takes place. With a backdrop of stunning fall colors, the scenic route twists through rolling hills left behind by glaciers. And each year, the majority of the 80 club members attend.

There are quite a few things that come to mind when we hear about the Appalachian Mountains - hiking, rafting, camping and the occasional spirited drive along US 129, better known as the Tail of the Dragon. But leave it to the crew of H2O Tuning to give us a reason to head that way every spring.