Aftermarket products clean up

Aftermarket products at Toronto auto show

DAVID COOPER/TORONTO STAR

Veronica Nellestein, 3, of Mississauga, shows there is much more to the Toronto auto show than just cars.

Bill Taylor

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

If providence had meant us to launder our own vehicles, there wouldn't be gas station car washes with a handy "yes, please" button right on the pump.

But obviously, lots of people prefer to take bucket and sponge in hand and do it themselves. Why else would there be so much chamois leather being peddled at the auto show?

You can find non-automotive stuff, ranging from motorcycles – lots of motorcycles – to personal watercraft (and lifejackets), scattered throughout the show.

What looks like a sales display of toaster ovens and Crock-Pots turns out to be prizes for an ongoing contest.

But most of the non-car car stuff is concentrated around the perimeter of the Rogers Centre, including at least two "buy them now and don't be fooled by imitations" stalls selling chamois.

A quick walk around the arena reveals, among other things:

Used Porsche parts.

Weekend ski getaways.

Power cleaners with interchangeable nozzles and a selection of wax products (including "the world's best wax") for gleaming-paint fanatics.

"Go-faster" stickers advertising companies such as Edelbrock and Moroso.

The Dent Doctor – "one-day repairs."

An off-track betting company with young women offering "a free $2 bet – you keep whatever you win." And whatever you lose, over and above that two bucks, they keep.

The Red Zone, "a dynamic fusion of design, music, fashion and the automobile." There's a sign but few tangible signs.

Caps, sunglasses, T-shirts and model cars.

Sign-up for a skid-control school.

"Crazy Cat" outboard-powered catamarans – "We put the fun back in boats."

Little radio-controlled model helicopters. Totally cool.

A chance to win a shocking-pink Hemi-powered Dodge Challenger ragtop, "appraised at $130,000." Winner's first priority: Have it repainted.

Electric scooters: "Commute, don't pollute."

A hot-rodded 1938 Ford Coupe, yellow with pale green flames. It rejoices in the name Urinator because, the owner's sign says, "It's pissing all our money away."

Sweetie Girl Racing, "Canada's first all-female show and race team."

Seatbelt pads emblazoned with your car's make: BMW, Acura, Neon ... Neon?

Signs warning any vehicles other than Hummers to park elsewhere.

Leather motorcycle team jackets, $99 apiece.

Leather belts, two for $9.99.

A hat stall. A man is trying on a fuzzy white one with a cat's face and ears.

"How does that look?" he asks the salesclerk.

Dumb, to be honest. But he ponies up $14.16, "with tax," and puts his own hat back on. It's a fuzzy pink one with a white band.

A TV, film and modelling agency.

Garage organizers and fancy flooring.

Tuning gear.

Aftermarket four-barrel carburetors. How retro.