It’s pretty telling of this strange era that this contest seems so very long ago. I mean, , but that’s on me, but the even longer perception, well, that’s because the world has gotten so weird. But, back when the world was still running, I asked you to show me your very well-packed trunks, and you certainly provided. So let’s finally pick some winners!

Since you’ve likely forgotten about this contest, let me just take a moment to grip your arm a little too tightly and remind you. Fundamentally, this was a contest to see who packed their trunks the best, and by “best,” I had some specific criteria in mind:

• The more challenging the trunk, the better: smaller volumes, irregular shapes of both trunk and objects will get higher scores. This shouldn’t be too easy. But if all you have is a big, regularly-shaped trunk, you can still enter! Just really bring it with the packing.

• A variety of object types. A mix of hard and soft objects would be good, and things of varying shapes, colors, sizes, etc. This is a visual, almost artistic exercise; the resulting packed trunk should evoke feelings of satisfaction and wonder.

• Surprise and fun! Unexpected well-packed objects, striking items, interesting cars—all of these will be a factor.”

So, difficult and/or small trunks, interesting things, compelling images. Everything a packed-trunk lover could want.

I got around 60 entries to the contest, and let me tell you, there were some fantastic entries! Here, have a look at a little collage of some of the best ones:

There’s some really well-packed trunks there! Picking winners for this is not easy. I mean, look at Anthony McClinton’s home-built Subaru WRX organizer setup at the bottom there—that’s fantastic! Does it actually count as a packed trunk, though? I’m not sure. It’s a great DIY solution, no question.

And then there’s just some great cars—Alexander Koch’s yellow-headlamp’d 911 full of snacks, for example, or Jim McDonald’s lovely little 1970 Alfa Romeo. My favorite car/trunk combo though has to be Petter Hjalmarsson’s Citroën 2CV, because it has one of these crazy aftermarket trunk-extender things:

That’s a commitment to TrunkLife when you’re out getting aftermarket trunk-embiggenators. I love how that one re-uses the original trunk lid, too. Are there any other cars that had bolt-on trunk enlargers like this?

But, I have to pick three. I narrowed things down by giving weight to smaller, more difficult trunks (and sometimes hatches) and considering the overall aesthetic.

With that in mind, here’s our third place trunk-packer!

I had to give something to Alexander Alvarado and his C7 ‘Vette because this dude clearly gave a shit about trunk packing, so much so he had a

A C7's hatch isn’t the most accommodating, really, and he managed to get an incredible variety of things in there. So, mostly for the sheer volume and lifelong commitment to trunk-packing, Alex gets a well-deserved third place.

Second place is a bit more of a back-to-basics, workhorse sort of selection:

That’s Marc Wiley’s Chevy Aveo—a small, kinda crappy little car that doesn’t usually get much respect. But I have to respect it here. Marc was a drummer, his wife had a business, and they both needed the car the same day.

That meant the little Aveo—without the benefit of being the more practical hatch variant—had to hold chairs, drums, big-ass boxes, all that bulky shit you see in the pictures up there. Nobody looking at that array of stuff and that car would think there’s any way in hell it’s all going in.

And yet, there it is—all crammed in that little car. This is the essence of car packing, making far more go in to far less space than you could imagine. Impressive work.

Okay, now, for our winner, which I will admit I picked mostly because of the striking visual:

Yes, a Miata trunk full of heads.

This is Michael Agustin’s ND Miata, who informed me that he

“... crammed like 18 Nesoberi, and a few other stuffed anime things in the trunk for reasons.”

Now, Mike’s reasons are his own, of course, and I’m not here to kink-shame anyone. But I am here to say that this makes a fantastic picture, and, of course, a Miata trunk is always a challenge, even if you’re cramming in soft, um, heads.

So, Mike wins a with a Miata drawn in it (I’ll pass on drawing any anime stuff) but I’d like to congratulate everyone who entered, because it’s clear our Jalop community has some of the most impressive and formidable trunk-packers I’ve ever seen.

Great work, everyone. Keep cramming!