Strathmore residents are mourning the loss of Lyle Vass, who died following a car crash earlier this month.
The crash was on July 5 at Highway 9 and involved a Ford Mustang and a Dodge 2500 truck. According to Airdrie RCMP, Vass was the driver of the Mustang.
Following the news of his death, car enthusiast groups and auto body shops took to social media to speak about the impact that Vass had on their lives.
One of those groups was Federal County Customs, with owner Steve Maclean first meeting Vass in 2018.
"He was very well known in the car community," said Maclean. "Lyle's been fixing and working on some of the craziest stuff imaginable. He'd met and influenced so many people, it's actually amazing to see all the love and support."
Maclean was "looking to better himself" when he first met Vass. Admiring Vass' skills in restoration, Maclean wanted to learn Vass' skills for himself.
"I went to him on a weekend and told him I'd work for free just to hang out with him. After that, we had an awesome friendship, and we built a business relationship, and we've just been hand-in-hand for the last six years."
Maclean wasn't the only one with this kind of relationship with Vass. Dozens of people posted their stories sharing the impact he had on their lives.
"He was always a really cheerful guy and always happy to be out doing something car-related," added Maclean.
"He was the best. You can't replace him."
Vass was the owner of Rods N Restos, a Calgary-based classic car restoration company.
He had his work shown in several magazines, with his famous restored 1940 Ford winning several awards at the 2013 World of Wheels hot rod show.