Essential equipment for still automotive photography?

I am new to automotive photography. Actually, still have not done my first official shoot. But, I am looking to do so in the near future starting with my own Honda Accord as practice I do have some nice cars lined up, but I want to get some practice under my belt before dragging other cars into the equation.

So far:
Wireless triggers (4)
580EX II & 565EX
11.5' light stand

About to order another 565EX to put the 4tg trigger to use whether it's for portraits, automotive, or shooting items in a lightbox. The 565's are cheap enough that I may order another (would be 4 total strobes) to mount on camera.

I see some people using heavy duty lights when shooting at night (I don't know anything about these lights). Are these essential or will strobes do the job just as well?

Also, I am looking to get lightstand(s) for the speedlites. Is 11.5' sufficient or do you find yourself using 13' stands? After seeing how bulky my cyrrent light stand is, I have been looking at the Manfrotto 3320's since they fold flat. But, the only traveling with the stands will be in my car to a shoot so I'm not sure if paying the premium for flat folding stands is worth it. Plus they only rise to 7'. Any thoughts on stands?

What is your essential gear that you bring to every car shoot?

Thanks for shedding some light on the subject

JJD.Photography wrote in post #15111507
I am new to automotive photography. Actually, still have not done my first official shoot. But, I am looking to do so in the near future starting with my own Honda Accord as practice

Shoot it this way.
Then after it gets dark, shoot it this way.
See what looks best & is easiest.

Camera, tripod, remote release cord. Period. ; )

Invest in a very sturdy tripod. It has proven to be invaluable to my own work. While you don't need it for every shot, on location shoots I absolutely use it. I only have a Yongnuo manual flash and wireless triggers, I use my old Sony tripod as a light stand. I would use the 70-200 for most shots, towards the longer end more so. I like using longer glass because it eliminates the distortion given by wider lenses, makes the cars look better.

Look up good practises when shooting cars, for example wheel logos point the the right way up, tire tread never facing camera, when doing interior shots make sure steering wheel is level, etc. And watch your reflections.

By more specific to the point of this thread, my essentials:

5D2 mounted with a 24-105 for main shots.
50 1.4 for close up detail shots
Benro CF tripod for 99% of the shots
Yongnuo Manual Flash + Triggers
Old Sony Tripod as lightstand
Extra battery, extra memory card