2014
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November 07, 2014We spent another day on our feet at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. We walked the aisles, spoke with customers, and enjoyed the networking opportunities that only the SEMA Show can provide. We continue to find vehicles with Coker Tire products in use, so we snapped a few pictures to share with you here. Tonight was the annual SEMA Awards Banquet, which is the highlight of the event, where the best of the best come together for a great dinner and a great ceremony. Check out our photo highlights from today!
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November 06, 2014And this isn't just any old coupe...it's actually a brand new coupe. It's a new all steel 1932 Ford five window coupe body, manufactured by United Pacific, who is actually a supplier for many other items, such as hubcaps, trim rings and many other accessories for hot rods and customs. Earlier this year, we were contacted by the folks at United Pacific and they let us know about a very cool project car that they were having built at Roy Brizio Street Rods. The car was unveiled at the SEMA Show on Tuesday morning, and it was VERY well received by a crowd of street rod icons, such as Vic Edelbrock, Brian Brennan and more!
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November 06, 2014It's been said that car guys and girls who work in the automotive aftermarket have the best jobs in the world. And it's true! We surround ourselves with awesome people each and every day, but the SEMA Show is like sensory overload. We're shaking hands, talking business, drooling over cool cars, and having a good time doing it. Today, we had a great time covering the event, and hung out with a lot of cool people...like Rutledge Wood. Stay tuned for a full blog feature and video feature on his Plymouth station wagon, which rolls on whitewalls from Coker Tire! For now, check out today's highlights, and be sure to watch our Facebook and Instagram feed for up-to-the-minute posts!
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November 05, 2014It's always cool when the younger generation gets involved in the automotive world. Wyotech plays a huge role in getting kids into old cars, and it educates young folks to prepare them for real world jobs in the automotive industry. One particular project that was built at Wyotech is a beautiful Ford F-100 pickup that was featured on the "Chop, Cut, Rebuild" TV show. Built by students, the truck is detailed nicely and features lots of custom touches that make it a real show stopper. Our favorite part??? Of course, the tires....and wheels! The Wyotech F-100 rolls on a set of our 17x8-inch Artillery chrome-plated wheels, and American Classic 235/55R17 whitewall radials. This thing is awesome, so check out a few photos of it, and look forward to a video feature to hit our YouTube Channel soon!
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November 05, 2014The SEMA Show is the biggest automotive event of the year. It's a trade show with thousands of vendors, and thousands of awesome cars, trucks and motorcycles on display. Folks from around the world attend the event to show off new products, and increase sales for their businesses. It's a huge opportunity for everyone involved, and we're glad to have a big presence at the show. We have an indoor booth in Hot Rod Alley (booth number 22775), and we have a tractor trailer rig in the Silver Lot outside. This year, we debuted a brand new booth design, which has a vintage gas station theme.
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September 20, 2014Another long day of rallying has come to an end at the 2014 Coker Tire Challenge. Today, we left the Coker Tire facility, heading north on I-75, on our way to the actual starting point in Cleveland, Tennessee. From there, we rallied through the back roads until we made it to the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, home of the Scopes Trial in 1925. Then, we crossed a couple of mountains on our way to a lunch stop in Sparta, Tennessee and finally snaked our way back to Chattanooga through towns such as McMinnville and Dunlap. Overall it was a great day of rallying, and we're ready to give it one last go tomorrow morning. Stay tuned to see who wins it all tomorrow, but for now, enjoy some of our favorite shots from today's run through the hills of Tennessee.
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September 18, 2014Wow, time flies! It's time for the Coker Tire Challenge, and we're gearing up for a great weekend of rallying in the Southeast. The weather is looking fantastic, and the course is going to be full of scenic roads and challenging instructions. Thursday is always a laid back day for folks to hang out and get their cars inspected, but the action really gets started on Friday, and lasts through Sunday afternoon. Racers come in from all over the country (Vermont, Texas, New York, Delaware, Ohio and more!), so it's a great time for everyone to catch up. Here are a few shots to get you ready for a full coverage of back roads, scenic sites and classic cars that will be posted in the next few days!
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September 17, 2014Groups of gear heads visit our place on a regular basis, and do so by the hundreds during our Chattanooga Cruise In events. But we also cater to smaller groups and car clubs for special tours of our facility. We love opening the doors to our place and showing off our collection of cool stuff. In this case, the Rat Rod Tour, a group of rodders assembled by the folks at Rat Rod Magazine, visited our place on their way to the Redneck Rumble in Lebanon, Tennessee. Part of the tour involved the Rat Hard Build-Off, which involves a $3,000 budget and 30 days to build it--otherwise, there are no rules. There is no doubt that this was the most diverse group of cars, trucks and motorcycles to visit Coker Tire in quite some time, so we shot a bunch of pictures and video to cover the visit. Check it out here and enjoy lots of photos of some of the wildest rat rods on the planet!
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September 15, 2014When we started the Chattanooga Cruise In, it was a simple get together of local car guys but it quickly blossomed into a well known event that brings folks from many states to the Scenic City of Chattanooga. We have put a lot of effort into the Chattanooga Cruise In to make it bigger and better, but we realize that the cool factor of this event isn't always related to what WE do. It's about you. It's about your car. It's about your friends. Word of mouth has caused this event to grow in popularity, and we're proud to say that the fall 2014 event was a great one.
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September 09, 2014Four years ago, we were introduced to the Motorcycle Cannonball, as it made a pitstop here at Coker Tire in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. At the time, the endurance race was intended for motorcycles built in 1916 or earlier. It was a grueling event that saw participants rebuilding engines, transmissions and more on a regular basis. Although the rules have changed since that original event in 2010, the event is still a torture test for the riders and support crews. The 2014 Motorcycle Cannonball required riders to start in Daytona Beach, Florida, and man-handle their vintage bikes all the way to Tacoma, Washington. Along the way, they stopped here at Coker for an evening of thrashing to get their machines ready for the next day of riding.
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August 25, 2014You know it's a special day in the office when the front parking lot is filled with Chevy Corvairs! These little cars offered a lot of "firsts" for American auto manufacturing, with production starting in 1960, and lasting through 1969. Corvairs feature an aluminum, air cooled engine, which is placed in the rear of the vehicle, and it features a lightweight unibody chassis, which helped provide great fuel economy and performance. These cars are certainly not your average classic car, so having more than 20 of them stuffed into our parking lot was beyond cool! We had convertibles, coupes, station wagons, and even had a couple of Corviar trucks on hand for a tour. There was even a Corvair with a small block Chevy crammed in the back seat! The group is part of the Choo Choo Corvairs, a local club that holds an annual show at the Chattanooga Choo Choo. We're glad they decided to stop by and tour our facility...and we hope they saw that we carry a wide variety of tire to fit their distinct classics!
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August 08, 2014Can you believe it's time for the kids to go back to school? It's also time for the fall season, which means car shows, cruise ins and of course football. One of our favorite fall events is the Coker Tire Challenge, which is a vintage car rally, held on September 18-21. It's sort of a downsized, more relaxed version of the Great Race. It's based right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and travels through North Alabama, North Georgia and Southeastern Tennessee, returning back to home base in Chattanooga at the end of each day's route. If you're interested in participating in the 2014 Coker Tire Challenge, please contact Event Coordinator, Jennifer Andrews at 423-648-8528 or email her at jennifera@coker.com.
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August 01, 2014Since the NSRA Street Rod Nationals is so huge, we figured it would be best to split it up into a few recaps of our favorite cars and trucks on hand. "The Nats" has been held at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville for quite some time and it's an excellent venue for such a huge event. We walked the aisles of one portion of the car show today, and picked a few of our favorites to share with you guys. It's an awesome show, and you can look forward to more good stuff tomorrow. Be sure to watch our Instagram and Facebook feeds, as we'll be blasting photos on there as well.
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July 30, 2014The Ross Kiwi Tomas Memorial Kickstart Classic is a vintage motorcycle ride, organized by Buzz Kanter, the publisher of American Iron Magazine. He's an avid motorcyclist who has a thing for vintage American motorcycles, and he's a long time friend of Corky Coker and the entire Coker Tire crew. The Kickstart Classic started in Maggie Valley, North Carolina at the awesome Wheels Through Time Museum, and then visited Coker Tire for an overnight stop. Then, the crew left the next morning to eventually arrive at Cyclemos Motorcycle Museum in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee. We're glad Buzz and the guys (including our buddy Bryan Fuller) stopped by our place and hung out for a while! Check out our pictures from the Coker Tire stop!
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June 30, 2014What a crazy week! It's always a lot of fun, and a lot of work to compete in the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. We consider 2014 a huge success, as both Coker teams crossed the finish line in one piece, here in The Villages, Florida, during one of the greatest finishes we've ever seen. We had a blast this year, and we're expecting to have a lot of fun next year, too. The Great Race is the adventure of a lifetime that you can do every year! Congrats to Barry and Irene Jason for claiming the third consecutive Great Race Grand Championship...this time in a Post WWII car (first time it's ever been done). Click HERE for the overall results from the 2014 Great Race.
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June 29, 2014We've driven all week to get to Florida and now we're here! Today was another long transit from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida with a lunch stop in Savannah, Georgia in between. It was a long day of rallying with the heat and humidity playing a factor in our comfort level yet again. Both Coker teams are rockin', although Coker #2 (Karen Stumb and Whitney Brown in the Corvair convertible) had a flat tire and had to finish the day with a space saver spare. Our stops were awesome, and we had a great time truckin' through the backroads of South Georgia for most of the day. Tomorrow is the final day of competition, so we're ready to buckle down and get it done!
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June 28, 2014There is one thing for sure at this point in the 2014 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty...we're in the south. What makes it so obvious? For one, we had BBQ for lunch and dinner (washed down with a cool sweet tea). Second, it's hot, humid and there are pop-up storms all over the place. We had a great (but abbreviated) lunch stop in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We had to leave lunch early to make up time for a bunch of traffic in Myrtle Beach. So we made it back to our restart point, and hit the afternoon route wide open. The route was packed with lots of high speed turns, as well as a 22-mile run on a two-lane road, most of which was traveled at 40 miles per hour. Our dinner stop was simply incredible. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina rolled out the red carpet for us, and treated us to a wonderful dinner on board the U.S.S. Yorktown ship. We were also allowed to check out the ship, and check out some of the cool airplanes on the flight deck. As we exited the ship, a wall of storm clouds rolled in and dumped a bunch of rain at dusk. Tomorrow, we continue south on a long trek to Jacksonville, Florida. Stay tuned!
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June 27, 2014And when we say HOT, we mean it. Today was by far the hottest day so far on the 2014 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. With temperatures in the mid-90s for most of the day, and humidity on the rise, we had an exhausting day. The sun was harsh for most of the day, even when a couple of surprise rain showers popped up. We kept on truckin' and made our way to a cool lunch stop in Clinton, North Carolina. The folks there were extremely nice, and prepared an over-the-top lunch with BBQ, chicken, and all sorts of good fixin's. From there, we had a tricky afternoon route, and eventually rolled into the evening stop in Wilmington, North Carolina. Another rain shower came just as the cars started coming into the finish line gate, but Wilmington still had a great crowd! On to another hot and sticky day tomorrow--South Carolina, here we come!
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June 26, 2014Ahh yes, we're back in the South! This morning we crossed into North Carolina, but it's not the Carolina's that we're accustomed to in our neck of the woods. Our version of North Carolina is mountains and winding roads, but the Eastern portion of the state is very flat with lots of farm land and swamp land. We enjoyed the day's rally and visited a couple of very cool towns. Lunch was at Elizabeth City, where we ate a wonderful lunch and hit the road soon thereafter. From there, we rallied down the road, and crossed the Albemarle Sound on our way to an outstanding stop in New Bern. The town was absolutely packed to the gills, so we made our way through the crowd and had a delicious BBQ dinner. What a day, and we get to spend another full day in North Carolina tomorrow!
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June 25, 2014Today was a four-state day, which is a lot, even if we didn't span the entire length of the states involved. Our day began in Pennsylvania, dropped into Delaware, then Maryland and finished in Virginia. We logged a bunch of miles, and covered a lot of ground, but it was a great day. Considering the length of the transits, and difficulty of the route, the day was much easier on equipment than yesterday. Our lunch stop in Bob Bryan's hometown (where he's also the Mayor) of Millsboro, Delaware and it was fantastic. We then snaked through the small town of Berlin, Maryland, on our way to the Chesapeake Bay, where we would eventually cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Our dinner and overnight stop in Portsmouth, Virginia was great, and we'll be on our way into North Carolina for tomorrow. Today's scores for Greg and Vernon Cunningham placed them in 9th place, while the all-girl Coker team of Karen Stumb and Whitney Brown had a rough day and placed 50th in the running.
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June 24, 2014Everyday of the 2014 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty, we go a little further south. Today, we covered some major ground, as our day started in New York state and ended in Southeast Pennsylvania. Even as we motivate South, we know we're still up north because of the distinct countryside, Northeastern style barns and covered bridges. We're also still dealing with a lot of impatient drivers! Team Coker had a decent day, with a 9th place finish for Greg and Vernon Cunningham in the GR3 '32 Ford pickup, and 18th place for Karen Stumb and Whitney Brown in the cute Corvair convertible. Our lunch stop in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania was great, as we scarfed down some awesome cafeteria food (no seriously, it was a great meal!) and then our evening stop took place at the Valley Forge Casino Resort. Stay tuned for more updates!
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June 23, 2014New England has a lot of mountains, just like our home state of Tennessee. Rolling hills, big mountains and beautiful valleys made up a lot of today's route, and we loved it! Team Coker, Greg and Vernon Cunningham, had an outstanding day in the '32 Ford roadster pickup, placing second overall in the day's scoring. Today's lunch stop was held at Bennington Station in historic Bennington, Vermont (the home of our buddies at Hemmings Motor News). A great crowd greeted us at the gate, and watched as we blazed a trail to get onto our afternoon route. Finally, we reached the final destination at Shadows on the Hudson in Poughkeepsie, New York. We're ready for tomorrow's rally and we'll be sure to keep you updated with photos.
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June 21, 2014Another beautiful day in Ogunquit, Maine resulted in a lot of fun for the racers, staff and guests of the Great Race. The racers and staff had a big meeting first thing in the morning, and then had Rally School, before being sent off on the Hagerty Trophy Run, a practice rally. We saw all sorts of great stuff while we were on the road, and our Coker team ended up placing first in the Grand Champion division--congrats to Vernon and Greg Cunningham! After the rallying was complete, we went to the fabulous Beachmere Inn for a reception and Opening Banquet. Two very special guests joined us for reception--Bob Varsha and Wayne Carini! Now, it's time to get some rest and get ready for a big day tomorrow--the start of the 2014 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty!
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June 20, 2014We rolled into Ogunquit, Maine yesterday, and we had a full day of fun at registration and tech inspection today. More than 100 cars and trucks are registered for the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty, so that means we got to see a lot of cool stuff throughout the day. Here are some highlights from today's fun, but stay tuned for updates along the route. There are two Coker Tire teams this year, so follow along to see how they're doing! For now, enjoy the pictures, and check www.greatrace.com for more!
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May 22, 2014We made a quick stop at the F-100 Supernationals in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee this past weekend to check out the show and scope out all the Coker Tire products on the grounds. Our first impression is that this show is much larger than we anticipated, with rows of vintage Ford cars and trucks throughout the new LeConte Center parking lot, as well as inside the center. A beautiful setting, and hundreds of cool vehicles made for a great day at the show, and we also combed through the swap meet to make sure we didn't miss out on any deals for our F-100 shop truck. Check out the highlights and mark this one down for your calendar next year--it's a great event!
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May 13, 2014The National Street Rod Association (NSRA) has been around since 1970 and it legitimized rod runs in the United States. Coker Tire is the "Official Tire of the NSRA" so we're proud to support its events, and encourage folks to attend the regional events, as well as the BIG ONE...the Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. Since our headquarters is in Chattanooga, Tennessee, our regional event is the Street Rod Nationals South, held at Chilhowee Park in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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April 10, 2014When we started the Chattanooga Cruise In a few years ago, we had no idea it would grow into one of the biggest Cruise In events in the Southeast. On Saturday, April 5th, 2014, we expected a great turnout, but when our blocked off streets were full by 11am (and the event didn't technically begin until noon), we knew this event would be huge. It was impossible to get an actual car count, but our estimations are 1,200. All of the surrounding streets and parking lots were packed with overflow hot rods, muscle cars and motorcycles. To say we are running out of room would be a major understatement...but that's a good problem to have!
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January 29, 2014Yep, they let us country folks into California! The MPMC Media Trade Conference is an annual event in Santa Ana, California, and it's a great chance for us to meet with all sorts of automotive media. MPMC stands for Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council, and we produce enough motorsports-related products to make the cut. It's a cool event that offers a "speed dating" format, where each company gets a 30 minute meeting with each media outlet.