Our Executive Vice President, Mr. Wade Kawasaki wears a lot of hats. He plays a large role in our West Coast distribution, as well as a few of our sister companies, which are also operated on the West Coast. He's also a great ambassador for our company, thanks to his heavy involvement with SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association). He's been SEMA Person of the Year, and has a number of great accomplishments throughout his years in the automotive aftermarket industry. Tonight, he was included among other automotive icons, such as George Barris, Eric Grant and Joe Schubeck, by being inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame. We're glad to have him on our team, and we congratulate him for his great achievement.
[caption id="attachment_3876" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Known simply as "the Quail"[/caption]
After two days strolling through the dream-scape that is Monterey weekend. Corky Coker and Wade Kawasaki know two things already, wear good shoes and stay prepared to be amazed. This is the world renowned week of priceless classic vehicles, historic races and stacks of top-shelf car auctions that culminates with the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
Well, they're not exactly on speaking terms with ole Ralph, but maybe the controversial "Unsafe at Any Speed" writer inadvertently made these cars even more popular in the long run? The cult-like following of Corvair owners across the United States are as dedicated to their favorite cars (and vans) as any group out there. One such club, filled the Coker Tire Company parking lot today as the Choo Choo Corvair Club toured the Chattanooga, Tennessee headquarters.
[caption id="attachment_2796" align="aligncenter" width="640"] SHAY OWNER'S CLUB INTERNATIONAL Tour Group[/caption] Look closely and you'll see the lug count isn't quite what you expected. They're replicas! Harry Shay's Model A replicas were built between 1979 and 1982 and could be bought through Ford dealers and a group of Shay Model A enthusiasts found their way to Coker Tire Company today for a tour.
Among our fondest memories and during the most impressionable time of any gearhead's life are the teen years when cars were the coolest and the mysteries of hot rodding were just beginning to reveal themselves. Many of us had a shop class in school and piddled the hours away imagining how fast that Camaro would be if we could just afford a new set of aluminum heads all while learning to change the spark plugs in the assistant principle's Camry.
In 2010, a few fanatical antique motorcyclists made news riding their old bikes across the country in the Motorcycle Cannonball. We were lucky to have them stop overnight in Chattanooga after leaving Maggie Valley on their epic journey. Maybe they were lucky to stop here too, since as soon as the hospitality dinner was complete, one hundred classic iron horses rolled into our restoration shop for service at the SAME TIME. It really was a sight to behold.
Coker Tire Offers A New 185/55R15 Whitewall Tire Suited for Compact Cars
Chattanooga, TN Throughout automotive history, the whitewall tire has been one of the most popular choices on everything from luxurious sedans to muscle cars. These days, whitewalls are still available for classic cars, but adding this vintage style to a new car leaves enthusiasts with very few options. Coker Tire Company, the worlds leading supplier of collector car tires and wheels, decided to fill this void by producing a modern radial tire with a wide whitewall, designed to fit the new Fiat 500 and other compact cars.
Tuesday evening in Kanata, Ontario marked the finish of Stage Four of the 2012 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. What a reception we received from the hometown of our own Brian Goudge aka Motormouth in Kanata/Ottowa, Ontario!When our PA system malfunctioned and could not play the Canadian National anthem, "Oh Canada" I asked if there was anyone who could lead us in singing it. Our new best friend "Page" jumped right up and led the crowd with a beautiful rendition of the Canadian favorite. Thank you again Page! There were several thousand passionate old car fans and several hundred cruise in cars on display. Kanata did it up right too with a wonderful roasted chicken meal for all the Great Racers.
The Great Race Stage 2 evening stop in Sudbury, Ontario started with a rain so hard I thought the big ole raindrops would knock me out as I thundered up to the venue at the A & W in my Shafer 8. Despite the short rain, we had a wonderful crowd to welcome the Great Racers. Motormouth is already losing his voice some because of demands of introducing our wonderful sponsors and participants to the crowds. My Grandpa-in-Law Vernon Cunningham and his son, (my Son-in-Law) Greg Cunningham apparently had the best raw score but were (old car'd...the older the car the better the discount off ur score) putting them In 2nd place for the Stage 2 of the 2012 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty!