custom
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February 16, 2018For the hot rod and custom world, there are a handful of iconic shows that bring out the best this hobby and lifestyle has to offer. The Grand National Roadster Show is certainly toward the top of that list, as it features hundreds of high end hot rods, customs and more on the grounds of the Pomona Fairplex. The Grand National Roadster Show is home to several highly coveted awards, including the America's Most Beautiful Roadster award. This 9-foot trophy is a legendary piece of hot rod history and having your name etched into it is one of the highest achievements any owner or builder can reach. While the AMBR award gets a lot of attention, there are several buildings packed with awesome cars, all with unique features and histories. We always enjoy the Suede Palace, as all of the cars are either historic hot rods or historically accurate to the 1950's and 1960's. This year, the Grand National Roadster Show even had a building full of muscle cars, a new twist for the event. The muscle car
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June 14, 2017We love getting phone calls and emails from our happy customers. It's one of the most rewarding parts of our job, besides knowing that we're keeping collector vehicles on the road with high quality tires and wheels. Lately, we've gotten quite a few pictures of cars and trucks that are now wearing a set of our tires, and we wanted to pass them along to you. Buying authentic tires for a collector vehicle can be a tough decision. Even within our product ranges, there are typically a few choices for any given make or model, so having some expert guidance goes a long way. That's why our team of Sales Representatives are waiting for your call--we can help with tire fitment, brand selection and additional accessories to make your collector vehicle really stand out. We realize that tires and wheels are expensive, and you don't want to take a chance with that type of investment. Listed below are just a few of our most recent customer
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April 17, 2017If you didn't attend the 2017 Chattanooga Cruise In then you missed out on one of the largest one-day cruise in gatherings in the country! The event has grown tremendously over the years, and we simply can't believe how many people invaded the streets of Chattanooga, Tennessee on a sunny Saturday in April. We have struggled for years to contain all of the folks who want to attend this event, and this year was no different. We secured hundreds of additional parking spaces by occupying the Finley Stadium and First Tennessee Pavilion, but it still filled to capacity by 10:30am. Chattanooga Police Department's Special Event Coordinator, Sgt. Austin Garrett estimated that 2,500 cars and 25,000 people were are a part of the 2017 Chattanooga Cruise In, and we find it hard to argue...the place was packed and it covered a much larger footprint than years past.
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November 05, 2016With about 40 miles of walking under our belts, we started the final day of the 2016 SEMA Show with a trip to the upper level of the South Hall to meet with our friends at Omix-ADA. We'll do a full post on their awesome collection of Jeeps...for now, we're going to do a quick recap of favorites rides of the day, and then jump right into the SEMA Cruise and of course, the SEMA Ignited event. This is the third year of SEMA Ignited, and it just keeps getting better and better. The event is held across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center, and wow...what a show! The SEMA Cruise offered an awesome parade, which resulted in one of the coolest car shows you could ever see. Hot rods, muscle cars, crazy imports, off road vehicles, and more swarmed the SEMA Ignited event, as we enjoyed the nitro dragster "cacklefest", wild action on the drifting course, and plenty of action in the show area. Take a look at our highlights from the final day of the SEMA Show, and keep checking back to see
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November 02, 2016The SEMA Show is the largest automotive spectacle in the world, and we're so happy to be a part of SEMA 2016. It's the 50th anniversary of the show, and it's also the 50th anniversary of the Firestone Wide Oval tire. We celebrated the awesome anniversary by introducing our brand new Firestone Wide Oval Radial tire. The day kicked off at the New Products Breakfast, where we placed 2nd in the New Products Display in the Tires and Related Category. We were up against the big dogs, and our new Firestone Wide Oval radial stood tall in a room full of winners. Shortly after the New Products Breakfast, we had a Press Conference regarding the new tire, showcasing it front and center in our indoor booth. Muscle car expert, Steve Magnante hosted the event, while our President, Wade Kawasaki and CEO, Corky Coker spoke about the new tire and how it is a game changer for the muscle car market. We also installed a
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May 16, 2016The Goodguys Nashville Nationals is gaining a lot of notoriety in the hot rod and custom world. It's in a central location, and it's hard to beat Nashville, Tennessee as a host city--tons of cool stuff to see, and there is plenty of room at Nissan Stadium. We jumped at the chance to get an inside look at the event, even though we were not set up as a vendor. Coker Tire sponsors the "Best Wide Whites" award, and we've been involved with Goodguys as sponsors for many years, so it's always good to see the event first hand and see how many folks are using our products. We certainly got our answer, regarding the amount of Coker Tire users, and we're going to share a small sampling of them here. There were high end show cars wearing our tires, including the winner of the Goodguys Hot Rod of the Year award. [products] By the way, the association changed its Hot Rod of the Year competition to the Goodguys
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May 12, 2016Spring time in Tennessee is a good time to own a street rod. We have our big cruise in April, and then when May rolls around, it's always time for the NSRA Street Rod Nationals South in Knoxville, Tennessee. We make it up to Knoxville to check out the event every year, and bring you some coverage because it's a nearby event with tons of cool stuff on the grounds of Chilhowee Park. This year, the weather was excellent, which always brings out a great crowd. We spotted a bunch of cars at the Street Rod Nationals South with Coker Tire products rolling beneath them, so check out some of our favorites and support your local NSRA event! [products] [caption id="attachment_7493" align="alignleft" width="780"]
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November 27, 2015There are certain cars at the SEMA Show that jump out and grab you. It might be a flashy paint job, or it might be more about the owner's popularity. Or maybe you saw it on a TV show and seeing it person just stops you in your tracks. This 1973 Buick Riviera is all of the above. It is an over-the-top custom, and it was built on History Channel's TV Show, "Counting Cars", by Danny Koker and the crew at Count's Kustoms. These guys are obviously very talented, and this boattail Riviera really shows off the skill needed to pull off a paint job of this caliber. When the car was starting to come together, we got a call from Tony at Count's Kustoms regarding a tire and wheel package for the wild Riviera. Luckily, we had the perfect combo to suit the build...we started with a set of BFGoodrich Silvertown whitewall radial tires, which are sized at 225/70R15 and feature a 1-1/2-inch whitewall. We mounted these to a set of chrome Supreme wheels for the perfect custom look.
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November 05, 2015Wow, what a day! We started early with the annual SEMA Prayer Breakfast, in which our own Corky Coker was the special speaker. He shared a great message of his career path and his walk with God. After breakfast, we high-tailed it to a press conference on Wade Kawasaki's 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge, which rolls on a set of our Firestone Wide Oval raised white letter tires. We made our way around the North Hall and Central Hall to meet up with some of our sponsored builders. We checked in with 40Cal Customs at the Red Kap booth to see how the "Red Kap Rocket" build was going, and stopped for a quick chat. It was a super busy day, which culminated at the Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) Awards Reception and a few hours of photo and video editing to condense all this cool stuff into something you can enjoy! We'll be brining you feature articles, as well as feature videos of our sponsored builders, so stay tuned to the blog and our other social media outlets for closer looks at some of the coolest cars, trucks and motorcycles at SEMA 2015!
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August 18, 2015While there was an abundance of nicely restored Tri-Five Chevys at the inaugural Tri-Five Nationals in Bowling Green, Kentucky, there were hundreds of modified cars. Some were slammed customs and some were sky-high gassers, while others had cool nostalgia vibes with '60s style modifications. We enjoyed the diversity of the show, and the fact that LOTS of cars were rolling on Coker Tire products. We picked out 15 customs and gassers to showcase here, so keep scrolling and check them out...also keep us in mind for your Tri-Five Chevy tire and wheel needs!
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August 17, 2015Last year, we heard about the Tri-Five Nationals, and instantly wanted to be a part of the inaugural event. It helps matters that it is organized and promoted by our buddy Chris Sondles from Woody's Hot Rodz, which is a shop that specializes in Tri-Five Chevy builds and sells many of our products. As the plans for the event developed, Coker Tire stepped up as one of the leading sponsors, and presented the "Celebration of 60 Years of the 1955 Chevy", a special section with original 1955 Chevrolets of many models and configurations. As we rolled into historic Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, it didn't take long to see that the Tri-Five Nationals was destined to be HUGE. And that's exactly what it was--the official car count was 1,858 registered entrants, all ranging from 1955 to 1957 Chevys, including a few pickup trucks and Corvettes from the famous Tri-Five years. Tens of thousands of spectators took part in the event, which had drag racing, autocross racing, a massive show-n-shine area, a swap meet and a packed vendor area.
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August 10, 2015We've been attending the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky for many years. A lot of things have changed during all those years, but it's still a must-go for all street rodders. This year, the event saw 10,000-plus street rods, muscle cars, gassers and more. We saw lots of Coker Tire products on the grounds, and enjoyed the variety of applications. From rough and rowdy rat rods to high end customs, we spotted a bunch of great cars wearing our products. Keep reading to take a look at some of our favorites, and also look forward to a couple more posts with special cars that caught our eye.
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July 10, 2015When SEMA created National Collector Car Appreciation Day, car guys (and gals) rejoiced. We love having an excuse to drive an old car to work and an excuse to hang out with like-minded folks who also want to celebrate. Friday, July 10th, 2015 was the day, and the place was our headquarters here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We invited our local friends for a free hot dog lunch, and encouraged everyone to get out and drive their collector car. Many Coker Tire and Honest Charley employees drove their collector cars, and we had numerous guests stop by in old cars during lunch time. We even had a special visitor from Texas with an wildly customized Cadillac, which rolls on a set of our new American Classic bias look radial whitewalls and Cadillac wire wheels. Corky and Theresa Coker also stopped by to join the fun and welcome the participants and on-lookers to Coker Tire. A big thank you goes out to Jason White and Aaron Wolfe for cooking the hot dogs, and the rest of the Coker Tire Marketing staff and Facilities staff for helping put it together. It was a great time and we hope everyone enjoyed our celebration of National Collector Car Appreciation Day!
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May 20, 2015We get around to a lot of car shows here in the Southeast, and just because we're not set up as a vendor doesn't mean we're not interested in the event. The Goodguys Nashville Nationals is a great example, as it's just a couple hours away from our office, and it offers up a couple thousand cars and trucks. The venue for the event is LP Field, which is right across the river from downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It's an excellent show, and we're always glad to sneak away from the office to check it out and snap a few pictures of cars with our tires and wheels! And though the weather may have hindered the overall turnout, the event was still huge and gave us a lot of cool stuff to look at. Oh, you like cool stuff, too? Well, you're in luck, as we've compiled a bunch of our favorite hot rods, muscle cars and classic trucks that feature our tires and wheels.
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April 14, 2015When we started the Chattanooga Cruise In back in 2011, it was a great opportunity to open our doors and show local car folks the cool stuff in and around our facilities here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It grew quickly, and now the Chattanooga Cruise In is the largest single-day cruise in event in the Southeast. We were absolutely blown away with the turnout at our most recent event, held on April 11th, from 10am to 4pm. Car count and spectator count estimations were tough to calculate because of the massive crowd, but our estimates are 2,000 cruise in cars, and approximately 15,000 spectators throughout the day. It was overwhelming for our staff, but at the end of the day, we knew it was another record-breaking day at our cruise in. Check out some of our favorite photos from the day, and be sure to check out our full gallery of photos on Facebook.
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January 25, 2015Every year, we make our way out to the Grand National Roadster Show, held at the Pomona Fairplex in sunny Southern California. It's the place where the America's Most Beautiful Roadster is crowned, and it's also an awesome place to see hot rods, customs, gassers, low riders and more. Although there are some exceptions, nearly everything on the grounds is sitting on tires and/or wheels from Coker Tire, so it's a great place for us to take a bunch of pictures and show off some of our product. Take a look at our 40 favorite photos from the 2015 Grand National Roadster Show and also, watch our Instagram feed and Facebook page for up-to-the-minute posts from the show!
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December 10, 2014The hot rod and custom motorcycle scene is rapidly growing in Japan, and its popularity is clearly evident at the annual Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show. This is a one-day event that draws builders and spectators from many different countries. The United States is represented at the show, including a few of our folks from Coker Tire! This was our first time as a vendor at the show, and we had an awesome time among thousands of hot rodders and motorcycle builders. Our tires have a huge following in Japan, so we had plenty to talk about during the event. Our President, Wade Kawasaki and his wife Rose attended the event, and made lots of great contacts and saw lots of great machinery!
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March 17, 2014
Stance is an important part of building a custom car, whether it's a hot rod, a street machine or a Pro Street build. Some enthusiasts know exactly what they want, and come to us prepared with part numbers in hand. Others may just have a few key measurements and a certain style in mind--either way, we can help figure out the right tires and wheels for your build.
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March 10, 2014Throughout the process of filming the The car started out a little on the rough side, but with some replacement sheet metal, and a bunch of other replacement trim parts and interior components from Year One, the car is now a nicely finished Tri-Five with a cool custom look. To get the right stance, the Honest Charley boys installed two-inch drop spindles up front and three-inch lowering blocks out back. They also moved the leaf springs inward to create more real estate for tires and wheels. With this in mind, they installed a set of 17x8-inch Rocket Booster wheels out back, wrapped in 255/45ZR17 BFGoodrich g-Force
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February 25, 2014We deal with a lot of classic cars, and we love to see them restored to stock condition. Ford Thunderbirds are highly regarded as a classic car, and it's not often you see one with the custom treatment. However, the 1958 through 1960 Thunderbirds (also known as Square Birds) don't get quite as much respect as the more popular 1955 through 1957 models. With this in mind, we love the '59 Thunderbird that Honest Charley built, as they took advantage of the unique body lines of the Square Bird and gave it a traditional "Watson style" look. Keep reading to see how they did it!
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January 31, 2014Oh, and you thought we forgot about the Suede Palace at the Grand National Roadster Show? We park our big trailer just outside the door at the Palace, so it's convenient for us to sneak in there and grab pictures from time to time. We got most of our pictures on Friday, because it's tough to get cool pictures of the cars when there is such a big crowd. The Suede Palace is THE place to see the coolest traditional hot rods, customs and gassers, so there is a lot of Coker tires and wheels in there!
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January 31, 2014We soaked up all of the So-cal goodness we could in the week we spent out there. Our main objectives were to attend the MPMC conference and to meet and greet at our Grand Opening party for the new West Coast facility. However, a bonus for this trip included the Grand National Roadster Show. We set up as a vendor at the show, and it's one of our favorite events of the year, so we made our way around the event to photograph all the cool stuff. Here's what we found!
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January 30, 2014While we were out in California for the Grand Opening of our new facility, we had the chance to meet a guy who is one of the best custom motorcycle builders in the world. His name is Scott "T-Bone" Jones, his shop is called Noise Cycles, and this '52 Harley Panhead is his creation. You know you want to find out more about this race-inspired custom motorcycle, so keep reading to get the full scoop.
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December 16, 2013We love hot rods with history, especially when they end up in the hands of a true hot rodder. We've seen our share of significant hot rods get the modern street rod treatment with independent suspension, modern engine and billet wheels...it's enough to make a man cry. Luckily, guys like Kevin Gill (local hot rodder from Ooltewah, TN) are interested in keeping history alive by preserving old hot rods. His newest acquisition is a 1929 Ford Model A roadster that has deep roots in the hot rod world, and even spent some time as a racecar in the '50s. The car had what many would consider the "wrong tires" on it, so he came to Coker Tire with intentions of giving his historic roadster a new attitude.
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November 14, 2013
Classic car enthusiasts have always had to choose between bias ply and radial tires. The restoration guys prefer the authentic construction and appearance of bias ply tires, while many folks would rather sacrifice the vehicles authenticity to have the ride quality of a modern radial. Previously, we have offered both styles of tires (bias and radial) in whitewall form, but now we offer a tire that blends the best of both worlds. It's the new American Classic Bias Look Radial, and it's the first ever radial whitewall tire with an authentic bias ply look.
We developed a bias look tire a few years ago, and it's known as the Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial. These tires are geared toward pre-war classics and hot rods, so we wanted to fill the gap for all of our great customers who love cars from the late '40s, '50s and '60s. That's where the new American Classic bias look radial comes into play. We have nine great sizes to fit many applications, with authentic wide whitewalls that are built into the tire mold from day one. These aren't grind and glue, add on whitewalls--these are the real deal!We debuted the new American Classic radial at the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, and it was a big hit! The folks at SEMA thought so too, as it was awarded the Best New Product in the Tires and Related category! That is a huge honor, and we're excited to offer this tire to you! These tires have flown off the shelf and have been one our most popular products since they hit the market. We're sure you're wondering what sizes will be offered, so let's get to it:
6.50R13 to fit Chevy Corvair, Chevy II, Dodge Dart, Ford Falcon and many other compact cars from the early '60s!
7.50R14 for classic Chevy Impala, '57 Thunderbird and many more
8.00R14 for many classic makes and models, such as Chevy Impala, Ford Thunderbird, Plymouth, Rambler and more!
5.60R15 to fit classic Volkswagen Beetle, Porsche, MG and Alfa Romeo. This size also works well for the front of hot rods and street rods!
6.70R15 for classic '55-56 Thunderbird, Tri-five Chevy, early Corvette, etc.
7.10R15 for many Buick, Pontiac, Dodge and Studebaker applications
7.60R15 for Buick, Hudson, Mercury and Packard
8.00R15 for Cadillac, Buick, Packard and many other full size classic cars
8.20R15 for classic Cadillac, Lincoln, Buick, etc. This size also works well for the rear of hot rods and street rods!
See why we're so excited about the new American Classic bias profile radial? There are sizes to fit almost any classic car, hot rod or custom from the '40s, '50s and '60s! These tires are backed by our trusted Life of the Tread warranty and they are also eligible for our Extended Tire Protection program. They are DOT and ECE approved, and they are made right here in the USA!
Order your set today and get the authentic looks of a bias ply tire with the modern handling and ride quality of a radial. Coker Tire is your source for exciting new products in the collector vehicle industry, and this American Classic bias look radial is yet another quality product that will keep your classic rolling!
Classic car enthusiasts have always had to choose between bias ply and radial tires. The restoration guys prefer the authentic construction and appearance of bias ply tires, while many folks would rather sacrifice the vehicles authenticity to have the ride quality of a modern radial. Previously, we have offered both styles of tires (bias and radial) in whitewall form, but now we offer a tire that blends the best of both worlds. It's the new American Classic bias profile radial tire, and it's the first ever radial whitewall tire with an authentic bias ply look. -
November 08, 2013Well, today is the final day that our Media team will be on hand for the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. So, we hit it hard today, and grabbed some great coverage for your enjoyment. We also had our American Classic bias look radial tire press conference this morning, so we had plenty of folks in and out of the booth. Tomorrow is the final day of SEMA 2013, and we'll likely begin thinking about SEMA 2014 on Monday. It's a huge event with all sort of great qualities, and we're glad to have been able to cover it with awesome pictures and videos.
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November 07, 2013Another great day at SEMA 2013 is in the books, and we spent another day walking the show to give you a glimpse of some of the coolest machines on hand. We've been hitting our Instagram and Facebook pages pretty hard, so be sure to check those out, as well as our YouTube channel for cool videos from the show. We didn't have any press conferences today, but man, we had a busy day. It was wall-to-wall action, so take a minute to enjoy some of our favorite shots. See ya tomorrow!!!
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September 05, 2013The Street Rodder Road Tour is an annual get together of street rods that head across country from state to state, visiting cool shops, car shows and all sorts of fun places along the way. Today, the crew stopped here in Chattanooga, Tennessee on their way up to Pigeon Forge for the Shades of the Past. About 50 cars were in the group, including the 2013 Street Rodder Road Tour car, a 1951 Ford Custom, built at Honest Charley Garage!
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July 17, 2013Hot rods are cool because they're generally not cookie cutter builds that lack personality. Owners and builders can go as wild as they want, and part of getting the right look is the vehicle's stance. And a big part of the stance involves the tires and wheels. Sizing is key, so if you can dream it up, we can usually put together a tire and wheel package for your hot rod, custom or classic car. Read more to find out how we do it.
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January 31, 2013Winter time for us southerners is quite tough! We struggle to make it through the winter without getting cabin fever, but Southern California hot rodders can get out all year long! In fact, one of the best hot rod and customs shows in the world happens in January, so it gave us a nice break from the cold. It's called the Grand National Roadster Show, and it's a hotbed for the coolest customs, wildest hot rods and baddest gassers in the country. The best part about it? A huge percentage of the cars roll on Coker Tire products! This year, we attended the event with a camera in hand and grabbed a bunch of great photos for you guys to enjoy!
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August 06, 2011Well, it's that time of the year again. It's August, it's hot and it's time for the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. We're on a cool little road trip this weekend, and decided to stop at the Nats for the day. As usual, the Kentucky Expo Center was packed with hot rods of all shapes and sizes, from low slung coupes to nose-high gassers. The day started with a six hour drive, and ended with about 3 more hours of driving....with lots of hot rods thrown in the midst. Tomorrow we're headed to the Funny Car Nationals at Marion County International Raceway in LaRue, Ohio...it should be a great time as over 30 funny cars do battle, along with a great deal of Nostalgia Pro Stock and Nostalgia Super Stock. We're always wanting to figure out new ways to cater to our nostalgia drag racing people, so this is a great way to do it. We'll post pictures from that event too, so stay tuned! For now, here are some of our favorite shots from Louisville. [caption id="attachment_1926" align="alignleft" width="493" caption="Our booth at the 2011 NSRA Street Rod Nationals Plus"][/caption]
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May 23, 2011Car guys are particularly good at finding a way to surround themselves around like-minded folks, and it's been that way for years. Car shows are a great way to do it, and we're lucky to be in a region where you could easily attend a car show every weekend if you don't mind traveling 100 miles or so. And while we attend many shows with our booth setup, we also visit several shows throughout the year in a more casual manner. This past weekend, we made the drive up to LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee for the 6th annual Goodguys Nashville Nationals. [caption id="attachment_1475" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Firestone whitewalls and custom wire wheels...what a beautiful combination, built by Jason Graham Hot Rods!"][/caption]