Hot Rod Pinup Michelle Larae Michelle Larae LOVES Vegas, her hometown for most of her life. It's no wonder with it's flashing lights, celebrities, and gambling, but Michelle loves Vegas for its old, downtown historical charm as well. Michelle stays super active, and can be seen across Vegas getting into trouble at local bars and doing a ton of different things from bowling every Monday night to cruising around town with her bike gang "Hammer and Cycle". Michelle is currently having her own Ford truck built for her. Read below to get to know this bombshell a little bit better and check out some awesome photos by Photographer Trent Sherrill. Hot pinup girl, drving a hot truck... not sure if it gets much better than that. What part of you does your truck represent? Well for starters... it couldn't be more girlie! Cotton candy pink, metal flake and sparkles everywhere - and lace! So you're an avid bowler... would you say you can get competitive? Crazy competitive (a la Monica from Friends) or healthy competitive? Competitive... YES! I'm a Taurus, it's in our nature... even when we aren't good at something (such as...

Hot Rod Pinup Megan O'Mary Megan is the epitome of, "the girl next door" complete with an affinity towards sci-fi and horror films and her own perspective on alien abductions!  Looking closer at this sweet and sassy little pinup, we find she's really "the girl next door" with a twist. Soon to be 21 year old Megan O'Mary is not afraid to tell you what's on her mind or to put herself in the spotlight. Her tattoos and crimson red hair make Megan stand out in a crowd and it's a combination of her great looks and her winning personality and charm that helped Megan score the title of Miss Grand National Roadster Show 2011. If you missed the pinup contest, check out her photos below and her  interview from 'outta this world' with me. Congrats on your pinup contest win at the 2011 GNRS. Speaking of cars...This question might make some of the guys cringe - but how would you customize your own 55 Chevy to make it the ultimate girl-mobile? I LOVE 55 Chevys but I am a girly girly but not that much! I'd probably deck it out...

Custom Studebaker Pickup from 2011 Grand National Roadster Show I promised I had a few customized Studebakers up my sleeve that I found at the 2011 Grand National Roadster Show....so here's #2 (Check out this Studebaker Ute if ya missed #1!) Who's ever seen a Studebaker pickup like this one!? Believe it or not, this 1949 Studebaker Pickup has been in the works for about 25 years. When the current owner, John Saltsman, got the truck it had already been chopped about 6" by "Merc John." With a small block Chevy drivetrain (just like my Studebaker coupe,) John used it as his daily driver on long commutes for at least 8 years. As John drove it, his vision for what he wanted it to become grew. He had a "wild and mild" proportioned-custom in his mind. As its been completed, this Custom 1949 Studebaker Pickup has a laundry list of custom items from customizing legends! It started with the 6" chop of course. To that was added a 15 1/2 " channel. And as "one thing led to another," this pickup was transformed with: a 59 Chevy trunk lid, 55...

Exotic Car Exhibit At The Petersen Museum Every time I step into the Petersen Automotive Museum I learn something new and enjoy being amazed by works of art known as automobiles. The newest exhibit at the Petersen, Supercars, is no exception. If any automobile could be called art, the Supercar would be a top contender. What is a "Supercar?" I think the Petersen's curator, Leslie Kendall, explains it well: Like supercomputer, supermarkets, and supermodels, supercars represent an extreme. More than mere transportation, they offer a bold and extroverted means of self expression. Supercars have existed since the first decade of the twentieth century and while their mechanical and design specifications have evolved from era to era, they have always had in common immensely powerful engines, minimal passenger carrying capacity, adventurous mechanical specifications, and a commanding presence. Such attributes guaranteed that supercars always had far more power and performance than would ever be thought necessary for everyday motoring. That they have always been extremely exotic in appearance and impossibly rare makes them even more special. So while just looking at modern Supercars didn't seem very exciting to me at first...

Tammy Ray wins the Northeast Cup with "Gold Digger" custom hot rod. The inaugural Northeast Rod and Custom Car Show, held at the Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA, was an awesome show by any standard. There was so much to see and do, including hot rods, historic customs, a Pro Mod Alley, a kid's zone, air brush artists, and local celebrities, that you would have had a hard time not finding something to peek your interest. The Expo center is large enough that we didn’t feel crowded as we gawked at the more than 300 cars on display. The major competition at this show is known as the “Elite 6”. From the organizer’s website, “This award package was created to recognize the creativity, engineering, workmanship, and also the “appeal” that each car has within our Show Class. Each car within the Show Class will be judged using traditional judging guidelines instituted by the ISCA, but will also judged using the above mentioned criteria.” Winners of the Elite 6 are awarded $2000. Out of those 6, one vehicle is selected to receive the Northeast Cup. “The NorthEast Cup is...

Datsun 510 For Sale at Bringatrailer.com To start your "My Ride is Me" obsession, you need to find that perfect car. So where to look? Instead of searching through disorganized and slow loading classifieds sites, check out BringaTrailer.com. The name might sound like basket-case junkers that need a flat bed to pickup, but that's not it at all. Bringatrailer features everything from Obsure Fiat's and Opels to mainstream hot rods and performance import cars. A car I've wanted to own for a long time is the Datsun 510. Here's a couple that recently came up at BAT: This 1969 Datsun 510 has been a dedicated race car since the 70's and has the SCCA log book to prove it. With all the obvious upgrades visible, there's much more than meet the eye. The engine is a 2.0L Datsun with a dyno sheet reading 238HP. Gotta have it? It's a Bringatrailer Exclusive car, so you'll only find it for sale here: 1969 Datsun 510 For Sale Another BAT Exclusive Datsun 510 for sale is this beauty: This 1972 Datsun 510 sports the vintage BRE paint scheme and a NOS FJ20...

Custom Studebaker Ute at GNRS It isn't every day you see a custom Studebaker coupe. Really, I think what people say to themselves before changing any metal of the Studebaker coupe body is..."The coupe is a perfect car - why change it?" I certainly don't have plans of truly customizing my own '55 Studebaker. Metal flaking the roof, moon discs, and some pinstriping is as far as it'll go I think. But I do love customs - so every time I encounter a custom Studebaker coupe I get pretty excited! This year at Grand National Roadster Show I encountered not just one - but three custom Studebakers! I'll be unveiling each one (and hopefully one or two more) in the coming weeks. To start with... the Studebaker Ute, a.k.a. Kart Hauler. I first encountered this custom Studebaker Ute at the 2009 Grand National Roadster Show - and now once again at GNRS 2011. In 2009 it was in the hall of cars previously shown at GNRS, commemorating the show's 60th anniversary. This 1953 Studebaker coupe was customized in the late fifties into this wagon-style Ute for the 1959 Oakland...

Hot Rod Pinup Nikki Napalm I recently got the chance to talk with Nikki Napalm, the lovely pinup model you see here. We met Nikki when she entered our pinup contest to win a coveted spot in Retro Lovely magazine. Although Nikki didn't win our contest this time, she proved to us she could do it on her own, with her fiery hair, colorful tattoos, sex appeal and a rockin' personality. Nikki landed her own spread in issue FIVE of Retro Lovely with these bright and brilliant images by DCImagery. Purchase your own copy here and enter code MRIM to save $2 . Nikki talks to me about all kinds of things, and explains why she may not be who we think she is, in her photos. Read my interview with Nikki Napalm below, and check out some great eye candy. We see pin up girl/alt model - Nikki Napalm in your photos (super hot and artistic). Tell us who you are when your not posing in front of the lens. I’m a total goody two shoes. You’d never guess by the way I look, but I’m religious, I’ve never smoked, drank...

Car Concept Drawings that'll blow your mind! This little Dodge A-100 has been the one piece of my work that gets me more emails, calls, letters and requests for re-prints than any other I've sketched. This car concept drawing's just got that something that makes people grin, and everyone just seems to get it. It's fun, it's irreverent, it's obnoxious... It sums up my earliest inspirations and daydreams in one bright orange, low-slung package, and looks like it just did something wrong... And, frankly, it doesn't give a shit. It's my inner child, street machine-style, hyped-up on orange soda and pizza. I began drawing cars after a career move from cubicles to cubic off-road insanity. I was designing project cars and doing car concept drawings for clients at night and on weekends, and managing them during the day at that new job. My personal artwork was taking on a realistic appearance out of necessity, but the wild style within still wanted to play. One day in late 2006, I let it out in the form of this orange hued bit of my ID, now simply known in the studio...

Blown 41 Willys Hot Rod Marty Hacker loved to get out to the track and drag race whenever he got a chance back in the 60’s and 70’s. One thing always caught his eye, the ‘41 Willys. Rat Rodders and drag racers alike have a love for the Willys. It’s one of the most popular street rod designs and probably the most recognized and famous drag/gasser bodies of all time. The ‘41 Willys was stuck in Marty’s head and he knew some day he’d purchase one. The interesting thing was he just could not seem to find the one he was looking for. So what do you do? You find one you can purchase and get to work on it to build the look you want. Marty’s son Mike Hacker started looking for his dad’s dream. One day while scanning racingjunk.com, he located a Willys in Long Island, NY. They contacted the owner of the ‘41 Willys to let him know they were interested… but wouldn’t be able to see it until the following weekend. Wednesday, they called the owner and found out the Willys had been sold. Disappointed,...

Hot Rod Video from Idaho Give credit when it's due. I gotta say, I like taking pictures. Not just pictures of hot rods, but just about everything. And although editing takes some time, I enjoy it! For the pictures, recomposing them, making the most of the colors, zooming in or out... it's fun and the end result's rewarding. That's not true for me with video. I hate editing video! For that reason, the few I've done aren't much to look at. On the other hand, check out the handiwork from Josh Clason. Josh tells us: "I had the opportunity to cruise up to Boise, Idaho a few months ago and meet with Matt Whitlock of Wrecked Metals. We had a great time shooting this over the course of 2 days. The cars and motorcycles Matt has put his touch on have been amazing." [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/20498710[/vimeo] Josh first caught my eye when in his first trip to Bonneville, he shot this Bonneville Speed Week Video. The boy's got skills! Josh, let us know what's next! More on Josh at his home page: JoshClason.com/ Can you shoot video like...

Pinstriping for Charity at 2011 Grand National Roadster Show Not only does the Grand National Roadster Show bring out the best in hot rods and custom cars, it's also home to one of the best pinstriping jams anywhere in the United States. Fellow pinstriper Von Hot Rod organizes this gang of line-laying artists to raise money for charities every year, and this year was one of the best. I talked to Von Hot Rod and got this info: We raised $12,375 for charity from the hard work from almost 40 pinstripers that were invited.  Eggie won the Von Hot Rod's "Brush-off" (pinstriping races) so he's now ''The fasted Pinstriper in the West". Butch Tucker and Ron Myers were this years inductees into VHR's Pinstriping Hall of Fame, and Harry Malicoat won the VHR Pinstriping Award in the art of pinstriping. As for next year that's always a surprise!! That's what keeps people coming back... The crazy manikin and skateboards are from Hot Dog Kustoms' Pete "Hot Dog" Finlan. Dig it!! This custom pinstriping is from Diablo's House of Style in Bakersfield, CA. One of these days, I'll have a...