The Bountiful, Utah "Coats For Kids" Car Show was just another example of small town USA and the car nuts that make up this great hobby/pastime.  Personally, I think its crucial that towns big and small keep hotrodding alive and passing the automotive genes onto the next generation by supporting and putting on car shows and cruise-ins like this one in downtown Bountiful, Utah.          Looking over these pictures again, I thought about how events like this create a sense of community and make family memories for years to come.  Nothing more american, or human, than a good car show with your friends and family.    Here are some of my favorite pictures I took while hanging with my family.  How else can you teach your kid to hang his arm out the window like a true hotrodder than by owning a '32 roadster?  How else will he know what a 4bbl carbed big block V8 sounds like unless he can stand next to it and feel the ground shake!  Shoot me an email at hechtspeed@myrideisme.com and I'll post up your "small town USA" car show pics and...

MyRideisMe.com is a big fan of John Force and John Force Racing.  Combine that with the idea that we'll help worthy causes and this is a win-win. This food drive is Saturday,  May 9th, so help out any way you can. John Force Racing Press Release: ASHLEY FORCE HOOD ASKS FANS TO JOIN HER AND STAMP OUT HUNGER YORBA LINDA, CA (May 7, 2009) --- NHRA Funny Car superstar and 2007 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future winner Ashley Force Hood would like fans to join her in helping “Stamp Out Hunger.” Please join her in the fight to end hunger on Saturday, May 9, 2009, by leaving non-perishable food donations in a bag next to your mailbox for your letter carrier. Stamp Out Hunger is the nation’s largest single-day food drive. Last year, over 73 million pounds of food were donated to food banks. “I found info about the Stamp Out Hunger event in a magazine a few days ago and jotted it down in my organizer since it’s such a simple thing to do and yet a very important cause. When I got to...

Someone asked me, "How'd you get 10 Nissan Cubes?" I said, "Well I broke the first Cube 9 times." Figuring I didn't answer his question, I continued... "I asked and they said yes!" They is Nissan and they've got 10 Nissan Cubes being prepped for release to the media for evaluation, write-ups and sometimes criticism. That's what the consumers read in print and online magazines like MyRideisMe.com. For those of you lucky enough to live in Arizona, you'll get a sneak peak of the new Nissan Cube. And.. if you haven't seen one in person, check out the Nissan GT-R. Except for inside national super-shows like the Los Angeles Auto Show where the Cube first occupied equal space on all side 6 sides last year in November, this is the first time the geometric, love-hate styled Econo-box (couldn't resist) has been seen in the wild with other shapes. Where: Scottsdale Pavilion at Indian Bend and 101 When: 4:30 to 9 PM on May 2nd, 2009 (This is a one-time only deal!) What: 10 Pre-release, totally new Nissan Cubes, plus 1 rockin, bad-to-the-bone Nissan GT-R! Since I haven't driven it...

Info about the October 2009 Cruise and the $5 Charge Carbon footprint size 12 triple E, but that was fun! For those of us living in Arizona, April's not necessarily the START of the cruising season, but it the sure is nice! After some ill timed rain canceled the cruise on April 11th, we got treated to some especially nice weather for April 18th. Wow, enough BS about the weather! So how was it? PACKED! I showed up late after a busy day of honey-do's and sports with my boys to find a packed house! At 8PM, about when I got there, some of Arizona's finest hot rods, customs and lowriders were found cruising to the delight of the packed sidewalks along Central in front of the Park Central Mall just south of Osborn. I didn't get a chance to cruise into the parking lot, but from the street it looked packed with cars and people and even the mandatory kettle corn vendor. For about 2 miles, it was a rare treat to actually enjoy "stop and go" traffic cause you were surrounded by cool cars and folks having...

Just a reminder! The regular Mesa Cruise is the 4th Saturday of every month including this Saturday, March 28th. This is one of the cool shots my man Swanee took at the cruise that followed the Home Runs and Hot Rods show. I left out the "Hot Dogs" part cause Lance didn't save me one. More of Swanee's pics of the Saturday Mesa Cruise here. MyRideisMe.com members get free entry and free parking at the cruise. Such a...

Cruisin' Main Street New Downtown Mesa Monthly Cruise Beginning this Friday night December 12th, from about 6pm to 10pm, the downtown Mesa merchants will host a monthly cruise night on downtown Mesa's Main Street from Center Street to Country Club Drive. All years and types of vehicles are welcome to cruise or park along Mesa's Main Street to enjoy the parade of rolling sculpture's pass by. Most of the stores and restaurants will be open late so bring the whole family and make a night of it. This cruise night will become a monthly event to coincide with the downtown Mesa merchants successful "Friday Night Out" program held on the 2nd Friday of the month. Mesa's next 2nd Friday Night Out event and cruise night is scheduled for January 9th 2009, so be sure to mark your calendars. Among the many activities planned for Mesa's "Friday Night Out" event will be an "Art Walk" featuring over 80 artists displaying their wares along Main Street. Also, live music will be playing at several locations along Main Street too. As I said, most of the stores and restaurants will be open...

UPDATE: 10/10/09 - I've been getting a few calls and emails about restarting Church of Hot Rod. If interested, leave a comment here or reply in the forum. Ah brothers... It was another fine couple-o-Sundays. Cool morning air and hot coffee strong enough to peel paint off our vintage rides. After notifying a few people at the Chandler/Gilbert Community college car show, I expected there to be a few more members. I've also been fulfilling my duties as an elder in the church by notifying RoddinandRacinTV.com and cruisinarizona.com. If you're looking for a great excuse to get out of bed and meet some fellow rod and custom car enthusiast over on the East side of town on Sundays, please come on over. Time and Place: Every Sunday morning at 7 AM over at the Starbucks in downtown Chandler. The address is: 1 San Marcos Place, just west of Arizona Ave, south of Chandler Blvd. We're kinda hard to miss, just look for the Hot rods! Can I hear an AMEN? For winter (yea right, it's still in the 80s in November!) we're meeting at 8:00AM.  Feel free to email...

UPDATE: 10/10/09 - I've been getting a few calls and emails about restarting Church of Hot Rod. If interested, leave a comment here or reply in the forum. Whatever you do on Sunday, it's always a great to meet friends and go for a drive. We're pushing it here in Chandler, Arizona cause it's still damn hot, even at 8 AM in the morning. This was a special Sunday cause our better halves joined the normal Sunday coffee run and we made it a breakfast cruise over to the Good Egg near Chandler Heights and Alma School. We had some special occasions to celebrate too. (click and save this photo, it'd make a great desktop!) Bonnie, my hot rod, was celebrating the repair of a CRACKED FRAME, found, luckily while the car was parked in my garage. Doug from Squeeg's Kustom, helped me fix the crack on Saturday and make today's breakfast 5 roadsters strong. More on that later. (of course I took pictures!) I celebrated the cruise-in by putting a new red rag on the oil breather. (nothin but the Sunday's best!) My lovely wife Miyuki also joined...

It's a long haul from Arizona, but I wanted to tell you about a great cause, a great man and what looks like a really fun event. It's the Iowa SuperCruise & SuperShow'n Shine in Des Moines benefiting those suffering from spinal injuries, disease, and paralysis in coordination with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation (CDRF). Joe Kelly, the organizer and chief promoter, contacted me to see if I'd help spread the word. Of course I will, this is what hot rodding's all about! For the past ten years Joe has suffered and survived the crippling pain associated with spinal injury, disease, and permanent nerve damage. So it's no wonder he's got his heart and soul behind this show. He credits his beautiful wife and three wonderful children for his strength to continue when his own pain, at times, leaves him unable to care for himself. I'm inspired by his courage. It'd be easy for any of us to give up to the pain, but not Joe. Held August 30th, the Iowa SuperCruise & SuperShow'n Shine is an all-day event consisting of a cruise around metro and the surrounding...

You never know what might show up at your local cruise-in. I am always on the lookout for something different; something you don’t see every day. On a recent trip to the local Friday night hangout in Charles Town, WV, I noticed a nice looking black import from across the lot. I moved in to investigate deeper and my curiosity peeked even more since it was a right hand drive. It was actually a 1994 Nissan Skyline GTS25t owned by Ric Wells of Berryville, VA. Ric told me the story of how he purchased the car while he was stationed on Okinawa, Japan. After retiring from the Marines he had the car imported state side and sent to a company named Motorex for legalization. Soon he was tied up in the Motorex defrauding mess. It took more than two years before he was finally able to drive the car again. While not a GT-R (which actually makes the car rarer in the US), Ric has modified the original RB25DET motor to put out more than 500hp. Some of these mods include: Greedy intake and plenum, HKS Intercooler and blow...

A short 55 miles away from my house in Chandler, AZ, I met up with AzAmber, at the Saturday night 83rd Ave and Beardsley cruise-in. What a great show! I took off Saturday and stopped by Industrial Chassis, then hit the Safeway parking lot at about 6PM. There weren't many spots left! The show was a nice mix of cars. You had your hot rods, street machines and even a few exotics, but there were also a couple low riders mixed in with the new factory muscle. Something for everyone! I handed out every card I had that night to a warm group of people saying I'd write a blog about it, so here it is. I won't feature the cars I saw in this blog, but they're coming! (Leave a comment if you see your car!) Here's the sneak peak: That nasty looking 1954 Studebaker's running a former NHRA Top Alcohol dragster engine! Watch for a feature story on that one! The pretty Jag's for sale and will be show at the Brighton Ranch Paint and Body show coming up next weekend 5/17/08. Look at their website for...

It takes a while for a cruise in to catch on, but that doesn't mean while it's growing you won't see some super nice cars. Plus, when it's new, you won't hear the old... "Hey, I'm saving that spot..." or "This is for XYZ cars only..." Whatever. So here's a few of the cars I've spotted at the Friday night cruise-in at Arizona Ave. and Ocotillo. It gets started at about 6PM or so and runs until about 9:00. I think it's sponsored by the Checker Auto nearby, so they supply a DJ and once a month there's a bouncer for the kids. I'd have a few more pics if I could ever get there earlier! Me (aka shaky) and poor lighting don't get along well at all. What I should be sharing with all these pics is who owns the cars and where there from... or something interesting like how the car is completely homebuilt with only a screwdriver and duct tape. Too bad I can't read my able assistants hand writing is so hard to readl! I hope to see you down there. Make sure when you...