The 2016 Coker Tire Challenge came to a close today, as 50 racers rolled through the finish line at our facility. We watched as Corky, Wade and Jeff greeted the racers, and also enjoyed the families and friends cheering the racers on. The racers took a short route down to Dalton, Georgia and back to Chattanooga for the finish, while the Coker Tire facilities and media crew set up the arch and prepared to photograph the cars coming back into town. The scores were tight, and it was Jeff and Eric Fredette taking home the win with an overall score of 15.49 seconds. The team of Myerscough and Chatra won the rookie division with a score of 48.45 seconds. Finally, the winner of the Bill Coker Spirit of the Event award went to Toshi Akasaka, who traveled from Japan to race with us this weekend. Take a look at our highlights and the scores from the 2016 Coker Tire Challenge! [caption id="attachment_8050" align="alignleft" width="780"] Rookie Winners![/caption] [caption id="attachment_8051" align="alignleft"

Saturday's route on the 2016 Coker Tire Challenge sent us in a different direction than yesterday's trek to Huntsville, Alabama. We started our day by motoring up to the small town of Dunlap, Tennessee, where the racers would go on the clock and immediately climb Fredonia Mountain. From there, we zigzagged our way over to McMinnville, and eventually Sparta, Tennessee for a lunch stop. Just before lunch, we drove through the beautiful scenery at Rock Island State Park. After lunch, it was excellent valley views and winding mountain roads for most of the afternoon route. The temperatures were a little on the warm side, but all of the mountainous roads offered plenty of shade and a slight drop in temperature, compared to the valleys. We ended the day at the Coker Tire headquarters, where the racers had a night out on the town. Chattanooga has LOTS of great restaurants and cool places to hang out, so we're sure they 50-plus teams are having a great time. Check out our highlights from today's

Ahh, what a great day for a drive! Ok, so it a little warm and the sun was harsh, but a BAD day on the Coker Tire Challenge is better than a GOOD day at work! We started our day at the Coker Tire headquarters, and headed into Alabama for a big day of rallying through the hills. We saw all sorts of terrain, from less-than-perfect backroads to smooth highways as we headed into lunch in Huntsville, Alabama. The afternoon route offered lots of hills and mountain grades, with the destination of Corky Coker's house for a beautiful dinner reception at the farm. We had a blast today, and grabbed some cool picture along the way. With a record turnout at the 2016 Coker Tire Challenge event, it was hard to capture them all, but we'll get a second chance tomorrow as the race continues on. Enjoy!

The Coker Tire Challenge is an annual vintage car rally right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We host it and offer folks the opportunity to participate in a time, speed, endurance rally like the Great Race, but at a much more casual and affordable level. This year, we have a record turnout, with 52 entries, and it is our 11th year doing it--we typically average a little over 40 cars. We're excited about the 2016 event, and we're so glad to see all the familiar faces from the Great Race and previous Coker Tire Challenge events, as well as the fresh faces of the rookie teams. Today's activities included registration and tech inspection, as well as some practice runs and a kickoff banquet in Corky's museum. We'll be bringing you daily recaps of the action, so stay tuned to the blog, and follow our Instagram and Facebook page to see even more content!

There is no doubt that September is a busy month for us here at Coker Tire. We have several events of our own, and it always seems to be a popular time for other touring events and groups to visit our place. This year, we had a special treat, as the Geico Motorcycle Hot Bike Tour made its first ever stop in Chattanooga, Tennessee. You may remember our involvement with the Hot Rod Power Tour in 2010 and 2013...the Hot Bike Tour is a similar deal, but it's geared toward motorcycle enthusiasts. Our motorcycle tire product line is growing in popularity, so hosting an event like this is awesome for us, and we were excited to see the bikes start pouring into the Southside of Chattanooga on Sunday, September 11th. Bikes continued to roll in as the day went on, and we enjoyed the awesome turnout, live music and of course, the invited builders who had some killer custom motorcycles on display. One of our favorites bikes in the build-off was built by Matt Harris at 40 Cal Customs. He's based out

10 Great Events to Attend Before Christmas

Youd think we get bored around here once summer is over. Youd be wrong. Theres still plenty of great events to attend before the old man winter chases us indoors. Check out this awesome lineup of things to do and see this fall.

Charlotte Autofair | Charlotte, NC | September 22-25

This big spring show at Charlotte Motor Speedway is well known in the southeast, but theres another chance to experience this awesome swap meet in late September. The AACA Hornets Nest bunch puts on an awesome event with plenty of parts available to keep you busy over the winter.

Somernites Power Cruise | Somerset, KY | September 24-25

Folks in the south know that it doesnt get much better than this traditional cruise in to Somerset, Kentucky. The Somernites Power Cruise is the grand finish to their summer cruise in season each fall, the last weekend of September. There are a few rally points in surrounding areas (including Coker Tire headquarters) where you can meet up

Our facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee serves as an awesome destination for car guys and gals, and we love it when groups, like the Street Rodder Road Tour pay us a visit. The group rolled in at lunch time on Tuesday, September 6th, and we parked them all just outside the museum door on Fort Street. We greeted the Road Tour participants with hamburgers and hot dogs, cooked by one of our marketing guys, Jason White. He didn't let anyone leave hungry! The Street Rodder Road Tour didn't stick around too long, as they planned to make it to Pigeon Forge this afternoon for a special preview of the Shades of the Past rod run. We enjoyed the couple of hours we got to spend with the participants, and we snapped a few pictures while they were here. One of the highlights of the stop was getting to see the Street Rodder Road Tour car for 2016. It's a 1966 Ford Fairlane, built by Hot Rods by Dean in Arizona. This Ford Racing-powered Fairlane is wildly modified, but sports a subtle color combination.

Harley-Davidson motorcycles are iconic and they have an American heritage that spans more than 110 years. The company was founded in 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was a collaboration of engineering and fabrication involving William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson, among others. When the Harley made its official debut in 1903, the world would never imagine the stronghold this brand would have on the motorcycle market. The brand grew and stands the test of time, while other early motorcycle manufacturers went by the wayside. The Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin has an incredible display of vintage motorcycles, including "Serial Number One", the very first Harley. Recently, Bill Rodencal, the Vehicle Collections Specialist at Harley-Davidson Archives freshened up the original motorcycle with a set of our G&J 28x2-1/2 all-white button tread tires. The motorcycle has been perfectly restored, and preserved as a staple in the museum. The new tires look right at home on the bike,

Center caps are often used on collector vehicle wheels, whether it's a restored stocker or a highly customized hot rod. Some folks prefer the looks of a full wheel cover, but the small "dog dish" center cap is quite popular on our Smoothie, Hot Rod Steel, O.E. wheels and more. It's also a growing trend in the muscle car market, as the plain jane looks of a car with regular steel wheels and dog dish caps draws more attention than a car with more stylish wheel designs. Think about the cool appearance of the COPO Camaro, A12-code Road Runners, and other muscle cars that came with big time horsepower, but skipped on the decorative items, like chrome wheels and other accessories. Car enthusiasts are replicating the timeless look, and we have many original and alternative wheel sizes for many hot rod, custom and muscle car applications. In addition to wheels, we offer center caps in many different designs and sizes to fit all of the various wheels that we sell, so the numerous sizes can be a

After last year's incredible turnout, we didn't think it could get any bigger, but the 2016 Tri-Five Nationals was absolutely the biggest and greatest Tri-Five event ever! A total of 2,200 Tri-Fives flooded Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and we noticed a tremendous amount of cars and trucks rolling on our products. Restored original cars, updated drivers, gassers, customs and more were spotted rolling around the property with a great mix of original style bias ply tires and modern whitewall radial tires. Tri-Five guys are definitely one of our most loyal group of customers, and we confirmed it this past weekend. In addition to our booth display, we participated in the "Donuts & Drive" portion of the event, where Tri-Five enthusiasts gathered at various starting points and made the trek to Bowling Green together. We had a great turnout of cars show up at our place for donuts and coffee before hitting the road mid-morning on Thursday. At the show, we were also part of

The NSRA Street Rod Nationals is one of those events that is on every hot rodder's bucket list, but you'll have a hard time finding a hot rodder who has never been to the event. With more than 10,000 cars in attendance, this is one of the largest car shows in the world, and we had a huge presence in the vendor building this year. We expanded our footprint, and had a total of three cars on display, in addition to our tires, wheels and accessories. We want to say a huge thank you to Johnson's Hot Rod Shop for providing a killer '32 Ford roadster pickup, Barillaro Speed Emporium for providing their incredible Belly Tanker race car, and finally, Gary Martin for providing his 1964 Chevy II, which was the Coker-sponsored entry in the Great Race, finishing third overall! Despite a little bit of wet weather, the event went off without a hitch, and we served hundreds of customers throughout the course of the weekend. Tires and wheels are one of the most important aspect of an eye-catching street

We're proud to announce that we are expanding our very popular Michelin classic product line. We offer all of the period correct Michelins that rolled beneath sports cars of all shapes and sizes, and now, we're offering two new sizes for a select group of sports car enthusiasts. The new tires are within the Michelin X series and Michelin XZX series products lines and offer direct fitments for Fiat, Mini and more! Keep reading to see more about the two new offerings, and find out how you can get a set for your classic sports car today! [products] The Michelin X series 125R12 is a specific radial upgrade for 1957 to 1960 Fiat models and it's part of our Michelin X-series product line. These compact cars originally came with bias ply tires, so this X-series radial equivalent is a perfect option for an enthusiast who wants the safety, tread wear and handling of a radial tire. Pricing for the new 125R12 is $89 each. The Michelin XZX 145/70R12 tire comes from the popular XZX product line, and

By now, you know that we appreciate collector cars. In fact we appreciate just about anything with tires, especially when those tires are rolling down the road on a regular basis. SEMA took an idea and ran with it a few years ago, creating Collector Car Appreciation Day, an annual holiday dedicated to getting your old vehicle out on the road. This year, Collector Car Appreciation Day happened on Friday, July 8th, and we had a special lunchtime cookout to welcome anyone who wanted to drive their old car to our facility here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Considering that most people have to work on Fridays, the event had a great turnout, and we provided free lunch for the folks who came out to join us. Jason White grilled the 'dogs, while Corky supplied the watermelon, and we all had an awesome time. This is most certainly an annual tradition for our company, so if you missed out, there's always next year!

We are huge supporters of the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. This year, the event went from San Rafael, California to Moline, Illinois, using the Lincoln Highway as a guide. It was 2,400 miles of grueling mountains, rough roads and farm lands, but a large percentage of the 109 teams finished the race. In the end, the top 12 finishers in the Great Race were rolling on Coker Tire products. Of course, that includes the winners--G.R. Pike and Bobby Hadskey in their 1916 Hudson, which rolls on Goodrich Silvertown Cord high pressure tires. Second place went to David Reeder and Sawyer Stone in their 1916 Hudson touring car, while third place overall went to Team Coker Tire...Gary and Jean Ann Martin in their 1964 Nova! Moving further back, we saw lots of cars sporting our Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial tires, including teams such as Jeff and Eric Fredette in their famous flag-waving Ford pickup. The team of Jody Knowles and Beth Gentry debuted a new tire and wheel setup, going

Chattanooga, Tennessee is a hotspot for tourists these days, and that includes car clubs who seek out interesting towns in which to host its national meets. We've seen Desotos, Kaisers, Chevy Nomads and many more groups come through town, and this week was time for the Hudson Essex Terraplane National Meet to spend some time in the Scenic City. They set up camp at the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel just a few blocks away from our headquarters, so we couldn't help but sneak over there and snap a few pictures. In addition to the car show and swap meet, held at the Choo Choo, the Hudson enthusiasts toured the town, and eventually made their way to our place on Thursday. Without a doubt, the Hudson folks are loyal Coker Tire customers--we saw a BUNCH of our wide whitewalls, in both bias ply and radial form. Check out a few of our favorites, and be sure to support your local car club to keep these types of national club meets alive and well!

We did it! We survived the 2016 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty! The racers crossed the finish line this afternoon in Moline, Illinois, much to the delight of thousands of spectators, and of course, a great network of racers and support crews. These guys and gals are fully committed to having fun, driving hard and making it to the finish, so supporting their fellow racers is just a part of being in the Great Race family. After the scores were tallied, it actually ended up being a tie between the teams of Pike/Hadskey and Reeder/Stone, both past Grand Champions, and both driving 1916 Hudsons. The Great Race scoring staff had to go to two levels of tie breakers to determine that G.R. Pike and Bobby Hadskey had won the 2016 Great Race! The Coker Tire team of Gary and Jean Ann Martin won the Expert Division, and finished third overall, but we'd like to add that the Martins actually had the best "raw score", which is the actual number of seconds they were away from a perfect

It's getting down to the wire on the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty! We're biting our nails as the final two days of competition are known as the Championship Run, where racers are not allowed to throw out their worst leg of the day. The day's route was a tough one with lots of turns and maneuvers over the course of the day. A wonderful lunch stop in Mason City, Iowa was sunny and hot, but as soon as we got back to rallying in the afternoon, we finally got some cloud cover! The afternoon route was once again farm land and a bunch of tough turns. Gary and Jean Ann Martin of Team Coker Tire have led the entire race, but had a rough day today, which allowed G.R. Pike and Bobby Hadskey slide ahead of them. The two are only separated by a little over one second, so we'll just have to see how it shakes out tomorrow! We'll be sure to keep you updated...but for now, check out our highlights from today!

It's hard to believe that it's already Friday! It feels like we just kicked this thing off but it's already been a solid seven days of rallying through some of the most scenic areas of the United States. Today, we racked up a bunch of miles, traveling from one end of South Dakota to the other...starting in Rapid City this morning and ending in Sioux Falls this evening. In between, we had a quick pitstop at the Pioneer Auto Show, an eclectic collection of old cars, tractors and other cool stuff. We also had a great lunch stop in Chamberlain, South Dakota, as we made our way across the state. Tomorrow, we start the Championship Run and enter Iowa for a tough day of rallying. Can Gary and Jean Ann Martin retain the lead? We sure hope so! Enjoy our highlights from Day 7 as Great Racers made it through the Badlands and the flat lands in the same day.

It was another day of covering a lot of territory, as we headed north from Cheyenne, Wyoming and intended to be in Rapid City, South Dakota by the end of the day. Lots of road construction delayed our travels, but we made it to the lunch stop in Lusk, Wyoming with just enough time to grab a bite to eat and get back on the road. From there, it was a long transit to the restart area, but then it was a magnificent drive through the Black Hills National Forest, as well as Custer State Park and several others. We also drove to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial at the end of the day's route. Finally, we rolled out of the mountains and into Rapid City, South Dakota, where there was a party going on! Rapid City has Thursday Night concerts and we just happened to be in town, which made for one of the biggest stops in Great Race history. Tomorrow we go to the Badlands, and see even more awesome scenery. Take a look at some highlights from today!

Here we are again, sitting in a hotel room, exhausted from our day of activities on the 2016 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. The race blasted across the state of Wyoming, starting the day in Evanston, and then stopping for lunch in Rawlins. Then, it was a tough climb up and over the Snowy Range Scenic Byway, where elevation reached 10,000-plus feet. Of course, that wreaked havoc on a few participants, but Team Coker Tire made it through with a 10 second day. That keeps Gary and Jean Ann Martin in the number one position. This evening, we rolled into Cheyenne, Wyoming for a huge stop...one of the best yet this year! We're gearing up for another big day tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Yesterday's route on the Great Race was full of long, boring straightaways, that kept the driver staring intently at the speedometer, while the navigator patiently waited for the next instruction to come along. Today was a little different, as the day's rallying kicked off with a tricky maze through the town of Wells, Nevada. Then, it was a straight shot to an un-hosted lunch stop in Wendover, Utah, where we grabbed a quick bite to eat and hit the road again. The Great Race staff allotted a few extra minutes so we could check out the Bonneville Salt Flats, which was super cool. From there, we motored across the state of Utah with a head of steam that would eventually put us into Evanston, Wyoming for our Day 4 evening stop. In between the lunch and evening stops was some of the most beautiful scenery that the United States has to offer. Here are a few samples of our big day on the race, but if you want more please check out www.greatrace.com for daily recaps and blogs from several folks

Today's adventures on the 2016 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty featured a LONG route that included Highway 50, deemed the "Loneliest Road in America" and we can see why. It was a long stretch, and we often wondered what was on the other side of the horizon...as it turns out, straightaway after straightaway took us completely out of civilization. Finally, we arrived in Austin, Nevada for lunch, and enjoyed a delicious tri-tip beef sandwich and plenty of treats from the local Girl Scouts troop. We also spent some time with a Nevada hot rodder with a beautiful '32 Ford roadster, rolling on a set of Firestones (450/475-16 and 750-16 in case you were wondering) and our Hot Rod Steel wheels. Moving on, we blasted across even more lonely terrain, on our way to an evening stop in Elko, Nevada. The Coker Tire team of Gary and Jean Ann Martin finished the day with a score of 8 seconds, putting them in a great position. Trust us when we say that having an 8 second day with such

We're back on the road with the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. Today's route sent us from Sacramento, California to Gardnerville, Nevada for an awesome lunch and local car show. We spotted a bunch of great cars in the show that were rolling on Coker Tire products, including a beautiful 1932 Ford station wagon (woody) owned by loyal customer, Michael King. The racers entered and exited Gardnerville on the same stretch of road, which hugged up against a beautiful mountain range, complete with snow on top. Our route from lunch to dinner was tricky, but offered even more awesome scenery as it led to Reno, Nevada for our evening stop. The National Automobile Museum hosted the stop, and welcomed us into its breath-taking facility! Every make imaginable is represented in the collection, and you can bet a LOT of them were rolling on Coker's! Speaking of which, the daily winner for Stage 2 is rolling on Coker's...it's David Reeder and Sawyer Stone's awesome 1916 Hudson. Good

Today marked the official start of the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. This year, the event is traveling from San Rafael, California to Moline, Illinois with a route that is loosely based on the Lincoln Highway. The town of San Rafael was fully committed to making sure this would be one of the biggest Great Race starts of all time, and their efforts resulted in a packed house! Thousands of people converged on Fourth Street of San Rafael, as more than 100 teams blasted off from the starting line. The Coker Tire team of Gary and Jean Ann Martin had an outstanding day, despite some issues along the route. They were able to make up time, and scored a three second day, putting them in first place overall! That's right, the Coker team is number one! Today's route sent us to Vacaville, California for lunch, and then hightailed it through the farm land of northern California, on our way to the dinner stop in Sacramento. It was an awesome first day, and we can't wait to show

For the past few days, we've been in San Rafael, California, gearing up for the 2016 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. We've had a busy week of pre-race activities, and the next nine days will be wide-open as a Case knife. Earlier this week, we had a movie night at the Rafael Theater for a showing of "The Great Race" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the classic film. Ted Stahl provided the "Leslie Special" and the "Hannibal 8" cars from the movie to be on display in front of the theater. Thursday was even busier, with a photo opportunity at the Golden Gate Bridge, a few hot laps at Sonoma Raceway, a viewing of the Charlie Goodman car collection and a dinner cruise on the San Francisco Bay. All of this led up to Friday's activities, starting with a big meeting, Rally School and the Hagerty Trohpy Run. Take a look at some of our highlights from the pre-race activities and stay tuned to the blog, as well as our Facebook page to follow along with the race. [caption id="attachment_7679"

Coker Tire has been heavily involved with the Great Race for many years, and since 2011, we have used our staff to organize and promote the event. It has grown tremendously over the last few years, with highly anticipated routes and of course, a $50,000 prize for the winners. Since Coker Tire is a sponsor of the event, we always want at least one team to represent our company during the race. This year we have two Coker Tire corporate teams, and both will be great representatives for the Great Race, which is a nine-day time, speed, endurance rally for vintage vehicles. Coker Tire 1 is car number 38 of Gary and Jean Ann Martin, piloting a 1964 Chevy II, while Coker Tire 2 is car number 6, a 1927 T35b Bugatti replica built by Pur Sang. Both cars will be rolling on Coker Tire products, and proving themselves along the 2,400 mile race from San Rafael, California to Moline, Illinois on June 18-26, 2016. [products] The cars on Team Coker Tire are pretty special, but the drivers and navigators

The Indy 500--no other automobile racing event has been more prestigious, or more treacherous. The evolution of automobile racing, and the automobile itself can be credited to the buzz that surrounds the Indy 500 and the drive to win the biggest race of them all. And to think, 40 teams entered the race in 1911, all driving cars that you may have never heard of--National, Knox, Westcott and many others. The Marmon Wasp and its driver, Ray Harroun claimed the first Indy 500 victory, and this car still resides in Speedway, Indiana. Several years ago, Corky Coker and his crew at Honest Charley built a replica of the famed Indy racer, so it has been quite a popular display piece since it was finished and debuted at the 2011 Indy 500. And though the 2011 event was technically the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500, we had to wait until 2016 to see the 100th running, due to the pause in racing caused by the World Wars (two year pause for World War I and a four year pause for World War II). The

The 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 Nashville Nationals this year, and it was awesome! The cars in the competition were required

Its funny how your perspective changes throughout your life. When youre a kid, the louder and brighter a hot rod was, the more you loved it. You couldnt wait to get a little change in your pocket so you could have a cool car, too. You didnt think much about your grandfathers old pickup truck at the time. Then the time came and you did have some change in your pocket, but it wasnt very much. That old pickup truck was about all you could afford to fool with. You wrenched on that thing and drove it like you stole it. Of course you traded that old truck off as soon as you found a deal on something cooler and faster.

What you didnt count on, was spending the rest of your life wishing youd kept that old truck

It was slow. The steering was just barely better than a farm tractor. It was squeaky and rattled like a coffee can full of marbles. It smelled like burnt motor oil and mud. It was dinged up and played out, but it was hypnotic and addictive. Old pickup trucks somehow find a way to our hearts.

So you bought an old car? Maybe you got the one youve always wanted or maybe so-and-sos uncle had this one sitting in his backyard for years and finally decided to move it out. Now youve got it and here it sits in all its dusty, unknown-condition glory. So now what? Well these days the path is as unclear as its ever been. Few of us can afford to simply tear it down to labeled ziplock bags of nuts and bolts and begin a full restoration with a ridiculous 2 day deadline, like you see on the television shows. Quite the opposite, most of us just want to get it running and driving and get an idea of what were working with. Were not usually short of big ideas for a grand restoration project, but first things first. What exactly have we gotten ourselves into here? First steps are usually to check the vitals, and make every attempt to get it into a condition for a safe start up. Defining safe varies from garage to garage, but well assume no driving. You get the carb cleaned up and supply a clean

You won't find a more dedicated group of car guys (and gals) than the Mopar crowd. A good friend, Ken Meredith is one of those guys, and his whole family is fired up about Mopars. That's what led them to create the Southeast Moparty Picnic, an event for Mopar nuts, by Mopar nuts. Unfortunately, the Meredith family suffered two huge losses in the months leading up to the event--first was Rick Meredith in January, and then Kenneth (Ken's father) in April. Despite the tough times, the rest of the Meredith clan and a bunch of friends pulled together to make the event happen. The result? A HUGE gathering of Mopars, from early '60s classics to modern muscle cars and everything in between. We saw Hemi after Hemi, and a whole lineup of drag cars that would make any Mopar guy drool. Local collector, Kayo Erwin brought out a few of his outstanding vintage drag cars, while other Mopar guys put their prized possessions on display as well. We spotted a bunch of rare muscle cars, and even had the chance

Spring 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"] It's not often that we see a 1954 Ford restored to perfection, and this one is a beautiful example, rolling on a set of our BFGoodrich Silvertown bias ply whitewall tires.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_7494" align="alignleft" width="780"] We absolutely love the mild custom look of this

You may not realize it, but there is a surprising number of automotive aftermarket companies based in the great state of Tennessee. We're holding down the Southeast corner, while other companies, like Lokar, Comp Cams, American Powertrain and more are scattered throughout the state. For nearly 30 years, Lokar Performance Products has been manufacturing shifters for street rods, customs, muscle cars and more. Now, the company builds more than just shifters, offering all sorts of accessories, including billet aluminum pedals, dipstick tubes, mirrors and much more. The company, led by Skip and Debbie Walls, recently moved into an awesome, new facility and opened its doors to help kick off the 2016 NSRA Street Rod Nationals South in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Lokar Open House featured a few hundred cool cars, and a tour of the new facility, including Skip's playhouse, which is a giant shop, packed with drag cars, hot rods and awesome equipment. We saw a bunch of great cars on hand, despite the

On May 1, 2016, Corky Coker visited Anderson, Indiana to pay tribute to a racing legend, Ray Harroun. The town of Anderson debuted a memorial marker for Ray Harroun, and Corky Coker was invited to the event to be a part of the festivities. Corky has a great love for vintage racing, and owns the most authentic Marmon Wasp replica in the world. The Marmon Wasp is typically on display in our showroom here in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but it made a special trip to honor Mr. Ray Harroun for his achievements. Corky dressed in period correct attire, and drove the Marmon Wasp replica around the area, spreading smiles all around. Enjoy some of our pictures, and continue reading to learn more about the man who took Indy by storm in 1911. [products] Although Ray Harroun was born in Pennsylvania, his legacy is in Indiana, where he later lived, and made history as the first winner of the Indy 500, way back in 1911. Ray Harroun was a pioneer, and there is no doubt he left his mark as a champion racecar

Long before Mike Wolfe took the TV world by storm with History Channel's "American Pickers" program, he was a wheeler and dealer of anything old. We know another guy who dabbles in vintage goods, especially ones that have wheels (or more specifically...tires). Mike and Corky have been friends for quite some time, and they share a great interest in vintage motorcycles. Mike also has a thing for old cars, and recently acquired a 1936 Ford panel truck. The Flathead V8 powered truck had received some hot rod modifications, but the aftermarket parts just didn't seem to jive. After a phone call with Corky to express his concerns, the boys struck up a deal to bring the truck to Chattanooga and give it the Coker and Honest Charley treatment. The goal was to make it GO faster, STOP sooner and make it a little more fun to slide behind the wheel and go for a ride. [products] Keith Brown tackled the job with help from Jonathan Myren and of course, a few words of advice from Corky. The guys went to

The Speedfest at the Classic Motorsports Mitty (also known simply as "the Mitty) is a vintage road racing event that also offers a car show for sports cars, muscle cars and any other high performance classic car that wants to participate. Last year, we hosted the Coker Tire Tour to the Mitty, and it was a huge success, so we did it again this year. With 70 cars participating, it makes for quite a string of cool cars, and they took the scenic route through Chattanooga before heading through the Ocoee area and eventually into the mountains of North Georgia. Lunch is served at the magnificent Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge, Georgia, then these sports cars will enjoy navigating the twists and turns through the Chattahoochee National Forest before arriving at Road Atlanta for the Mitty. Participants then get a hosted dinner, and all sorts of other perks...it's really a great value and a lot of fun. Last night we had a kickoff cookout to welcome the participants, and this morning we congregated

Every year, we hope that our annual cruise in and open house, known as the Chattanooga Cruise In, continues to grow. Last year, it was huge, and for 2016, we wanted it to be bigger and better! We secured additional parking areas for our participants, and even those efforts were blown away with the record turnout. We had an estimated 2,000 cars, trucks and motorcycles on hand, and upward of 15,000 spectators throughout the day. It was an absolute blast, as we saw every type of car imaginable, and saw plenty of vehicles sporting our tires and wheels! In addition to the tremendous amount of vehicles on display, Chattanooga Cruise In participants could watch the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow engine build teams do battle in a National Qualifying event for its year-long series. Back by popular demand was the "blemished tire sale", which offered discounted prices on blemished tires. We just love seeing folks carrying tires down the street, and we saw a lot of that on Saturday, April 2nd. The crowd was

You won't find a larger source for Corvette tires and wheels than Coker Tire Company. We offer many styles and sizes to fit the earliest 1953 Corvette all the way through the end of the C3 generation in 1982. We recently visited a local event called the Corvette Expo, which is held in Sevierville, Tennessee. It's an excellent event, with an indoor car show, swap meet, parts vendors, outdoor car show and even a classic car auction. The event occurs twice a year (spring and fall), and we snuck out of the office on a Friday morning to go check it out. We were thrilled to see the majority of classic Corvettes were rolling on authentic tires from Coker. It is truly important to the owners of these cars to have the authentic Corvette tires and wheels installed on the car. Just like having a "matching numbers" engine and transmission, having the appropriate tires on a Corvette makes a big difference in the authenticity and the value of these American classics. [products] [caption id="attachment_7362"

We have a HUGE network of racers competing on our Phoenix Race Tires. One of the most successful NHRA Sportsman racers out there is Jimmy DeFrank, who competes in Division 7 Super Stock. He's been running Phoenix Race Tires for quite some time, and recently took home a victory at the 2016 season opener in Pomona, California. Check out the press release regarding his victory below: [products] CHATSWORTH, Calif. (February 19, 2016) Auto Club Raceway at Pomona has historically been a strong racetrack for Jimmy DeFrank, and the 56th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals, held at the venerable Southern California facility last weekend, held true to form. Thousand Oaks, California-based sportsman racer DeFrank earned his 19th national event trophy with the defeat of Fred Moreno in the Super Stock final round. It was the 46th final of DeFrank's career and his 37th in the extremely competitive Super Stock category. "We are so excited to get another national event win and to start the 2016 season

Some call it a hobby, some call it a passion, some call it an industry...we call it LIFE! Cars, trucks, motorcycles from all eras and for all applications matter to us, and we're sure they matter to you too. If it has tires, we're passionate about it. On several occasions, the EPA has tried to control our hobby with restrictions on emissions. The most recent case is the EPA attempting to make it unlawful to convert vehicles originally designed for on-road use into racecars. If you do choose to build a racecar out of a titled street car, this new legislation would require that the car have its original emissions equipment in place. Just think about it--every weekend warrior racer takes a street car and builds it into a racecar. Only racers at a professional level (think NASCAR and top level NHRA divisions) build specific cars from scratch for competition. We obviously don't want the weekend warriors to go away, and we don't want the government telling us what we can or cannot do with our

AMBR--it's one of those special type of acronyms that hot rodders know and love. It stands for America's Most Beautiful Roadster. It's an award given out at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California, and it's only given to one car per year. The workmanship and talent displayed in the contenders is always impressive and this year was no different--and you can stay tuned for more updates on the AMBR contenders later this week. For now, we want to announce the AMBR 2016 winner, Darryl and Terri Hollenbeck's 1932 Ford roadster. This car was built by Dan Webb, Cory Taulbert and Darryl himself, with final assembly by Bill Ganahl, South City Rod and Custom, and Jack Stratton. Bodywork and paint is by Darryl Hollenbeck's Vintage Color Studio, while the upholstery is stitched by Sid Chavers. A truly traditional hot rod, the roadster has the perfect stance, which is accompanied by none other than Firestone Deluxe Champion bias ply tires. The fronts are Firestone 500/525-16 blackwall

We're not sure about you, but we often day dream about what tire and wheel combinations would look cool on our cars. Having an extra set of tires and wheels on hand isn't always practical, but it sure makes for an easy attitude adjustment for your hot rod or muscle car. We proved it with the "Malibeater", a 1967 Chevelle Malibu project car, which has been featured in various tech articles in Muscle Car Review magazine. Arvid Svensen brought the car down to Tennessee for the tire and wheel swap, and photographed the combinations for an article in the magazine. All three combinations offer cool looks for the car, but there was a pretty clear winner in terms of style and performance after we had driven the car with all three configurations. Just to add another cool element to this tire and wheel swap, we decided that our least favorite combination would be subject to a tire-smoking burnout. [products] When the car arrived here in Chattanooga, the car had a set of swap meet tires and wheels

After being in New Zealand for a few days, it's abundantly clear, New Zealand knows how to put on a rally! It's Planes, Trains, and Automobiles with a Kiwi spin. Days two and three included a "Wings and Wheels" at the Taieri Airport, an "Evening with Corky Coker," a ride along the coast in a vintage Train to Oamaru, and plenty of smiling faces. The "Wings and Wheels" was a great success with over 12,000 locals out to experience the vintage show of 600+ cars and over 40 airplanes. It was a rare sight to see so many well restored and maintained vehicles ranging almost a century! Activities included views of the vehicles as well as rides in some of the airplanes as well as some miniature pedal cars, live music, and a number of local vendors. Corky received a warm welcome that evening as the Velo International Historic Automobile Tour Grand Marshall and evening entertainment. Corky shared Coker Tire's history and included some highlight clips from both the 2015 Great Race as well as his show

Corky was recently invited to participate in the Vero International Festival of Historic Motoring in Dunedin, New Zealand as the Grand Marshall. The rally this year has over 600 cars separated into three groups, Veterans (1919 and before), Vintage (1919 to WWII), and then all post war vehicles. This is truly an outstanding opportunity, and Corky took advantage of it with his son Cameron Coker, who shared these great photos from their New Zealand trip. [products] [caption id="attachment_7192" align="alignleft" width="780"] Arriving at the airport by the esteemed leadership of the VCC. Mark and Nikola Wilkenson, John Coomber (Immediate past president), Diane Quarrie (Current president), Corky, Cameron[/caption] [caption id="attachment_7194" align="alignleft" width="780"] Corky and Diane talking at the VCC Headquarters in Christ Church, NZ[/caption] [caption id="attachment_7195" align="alignleft" width="780"] Corky meets Ben Washington in his Chrysler Peking to Paris race car. He's still running

We say it often, but the worst thing you can do to preserve a collector vehicle is to let it sit. But sometimes, it's hard to make sense of driving an old car year-round, especially when the climate doesn't cooperate for a few months out of the year. We've always suggested that folks jack up their car to relieve some of the weight off of the tires, which keeps them from developing flat spots. You may also try parking the car on small squares of carpet, so that the concrete floor doesn't put so much stress on a single area of the tire. If you've never experienced flat spots, it's simply a flattened out spot in an otherwise round tire. This causes a vibration that is sometimes severe enough to justify buying new tires. Bias ply tires and radial tires are susceptible to flat spotting, but radials sometimes have a hard time recovering due to the rigidity of the steel belt that rides beneath the tread surface. [products] We're proud to announce a new product offered by Coker Tire--they're called

What Automotive Trends caught our attention in 2015? As usual, you look back on a closing year with a few takeaways regarding trends and styles. More than just trends, how about a fun look back at what we learned in a very busy year for car guys and gals. Enjoy 10 Things we learned in 2015. [products]

1. LED lights are a thing

[caption id="attachment_7136" align="aligncenter" width="780"] Rutledge Wood's awesome Plymouth wagon hot rod features some trick custom LED lamps up front.[/caption]   If you attended SEMA Show in 2014 or 2015, you know this. LED lights are everywhere and theyre getting brighter and more creative by the minute. See them on everything from Rutledge Woods likeness on a hot rod to the lightning-bolt-bright mega-stacks on the roll bars of off-roaders. LED lighting is here to stay, and the race is on for the most unique way to employ the efficient little blazers on your next custom build.

2. Everything Old is New Again

[caption id="attachment_7137" align="aligncenter"

Slammed is a relative hot rod term, and it usually means when something has been lowered A LOT. But this chopped and channeled Model A sedan brings a whole new meaning to "slammed". It is down in the dirt, thanks to air suspension and a spectacular chassis setup. Dave Tucci of Tucci Hot Rods in Marcy, New York built this slammed hot rod, and used satin brown as the primary color for an interesting look. The finishes, textures and colors of this slammed sedan offer a lot of visual appeal, while the wild tire and wheel combination go with the car's killer stance. Dave's sedan is rolling on a set of one-off wheels, wrapped in Excelsior Stahl Sport radial tires, sized at 550R17 up front and 650/700R20 out back. The radical big and little tire combination is just one of many features that made us take notice and catch up with Dave for a video feature. Thanks for watching!

The Ford Model A sure does make for a good traditional hot rod, and it was hard to miss Colby Martin's recently-finished highboy sitting just outside the Central Hall at SEMA 2015. He was set up in the SAN (SEMA Action Network) booth, and had folks eyeballing his super slick creation all week long. The car is traditionally styled, with a beautiful color combination, a killer Chevy W-motor (a 348 with three deuces to be exact), and of course, Firestone Deluxe Champion blackwall tires from Coker! He mounted 600-16 tires up front, and 750-16 tires out back for the perfect rubber rake, in combination with the Ford Wide Five wheels. The chopped top is spot on and the car sits just right on '32 Ford frame rails. The beautifully finished hot rod is proof that SEMA guys are car guys, too! This has been a long term project, and Colby was certainly proud to debut it at the biggest automotive trade show in the world! Check it out!

The SEMA Show offers a lot of things to a lot of businesses, and you will find that the four-wheel drive market is huge. Jeep is represented throughout the halls and show areas, with all sorts of custom treatments and radical builds on display. And while there are hundreds of Jeeps at the show, the ones that stand out are often a part of the OMIX-ADA booth. This parts vendor for vintage and modern Jeeps has a special spot in the the upper level of the South Hall, and it always attracts buyers, and Jeep fans. This year was no different, as OMIX-ADA had an interesting collection of vintage Jeeps on display, including the Farm Jeep. A few of them had our military and off road tires on them, so we stopped by for a quick visit. Check out all the cool vintage stuff we found!

We're blown away with the number of cars and motorcycles that are being built for The Race of Gentlemen, which is an exclusive race on the beach in Wildwood, New Jersey every fall. The event only allows approved cars into the racing field, so it is inspiring hot rod builders to tackle these early style racer builds, like the Model A roadster seen here. This one is owned by Heath Pinter, a professional BMX rider and hot rodder from Southern California. When he's not ripping up the BMX course (he has one in his backyard!) he's hammering on old cars. His most recent creation is this low slung Model A roadster, which is powered by a Ford Flathead V8 with Sharp aluminum heads, dual Stromberg carbs and Fenton headers. The fenderless roadster rolls on a set of '32 Ford wires, wrapped in our Excelsior Stahl Sport tires, which measure 550R18 up front and 700R18 out back. This thing is lean, mean and ready to race. We love the bare bones appearance, and the stance is spot on. Check it out!

There 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.

The SEMA Show is a sea of glitz and glamour, from high end sports cars to outrageous custom builds, but sometimes it takes a little rust and patina to stand out in the crowd. That's the approach that Bryan Dagel took with the Rat Rod Magazine "Tour Rat" build. Every year, Rat Rod Magazine hosts a long distance tour, and Bryan builds a new car each year. This year, the plan was to go with a traditional hot rod look, instead of the wacky, over-the-top rat rods that you may remember. We love it--the '35 Chevy sedan body has just the right amount of patina and the stance is spot on! Power comes from a small block Chevy, and Bryan put it to good use, driving the car all the way to the SEMA Show from Minnesota. And then he drove it back, even after a tire-melting burnout at the SEMA Ignited event!

We love running across long time hot rodders, who have seen just about every stage of our automotive aftermarket industry. Jon Kosmoski is one of those guys, and he founded the "House of Kolor" paint company back in 1956. This guy has formulated custom automotive paint, and he's sprayed an untold amount of cars, trucks and motorcycles over the years. While the House of Kolor brand is now a part of the Valspar company, Jon is still involved, and he still has a passion for building awesome hot rods. His latest creation, a beautiful 1934 Ford Cabriolet, debuted in the House of Kolor booth at this year's SEMA Show. The build came down to the wire, but the finish quality is second to none.

If you've been following the Chattanooga Cruise In over the past few years, then you know that it has grown tremendously. For 2015, we only planned to have one Chattanooga Cruise In (our Spring event), due to scheduling conflicts during the fall months. However, thanks to the overwhelming response from our loyal followers, and a little bit of motivation from the man with a mustache, we created the Chattanooga Cruise In Toy Drive. We chose a Saturday morning that worked for our schedule and didn't collide with the local car show schedule, and we made it happen. We joined forces with the Chattanooga area Toys for Tots Foundation, and made this event all about helping local kids have a better Christmas. Several hundred people came out to donate toys and money, and we ended up with nearly 400 cars on display, on the streets surrounding Coker Tire and Honest Charley. Everyone had a great time, and our final tally was two full truck loads of toys, and nearly $3,000 in cash for the Toys for Tots!

There are certain cars and builders that create a lot of buzz before, during and after the SEMA Show. Boosted Bela is one of those cars, thanks to the tireless efforts of Andy Williamson, who was heading up the PR for the project. Progress photos, teasers, and lots of hype resulted in a SEMA reveal that blew everyone away. By now, you're reading this and thinking that the ratty looking '56 Chevy in the pictures can't possibly be the car we're referencing, but you'd be wrong. Boosted Bela is a slammed '56 Chevy that is rough on the outside, but super detailed everywhere else. The build was exclusively covered by Chevrolet Performance on The BLOCK, and it absolutely exploded on social media in the days and weeks leading up to the SEMA Show. Once it was on display in the Mobil 1 booth, the car was plastered all over Instagram and Facebook, gaining as much notoriety as cars with $50,000 paint jobs. In fact, Motor Trend Magazine named Boosted Bela one of the Top 15 cars at the SEMA Show. The truth of the matter is that Boosted Bela is just plain cool. It sits right, it has a killer supercharged LS-based engine and of course, it's rolling on a set of wide whitewalls and steelies from Coker Tire. Continue reading to find out more about Boosted Bela and enjoy the photos and video!

A few months ago, we were introduced to Matt Harris, a motorcycle builder from Alcoa, Tennessee. His shop, 40Cal Customs builds custom motorcycles, and often uses Coker Tire products when the rubber meets the road. Leading up to SEMA 2015, Matt clued us in on a cool project that he worked out with Red Kap. The Nashville, Tennessee-based clothing company makes products that are a popular choice for automotive work uniforms, and decided to ramp up its SEMA presence at this year's show. With this increased effort, Red Kap had an awesome booth in the North Hall, and included a live motorcycle build by Matt Harris. We followed along with the progress on this Harley Davidson Shovelhead, from a bare hardtail frame and forks on Monday to a complete, running motorcycle on Friday. We love the nostalgia drag racing look, with narrow tanks, a super cool tire and wheel combination. Keep reading to learn more about the tires wheels on the Red Kap Rocket, and see more photos of this epic SEMA build.

It's tough to cross over from old school to modern technology without losing a classic car's character and style. We often see modern engines in place of stockers, but it's typically in something performance-oriented, like a muscle car. At this year's SEMA Show, we spotted an immaculate 1958 Chevy Impala that features old school looks with a very powerful engine under the hood. Greg Smith's 1958 Chevy Impala breaks the stereotype that Lowriders are built to be "low and slow" by utilizing a twin turbocharged LS1 engine. Greg is from Las Vegas, and owns TKO Kustumz. The Impala is one of his creations, and he built it for his daughter. The bodywork, finish and interior are flawless, and the lowdown Impala rides on a set of custom painted and chrome-plated wire wheels, equipped with a set of our Premium Sport 5.20-13 tires with a thin whitewall. Greg's Impala was one of the most subtle lowriders at the SEMA Show, and we're happy to see that it was rolling on Coker products. Check it out!

The SEMA Show is something that millions car enthusiasts want to attend, but since it is not open to the public. This trade only event gets a lot of attention from the media, allowing enthusiasts to get a taste of what the event is about, but the SEMA organization put together a mixed bag of aweseomeness when they created SEMA Ignited--a public event tacked onto the end of the SEMA Show. Last year was the inaugural SEMA Ignited event, and while it was a success, this year's new location and format was WAY better and offered some exciting attractions.

So, we've had the throttle down for the past few days and today, we covered a lot of ground to show you even more cool stuff than yesterday. We explored the South Hall, in addition to another run through the Central Hall, where all of our hot rod, racing and performance buddies hang out. We also spent some time at the Ford Out Front skid pad, where Vaughn Gittin Jr. tore up the track with his wicked Mustang drift car, as well as the "Ultimate Fun Haver" Ford F-150 crew cab. Today offered the Coker Tire media team a full schedule, with video shoots of awesome builders, such as Jon Kosmoski, Danny Koker, Colby Martin and more! After putting a bunch of miles on our shoes, we went to the annual SEMA Industry Awards Banquet, where three folks were inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame. It was Dave McClelland's final time emceeing the awesome event, after 40 years of service--we're going to miss hearing your voice Dave! We also want to say a special congrats to our friend Dennis Gage for his induction into the Hall of Fame. Enjoy some of our highlights from Thursday's action at SEMA 2015, and keep an eye out for additional articles with full features of awesome vehicles that sport Coker Tire products.

So, if you watch our blog, or our social media pages, you may remember us covering the inaugural Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals, in Bowling Green, Kentucky a few months ago. It was a huge hit, with nearly 2,000 Tri-Five Chevys on hand at historic Beech Bend Raceway Park. One of the coolest aspects of the event was the fact that the event promoter, Chris Sondles, who also owns and operates Woody's Hot Rodz, built an awesome Give-Away car. As Woody's put the finishing touches on the car, they came to Coker Tire for a cool tire combination to go with the Cragar S/S wheels. Firestone bias ply tires, including a pair of our Firestone Dragster cheater slicks, made for a cool retro look to go with the nostalgia drag theme. The winner of the 2015 Give-Away car got a free trip to the SEMA Show, and will take ownership after the car returns from its show circuit. The car is a cool piece, and we're proud to have shoed it with traditional Firestones from Coker Tire. We're already marking our calendars for August 12 and 13, 2016 for the second annual Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals, and we can't wait to see the 2016 Give-Away car. If it's anything like this '55 two-door post, you can bet the winner will be pumped!

Wow, 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!

Day one of SEMA 2015 is in the books. We had a big ol' day and met a lot of great folks. The booth was packed with people all day, but our media guys went out and covered a lot of ground to show you the cool stuff from the show. There are dozens of vehicles riding on Coker Tire products, and we plan to find 'em all and show them to you in one way or another. If you don't see it here, you might see it on our Instagram or Facebook page. For now, take a look at some of today's highlights, and come back tomorrow evening to see what else we can get into!

The SEMA Show is huge and we pour a lot of effort into exposing our brands to potential customers, media and tire dealers. This year, there is a lot of buzz around the show and we're extremely excited to show you some sneak peeks of the coolest cars and trucks from SEMA before the show is officially open. We'll be bringing you updates all week long on our Instagram and Facebook pages. Also check back here for daily updates. Enjoy! "

The Posies Driven Dirty Tour is a very cool, very relaxed event that involves driving a hot rod across the country with a destination of the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. It's been going on for a few years now (10 to be exact), and it's a cool tour of the country, which includes shop tours, good food and lots of hanging out. All of this leads up to the SEMA Show, which a little more fast-paced. The Posies Driven Dirty Tour starts in Pennsylvania, so it takes quite a detour for a Southern swing into Tennessee, but we offered a warm welcome, as the guys rolled into Chattanooga on Saturday, October 24th. We gave them a tour of our headquarters here at 1317 Chestnut Street, as well as a bus ride to our Distribution Center a few miles away. Then, we had a fried chicken dinner from Champy's and toured Honest Charley. We had an awesome time showing them around and we wish them safe travels on their adventures. The bad thing about the Posies Driven Dirty Tour is...well, that we're not on it! Have fun guys!

As you know, we love it when vintage American iron is on the road, instead of sitting in the garage. When we peeked out the window and saw two vintage motorcycles sitting in the parking lot, we had to go investigate. As it turns out, Steve Burris and Bruce Mason stopped at Coker Tire for our daily tour, to check out Corky's collection of cars, motorcycles and memorabilia. They were quite a ways from home, but they had a little more traveling to do before reaching their destination of Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama for the annual Barber Vintage Festival. This vintage motorcycle show and race has become a huge attraction for motorcycle enthusiasts, including these two dudes from Ohio. We're glad they stopped by Coker Tire on their way to Barber, and we enjoyed eyeballing their '48 Harley Davidson Panhead and '37 Indian, which rolls on Coker Diamond Tread 400.18 motorcycle tires. We wish them safe travels on the rest of their trip, and hope they can join us again in the future. If you haven't checked out our daily tours, feel free to drop by Monday through Thursday at 10am and 1pm Eastern time, and Friday at 10am and 2pm to check out our place. Keep reading for more pictures of these awesome vintage motorcycles! [products]

We love it when a big company like Hagerty comes up with a cool idea that utilizes its employees in a way that gets them away from their desk for a few days. The Hagerty Swap to Street Chasllenge is a group of Hagerty employees that have been tasked with restoring a '46 Ford truck in 100 hours, while on display at the AACA Hershey fall meet in Pennsylvania. This event is the ultimate swap meet, and the idea is for the Hagerty crew to source all of the necessary parts from the swap meet. Some parts will be used, while others will come from some of the new parts vendors....such as Coker Tire, of course! We provided a set of Coker Classic 600R16 radial whitewall tires and Hot Rod Steel wheels for the Ford pickup. The goal is to restore the truck and drive it back to the Hagerty headquarters in Traverse City, Michigan after the show is over. The cool part about the whole deal is that it's being filmed, and a LIVE FEED is available to see the progress. You can click here for the live feed, and click here to get more information on the build. [products]

As you probably know, we make thousands of tires for collector vehicles, with OE and custom fitments for vehicles made from the 1890's all the way to the new Fiat 500. With that said, we are sometimes the only source for certain applications. For instance, Coker Tire is the only source for custom vintage rims for Brass Era cars, or any car that features wooden spoke wheels. Coker Tire's custom vintage rim service and machine shop is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and longtime machinist, J.D. Scott is in charge of producing steel rims for extremely rare and valuable automobiles, vintage commercial trucks and even motorcycles. Continue reading to find out more about Coker Tire's line of StanWeld vintage automobile rims, as well as other vintage rims. [products]

We're big fans of events that require you to DRIVE your collector vehicle. Somernites Cruise puts on a monthly cruise in on the fourth Saturday of the month from April through October, but the September event is extra special as it is the Somernites Power Cruise, presented by Holley. That means that hot rodders from six starting points converge on Somerset for a huge gathering! Back in 2012, Coker Tire got involved and started the Chattanooga leg of the Power Cruise. We had high hopes for being the largest Power Cruise leg this year, but bad weather caught us by surprise and hindered participation, as well as the overall turnout in Somerset. We cruised up Highway 27 to Somerset, and had a blast, as the soggy stuff moved out in the afternoon. Despite the crummy weather, more than 800 cars showed up in Somerset, and we spotted a bunch of them with our tires and wheels. Check out our favorites and be sure to check out www.somernitescruise.org for more information! [products]

The term return on investment might be a little overused these days. Sometimes though, the real ROI isnt exactly about the numbers on the ledger, but more about making a difference when the opportunity presents itself. Last year, young Carson Magee contacted us with an unusual request. While its pretty common for us to receive all sorts of donation requests, Carsons was pretty straight forward and it got our attention. Carson has diabetes and is actively promoting research and funding for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to find a cure. He participates in 5Ks and such on his unicycle. His unique style and passion for the cause was immediately clear. Carson has a pretty good grasp of marketing already, and knew that his attention getting unicycle 5Ks would be a fun way to spice up his fundraising efforts. It just so happens that Coker Cycle Company builds two different models of Unicycles with huge 36 cycle tires from Coker Tire Company. When Carson discovered the unique (and most

Boy, these three-day rallies sure seem to fly by, and the 10th annual Coker Tire Challenge is in the books. The 2015 event was a great success, with awesome weather and very few break-downs. The Sunday route is always a short one, and it ends right here at Coker Tire with a warm welcome from the Coker Tire staff. We also enjoyed a hosted BBQ lunch from Shuford's Smokehouse, and a great awards ceremony where we crowned the top contenders from Coker Tire Challenge 2015. Congrats to David Reeder and Sawyer Stone on their victory! Enjoy our photos from today!

The Saturday portion of the Coker Tire Challenge 2015 event is always a full day of rallying, and this year, we headed East toward the mountains. We followed the Ocoee River briefly, and then peeled off on Highway 30 for a beautiful drive through varying elevations with lots of twists and turns. From there, we motored north for a pit stop in Etowah, and then got back on the clock for some intense rallying. With lunch in Cleveland, Tennessee (only a short distance away from Chattanooga) we had a very technical course that eventually led us back to Coker Tire, where the racers got their scores for the day. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the scenery couldn't have been better. Check out some of our favorite photos from today's action!

It's that time of year again! The third weekend of September is always a time to reunite with all of our Great Race buddies, even though we've only been apart for a couple months. The Coker Tire Challenge 2015 event is a three-day rally with lots of great scenery here in the Tri-State (Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama) area. It's a bunch of fun, and it's not a two-week commitment like the Great Race so it's much easier for local car guys and gals to participate. The competition is a big challenge, but the most fun aspect of the event is being able to spend the weekend behind the wheel of a vintage car. Friday's route sent us into Georgia, where we snaked through the beautiful back roads until we found ourselves in Dalton, Georgia for lunch. Then we doubled back onto some of the same routes to make our way to an hosted dinner at Corky Coker's house in Wildwood, Georgia. He recently finished a huge renovation, and invited all of his rallying friends to check it out. The impressive entertainment area was filled with Coker Tire Challenge participants, who are celebrating the event's 10th anniversary. Enjoy our Friday coverage and click HERE for Saturday coverage, and HERE for Sunday coverage!

Unlike many of the revered Concours dElegance events, Pebble Beach seems to reach deeper into mainstream media and pop culture. Regular people on the streets have heard of it. No doubt, its one of he very finest events of this kind in the world, but it more than that. The events of Monterey and Pebble Beach are household names for a reason. While the top shelf multi-million dollar restored cars get most of the attention, its the diversity of the weeks events that truly separate it from most other events. Perhaps only the famed Goodwood Festival of Speed in UK compares to the size and scope of Monterey Week. The event is elegantly capped with the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours dElegance, but what else goes on there? Were glad you asked. An endless stream of tasteful parties take place throughout the week. Even if you could manage tickets to all of them, the sheer volume of them would make it tough to attend them all. Among the gatherings, the incredible McCalls Motorworks Revival features

So what exactly do you get with a ticket to the 2015 SEMA Show? Surprisingly most don't know the answer to that question. What's become ground zero in the world of automotive customization products and trends is still somewhat of a mystery to the average car guy, but why? The SEMA Show started back the sixties as an association for speed parts merchants. As the industry grew, SEMA expanded to include all sorts of automotive specialty equipment beyond speed parts, and the SEMA Show grew with it. This trade show is a showcase for new products and companies to get in front of buyers, driving the industry and specialty equipment trends with it. Today the automotive aftermarket is a 30 billion dollar industry, and last year over 60,000 buyers attended the SEMA Show. Buyers shopped 6,500+ member companies, including the nearly 2,000 brand new products featured. The show is huge, and it's influential. [caption id="attachment_6478" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Thousands of people walk the SEMA

While 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!

Last 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.

And when we say NEW sizes, we actually mean OLD sizes that hot rodders have been asking about for years! Back in the '60s, '70s and '80s, it was very popular to use Firestone Dirt Track tires on the rear of a highboy hot rod, and 11.00-16 sizing was quite common. Very famous hot rods rolled on these massive 11.00-16 or similar Dirt Trackers, including the Limefire roadster, the Eastwood & Barakat Sedan, Jake's Coupe (think Pete & Jake's) and many more. Firestone Double Diamond Dirt Track tires were also a key ingredient for Tom Prufer's perfectly proportioned hot rods.

[caption id="attachment_6365" align="alignleft" width="720"] The classic hot rod profile of a '32 Ford three-window coupe is accentuated by a big-n-little whitewall tire combination with steelies painted to match the red accents.[/caption] The '32 Ford is an iconic hot rod platform, and boy did we see some good ones at the 2015 NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky! Folks have often said that it's tough to make a '32 Ford stand out because there are so many out there, but we picked out 11 (because we just couldn't narrow it down to 10) of our favorites. Of course, all 11 Deuces are rolling on Coker Tire products, and we'll give you some more details in each photo caption. Continue reading to see 11 awesome '32 Ford hot rods, and find out why they're cool.

We'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.

It feels like we just got settled back into the office after a long two-week adventure on the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty, but we're already getting close to our own personal vintage car rally, the Coker Tire Challenge! It's a three-day rally that is based here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. You can find information about it on the Coker Tire Challenge website, and you can click here to sign up for this year's event. It's much more affordable than the Great Race, and it's a little more relaxed, so it's a lot of fun without a major commitment. Join us from September 17-20th, 2015 for the 10th annual Coker Tire Challenge! Keep reading to see a few pictures from last year's event.

While we are not newcomers to the vintage motorcycle world, we are somewhat new to the custom motorcycle scene, in the sense that we have not previously offered purpose built tires for custom motorcycles. With the overwhelming popularity of our Firestone Deluxe Champion motorcycle tires, it is only fitting for us to be involved with the industry, and support great events such as the Born-Free Motorcycle Show at the Oak Canyon Ranch in Southern California. 2015 is only the seventh year for Born-Free, but it's easily one of the biggest (and certainly the fastest-growing) custom motorcycle shows in the world. Builders from many countries brought out their creations with a total of 25 build-off entries, hand selected by the show organizers. Many motorcycles, including bobbers, choppers, cafe racers, brat bikes and more, rolled on our Firestone tires, but there were also a number of bikes using our Coker motorcycle tires, and a few of our other product offerings.

The Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty is an annual vintage car rally that puts driver, navigator and car to the test through nine days and 2,400 miles of intense competition. The route changes every year, and this year, it featured a Route 66 theme, starting in Kirkwood, Missouri and ending on the Santa Monica Pier in Southern California. It was the ultimate road trip for a car enthusiast, and the field of 120 cars filled quickly when the route was announced. We covered the entire trip with daily blog entries with cool pictures from each day's adventures, but we'd like to sum it up here with a collection of our favorite photos, and to let you know that more than half of the 120-car field was running on bias ply or radial tires from Coker Tire! Even the winner, Howard and Doug Sharp's 1916 Hudson, was running our tires--more specifically a set of Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial tires. The Great Race is the adventure of a lifetime that you can do every year, and we certainly enjoyed our involvement with the event this year. Next year is gearing up to be even better, as the race starts in San Rafael, California and ends in Moline, Illinois, using the Lincoln Highway as the theme. Be sure to check out www.greatrace.com for more information on how you can participate!

When 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!

Team Coker Tire has battled with mechanical problems during all nine days of the 2015 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. Despite the difficulties, the team crossed the finish line today on the Santa Monica Pier with a crowd of thousands on hand to take part in the celebration. The day's route was a tricky one, and the lunch hour was spent at the incredible Nethercutt Museum, where we wish we could've had a bit more time to look around. It was outstanding! We then motored across town to the Santa Monica Pier, where the Great Race would crown its champions. This year it came down to a close battle between Great Race veterans, with Howard and Doug Sharp coming out on top with their 1916 Hudson, which is rolling on Coker's of course! It was an awesome way to finish an epic car adventure, and we're already looking forward to next year's route from California to Illinois on the Lincoln Highway!

It's been a long run, and we're getting close to the end of the 2015 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. Today was another hot one, but we saw a 20-degree drop when we rolled into our overnight hosted city of San Bernardino, California. An awesome crowd of spectators came out to view the Great Race, and we enjoyed a challenging route throughout the day. A lunch stop in Twentynine Palms, California was packed out, and we enjoyed a few pieces of fried chicken before we hit the road toward San Bernardino. We passed by a crazy Wind Farm with hundreds of windmills visible from our route. It was another big day, and we're in Championship mode, so tomorrow is obviously a day that cannot have any mistakes. Take a look at the day's highlights and stay tuned to find out the winner tomorrow, as we finish on the Santa Monica Pier at 2pm.

The Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty presses on, as we make our way across the country. We've spent plenty of time on Route 66, and today was no different, as the course instructions put us on one of the longest uninterrupted strips of Route 66 early in the morning. We made our way to Kingman, Arizona for lunch, were three-digit temperatures were already in play. It was then time to do some mountain climbing, as we scaled the Hualapai Mountains, and eventually made it to Sitgreaves Pass for one of the most amazing scenic views in Great Race history. At the bottom of the mountain, we rolled into Oatman, Arizona, which is one of the coolest old towns in the country. Donkeys greeted us as we stopped in town for a quick look at some of the establishments. The temperatures climbed to a maximum of 117 degrees, and it's still over 100 degrees here in our overnight hosted city of Lake Havasu City, Arizona as we write this recap. Enjoy the scenery and take a look at our favorite shots of the day!

Things are changing on the 2015 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. We're heading into new territory and we had a wild range of temperatures and terrains throughout the day's rally course. The day started at our overnight host city of Gallup, New Mexico but we jumped into Arizona right off the bat. From there, we entered the Petrified Forest National Park and saw some extreme scenery on our way through the park. Unfortunately, Team Coker Tire's Volkswagen Beetle continues to have problems, but that's not keeping them from finishing each day's route. As they say, "to finish is to win" and sometimes that can be easier said than done. After a hot lunch stop in Winslow, Arizona, we climbed to a much higher elevation and drove through a beautiful forest atop the plateau. It was a nice break in temperatures, and the evening hosted stop in Flagstaff, Arizona offered a bunch of spectators and LOTS of choices for dinner. We're anticipating a scorching hot day tomorrow, so wish us luck, as Team Coker Tire's air-cooled VW fights through the desert.

It's starting to heat up on the 2015 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty, and we mean that in a couple different ways. It's heating up in the sense that the competition got a huge shake up with a very challenging route with lots of opportunities for mistakes, and it's also heating up in terms of the temperature. We're sure the next couple days will be scorching hot, as we spend two full days in Arizona. This morning's scenery wasn't outstanding, but we made up for it in the afternoon with big mountain scenes and beautiful canyons. Lunch was hosted at the Unser Racing Museum, which covered many eras of the Unser family of racing and offered an excellent venue for a big crowd of spectators. Our hosted evening stop in Gallup, New Mexico was also a packed out stop, and we enjoyed coming through town on Historic Route 66, seeing all the cool vintage signs. Check out our highlights from the day!

Wow. That sums up today's route on the 2015 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. We started the day in Amarillo, Texas and made a quick pit stop at Cadillac Ranch, which was just a couple miles from our host hotel. From there, it was a LONG morning of rallying on some of the flattest and straightest roads in the United States. The wind was a huge factor, as the strong head wind gave the driver's yet another challenge when it came to holding speed. Speaking of which, most of the day was spent with the speedometer needle on 50 miles per hour, and that presented quite a challenge. Sometimes, our courses feature dozens of turns, speed changes and other maneuvers, but today, it was all about the driver holding steady. We stopped for lunch in Tucumcari, New Mexico and embarked on a challenging afternoon route in the middle of no where. We drove for MILES without seeing other cars, other humans or buildings. We finally made it back to civilization and rolled through Las Vegas, New Mexico before hightailing it to our overnight hosted stop in Santa Fe. Tomorrow's another big day in New Mexico, but for now, enjoy the photos!

It's not often that you have a flooded bridge in the middle of the day's course, especially in Texas, but it happened today. As we made our way toward our evening stop in Amarillo, Texas, we came across a flooded bridge with just enough water to make a nice splash without causing too much of a problem. We certainly saw some terrain changes, and had a challenging day on the course. Team Coker Tire is still dealing with mechanical problems, but made it to the Day 3 finish in Amarillo. We had lunch in Elk City, Oklahoma, and covered a LOT of ground today. We're headed to New Mexico tomorrow, and it will likely be another challenging day on the course. Check out our highlights from today and enjoy!

Another awesome day of Great Racing is done, and we're hanging out in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for the evening. We had an excellent time on the route, and even more fun at the hosted city stops in Claremore, Oklahoma and OKC! Spectator turnout was spectacular at both stops and we saw lots of cool landmarks on the course. Route 66 has a lot to offer, and we're taking advantage of it. Team Coker Tire's Volkswagen Beetle is having a few mechanical issues, but it's a freshly-rebuilt car so that's to be expected on a road trip of this magnitude. The scores are tight and it will only get tighter as everyone gets in the groove this week. We're having a blast and we hope you enjoy our daily recaps. Check out www.greatrace.com for scores and additional pictures, and also remember to keep an eye on our Instagram and Facebook pages for live updates of all the cool stuff on the road!

We are truly blessed to be in the position to sponsor the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty, and we are also blessed to own and operate the event from our Chattanooga, Tennessee headquarters. Over the last five years or so, we have poured a lot of effort and time into the event to bring it back to its former glory and it's working! This year, the Great Race had 117 entrants, all 1972 or earlier, so that means that between racers, support, staff and others, we have about 400 people rolling from town to town. It's amazing, and we're glad to be a part of it. The 2015 event is super special, because the theme is Route 66, and driving Route 66 in an old car is on every gear head's bucket list. Our time in the start host city, Kirkwood, Missouri was excellent and the teams departed with thousands of spectators on hand to cheer them on. Greg Cunningham is once again representing Team Coker Tire, but this time, he's in his customized Volkswagen Beetle, which is (of course) riding on a set of whitewall radials from Coker. Check out today's action from Day 1 of the 2015 Great Race, as we traveled across Missouri, from Kirkwood to Rolla and eventually to Springfield. Stay tuned for daily updates and you can also watch our Instagram and Facebook pages to see live updates each day.

Our tires go on some of the coolest hot rods on the planet and we were overwhelmed when we found out ALL FIVE of the Goodguys Hot Rod of the Year finalists are wearing our tires! The Hot Rod of the Year is a highly sought after award given by Goodguys at the Indy Nationals. This year, the field of entries was a tough one, but the judging staff narrowed it down to five deserving finalists with bad-to-the-bone traditional hot rods. The best part of the Hot Rod of the Year program is that the cars must be driven on a street cruise, and run down the drag strip to prove that it's not just a show car. The five finalists did not disappoint, so keep reading to check 'em out!

We 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.

Spring is a busy time of the year for us at Coker Tire Company. We have our cruise in, we have Spring Carlisle and many other events that keep us rolling. Although we didn't have a vendor presence, we had boots on the ground in Knoxville, Tennessee for the NSRA Street Rod National South. We spotted a bunch of great cars and trucks rolling on Coker products, including a killer green '32 Chevy coupe, which is a recent Street Rodder magazine cover car. As always our Firestone Deluxe Champion tires were all over the place, but we also notice a bunch of whitewall radial tires in the mix as well. Overall, it was a wonderful weekend, with awesome weather and a whole lotta hot rods rumbling around Chilhowee Park. Check out our favorites!

We've worked pretty hard to encourage our customers to get out and drive their collector cars, and events like the Coker Tire Tour to the Mitty provide even more inspiration. There might be an ulterior motive hidden in there (to sell more tires, or in this case Sports Car Tires). The Mitty is a road race for vintage cars, and it's held at Road Atlanta, which is a couple hours away from our headquarters here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This year, we partnered with Classic Motorsports Magazine to create a driving experience like no other--a trip through some of the most beautiful scenery and twisty back roads with a final destination of the Mitty. With more than 50 cars participating, it was a big hit, and we're hoping to do more of these driving events in the future.

They always say that 'close' only counts in horsehoes and hand grenades, but when you're talking about spending millions in new car development and tooling up for production, close really doesn't count. Some of these great concept cars influenced the industry for years after their appearance. These cars never happened, or at least they never made it into full-scale production. When you look closer at them and consider what was going on around them at the time, you start to understand more about why they didn't make it and more interestingly, you start to see the butterfly effects of what might have happened if they did make it. Concept cars are the life blood of the industry, exercising trends, styles, engineering and even names, running from sketches all the way through to public displays. In the good ol' days, a well received car, might just hop into the fast track to production. These days the stakes are higher than ever. So too are the considerations, with safety and global applications muddying up the process. Sure, every now and then a car sneaks through, but these days the process is far more complicated and maybe in a backhanded way, less creative and exciting. Why would we suggest that today's wild 3D models of hopeful designs might be boring? Take a look at these beauties and think about all of the things that would have been changed forever had they been produced. Concept cars were never as influential as they were in the 1950s and 1960s. Enjoy Ten Cars that never happened, but totally should have.

1975 Chevrolet Corvette

It was the height of the oil crisis, horsepower was running for the hills as legions of miserly imported ants marched onto the nation's highways. The mighty muscle cars of America were gasping their last breaths. Meanwhile, Corvette was trying on short-shorts and striped tube socks, adjusting to life in the seventies. 1975 had Corvette at its lowest horsepower figure since the first generation six cylinder models(150-155hp) burbled onto the scene in the fifties. Wheezing it's way to a pavement wrinkling 165 horsepower, even Corvette was struggling with the decade. The oil crisis was not playing nicely. Even so, to this day you just have to ask how we managed to get so few horsepower from 350 cubic inches of American V8.