2013
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December 31, 2013[caption id="attachment_4492" align="aligncenter" width="725"] There isn't enough room on the internet for all the crazy things we saw this year, but here's a few of the highlights from 2013.[/caption] The social media explosion has made it easier to than ever to share and interact with like-minded people all over the world and no group has enjoyed it more than auto enthusiasts. Were able to share the cars, the people and the amazing auto events from anywhere, with the click of a button. It really is amazing how far things have come in recent years.
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December 18, 2013'Tis the season to be jolly, and sell more tires! We love this time of year. We finally have a little break from the hustle and bustle of car show season, so we can spend some time with family. As our work family continues to grow, it naturally makes our Christmas parties bigger and bigger! We had a great time at this year's Christmas party, and so did all of the kids, thanks to a visit from ol' Saint Nick himself, Santa Claus! In addition to the regular dinner, gifts for the kids and good all around fellowship, a flash mob broke out with a number of Coker employees (including the boss man) getting up on stage to sing a few Christmas songs.
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November 14, 2013
Classic car enthusiasts have always had to choose between bias ply and radial tires. The restoration guys prefer the authentic construction and appearance of bias ply tires, while many folks would rather sacrifice the vehicles authenticity to have the ride quality of a modern radial. Previously, we have offered both styles of tires (bias and radial) in whitewall form, but now we offer a tire that blends the best of both worlds. It's the new American Classic Bias Look Radial, and it's the first ever radial whitewall tire with an authentic bias ply look.
We developed a bias look tire a few years ago, and it's known as the Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial. These tires are geared toward pre-war classics and hot rods, so we wanted to fill the gap for all of our great customers who love cars from the late '40s, '50s and '60s. That's where the new American Classic bias look radial comes into play. We have nine great sizes to fit many applications, with authentic wide whitewalls that are built into the tire mold from day one. These aren't grind and glue, add on whitewalls--these are the real deal!We debuted the new American Classic radial at the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, and it was a big hit! The folks at SEMA thought so too, as it was awarded the Best New Product in the Tires and Related category! That is a huge honor, and we're excited to offer this tire to you! These tires have flown off the shelf and have been one our most popular products since they hit the market. We're sure you're wondering what sizes will be offered, so let's get to it:
6.50R13 to fit Chevy Corvair, Chevy II, Dodge Dart, Ford Falcon and many other compact cars from the early '60s!
7.50R14 for classic Chevy Impala, '57 Thunderbird and many more
8.00R14 for many classic makes and models, such as Chevy Impala, Ford Thunderbird, Plymouth, Rambler and more!
5.60R15 to fit classic Volkswagen Beetle, Porsche, MG and Alfa Romeo. This size also works well for the front of hot rods and street rods!
6.70R15 for classic '55-56 Thunderbird, Tri-five Chevy, early Corvette, etc.
7.10R15 for many Buick, Pontiac, Dodge and Studebaker applications
7.60R15 for Buick, Hudson, Mercury and Packard
8.00R15 for Cadillac, Buick, Packard and many other full size classic cars
8.20R15 for classic Cadillac, Lincoln, Buick, etc. This size also works well for the rear of hot rods and street rods!
See why we're so excited about the new American Classic bias profile radial? There are sizes to fit almost any classic car, hot rod or custom from the '40s, '50s and '60s! These tires are backed by our trusted Life of the Tread warranty and they are also eligible for our Extended Tire Protection program. They are DOT and ECE approved, and they are made right here in the USA!
Order your set today and get the authentic looks of a bias ply tire with the modern handling and ride quality of a radial. Coker Tire is your source for exciting new products in the collector vehicle industry, and this American Classic bias look radial is yet another quality product that will keep your classic rolling!
Classic car enthusiasts have always had to choose between bias ply and radial tires. The restoration guys prefer the authentic construction and appearance of bias ply tires, while many folks would rather sacrifice the vehicles authenticity to have the ride quality of a modern radial. Previously, we have offered both styles of tires (bias and radial) in whitewall form, but now we offer a tire that blends the best of both worlds. It's the new American Classic bias profile radial tire, and it's the first ever radial whitewall tire with an authentic bias ply look. -
November 08, 2013Our Executive Vice President, Mr. Wade Kawasaki wears a lot of hats. He plays a large role in our West Coast distribution, as well as a few of our sister companies, which are also operated on the West Coast. He's also a great ambassador for our company, thanks to his heavy involvement with SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association). He's been SEMA Person of the Year, and has a number of great accomplishments throughout his years in the automotive aftermarket industry. Tonight, he was included among other automotive icons, such as George Barris, Eric Grant and Joe Schubeck, by being inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame. We're glad to have him on our team, and we congratulate him for his great achievement.
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November 08, 2013Well, today is the final day that our Media team will be on hand for the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. So, we hit it hard today, and grabbed some great coverage for your enjoyment. We also had our American Classic bias look radial tire press conference this morning, so we had plenty of folks in and out of the booth. Tomorrow is the final day of SEMA 2013, and we'll likely begin thinking about SEMA 2014 on Monday. It's a huge event with all sort of great qualities, and we're glad to have been able to cover it with awesome pictures and videos.
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November 07, 2013Another great day at SEMA 2013 is in the books, and we spent another day walking the show to give you a glimpse of some of the coolest machines on hand. We've been hitting our Instagram and Facebook pages pretty hard, so be sure to check those out, as well as our YouTube channel for cool videos from the show. We didn't have any press conferences today, but man, we had a busy day. It was wall-to-wall action, so take a minute to enjoy some of our favorite shots. See ya tomorrow!!!
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November 06, 2013Wow, what a day! Our feet are tired but we had a heck of a first day here at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas! It's truly incredible to see how this event has changed since its inception 50 years ago. We have been a part of SEMA for quite some time, and this is without a doubt our biggest and best year. We have new products, and big exciting news from our President, Corky Coker. Keep reading to see the highlights from our first official day of SEMA 2013. If you want up-to-the-minute updates, please follow us on Instagram or Facebook and we'll give you all the photos you can handle!
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November 05, 2013We're currently at the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada! It's always an exciting event, and this year we are going all out. We have THREE major press conferences, one of them being the unveiling of the Lencki Six engine, an inline six-cylinder engine that ran in the Indy 500 for many years.We had an incredible turnout for the press conference, with folks like Chip Foose, Bryan Fuller, Troy Ladd and many others taking notice of the updated version of this Indy classic.
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September 22, 2013Well, folks, it's all over and we had yet another wonderful Coker Tire Challenge here in Chattanooga, Tennessee! Today's route was short enough to get us back here to Chattanooga by 11:30 or so, and we all congregated at the Coker Tire Museum for the finish reception and awards ceremony! We were proud to present the Bill Coker Spirit of the Event Award to John Coker for his dedication in the rallying world, and of course his determination to continue the family business (Coker Millwrights). Here is the Top 5 overall, as well as our Rookie winners! 1. Jody Knowles and Beth Gentry, 1932 Ford 2. Howard and Douglas Sharp, 1916 Hudson 3. Rex Gardner and Ty Holmquist, 1935 Ford 4. Bill Harper and Larry Blair, 1932 Ford 5. Gary and JeanAnn Martin, 1938 Ford Rookie Winners -- Team Benson/Kane, 1950 Ford
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September 21, 2013Well, it looks like all that bragging about yesterday's weather bit us, as we fought rain showers almost all day on today's route. We headed north, through towns such as Charleston, Athens and Englewood, before descending on the REAL backroads of Eastern TN, where the pouring rain certainly made it tough for the racers to stay focused. Our lunch destination was Cleveland, Tennessee, as a large AACA car show was being held at Westwood Baptist Church. Unfortunately, the rain was severe enough to have drastically thinned the crowd, so we didn't get to stick around for very long. After that, the rain finally started to ease up, and we rallied our way back to Chattanooga through all sorts of backroads in areas such as Georgetown and Harrison. Finally, our day ended with a Parc Ferme here at Coker Tire, and now we're ready to change into some dry shoes and give our cameras a break. Check out our favorite photos from today's wet and wild action!
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September 20, 2013Ahh, this is our favorite time of year. Crisp, cool mornings, sunny afternoons and breezy nights. We're getting a little taste of fall around here, and it's great for our Coker Tire Challenge participants. We left this morning, and the folks in open-air cars were in long sleeves. Today's route sent us West, toward Nashville, and we went through a bunch of small towns, such as Jasper and Tracy City on our way to Tullahoma for our lunch stop. The twisty roads, countless hay fields and barns made for great scenery, as the field of cars and trucks made sure to hit all of their marks and stay on time. Finally, we came back to Chattanooga for an awesome dinner right here at the Coker Tire Museum. Check out our favorite pictures from today, and wish us luck for tomorrow!
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September 11, 2013We gave you the lowdown on the 68th Revival Glidden Tour in our previous post and let you know that part of the festivities involved a great visit to Harold Coker's barn here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. For those that don't know, Harold Coker is the founder of Coker Tire and he's the father of Corky Coker. He's been a car guy all of his life, and he's still fooling with cars on a daily basis. His car collection is very cool, and it's all packed in a barn just like you see all over the Southern portion of the United States. Check it out!
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September 11, 2013The Glidden Tour is an event that relives the early years of the automobile, when American Automobile Association (AAA) decided to hold a touring event in the 1900's to prove the reliability of the automobile, which was in its infancy. The original Glidden Tours were held from 1903 to 1911 and they were named after Charles Glidden. Then, in 1946, the Glidden Tour was revived by the Veteran Motor Car Club of America (VMCCA) and continues to this day, visiting a different city each year. For 2013, we were lucky enough to have the 68th Revival Glidden Tour visit Chattanooga, Tennessee to see what the Scenic City has to offer!
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August 16, 2013Well, they're not exactly on speaking terms with ole Ralph, but maybe the controversial "Unsafe at Any Speed" writer inadvertently made these cars even more popular in the long run? The cult-like following of Corvair owners across the United States are as dedicated to their favorite cars (and vans) as any group out there. One such club, filled the Coker Tire Company parking lot today as the Choo Choo Corvair Club toured the Chattanooga, Tennessee headquarters.
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July 01, 2013We're proud to announce that Barry and Irene Jason have WON the 2013 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty! The Jason's are a strong force in the rallying world, and they had another incredible stretch of Ace's and awesome scores in order to bring home the 'Bird trophy as well as a check for $50,000! By the way, the Jason's drive a '35 Ford coupe, which rolls on a set of our Excelsior Stahl Sport radial tires! The Great Race crowned a number of winners today in Mobile, Alabama, most of which rally on Coker Tire products. We want to say congrats to all of the winners, as well as all participants in general. The Great Race is a grueling challenge, but it's oh-so sweet when you cross that finish line! We did just that today in Mobile, Alabama, and we're already planning for next year's event! Thanks to everyone who followed along on our blogs and social media sites...y'all are awesome!
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June 29, 2013As we continue to head South we have officially crossed into Louisiana and we will spend the next two days rallying throughout the state, and finally into Mobile, Alabama on Sunday for the Grand Finish! We're definitely in the Deep South, and we're seeing a lot of great scenery, so check out our favorite shots from today's route, as well as our lunch stop in Natchez, Mississippi and the evening stop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. See y'all tomorrow!
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June 28, 2013The 2013 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty started in St. Paul, Minnesota, and we've dealt with heat, rain, washed-out road and many more obstacles. Today's biggest obstacle was a grueling route, and upper 90's temperatures. After about 325 miles of rallying, we made our stops in Monticello, Arkansas and Vicksburg, Mississippi and a few fuel and rest room stops in between. It was an awesome day, despite the heat, and we even saw a very cool (accidental) farm sprinkler, which sprayed water into the one of the roads on our route! Today was a challenge for the rally participants, as well as the staff, but we came away with some great pictures, so check 'em out!
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June 27, 2013We're back in Tennessee! Germantown to be exact! We started today's route in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and made an incredible lunch stop in Paragould, Arkansas and then to a Great Race favorite town of Germantown, Tennessee. The Great Race has stopped in Germantown on a couple of different occasions, and it has always been a must-see stop. This year was no different! Today's route was super tricky with lots of hard turns and speed changes, so it gave us plenty of opportunities to grab cool pictures and videos. Here are a few of our favorites!
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June 26, 2013What a day! We had a great day on our Great Race adventures and we're going to show you our favorite shots of the day! We left out from Hannibal, Missouri, and blasted through lots of farm land, which eventually led us to some mountain roads that was an awesome change of pace. Then, we stopped in Washington, Missouri for lunch, and received a warm welcome! Then, we hit it hard and motored south to Cape Girardeau, Missouri for one of the biggest Great Race stops in recent history. The folks at Cape G really came out for the Great Race, and we certainly appreciate their effort! Check out our pics!
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June 25, 2013Yep, we're still on the road, so it's time for some pictures from today's rallying action! Road closures due to flooding shook up today's route, but we made it through to our lunch stop in Peoria, Illinois as well as a rockin' dinner stop in Hannibal, Missouri! Check out even more pictures on the Great Race website and all of our Social Media outlets!
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June 24, 2013We're continuing our nine-day journey down the Mighty Mississippi River with a bunch of rallying through the back roads of Wisconsin and Iowa! We made a stop in Dubuque, Iowa for lunch, then made a run by the river, passing through Bellevue, Iowa. The small town came out in droves to watch the Great Race pass through its main street, so we grabbed a few shots there as well. Then, we cut a trail through the farm land of Iowa, on our way to a final destination of Davenport, Iowa! Check out our favorite shots of the day, and be sure to keep track of our daily progress on our Facebook page and Instagram feed!
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June 23, 2013Wow, what a day! We started off with thousands of hot rodders and car enthusiasts watching as we released the racers one by one. It was an incredible display, and we had Grand Marshall Wayne Carini from Chasing Classic Cars waving the green flag! We had a blast in St. Paul, Minnesota, but it was time for our rolling circus to make its way south, so we high tailed it to Eau Claire, Wisconsin for lunch and then La Crosse, Wisconsin for dinner. Check out our favorite shots of the day!
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June 22, 2013We're in St. Paul, Minnesota for the kickoff of the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. We've been super busy with getting all of our gear setup and ready for a nine day journey down the Mighty Mississippi! We're kicking off tomorrow from the Back to the '50s event at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, and we'll be motivating down the most beautiful backroads in America on our way to the final destination of Mobile, Alabama. We started the Great Race with a practice rally today (we call it the Hagerty Trophy Run) and then went to the kickoff reception later in the day. It was a blast and we're ready for a FULL day of action tomorrow, and the next nine days! Also, check out a few shots from the Back to the '50s Car Show here in St. Paul...we saw lots of Coker Tire products out there!
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June 07, 2013We were thrilled when we heard that the Hot Rod Power Tour would be coming back to Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2013. We geared up for a huge event, and that's exactly what it was...HUGE! Thousands of cars came out to Chattanooga State Community College for the official day's stop, while we prepared for an After Party Cruise In at our place! By 5pm, rush hour traffic was jam-packed with hot rods and everyone was headed to Coker!
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June 05, 2013Today, we are running wide open to prepare for the Chattanooga stop of the 2013 Hot Rod Power Tour, which blasts through the Scenic City tomorrow, June 6th. This afternoon, a couple guys pull up in a slick little '31 Ford Model A coupe and these guys completely skipped today's Birmingham stop to get some new tires and wheels. Harry Kavelaars came all the way down from Orangeville, Ontario, Canada for the Power Tour, so we welcomed him with a hardy, "Come on in and stay a while" and commenced to swapping his tires and wheels while he waited.
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May 24, 2013Marmon Motor Car Company built some incredible cars from 1902 until 1933, including the winner of the inaugural Indianapolis 500--the famous Marmon Wasp. Based in Indy, the company produced a number of cars that were high end in nature, and that meant they were large cars with a lot of style. There aren't many Marmons left, but The Marmon Club has grouped many of the remaining cars together with annual meets, such as the Marmon Muster, which was held right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee this week.
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April 23, 2013Members from Hot Rod Magazine, Chattanooga Visitor Bureau, Family Events and Coker Tire Company were on hand in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee today to announce Chattanooga as a stop on the upcoming 2013 Hot Rod Power Tour. The massive car tour visited Chattanooga in 2010 bringing thousands of cars, people and revenue to the city. The 2010 visit made a good enough impression to get the encore opportunity in 2013. The event projects over 3,000 participants rolling onto the campus of Chattanooga State throughout the day, with the event hours scheduled from 12:00pm to 7:00pm. The Chattanooga festivities won't stop at 7:00pm, as there's an after-party planned at the headquarters of Coker Tire Company in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee
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April 01, 2013Alright guys and gals, we're super excited about our event, the Chattanooga Cruise In, coming up this Saturday, April 6th from 2-8pm Eastern time. If you're anywhere near Chattanooga, you need to check it out! Several hundred cars will be on display on the streets surrounding the Coker Tire headquarters here in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. We'll also have an open house for our facility, as well as an open house at Honest Charley Speed Shop and Honest Charley Garage. Please join us!
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February 07, 2013We have just been informed that the Great Race television show will air on Speed Channel on Saturday, March 23, at 10:00am EST. It airs as a special episode of Hot Rod TV, and it's going to be awesome! Coker Tire is a major sponsor of the event and it's an extreme passion for all the folks involved in promoting the event, so seeing it on Speed will be great!
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October 08, 2012The passing of a year of the calendar for kids seems to have very important points during the year like the end of school, Christmas, and birthdays. My calendar year seems to have important dates that focus around car events. As a died-in-the-wool car guy, I know it is Fall for sure when the AACA National Fall Meet, better simply known as Hershey rolls around. If you have never been to Hershey, Pennsylvania for this huge collector car extravaganza, you MUST put this event on your list.
