For the last 13 years, the folks at Paradise Drag Strip have teamed up with BB Brown to create the Paradise Show N Go. This series of events encompasses nostalgia drag racing on the historic eighth-mile drag strip, as well as a car show and a massive swap meet. It's just down the road from us in Calhoun, Georgia so we try to check it out as often as our schedule allows. What we didn't realize is that this would be the final Paradise Show N Go event, as BB Brown retired and sold his event promotion business to fellow hot rodders Sam and Austin Patrick. They will continue to have the same types of events, and what was previously known as the Show N Go will now be called "Thrills on the Hill". The events always have a good mixture of traditional hot rods, gassers and all things nostalgia, but three particular hot rods really got our attention during the March Show N Go event and they just happened to be equipped with Coker Tire products (imagine that!). Let's take a look and see what

When we debuted the American Classic Bias Look Radial tire in 2013, it was a ground breaking product for the collector car market. It allowed classic car enthusiasts to get the looks of an authentic bias ply tire with the modern ride quality, tread life and safety of a radial. Now, we're doing it all over again with the American Classic Model A+ Radial, the world's first bias look radial tire to fit the popular Ford Model A, and other applications from the 1920's and 1930's. The classic tread pattern and shoulder design offer the vintage look, while the tall sidewall perfectly fits within the stock fenders of a Model A. The 475/500R19 and 440/450R21 sizing offers direct replacement

While Coker Tire's main customer base has been collector car enthusiasts, we have a great following in the drag racing market with our Phoenix Race Tires brand. These tires are born from Firestone heritage, and have the latest compounds, as well as old favorites from the Firestone Firehawk days. The Phoenix Race Tires product line includes more than 20 sizes to fit all types of drag racing applications, from the weekend warrior to the NHRA Super Stock champions. With the increased popularity of "small tire racing" and "no prep drag racing", we're proud to introduce several new bias ply slick options. First is the 10.5/28.0-15 (also known as a 28x10.5 tire). This is the quintessential "small tire" size, and is used on everything from street cars to all out grudge cars. They fit perfectly

The evolution of the Chattanooga Cruise In has shocked everyone on the Coker Tire staff. We designed this event to be a casual hang out for car enthusiasts, and it has turned into quite the spectacle. Its intense growth led us to the decision of moving the event from the streets of downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee to Camp Jordan, a giant park on the East side of town. While hesitant to move the event away from our headquarters, we also knew that a larger venue was necessary to accomodate the big crowds. The good news is that the folks from East Ridge Parks & Rec welcomed us with open arms, and most cruise in participants were glad to hear that we were making more room. We had a great plan for our vendors and sponsors inside the Camp Jordan Arena, and we thought there would be PLENTY of room outisde for a swap meet, participant parking and spectator parking.

On a beautiful Saturday morning, the cars began arriving at around 5:30am to unload, clean up and find a spot. It was apparent

There's nothing we love more than the first sign of spring, and for us, that usually means hopping in an old car and driving to a car show. Here in Tennessee, the first events usually kick off in mid-March, and the Corvette Expo in Pigeon Forge is almost always on our radar. It's a fun event with cars, vendors, a swap meet and lots of fun for all types of Corvette (and Chevy) enthusiats. This year, along with the Corvette extravaganza, Byron Cooper and event organizers put together the Chevelles in the Smokies exhibit as part of the indoor display at the Corvette Expo. This exhibit brought together 18 of the finest Chevelles East of the Mississippi, and many of them were wearing our tires! We were pleased to see that the Best in Show was wearing a set of our Firestone Wide Oval Radial redline tires and Rallye wheels, an excellent combo! Other notable cars in the Chevelles in the Smokies exhibit was a pair of 1966 Chevelles owned by Terry Davis. Both cars were rolling on Firestone 775-14

A few years ago, we decided to host a toy drive for our local Toys for Tots chapter, and it has been a great experience. We have seen car guys and girls bring truck loads of toys, and donate hundreds of dollars to the cause, and it always puts a smile on our face. This event isn't about mass quanitites of cars, because to be honest, it doesn't draw near as big of a crowd as our spring time cruise in. But it does bring out some dedicated car enthusiasts, who are willing to brave some cold weather in order to donate to a good cause. We are so thankful for all of you for participating in this event. You helped us donate $2,400 and TEN giant boxes of toys to the Toys for Tots Foundation. The money and toys go to local families this Christmas and we're so proud to be a part of such a great cause. Take a look at some of the highlights from this event, and be sure to stay tuned for information on our upcoming cruise in events for 2019. 

The SEMA Show is the world's largest automotive trade show, and it's an event that we pour a bunch of time and engery into each year. This is the place to debut new products, showcase new builds and build relationships with future clients and customers. The event itself has grown over the years, and it has turned into a bucket list item for all car and truck enthusiasts, even though it is not open to the public. The exclusivity of the event makes it all the more appealing, so we do our best to cover it each year and show off some of the Coker-equipped rides on display. We have two booths at the event--one in the Central Hall in an area called "Hot Rod Alley" and another outside in the Silver Lot. This allows us to reach thousands of customers during the four-day event. In those booth setups, we display our newest products, as well as some of our best sellers, and we typically display a few vehicles to showcase those great products. This year, we had Rick Dore's Shangri-La 1936 Cadillac

2018 marks the 47th meet for Chief Blackhawk. Whether you’re looking for an old bike, parts or just want to go watch some racing, there is something for everyone in Davenport. Hosted at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, there is plenty of room to putt around the swap meet area on your bike, trike or whatever you brought. Spectators come from all over the world to flock here for 3 days of swap meets and other motorcycle related events. Coker Tire has been traveling to Davenport for many years, selling motorcycle tires, tubes and rims to the diehard folks who attend the show year after year. Let's take a look at some of our favorite Coker-equipped bikes, as documented by one of our sale representatives, Benjamin Battles who is pretty handy with a camera. Check it out.

Gene Harper’s 24 Indian Chief + Sidecar
Gene Harper stopped by the booth with his 1924 Indian Chief. Equipped with a correct Princess side car, he is planning on taking it to the

The Street Rod Nationals is a long standing "must see" event for anyone interested in street rods, custom cars, muscle cars and more. The National Street Rod Association (NSRA) is an organization formed to provide structured events that would eventually take the place of small town "rod runs" which were popular in the 1960's and 1970's. While we still love a small town car show, it's hard to argue with the formula that the NSRA put into place many years ago. Events like "The Nationals" offered plenty of incentive for folks to attend, so it became normal for street rodders to travel thousands of miles. The Street Rod Nationals eventually found a home in Louisville, Kentucky, a central location with a venue capable of handling the massive crowd of cars, vendors and people. This year is the 49th annual Street Rod Nationals, and we noticed a resurgence in attendance. The lots were packed with cars and spectators, and we're sure that the turnout will be even better next year for the big 50th

The Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty is geared toward vintage cars and trucks, so it makes sense that the majority of them are using Coker Tire products. We offer tires that have the period correct look, while also providing great performance for precision rallying. Jeff and Eric Fredette have been rallying for many years in their 1933 Ford pickup and they rely on Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial tires to get the job done. And if you've seen some of our pictures of this attention-getting pickup truck, then you know Jeff puts those tires to the test. This year, he led the field for several days of competition, but had a rough scoring day on 8th day of competition. It allowed John and Scott Hudson to jump into the lead, leaving the Fredettes with a tough deficit on the final day of

We're so close to the finish we can almost taste it! Actually, we're staying in Halifax, Nova Scotia tonight, as it's right across the bay from this evening's hosted stop in Dartmouth. Tomorrow we will finish the Great Race at the Waterfront Warehouse in downtown Halifax! With awesome water views and lots of tension in the air, the crowd will be at full attention when its time for the Great Racers to cross the finish line. Whether or not they win their division, the real thrill of the Great Race is crossing the finish line. Today, we started in Moncton, New Brunswick, and crossed over into Truro, Nova Scotia for a very well attended lunch stop. Then, the racers had a tricky route in the Nova Scotia farm land, looping around to the same intersection three times throughout the afternoon. Finally, we rolled into Dartmouth for the Day 8 evening stop. There was a big shake up in the overall standings today, and it sent John and Scott Hudson to the top of the leader board. Gary and Jean Ann Martin

7 down and 2 more to go! We're getting closer to the Grand Finish in Halifax, Nova Scotia but we have two more tough days of rallying ahead of us. Today was a long one, as we traveled from Bar Harbor, Maine into Canada. It was an early start to give us plenty of time to cross the Canadian boarder, and get ready to start the day's timed course. The morning course covered lots of ground, but kept us on one particular road for many miles (or kilometers, since we're in Canada). We made our way to a packed-out lunch stop in Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada, and then hit the road again. We received a warm welcome in the town of Sussex, New Brunswick. They were not a hosted stop, but they knew the limited roads would send the Great Racers through their town. They watched us drive through, offering waves, cheers and even a live band playing near the street. It was great!

We knew it was coming...RAIN. We started off the race with some showers, but today was an all out downpour all day. The steady rainfall was brutal on the racers and staff, and it certainly hindered the spectator experience. We started the day in Bangor, Maine, then rallied all around before going to the Seal Cove Auto Museum for lunch. The rain was pouring as we rolled the cars to their stopping points, but we had a nice, dry seat inside the museum for a wonderful hosted lunch. From there, we went all around the island, eventually making our way to Acadia National Park for a tour of Cadillac Mountain and scenic views of the Atlantic Ocean...well, what we could see of it due to the fog and rain. Either way, it was beautiful, and it led us to our evening stop in Bar Harbor, Maine. This tourist town would've been one of the most epic stops on the race, but the weather just didn't cooperate. The extreme wind and rain was bad enough but there was potential for storms during the peak times of

On the road again! We launched from the beautiful town of Burlington, Vermont this morning, and our course instructions sent us on another journey through rural farm land and small towns. We eventually crossed into New Hampshire, making our way to a lunch stop at base of Mount Washington. We had a great turnout of folks at the lunch stop, and all racers had the option of making the trip to the Summit using the historic Mount Washington Auto Road. This treacherous 7.4-mile road has no guard rails, and it's barely wide enough for two cars to pass each other. About 30 of the 117 teams elected to go to the Summit, and we were there to capture some great photos as they climbed. After the Mount Washington adventure was complete, we had a direct route into Maine, and an outstanding stop in Gardiner. The small town offered the perfect venue for our entourage, and the locals came out in droves to support the Great Race. Check out our highlights from today's route, and look for some beautiful Maine

The Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty keeps on rolling! Today, we left New York, and rallied through the beautiful state of Vermont. The landscape offered great views, and it also offered a challenging course for the Great Racers. With a variety of terrain, dozens of speed changes and a tough stretch of highway rallying, the course took its toll on the teams. We stopped in Bennington, Vermont for lunch, and couldn't believe the awesome spectator turnout on a Monday. The venue was the Hemmings Motor News facility, which actually has a full service vintage gas station out front. From there, we headed north to Burlington, Vermont, where we invaded the Church Street Marketplace. The pedestrian area of downtown Burlington came alive with sound of vintage engines as our teams made their way into town. Check out our photo highlights from today's rally through Vermont and get ready for some epic scenery tomorrow as we tackle the Mount Washington Auto Road in New Hampshire.

Today, we tackled the state of New York. Yesterday's route didn't cover a lot of ground, as we made the easy jump from Buffalo to Fairport. However, today was a new animal, as we started the day in Rochester, New York and ended on the Eastern side of the state in the city of Troy. We saw fields and farmland for many miles of today's trip, but we also saw some cool old towns sprinkled throughout New York. After a morning route full of hills, twists and turns, we made our way into Norwich, New York for lunch. The venue was the Northeast Classic Car Musuem, which houses an incredible collection of cars, trucks, motorcycles, engines and more. We could've stayed there all day! But the clock was ticking and we had to hit the road. We then drove into more scenic farmland, and saw dozens of Coker-equipped vehicles performing well on the course.

The Southeast Moparty Picnic is an event that raises money for the Greater Chattanooga Colon Cancer Foundation. It's a massive gathering of all things Mopar, and it includes an indoor car show display, a cruise in, swap meet, and vendors. The event continues to grow each year, and expanded to a two-day event this year with a full night of racing action at Brainerd Motorsports Park. The field of cars is diverse, ranging from '50s classics to modern Challengers, Vipers and more. Of course, we loved seeing the iconic muscle cars, including Chargers, 'Cudas, Road Runners and more. There were tons of Coker-equipped Mopars in the crowd, so take a look at our favorites and mark your calendar for next year. The event is always held on the Friday and Saturday of Mother's Day weekend.

We recently had the opportunity to make the short drive to Chilhowee Park in Knoxville, Tennessee for the NSRA Street Rod Nationals South. The venue is perfect for a rod run, and we always enjoy the variety of cars. This year, we spotted some fresh builds and LOTS of classic trucks mixed in with the traditional street rods. The weather hindered the turnout, but it was a great weekend of street rods, customs, muscle cars and more. Of course, we saw a bunch of cars and trucks rolling on Coker Tire products, so we snapped pictures as we made our way around the show. Check out our favorite Coker-equipped vehicles from the show. [caption id="attachment_9101" align="alignleft" width="780"] It's hard to beat a mid '60s Corvette convertible. This one is rolling on a set of our

60 years. A milestone that brings us back to our humble beginnings, as a simple tire and service center. Harold Coker had high expectations for his business back in 1958, but he couldve never imagined it growing into the worlds largest supplier of tires and wheels for collector vehicles. Although Harold passed away in 2014, his influence is still a major motivator at Coker Tire Company, and its our goal to carry on his legacy. In 1974 Harolds son, Corky Coker, joined the family business and its his vision and dedication that took it to the next level. With trusted employees by his side, Corky traveled the world acquiring original molds to discontinued classic tires in order to bring them back in limited supply. Corkys passion inspired new product developments,

For the hot rod and custom world, there are a handful of iconic shows that bring out the best this hobby and lifestyle has to offer. The Grand National Roadster Show is certainly toward the top of that list, as it features hundreds of high end hot rods, customs and more on the grounds of the Pomona Fairplex. The Grand National Roadster Show is home to several highly coveted awards, including the America's Most Beautiful Roadster award. This 9-foot trophy is a legendary piece of hot rod history and having your name etched into it is one of the highest achievements any owner or builder can reach. While the AMBR award gets a lot of attention, there are several buildings packed with awesome cars, all with unique features and histories. We always enjoy the Suede Palace, as all of the cars are either historic hot rods or historically accurate to the 1950's and 1960's. This year, the Grand National Roadster Show even had a building full of muscle cars, a new twist for the event. The muscle car

Coker Tire specializes in whitewall tires, so we thought it would be cool to have a little history lesson about the history of whitewalls. To find the earliest usage of a whitewall tire, you have to rewind the clock more than 100 years. Originally, automotive tires were off white in color, due to the natural color of the rubber formula used by tire companies. Zinc oxide would later be used to give the tires a more bright white color. Then, in 1910, B.F. Goodrich used a substance called "carbon black" in the manufacturing process. This formula strengthened the rubber, which was quite important considering the condition of the roads back then. When mixed with the raw materials, the carbon black caused the tire to be black. A short time later, a smaller tire company jumped on the carbon black bandwagon, but only added it to the tread surface as a cost savings. The result? Black tread and

The highly contested America's Most Beautiful Roadster award is something that every hot rodder dreams about. The award is presented each year at the Grand National Roadster Show and the intense level of competition inspires some of the most creative and stylish hot rods in the world. This year, the winner of the America's Most Beautiful Roadster award is the 1931 Ford roadster, known as the Martin Special. The highly customized roadster is owned by David Martin, and built by Scott Bonowski and crew at Hot Rods & Hobbies in Signal Hill, California. The car features a massaged body, and a chassis that is tweaked and tuned for performance. Before the car was finished, David entered it in the Silver State Classic open-road race in Nevada, running in the 100mph class. The car worked flawlessly, and so it was torn apart to be painted and upholstered. The car has an Ed Pink small block Chevy, making 500 horsepower, and it's putting it to the ground through a set of our

Chattanooga Cruise In Toy Drive 2017 -- The joy of helping others is something brings a smile to our faces, and it's a pretty common thread in the collector vehicle community. These old cars aren't necessary expenditures, so car people can spare a few bucks to help others. We wanted to give back to the community by hosting an annual toy drive event right here at our facility. Given the success of our Chattanooga Cruise In events, we knew this would be a great opportunity to get folks together and gather up some toys and donations for the local chapter Toys for Tots foundation. As with any November car event, the weather forecast was pretty iffy. In fact, there was a 90 percent chance of rain for Saturday, November 18th, which obviously affected the turnout of cars, but we still had more than 100 cars and trucks participate in the Chattanooga Cruise In Toy Drive. Thankfully, the rain held off long enough for us to have a great day on the streets of Chattanooga, watching the pile of toys

The SEMA Show is an annual spectacle of all things automotive, as the world's top auto manufacturers (both OEM and aftermarket) overtake the Las Vegas Convention Center for a week. And while the SEMA Show features hundreds of cars, trucks and other performance vehicles, it added another level of excellence by starting the SEMA Battle of the Builders. This competition is available for any display vehicle as the SEMA Show, and all participants are narrowed down to the Top 40, then the Top 12 by a selection of judges. Then, the Top 12 builders vote among themselves to determine the Top 3. The winner of the SEMA Battle of the Builders is crowned during the SEMA Ignited event on Friday evening, after the show closes. The SEMA Ignited event is open to the public, allowing car enthusiasts of all ages to check out the awesome vehicles. This year, the SEMA Battle of the Builders event came down to three awesome hot rods, all of which roll on Coker Tire products. Continue reading to check them out!

Day 2 of SEMA 2017 is in the books and we're already started on day 3! We started the day off with the annual SEMA Prayer Breakfast, which is organized and sponsored by Coker Group President and SEMA Chairman, Wade Kawasaki. After that, we were on our feet to see some of the finest automobiles, parts and people from the aftermarket industry. We spotted a bunch of great cars, rolling on Coker Tire products, including a couple of Chip Foose 1932 Fords, and many more classic cars, hot rods and muscle cars. Take a look at our favorites, and look forward to more highlights as the week rolls on. [caption id="attachment_8935" align="alignleft" width="780"] SEMA 2017 features a bunch of high end hot rods. George Poteet's 1932 Ford Tudor is on display in the Ford booth and it's had a crowd around it all week. The

SEMA 2017 -- It's that time of year again! The SEMA Show is an annual gathering of the automotive world, and it's the biggest automotive trade show on the planet! We're always excited to see the new trends of the automotive aftermarket, and the SEMA Show is the place to find them. We've been in Las Vegas for several days already, as it takes quite an effort to set up our indoor booth (Central Hall, Booth #22775) as well as our outdoor display in the Silver Lot. We're proud to introduce a new product at SEMA 2017, the new Firestone 721 Steel belted radial, sized at LR78-15 for 1970's Cadillac, Lincoln and other full size luxury sedans. We hosted a press conference on Tuesday to talk about the new tire and to kick off the 60th anniversary celebration of our company. The SEMA event is packed with awesome cars, trucks and motorcycles, and many of them have our tires and wheels on them! Take a look at some of our favorites from setup days and Day One of SEMA 2017!

The 3rd annual Chattanooga Cruise In Toy Drive is coming up on Saturday, November 18th from 8am until Noon. We've once again partnered with Toys for Tots Chattanooga chapter to gather toys and monetary donations for needy kids in our area. This is a charity event, and we anticipate more than 200 hundred cars, trucks and motorcycles in attendance--we hope that you'll be one of them! There is no entry fee, but we do ask that everyone bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to the cause, or drop a few bucks in the donation box. The fine folks at Custom Werks Graphics have donated our event shirts, so every dime we make from the special $10 event T-shirts goes directly to Toys for Tots. Please spread the word, and come out to 1317 Chestnut Street in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee to join us for a special day of giving, and one final chance to drive your hot rod, classic truck or muscle car before winter time.

Winding roads, cool cars and a full day of fun. That's what the Somernites Power Cruise is all about, and we're proud to be a sponsor of the Chattanooga, Tennessee leg of the annual event. We've participated in the Somernites Power Cruise since 2012, and we rely on the Somernites Cruise staff to help us park cars during our own Chattanooga Cruise In events. We have an awesome relationship with the guys from the small town of Somerset, Kentucky, which turns into Car Town USA once a month. And while the Somernites Cruise occurs on the fourth Saturday of the month from April to October...it's the September event that always gets our attention, as it features the "Power Cruise" and a leg that starts right here at Coker Tire. We kicked things off with a cookout and cruise in here at Coker on Friday night, and then hit the road on Saturday morning. This year, we had awesome weather, although it was a little warm at times, and the result was a great turnout on our Chattanooga leg. We traveled

(Photos by Daniel Strohl, Hemmings Motor News) Without question, the greatest cars in the world rely on Coker Tire products for authenticity and the winner of the Hemmings Concours d'Elegance continues to prove it. This year's Best in Show is Bill Alley's 1914 Locomobile Berline, a spectacular example of an automotive rarity, as it is believed to be the only surviving car of this model. The massive touring car commands attention everywhere it goes, and it rolls on a set of our Goodrich Silvertown high pressure whitewall tires. Even though the car has been completed for quite some time, Bill keeps it looking fresh and clean, and it was enough to take home top honors from the Hemmings Concours d'Elegance event this past weekend. While the beautifully restored Locomobile stole the show with its stature and authenticity, there were many other classic cars on the show

And just like that, the 2017 Coker Tire Challenge is in the books! We traveled the back roads of Tennessee and Alabama with a little bit of Georgia thrown in the mix, and safely returned for the finish at our facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. While there were plenty of challenges, crossing the finish line made all of the blood, sweat and tears worth it! Corky Coker, Wade Kawasaki and Jeff Stumb welcomed the racers in, while John Classen gave them time sheets and the scoring team tabulated the scores. The Rookie winners, the Top 5 overall leaders and the Bill Coker Spirit of the Event award winners were announced after the drivers, navigators and support crews ate a wonderful meal catered by Shuford's Smokehouse. With racers from as far away as Oregon, Michigan, Massachusetts, Texas, and even a team from Japan, we just love the dedication within the vintage rally community. We certainly enjoyed having them here in the Scenic City, and we'd like to congratulate Jody Knowles and Beth Gentry

When September rolls around, we know that we'll be covered up with events, as events like the Street Rodder Road Tour, Somernites Power Cruise and more occur in the busy month. The Coker Tire Challenge to be the third weekend in September, and we can always count on many of our Great Race rally friends to join the fun at our little hometown regional rally. It's a much more relaxed atmosphere than the hustle and bustle of Great Race, but the competition aspect is still there, so it gives the veterans awesome practice and gives them a chance to win a few bucks too! This year, we had about 40 teams join us on the Coker Tire Challenge, even after a few dropped out due to the unfortunate hurricanes of late. Great Race regulars, like Curtis Graf, Rex Gardner, Gary and Jean Ann Martin, and of course, Brad Phillips from Hagerty were among the field of stellar teams in this year's Coker Tire Challenge.

We've had several visits from the Street Rodder Road Tour over the past few years. This year, we had a little different experience, as we got to see the Vintage Air Road Tour, instead of Jerry Dixey's Street Rodder Road Tour group. The Vintage Air Road Tour comes from Texas, and it's led by Rick Love, Vice President of Vintage Air. We hosted a stop at Coker Tire, offering the Vintage Air Road Tour donuts and coffee to get their day started. With Hurricane Harvey coming through the Houston area just days before the Vintage Air Road Tour began, it had an affect on the turnout, but there were still about 40 awesome cars running in the tour, including a few that were rolling on our whitewall tires and BFGoodrich

Okay, so it's not really science. Big and little tires are your preference and it's a method of customization that hot rodders have been using for decades. It originated from racing, as most forms of racers (dirt track, Indy and drag racing) would fit racecars with smaller front tires and wheels and larger rear tires and wheels. The smaller fronts reduced rolling resistance and weight, while the larger rear tires provided more traction and a modification to the final drive ratio. The look translated well to street-driven hot rods, and it is a timeless design that is still be utilized to this day. Hot rodders have experimented with various combinations, and continue to do so, while holding a measuring tape and their trusty Coker Tire catalog for reference. Whether you choose the traditional look of bias ply tires, or the upgraded handling of a

It could be said that national car events are declining in popularity, but that's only the case if you're looking at stale event formats that have done the same thing at the same place for dozens of years. A fresh outlook on the national car event subject is the Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals, held at historic Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This event just finished its third year in operation, and it is without a doubt the fastest growing car event in our market. When the idea was first brought up by Chris Sondles, he had high hopes and a great team behind him. Since that first event, the Tri-Five Nationals has continued to grow, with participants from every state in our great country, as well as participants from 14 other countries! This year's total number of cars was 2,717, which is remarkable when you consider that we're talking about Chevrolet passenger cars built in 1955, 1956 and 1957. This three-year run is undoubtedly a popular platform to build upon, and anyone

It was another great year at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. We always go into this show, knowing that it kicks off our busy late summer and fall season, and what a great way to do it! The Kentucky Exposition Center is HUGE and it offers plenty of room for more than 10,000 hot rods, classic trucks and muscle cars to invade the property, and it also provides plenty of space for companies to display their latest and greatest products inside the vendor building. We had our new Firestone Wide Oval Radial tire on display, along with all of our regular favorites for the street rod market. And since we had so much room in our booth, we included a couple of killer hot rods. One is a light green 1932 Ford roadster, built by Johnson's Hot Rod Shop in Gadsden, Alabama and the other is a Washington Blue 1932 Ford roadster, built by Adams Hot Rod Shop in Calhoun, Georgia. These southern hot rods have distinct styling similarities and differences, but drew a lot of attention over

We have finally reached the finish line of the 2017 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty, in Traverse City, Michigan. This 9-day, 2,300-mile journey has been full of ups and downs, but one team that had an unbeatable consistency was Jody Knowles and Beth Gentry. They are always competitive in the Expert division, but they stepped it up a notch this year. With a winning score of 44.55 seconds, this team is taking home more than $50,000 in cash and prizes! By the way, the Knowles/Gentry won the race on a set of our BFGoodrich Silvertown wide whitewall radial tires and Hot Rod Steel wheels! In fact, 9 of the Top 10 teams were rolling on Coker Tire products!

As we moved further north on the 2017 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty, the temperatures dropped and we enjoyed a cool Michigan breeze. The day's route offered loops and mazes, and lots of tough maneuvers to keep the racers on their toes. Suddenly, we found ourselves on the coast of Lake Huron in the beautiful town of Alpena, Michigan. Then, it was a long afternoon of rallying, as we made our way to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, on the United States and Canada border. Tomorrow is the big day as our journey comes to an end in Traverse City, Michigan, and we see where all of the teams stack up. Currently, 9 of the top 10 cars are rolling on Coker Tire products. Unfortunately, our Coker Tire sponsored team dropped a few positions, but they are still in the Top 10 in the Expert division. Take a look at today's highlights and stay tuned to see the results of 2,300 miles and nine days of rallying!

Another tough day of rallying is in the books on the 2017 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. Director of Competition, John Classen didn't cut the racers any slack today, providing a tough route with lots of short rally legs, which can really throw off the day's scores. With a total of 9 legs on the day, it kept everyone on their A-game. We made two awesome stops today--first was the Stahls Automotive Museum in Chesterfield Township, Michigan. Ted and Mary Stahl are great supporters of the Great Race and have an unbelievable collection of cars, motorcycles, automatic musical instruments, vintage signs and more. We enjoyed a great meal and then headed toward the overnight stop in Frankenmuth, Michigan. The German town has tons of character, and we were blown away with the turnout. Thousands of people crowded the streets, welcoming the racers to their beautiful town. The Team Coker Tire entry of Gary and Jean Ann Martin moved up a position today in the overall standings,

We're still truckin' right along on the 2017 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty! As we embarked on day 6 of this epic adventure, we knew it would be action packed and rather busy...but the good kind of busy! We stopped in three towns, all of which featuring awesome museums! First was a pit stop in Shipshewana, Indiana, and the Hostetler's Hudson Auto Museum. Usually, these pit stops are highly advertised, but we ended up with hundreds of spectators checking out our cars while we looked at the impressive collection of Hudsons. We also grabbed a quick snack, provided by the museum. Then, it was onto lunch at the incredible Gilmore Auto Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan! This place was packed with spectators, some of which drove their old cars to offer us the warmest of welcomes! Finally, we made the final push to Ypsilanti, Michigan, where a HUGE crowd would greet us. Ypsilanti is the home of the last remaining Hudson

We're getting close to the halfway point of the 2017 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. It's no wonder that the Great Race is the world's premier vintage car rally...every town rolls out the red carpet for us, and makes us feel so special when we roll through. And even though we're only there for a short time, we make new friends and meet so many new people at every stop. Today, our route sent us into Indiana for an excellent lunch stop in French Lick, where town was full of spectators, and classic cars. From there, the route took an unexpected turn, due to road construction in the area, so our afternoon ride was quite relaxing! The evening stop in Franklin, Indiana was mind-blowing. This small town has a HUGE courthouse, which is surrounded by historic buildings and historic houses. We just couldn't get enough of Franklin, as it had all the right scenery, and thousands of people to cheer us on as we finished our day.

Today's route on the 2017 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty had twists and turns, mountain grades, gravel roads, farm roads and even a race track. We saw cars slide around on tricky corners, and we saw them miss corners all together. There is no doubt that today's ride from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Bowling Green, Kentucky offered some thrills and the intense rallying shook up the standings a little. Josh Hull and Trevor Stahl got the best time of the day with a 4.05 second score, beating out legends of the sport in the process. Maybe it was something to do with those Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial tires? The Team Coker Tire entry of Gary and Jean Ann Martin (Kentucky natives) scored well today, with a total time of 12.61 seconds, putting them into fifth place overall. We had a couple of excellent stops--one in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and one in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Both were filled with smiling faces, and folks who cared enough to cook us a bunch of good food! Bowling

Today was a day of hometowns on the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. We hit the throttle in Tifton, Georgia and didn't let off until we got into Vienna, Georgia, where we would gas up and get ready for a big day. We made our way through historic towns, such as Lilly, Byromville and Thomaston on our way to a lunch stop in Newnan, Georgia. This town was full of character and we enjoyed our stop on the courthouse square. The church traffic was thick, but the scenery was beautiful! Newnan is the hometown for a few of our teams, including the Caldwell family, and the Gentry and Knowles families. From there, we visited Wayne Vick's hometown of Armuchee, Georgia, and made a quick pit stop to view his awesome collection of vintage iron. Then, it was onto OUR hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee for an awesome overnight stop here in the Scenic City. We threw out the red carpet for the racers, by hosting a cruise in to show them that the Chattanooga area is FULL of car people who

We love getting phone calls and emails from our happy customers. It's one of the most rewarding parts of our job, besides knowing that we're keeping collector vehicles on the road with high quality tires and wheels. Lately, we've gotten quite a few pictures of cars and trucks that are now wearing a set of our tires, and we wanted to pass them along to you. Buying authentic tires for a collector vehicle can be a tough decision. Even within our product ranges, there are typically a few choices for any given make or model, so having some expert guidance goes a long way. That's why our team of Sales Representatives are waiting for your call--we can help with tire fitment, brand selection and additional accessories to make your collector vehicle really stand out. We realize that tires and wheels are expensive, and you don't want to take a chance with that type of investment. Listed below are just a few of our most recent customer

You know we love a good Barn Find, and they don't get much better than a 1954 Corvette Barn Find. This one is a real deal survivor, parked in 1964 and stored for more than 50 years. This jewel showed up at our doorstep earlier this week, and we just couldn't stop marveling at the completeness of the car. Sure, many parts of the car were in need of restoration, but then you'd mask the originality with shiny paint and chrome plated finishes. As it is now, this barn find is a piece of automotive history, and preservation versus restoration would be a delicate balance. With the incredible documentation that came with the car, the new owner plans on leaving it in "as found" condition, aside from getting it running, cleaned up and of course, putting some new tires on it! The new owner of this epic barn

Chattanooga, Tennessee is a hot spot for all sorts of events, and we feel like we've encouraged a bunch of car folks to visit the city with our annual Chattanooga Cruise In event. This year, the Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty is paying a visit to the Scenic City, and the racers are stopping right here in the Southside! This isn't the first time that the Great Race has visited Chattanooga, but we're going to pull out all the stops to make it the best evening stop on the event! The streets around Coker Tire and Honest Charley Speed Shop will be closed, and we're hoping to PACK the streets with hot rods, muscle cars, restored classics and more to welcome the 120 Great Race teams as they enter the Chattanooga evening stop. It all happens Sunday, June 25th from 4 to 8pm Eastern time, and the first Great Race cars should begin arriving at 5:30pm. We plan to have an open house, just like our regular cruise in events, so

If you didn't attend the 2017 Chattanooga Cruise In then you missed out on one of the largest one-day cruise in gatherings in the country! The event has grown tremendously over the years, and we simply can't believe how many people invaded the streets of Chattanooga, Tennessee on a sunny Saturday in April. We have struggled for years to contain all of the folks who want to attend this event, and this year was no different. We secured hundreds of additional parking spaces by occupying the Finley Stadium and First Tennessee Pavilion, but it still filled to capacity by 10:30am. Chattanooga Police Department's Special Event Coordinator, Sgt. Austin Garrett estimated that 2,500 cars and 25,000 people were are a part of the 2017 Chattanooga Cruise In, and we find it hard to argue...the place was packed and it covered a much larger footprint than years past.

The success of the Chattanooga Cruise In has been overwhelming and we're so happy to announce that it's almost that time of year again! Our annual event is scheduled for Saturday, April 1, 2017, and we're confident that it's going to be bigger and better than ever. We have secured even more space to hold all of the participants, and we're expecting upward of 2,000 cars and more than 10,000 spectators throughout the course of the day. The event starts at 8am Eastern Time and the streets of Chattanooga fill to the brim within a few hours. We are now occupying the entire Finley Stadium property, as well as the First Tennessee Pavilion, offering hundreds more parking spaces and an awesome vendor area. The event is free to the public, and we will have lots of added attractions and offers in addition to the massive amount of hot rods, muscle cars, custom trucks and high performance cars on the premises. We will have special event T-shirts on sale for only $10 each, and our Coker Tire showroom

McKee Foods is best known for its Little Debbie snack cakes, and it's truly a pleasure to share real estate here in the Tennessee Valley with such an excellent company. They are located just up the road from us in Collegedale, Tennessee, and we recently struck a deal with them to display a very special car in our museum. It is a 1928 Whippet 6, a low-priced sedan that was manufactured by Willys-Overland for only a few years. Although it is quite rare to see a Whippet these days, they were not all that desirable in comparison to the Ford Model A of the same era. McKee Foods founder, O.D. McKee bought a 1928 Whippet sedan in 1931 to serve as a delivery vehicle for his bakery. He removed the rear seat and sold 5-cent snack cakes out of the back of the sedan. Fast forward nearly 30 years and McKee Foods is approaching its major turning point, when O.D. McKee's son, Ellsworth, created the "family pack" of Little Debbie snack cakes. As the company continued to succeed and grow, O.D. wanted to

Every year at the SEMA Show, we have a long list of companies to meet and greet. Some have a small presence at the show, while others bring a fleet of vehicles, multiple booths and dozens of employees. Our friends at Omix-ADA pull out all the stops and we're always excited to see what they bring out for the SEMA Show. Their display in the upper level of the South Hall is always impressive, and they typically include a few vintage Jeeps in the mix. This year, we stopped by and talked with Dave Logan, and he gave us the rundown on the awesome Jeeps in the Omix-ADA booth.

Traditional hot rods are timeless, and that's exactly what drew us to the Pertronix booth to check out this vibrant 1932 Ford roadster pickup. The pickup features an excellent hot rod stance, a cool color combination and a very distinct Boss 351 power plant. The Cleveland based Ford engine features 8-Stack fuel injection that looks like vintage Weber carburetors, and it's backed by a Ford top-loader 4-speed manual transmission and a Winters quick-change rear end. Don built this truck in his head back in the '70s, as a college student, who made a living playing drums. The colors, the engine, and even wheel combination were items that he'd dreamed up in the '70s, and it's amazing how well they blend into the modern day hot rod world, more than 45 years later. Don built this recreation of his youthful day dreams by using a Brookville steel body, Brookville frame rails and a bunch of goodies to tie it all together. Most importantly, he called

Alright, this one is a little bit out of the ordinary, but it stopped us in our tracks at the 2016 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. In a sea of highly customized cars, trucks, boats and motorcycles, this utilitarian pickup truck stood out like no other. It is a 1966 Toyota Stout 1900, and it offered great horsepower and a rugged design, which allowed it to serve as the ultimate work horse for many years, especially in Japan and Thailand. This particular truck was in the Toyota USA booth, and its home is in the Toyota museum in Torrance, California. The Toyota Stout pickup offers 85 horsepower, and came from the factory with bias ply tires. The folks at Toyota USA equipped the truck with a set of our BFGoodrich 7.50-14 blackwall tires, which are a perfect fit for the original steel wheels. Take a look at our quick video

Giveaway cars are always cool, and we love being a part of these promotional builds. The National Street Rod Association (NSRA) offers a giveaway car every year, and 2017's NSRA Giveaway car is a very cool 1933 Ford three window coupe, built by Reisinger Custom Rebuilding. These guys are no stranger to building awesome hot rods, and this is actually the second NSRA Giveaway car that they've built. This one is a top notch build, with a LONG list of parts provided by the best automotive aftermarket companies around. The '33 Ford coupe rolls on a set of Firestone Dirt Track tires, and has a killer hot rod stance. The car is powered by a hopped up small block Chevy, features a beautiful PPG Vibrance color, and a hand-crafted interior that offers a warm welcome to one lucky winner. The car will be given away on Saturday, August 6, 2017 at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. Ty Hauer

Our local car community here in Chattanooga, Tennessee is one of the best in the nation. The Chattanooga Cruise In Toy Drive is proof that we have a bunch of hardcore car guys and gals in this area, and we're so proud to have raised a bunch of money and collected hundreds of toys, so that local kids can have a better Christmas. The weather always plays a part in the overall attendance for car events, and we were shocked with the excellent turnout, considering the rain overnight and the cold and windy conditions that followed. It certainly wasn't ideal car show weather, but we enjoyed it nonetheless, because we were giving back to the community. We ended up with approximately 150 cars, which resulted in a total of 232 brand new toys and $1,782 in cash. We'd like to thank the staff at Coker Tire and Honest Charley Speed Shop for volunteering to help, as well as the folks at Custom Werks Graphics for donating the event T-shirts. Every dollar from our event T-shirts went straight into the Toys

With about 40 miles of walking under our belts, we started the final day of the 2016 SEMA Show with a trip to the upper level of the South Hall to meet with our friends at Omix-ADA. We'll do a full post on their awesome collection of Jeeps...for now, we're going to do a quick recap of favorites rides of the day, and then jump right into the SEMA Cruise and of course, the SEMA Ignited event. This is the third year of SEMA Ignited, and it just keeps getting better and better. The event is held across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center, and wow...what a show! The SEMA Cruise offered an awesome parade, which resulted in one of the coolest car shows you could ever see. Hot rods, muscle cars, crazy imports, off road vehicles, and more swarmed the SEMA Ignited event, as we enjoyed the nitro dragster "cacklefest", wild action on the drifting course, and plenty of action in the show area. Take a look at our highlights from the final day of the SEMA Show, and keep checking back to see

The Chevelle SS has always been a desireable muscle car, dating back to its debut in 1964. The car represented mid-size coupes and sedans, available for regular transportation, or big time fun, depending on the engine and power train options. By 1966, Chevrolet offered a big block version of the Chevelle SS, and then changed the body style a few more times before landing on the iconic design that ran from 1970 to 1972. As with any drastic body style change, the new for 1970 look was in the works long before the cars hit the streets. We happened to run across a very nicely restored pre-production 1970 Chevelle SS, owned by David Harter while making our way around the 2016 SEMA Show. The car had signage to reveal its special features, but it wasn't until we spoke with David that we truly understood how many

Bryan Fuller is a well known hot rodder and motorcycle builder. He's been on TV, he's built a lot of killer vehicles and he always has a presence at the SEMA Show. This year, he has a few vehicles on display, and one of them struck a chord with us. It's a 1934 Ford sedan delivery, and it's in the OTC Tools booth in the North Hall. Right around the mid 1930's OTC (originally known as Owatonna Tool Company) sold direct to customers, using sedan delivery vehicles with custom display boards to showcase their products. The company grew, and eventually grew out of this grass roots sales approach, but it never forgot the humble beginnings, even after being added into the Bosch brands fold in 2012. To commemorate the company's history, OTC commissioned Bryan Fuller to build a 1934 Ford sedan delivery to replicate some of those early delivery vehicles.

SEMA 2016 Highlights are in high demand and we are cranking them out as quickly as possible. We're blowing up our Facebook page and YouTube Channel, so keep an eye on those and then, of course, you can keep checking out our blog page to see the updates, car features and highlights from the biggest automotive trade show on earth. SEMA 2016 is in full swing, as the crowds continue to fill the aisles and we continue to reach out to our industry friends, distributors, media partners and more to spread awareness about our company and our new products. We explored the South Hall this morning, and then checked out some of the cool creations in the Silver Lot just outside of the Central Hall. Check out our SEMA 2016 Highlights from day three and enjoy the ride!

The SEMA Show is full of highly customized, highly polished and highly publicized cars and trucks. But when you find a unrestored Ford Model A on the property, it stands out! The guys and gals at Hagerty Insurance started a cool program last year called the "Swap to Street Challenge", which involves Hagerty employees finding and building a car on the grounds at the massive AACA Fall Meet in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Last year, it was a very cool '46 Ford pickup and this year, they tackled the challenge with a Ford Model A. They started with a 1930 Model A chassis, and found a 1931 Murray-bodied slant window Model A sedan body to go with it. From there, they sourced a Flathead four-cylinder engine, and all of the parts to piece this car together. Davin Reckow and Matt Lewis were key players in the build, and they decided to

Tri-Five Chevys are super hot right now, and we were so excited to see the Tri-Five Nationals pop up a couple years ago in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Our buddy, Chris Sondles from Woody's Hot Rodz is responsible for organizing the Tri-Five Nationals, and he has a great crew to help him knock it out of the park every year. One of the biggest attractions for the Tri-Five Nationals (aside from the 2,000-plus Tri-Fives) is the Give-Away car. Last year, it was a very cool '55 Chevy, which we featured here on the Coker Tire blog. Then, for 2016, it was a high tech '56 Chevy. For 2017, we're proud to announce that Woody's Hot Rodz built an incredible 1957 Chevy gasser. This thing is nuts! The car is built using a brand new steel body from Woody's and a new gasser chassis from No Limit. It has a legit fiberglass front end from a '60s

Our walking shoes are getting wore in now that we're finished with Wednesday at SEMA 2016. We continue finding cool cars and trucks sporting our tires and wheels, but we started the day by attending the SEMA Prayer Breakfast, where Chattanooga, Tennessee residents, Jim and Amy Jo Osborn spoke to a great crowd of automotive industry professionals. It was an action packed day of fun and we found ourselves drooling over hundreds (no, wait, thousands) of beautifully built hot rods, crazy trucks, and everything in between. Of course, we had our eyes glued to the tires beneath this custom creations, and we're here to show you some of our favorite rides equipped with Coker Tire products. At the end of the day, we attended the ETTN reception, the International Happy Hour (where we received three Global Media Awards) and the HRIA reception. It was a busy evening, but it's all part of the greatest automotive trade show on the planet. Check out our highlights from today's action and keep checking

Walking the aisles at SEMA 2016 is overwhelming to say the least. You'll see hot rods, customs, muscle cars and just about everything in between, so it's easy to glaze over some of the cool stuff. On that same token, you really have to dig deep to see the entire show and scope out all the cool stuff. One of the cool spots is the "Art Walk" a special area that features automotive artists, including this year's featured artist, Ed Tillrock from . His pencil sketches are out of this world, and as it turns out, his son is quite the hot rodder. Ed Tillrock III has built a number of hot rods, but recently put the finishing touches on a 1929 Dodge Brothers Senior Six Sport Coupe, named "Sinister 8". This distinct hot rod has a bunch of period correct modifications, making it an excellent traditional hot rod. The car rides on

The Firestone Wide Oval Radial tire is something we've been dreaming about for years. We're muscle car guys and we're tire guys, so we've always wanted to mix authentic looks with the ride, safety and tread life of a modern radial. Coker Tire is proud to announce the brand new Firestone Wide Oval Radial, a product that uses Firestone heritage and radial construction to create the ultimate muscle car tire! These tires are now available and shipping from our Chattanooga, Tennessee and City of Industry, California locations, as well as our worldwide distributors. This is an exciting new product for us and we think you'll agree that it's time to put a new set of Firestone Wide Oval Radials on your muscle car! Along with the new product launch, we're also celebrating 50 years of the Firestone Wide Oval. As the muscle car era exploded in the mid-to-late '60s, the horsepower levels went sky high and that meant the

We visit more than 50 car and motorcycle events a year, so we see lots of cool stuff all over the country. Some events, like the AACA Hershey Fall Meet are huge, and require multiple trucks and trailers full of tires. Others events, such as the Euro Auto Festival, held annually in Greenville, South Carolina, are smaller and a little more intimate. We don't attend these shows with intentions of selling thousands of tires--it's more about brand awareness and marketing. This type of event is fun and productive, as it allows us to answer questions and get feedback from customers and potential customers. For 2016, the Euro Auto Festival certainly lived up to the hype as the East Coast's premier European auto show. Check out a few of our highlights and remember that our product offering spans a wide range, including vintage sports car tires, like the ones that roll beneath some of the world's finest sports cars.

For motorcycle guys, there are a handful of events that are considered "must-see"...you have Sturgis, Daytona Beach Bike Week, Davenport and so on. We're adding another one to the list and it's not too far away from our headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It's the Barber Vintage Festival, held at the magnificent Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama (near Birmingham). The 12th annual event was just a couple weeks ago, and we went down to check out the action, and of course, represent our company. We're constantly trying to broaden our product lines, and the motorcycle market is growing quickly, so setting up at the Barber Vintage Festival was an excellent opportunity for us to reach some new customers. It is certainly a fertile market for our product offering, so we're excited to attend more motorcycle events in the future, and we will definitely be back to the Barber Vintage Festival.

Hot rods are an exercise in personal preference--there isn't a rule book, or a penalty for "getting it wrong". However, there are iconic hot rods that provide plenty of guidance, and most of them have one thing in common--Firestone tires. The brand is legendary, and it's often remembered as the tire of choice for Indy racing, NASCAR racing, dirt track racing and drag racing. There is little doubt that Firestone tires offer the right amount of vintage style for a traditional hot rod. We offer a great example of the Firestone affect with a 1932 Ford three-window coupe that stopped by our Chattanooga, Tennessee facility this week. The owners had recently bought the car, and their very first modification involved swapping tires and wheels to something more traditional. Although it took a bit of measuring and studying to determine the right size, we whipped up a killer combination with Firestone tires and

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

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

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

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

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"]

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!

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.