sema
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November 09, 2017The 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!
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November 02, 2017Day 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
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November 01, 2017SEMA 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!
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December 24, 2016The words "Lowrider" and "subdued" rarely go together in the same sentence. Normally, this type of build is over the top with wild custom paint schemes and show car qualities (ex. chrome brake rotors) that truly hinder the functionality of the car. However, the 1965 Chevy Impala that we're featuring here is a functional and very tasteful Lowrider that was on display in The Enthusiast Network's booth at the 2016 SEMA Show. The Enthusiast Network owns Lowrider magazine, as well as titles, such as Hot Rod, Car Craft, Street Rodder and more. The company knows cars, and the guys at Lowrider are experts when it comes to the culture and the right appearance that goes along with the Lowrider scene. You won't see any wild stripes and paint on this one--just a super slick candy apple red finish, that was painted many years ago with old school lacquer materials. And though it has custom details throughout, you'll see that the Blueprint Engines small block is ready to rock, and the beautiful leather
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December 16, 2016Every 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.
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December 09, 2016Traditional 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
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November 21, 2016Alright, 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
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November 21, 2016Giveaway 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
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November 05, 2016With 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
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November 03, 2016The 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
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November 03, 2016Bryan 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.
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November 03, 2016SEMA 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!
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November 03, 2016Our 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
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November 01, 2016The 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
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December 06, 2015Slammed 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!
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December 04, 2015The 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!
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November 28, 2015We'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!
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November 27, 2015There 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.
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November 26, 2015The 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!
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November 25, 2015We 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.
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November 22, 2015There 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!
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November 20, 2015A 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.
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November 18, 2015It'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!
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November 11, 2015The 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.
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November 06, 2015So, 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.
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November 05, 2015So, 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!
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November 05, 2015Wow, 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!
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November 04, 2015Day 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!
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October 26, 2015The 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!
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September 10, 2015So 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"]
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July 10, 2015When 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!
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November 07, 2014We spent another day on our feet at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. We walked the aisles, spoke with customers, and enjoyed the networking opportunities that only the SEMA Show can provide. We continue to find vehicles with Coker Tire products in use, so we snapped a few pictures to share with you here. Tonight was the annual SEMA Awards Banquet, which is the highlight of the event, where the best of the best come together for a great dinner and a great ceremony. Check out our photo highlights from today!
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November 06, 2014And this isn't just any old coupe...it's actually a brand new coupe. It's a new all steel 1932 Ford five window coupe body, manufactured by United Pacific, who is actually a supplier for many other items, such as hubcaps, trim rings and many other accessories for hot rods and customs. Earlier this year, we were contacted by the folks at United Pacific and they let us know about a very cool project car that they were having built at Roy Brizio Street Rods. The car was unveiled at the SEMA Show on Tuesday morning, and it was VERY well received by a crowd of street rod icons, such as Vic Edelbrock, Brian Brennan and more!
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November 06, 2014Rutledge Wood is one of the most popular personalities in the car world. His career on TV started with NASCAR, and while he continues to work in that field, he also has a gig on the History Channel with a show called Top Gear. One of three hosts, Rutledge offers a distinct level of excitement and comedy to the show, and he's a real deal car guy. Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to be a part of his 1953 Plymouth Suburban station wagon build, which was scheduled to debut at the 2014 Hot Rod Power Tour. And now, it's on the car show circuit, including the SEMA Show.
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November 06, 2014It's been said that car guys and girls who work in the automotive aftermarket have the best jobs in the world. And it's true! We surround ourselves with awesome people each and every day, but the SEMA Show is like sensory overload. We're shaking hands, talking business, drooling over cool cars, and having a good time doing it. Today, we had a great time covering the event, and hung out with a lot of cool people...like Rutledge Wood. Stay tuned for a full blog feature and video feature on his Plymouth station wagon, which rolls on whitewalls from Coker Tire! For now, check out today's highlights, and be sure to watch our Facebook and Instagram feed for up-to-the-minute posts!
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November 05, 2014It's always cool when the younger generation gets involved in the automotive world. Wyotech plays a huge role in getting kids into old cars, and it educates young folks to prepare them for real world jobs in the automotive industry. One particular project that was built at Wyotech is a beautiful Ford F-100 pickup that was featured on the "Chop, Cut, Rebuild" TV show. Built by students, the truck is detailed nicely and features lots of custom touches that make it a real show stopper. Our favorite part??? Of course, the tires....and wheels! The Wyotech F-100 rolls on a set of our 17x8-inch Artillery chrome-plated wheels, and American Classic 235/55R17 whitewall radials. This thing is awesome, so check out a few photos of it, and look forward to a video feature to hit our YouTube Channel soon!
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November 05, 2014Leading up to the SEMA Show, we always get the inside scoop on killer project cars. We had the opportunity to be a part of a very cool build that is on display in the Ford booth in Hot Rod Alley. The Ford booth is always a destination booth, and this year, there are a bunch of new-for-2015 Mustangs on hand with many custom treatments. The Watson Racing prepared Mustang has a drag racing theme, making north of 700 horsepower, thanks to a supercharged 5.0-liter engine. Our involvement with the project car was a set of M&H Racemaster DOT-approved drag radials, sized at 185/55R17 and 325/45R17. These tires will stick to the drag strip, and they're legal for the street, so it was the perfect combination for the new Mustang. Also, the huge brakes on these cars require at least a 17-inch wheel, so our M&H product line had 'em covered with radial tires for 17-inch front runner wheels, and sticky drag radials out back. Check it out!
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November 05, 2014The SEMA Show is the biggest automotive event of the year. It's a trade show with thousands of vendors, and thousands of awesome cars, trucks and motorcycles on display. Folks from around the world attend the event to show off new products, and increase sales for their businesses. It's a huge opportunity for everyone involved, and we're glad to have a big presence at the show. We have an indoor booth in Hot Rod Alley (booth number 22775), and we have a tractor trailer rig in the Silver Lot outside. This year, we debuted a brand new booth design, which has a vintage gas station theme.
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January 29, 2014Yep, they let us country folks into California! The MPMC Media Trade Conference is an annual event in Santa Ana, California, and it's a great chance for us to meet with all sorts of automotive media. MPMC stands for Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council, and we produce enough motorsports-related products to make the cut. It's a cool event that offers a "speed dating" format, where each company gets a 30 minute meeting with each media outlet.
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November 20, 2013This year's SEMA Show was huge for us. We're still on cloud nine, but we've been busy getting ready for other events, such as the Daytona Turkey Run, PRI and more, so we haven't let off the throttle just yet! At SEMA, we had lots of big news, and made lots of great connections within the industry. Our staff worked hard to make it happen, and we're proud to announce that a few members of our staff received major awards at the SEMA Show. In addition to this, our company won the SEMA Best New Product award in the Tires and Related category with our new American Classic bias profile radial tire! Check it out!
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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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August 17, 2013[caption id="attachment_3876" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Known simply as "the Quail"[/caption] After two days strolling through the dream-scape that is Monterey weekend. Corky Coker and Wade Kawasaki know two things already, wear good shoes and stay prepared to be amazed. This is the world renowned week of priceless classic vehicles, historic races and stacks of top-shelf car auctions that culminates with the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
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October 31, 2012Whew... Man this place is huge. We stayed super busy all day and walked a million miles to do everything, but it's amazing out here. If you turn your head to look at an amazing custom vehicle you'll walk into another one. They're everywhere, and everywhere and everywhere you look. Check out our Facebook page for the endless stream of cool cars and trucks (and bikes) that we're seeing out here. We even managed to see a few celebs like Adam Corolla, Tanner Foust, Chip Foose and of course the fabulous Miss Hurst Shifter Linda Vaughn among the many attendees. We're seeing a ridiculous number of rides wearing Coker tires out here too. If our feet can hold up, we'll keep posting all the cool cars and trucks we see to our Facebook page the rest of the week. Right now, we gotta get some sleep!!!
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October 24, 2012For the past few decades, we've made the long trek to Las Vegas, Nevada for the annual SEMA Show and this year is no different. We just finished loading a couple of tractor trailers with our SEMA booth as well as a bunch of our toys and new product that we want to show off. We're very excited about the event, because there are thousands of great cars and a bunch of our good friends and business partners from around the world! The best part of the event is that we'll be covering it LIVE via the Coker Tire Facebook page!
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July 13, 2012
Dang! The US Senate does something for a change!
Today is National Collector Car Appreciation Day! The United States Senate recently did something worthwhile! Glory be! Wonders never cease! Senate Resolution 452 designates July 13, 2012 as Collector Car Appreciation Day as an acknowledgment of the importance that the automotive hobby has on our society. -
November 18, 2011If you follow our Facebook fan page, then you know we blasted the page with live photos from the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a great event and we had a blast, as always, so it's time to wrap it up and get ready for the winter season. We met lots of great folks at SEMA, some new to the industry and some old timers like us. We debuted new booth artwork for our indoor booth and a brand new full wrap on our tractor trailer rig, which was positioned outside of the convention center. With new products on display, as well as the completed Marmon Wasp and Honest Charley rat rod truck, our booth(s) were a big hit. Check it out! [caption id="attachment_2277" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Our updated SEMA indoor booth with new counter artwork, and TV\'s!"]
