Editorial
Front Page - Friday, April 30, 2010
Hot Rod Power Tour rolling into town June 9
David Laprad
The 16th Annual Hot Rod Power Tour, a rolling display of high-end hot rods, street rods, custom trucks, muscle cars, sport compacts and street machines, will be at Chattanooga State Community College on June 9 from noon to 7 p.m. A representative of the magazine expects over 1,000 cars to
Each June, the annual Hot Rod Power Tour winds its way through seven car-crazy towns throughout the U.S. This year, Chattanooga is on its list of stops. The Power Tour, which aims to bring the pages of Hot Rod Magazine to life, is considered the ultimate road trip for thousands of performance car lovers, Jessica Hubley, media contact at the publication, says.
“It began as a road trip from Southern California to Detroit for the editors of Hot Rod and a handful of guys who built project cars for the magazine,” she says. “Whereas many car shows are a celebration of the hot rod or muscle car – and the Power Tour is in fact that – it’s also a celebration of the open road. Participants can join in for one day, just a few days or the whole tour.”
The Power Tour brings together enthusiasts from all 50 states and every other corner of the globe, Hubley says, including New Zealand, Canada, Switzer-land, Germany, England and more. “In 2008 and 2009, we had a street club from South Africa join us on the tour, traveling all 1,300 miles in a Dodge Sprinter van they rented in Chicago, and a Swiss couple who rented a new Camaro. This year, we’ve registered an Australian man and his three mates, who will ship their own 2009 HSV Maloo Yutes to the U.S. to drive on the tour.”
With over 7 million readers every month, Hot Rod Magazine is easily the leading publication serving the car enthusiast. “Anyone who’s into cars has picked up Hot Rod Magazine at least once,” Hubley says. “Many of these enthusiasts have been reading Hot Rod since they were schoolboys and girls. The Power Tour embodies everything the magazine has represented for over 60 years, and has attracted a core group of people who plan their summer vacations around it.”
Hubley says many of these folks have been with the tour since its first few years. “The Power Tour isn’t just about celebrating the history of the automobile or the freedom of the open road; it’s about the brotherhood of the guys and gals that attend every year.”
The group grows annually due to extensive coverage in Hot Rod Magazine, videos posted on www.hotrod.com and the tall tales that have built the iconic status of the Power Tour. Spread word-of-mouth through the thousands of enthusiasts who have driven their rides to a stop or completed the revered “Long Haul” (every mile of the tour), the stories tell about “an American car lover’s dream come true: sightseeing, exploring back roads and becoming stars for a day in each town along the route,” Hubley says.
In every city, huge crowds spend the day at the Power Tour site, strolling among what Hubley calls one of the world’s finest rolling displays of high-end hot rods, street rods, custom trucks, muscle cars, sport compacts and street machines.
Hot Rod publisher Jerry Pitt likens the Power Tour to a religious experience for the magazine’s staff. “The adrenaline rush of meeting our readers, seeing the endless variety of car creations, many of which our articles inspired, and leading the most awe-inspiring parade of cool cars through town after town – nothing else comes close.”
This year, the tour is expected to attract over 4,500 cars and 65,000 spectators as it winds its way through the nation’s breadbasket and then wanders through Bluegrass Country, the mountains of Tennessee and the Deep South before ending up at the gulf port of Mobile. At each stop, over 80 automotive and aftermarket manufacturers will set up a traveling performance fair with booths and displays of “everything on the car enthusiast’s list,” Hubley says.
The event is expected to leave an estimated economic impact of $800,000 on Scenic City, according to the Chatta-nooga Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
In addition, the Power Tour has named the Chattanooga-based Austin Hatcher Found-ation for pediatric cancer the official charity of the 2010 event. The foundation will host a daily Pinewood “Muscle Car” Derby each day of the tour. Cars will be available online in advance or for purchase in limited quantities at each stop of the tour, with all proceeds from the sales going to the foundation.
The Hot Rod Power Tour will open to the general public and local car show partici-
pants at Chattanooga State Community College at noon on June 9. Hubley expects over 1,000 cars to be on the grounds at that time, with giveaways, celebrity autograph sessions and sponsor interviews taking place on the main stage. The tour itself will roll onto campus between 2 and 3 p.m.
To learn more or join the tour for a day, register online at www. hotrod.com. The cost is $25.
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