Bernie's Car Show Coverage: Photos from the 2019 Dub Car Show: Charlotte

On May 4th, 2019, Dub Magazine held their fourth car show of 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since Charlotte is about 4 hours away from Atlanta, I'd figured that I could drive up to Charlotte to attend the show.

Just like last year, I had a lot of fun at this year's Dub Car Show. This show gave me an opportunity to see custom vehicles that I don't get to see in Atlanta. Ultimate Audio of South Carolina brought the star of the show, which was this particular Chevy Chevelle that belongs to Thomas Davis of the Los Angeles Chargers. This Chevelle had custom paint, on Forgiato Wheels, custom interior (including a Corvette steering wheel), some engine work, and as many University of Georgia logos that they can tastefully incorporate into the design of the car.

Another shop that had a big presence at the show was the Rim Shop of Charlotte. This year, they brought an assortment of vehicles. I spotted a Rolls Royce Ghost, Mercedes S63, Cadillac Escalade, F250 Super Duty, a Polaris Slingshot, Nissan GTR, Oldsmobile 442, Chevy Monte Carlo, Dodge Charger Hellcat, Ford Shelby GT350. I told you their booth was a sampler platter of vehicles.

This Dodge Charger which is named Purple Rain left me partially deaf for a few minutes. The audio wasn't at its highest volume, but I was told that the car has the ability to flood out the entire room.

As you can see, Menace Car Show won a lot of awards. They also brought vehicles such as...

To sum up what was at the show: there were a lot of cars with great paint jobs, a lot of vehicles on Forgiato, Rucci, Dub, Rolling Big Power, and American Forge wheels, some great lowriders, plenty of American Muscle cars, and a lot of trucks- both lowered and on lifts. I think I pretty much described about 75% of the vehicles at the show.

Enough talking because I know you would rather see some photos. To see the rest of the photos, check out Bernie's 2019 Dub Car Show: Charlotte gallery.

Bernie's Car Show Coverage: Photos from the 2019 Stuntfest Weekend

On April 25th-28th, Stuntfest held their annual weekend. The Stuntfest weekend usually goes as follows- Thursday night is a Meet-and-Greet (which I never go to). Friday night is usually a bonding experience at a strip club (again, I never go to. Plus I already been to them all.) Saturday afternoon is their block party and Sunday is their famous car show.

Stuntfest is one of those car shows that I'm always happy to attend. The reason why is simple. Much like Caffeine and Octane, Caffeine and Exotics, Dub Car Show, Los Magnificos, Torres Empire, Official Street Whipz' King of the South, Krazy Vatos and the newest entry- Whips By Wade, Stuntfest gives me what I want- a car show with a high percentage of show-worthy cars. That's it. Doesn't matter the location, since I will find my way there.

Saturday's block party was held at the Venue Nightclub in Forest Park, which is right outside of Atlanta. The block party was crowded with people, music, food and cars. In a nutshell, it was basically a car show. By now, you know that I'm happy to attend.

Last year's Stuntfest show had crappy weather- cool, cloudy and rain. This year was the complete opposite- hot with clear, sunny skies. By the time I pulled up to Silver Dollar Raceway, I knew what I was in store for... a lot of fun. There were plenty of vehicles on Forgiato, Amani Forged, Rucci, and Dub Wheels, plenty of vehicles painted in a variety of colors, and most importantly– plenty of car show worthy vehicles, which means I had no reason to complain.

Enough talking because I would rather show off some photos. To see the rest of Saturday's photos, click on Bernie's 2019 Stuntfest Block Party gallery and to see the rest of Sunday's photos, click on Bernie's 2019 Stuntfest Car Show gallery. Thank you for another great show.

Bernie's Car Show Coverage: Photos from the 2019 New York Auto Show

On April 17th and 18th, I had the pleasure of returning home for the 2019 New York Auto Show. Held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Midtown Manhattan, this show is never one to miss (mostly because this is the closest auto show to my hometown, which is located on Long Island).  With unveilings from Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Acura, Jaguar, Porsche, Range Rover– well almost everyone, there was plenty of ground to cover and plenty of eye candy to capture.

Even though I’m from New York, this was my seventh year going to the New York Auto Show and I absolutely love it. I get a rush of excitement seeing what’s new in the automotive world, as well as some looking at some custom cars within the Tri-State area. I had an excellent time at the show this year, although I (as well as everyone else) noticed that BMW was noticeably missing.

Some of my favorite unveilings were courtesy of Manhattan Motorcars. Because of them, the tri-state area had the opportunity to experience the new Koenigsegg Jesko, Bugatti Chiron 110 ANS, BAC Mono, and the Scuderia Cameron Clickenhaus SCG 003. Aside from those four cars, they also brought the Lamborghini Aventador SV, Lamborghini Urus, Koenigsegg CCX, and the Rimac C-Two.

Porsche unveiled the new limited edition Porsche 911 Speedster with the MSRP of $275750. Only 1948 will be produced. It has 502 horsepower, 346 pound-feet of torque, 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds. Impressive specs, but it is way too small for me. I can easily fit in it, but I can easily overstuff a Porsche within one shopping trip.

One of my favorite cars from the New York Auto Show is from the Mercedes Benz family. Yes, the Maybach seats are ultra plush, but the Mercedes Benz AMG GT63 won my heart. It may have a price tag of $136,500, however, the 577 horsepower, 590 pound-feet of torque, 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds, and it has more than enough trunk space to survive one of my shopping trips. One day....

Speaking of things that I want from the Mercedes Benz area, they also brought a Maybach inspired bag called The Eve I.

Best use of space goes to Subaru and their collaboration with the Natural Park Foundation to unveil the new Outback.

Toyota did bring the new Supra, however I am disappointed that they didn't bring the Yankees Camry.

Another unveiling that peaked my interest was the Rivian R1S SUV- the first electric full-sized SUV. Despite the size, the R1S can reach 60 mph in under 3 seconds. Three battery packs are available- one offers 240 miles of range, 402 horsepower and 413 lb.-ft. of torque, another battery offers 310 miles of range, 753 horsepower, and 826 lb.-ft of torque, and the third battery can offer 410 miles of range, 700 horsepower, and 826 lb.-ft of torque. Don't rub your eyes, you're reading this correctly. MSRP starts at $72,500.

Aside from the Jesko, the other attention grabber went to the Karlmann King with the world's most expensive SUV- valued at over $2 million. Just look at the interior to see why.

Enough talking because I know you would rather see some photos... I always have a great time at the New York Auto Show. You may not understand but this show holds a special place in my heart.  To see the rest of the photos, check out Bernie's 2019 New York Auto Show gallery.

It felt great going back home.

Bernie's Car Show Coverage: 2019 Pomona Swap Meet: March 2019

Normally I would start my car show season somewhere in Atlanta, but I wanted to do things a little bit different this year. For the past couple of years, I've been seeing some great photos from the Pomona Swap Meet and I always wanted to attend.

The Pomona Swap Meet is simply a Southern California classic. A swap meet is where venders sell different items and goods in one area. But the Pomona Swap Meet isn't an ordinary swap meet. Held seven times a year in the city of Pomona, the Pomona Swap Meet allows those that love cars to either sell a car, purchase a car, show off a car, and/or purchase parts for a car that is being built. And by parts, I do mean any and every type of part needed- I've seen venders selling motors, fenders, chrome bumpers, screws, seats, seat belts, steering wheels, wheels, tires, paint, oil, shop towels, emblems, window decals, automotive memorabilia, everything. If you need it for a car, you can pretty much find it there.

Despite the song "It Never Rains in Southern California", when I was in Los Angeles, it rained practically the entire time.  It didn't rain during the show, but the threat of rain kept some people away. Needless to say, I still had a lot of fun.

To see the rest of the photos, check out Bernie's Pomona Swap Meet: March 2019 gallery. The 2019 Car Show Season is fully upon us!!!!

Bernie's Car Show Coverage: Photos from Caffeine and Octane:February 2019

On February 3rd, Caffeine and Octane held their second show of 2019. Although the city of Atlanta was packed for Super Bowl Sunday, Caffeine and Octane felt as packed as downtown Atlanta.

It's been awhile since I posted my photos from Caffeine and Octane on my blog. I usually go every month- last year I missed 2 shows (May and November), and I did attend last month's show. I think because I attend the show so often that I've run out of things to say. I enjoyed this month's show very much. Aside from running into some familiar faces, I did get to see some cars that I haven't seen before. Of course, I can expect to see a large turnout from the JDM market, as well as from Porsche, BMW, the Dodge Car Clubs, a sprinkle of Lamborghinis, etc.

... But then this pulled up. Atlanta unfortunately doesn't have a lot of Liberty Walk vehicles. The only one I remembered seeing was the Nissan GTR. Seeing this 458 did bring a tear to my eye. Another vehicle that brought a tear to my eye was....

this Chevy Impala for the most obvious reasons. I've always said that Lowriders have a special place in my heart because I love how they can take a rusty old car- which is what most of them start out as and turn it into rolling pieces of art. It takes a lot of work for that type of transformation. Growing up on Long Island, I've seen my fair share of the JDM and the luxury/exotic car world.  Lowriders aren't a new concept, but I've only started seeing them in person within the last 10 years.

To see the rest of the photos, check out Bernie's Caffeine and Octane: February 2019 gallery. I would say that I will be attending March's show, but instead I decided to attend a show that has been on my bucket list for 2 years. Stay tuned.