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Hot Rod Power Tour - One Leg

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  • Hot Rod Power Tour - One Leg






























































































































    The Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour was passing not too far from my home, so I decided to join one leg of the multi-day journey.

    Let me say being my first Power Tour, I was impressed with how well organized, well attended and what a good time it is.

    I met up with the tour on their third stop. Their first stop was the proving grounds at GM in Detroit and the second stop was Muskegon, Michigan and the third was Champaign, Illinois.

    I spent the better part of a week detailing my car the week before the trip and of course it rained when I drove over and it rained most of the day in Champaign, Illinois. Keeping in mind I was driving a 2012 Lexus hybrid, I really didn't fit in with the other cars on the tour. Other than the occasional, "That's not a hot rod". The folks on the tour are friendly and love to talk about cars. There were plenty of vendors' tents and activities to provide entertainment while it rained. There also was a line of cars waiting to be dyno'ed on a portable dynamometer.

    Around 3:30 PM, the sun broke out and there were plenty of cars to see in the parking lots at Assembly Hall on the university campus. According to rumors, the tour had set a bit of record for number of cars being in Muskegon, but there was in the neighborhood of 3,000 cars in Champaign. Around 6 PM the crowd starts breaking up. Many of the cars left the lots in a manner most appropriate for a muscle car, much to the pleasure of the gathered spectators lining the streets.

    I went back to the hotel to wipe down my car before heading out to dinner. The hotels had placed garden hoses in easy access for those dedicated car crazy folks to hand wash their cars. Heading up to my room after wiping down my car with Ultimate Wash and Wax Anywhere, I thought I could make out the fragrance of other Meguiar's products emanating from several of the cars around the hotel.

    Got up fairly early the next morning and left the hotel around 6 AM and by the time I made it to Dunk'n Donuts and then back to Assembly Hall I was the 14th car to hit the parking lot before hundreds more arrived to receive the mornings driving instructions. The local authoritarian stopped by with some instructions about the proper method to leave the lots which were followed to the letter.

    The weather was perfect as we headed out back roads to Effingham, Illinois, the home of Mid America Motorworks. The arrival of the Power Tour had been well publicized in the newspaper and also folks had seen the gathering in Champaign in a news report on TV. So the roads to Effingham were lined with folks tailgating and enjoying the weather waiting for the tour to arrive. In the towns, groups of folks waited with signs indicating their desire to see car provide traces of rubber on the concrete and the hear he sounds of finely tuned exhausts echoing off of the storefronts. And of course, many car crazy folks were more than happy to leave bits of rubber all over the public streets. I tried to participate, but spinning off the tires on a all-wheel drive hybrid just isn't possible.

    The police seemed to be concentrating their efforts directing traffic within the towns. Local traffic would have come to a stand still had it not been for the police/sheriff/highway patrol stopping the tour to allow locals to cross the long line of cars. Once out of town, speed limits were strictly adhered to
    . For me, this was a highlight of the Champaign to Effingham journey. Seeing all the folks along the route with makeshift poster board signs welcoming the hundreds, if not thousands, of cars of the tour to their town or passing by their family farm.

    Just outside of Effingham, we are welcomed to the fairground-like home of Mid America Motorworks. The place was huge, acres of ground soon to be cover with automobiles. Most of the Corvettes were guided to a separate area of the Mid America campus. So if you wanted to see a Corvette, any model, any year, or any color, it was there. The folks of Mid America were very friendly, very helpful and they fed all of us rapidly and efficiently and it was a pretty darn good meal too. Tents, picnic tables, a rock band, concession stands and oh my gosh, plenty of port-a-potties and oh yes, hand washing stations. Heaven.

    The next phase of the tour today would take us to the Gateway International Speedway. May folks stayed on the backroad route and many of us headed out to interstate. Gateway is in Madison, Missouri and tire iron throw away from St. Louis and the Arch. Like most stops on the tour, there is plenty of folks directing traffic and parking cars. This is when the hybrid shines with great gas mileage. Actually not using any gas, just moving in quiet stealth mode on full battery.

    The sun was in full blaze, so I grabbed an umbrella and headed to the dragstrip. Nothing like bright shiny, aluminum bleachers operating in full microwave mode, cooking whatever animal flesh dares to sit on them. There was an endless stream of cars lining up to race down the paired lanes to the timing mechanism. The participants were reminded repeatedly to turn off their air conditioning as there were leaving a trail of evil condensation water on the track. I couldn't get my nerve up to withstand the possible humiliation of running a japanese, hybrid down the lane, so I sat and watched until the microwave effect had burnt the flesh on my arms.

    Six PM rolled around again and after viewing thousands of cars from all over, it was time to head to the hotel, but this time ya had to fight the gawd awful traffic of St. Louis. Actually the highways of St. Louis are just a continuation of the Power Tour, thousands of cars sitting on concrete, not going anywhere, just sitting. Although I live next to the Mississippi River, looking at it from overhead in a line of cars not moving is a new perspective. Barges on the river were moving faster than I was. Again the hybrid shines in stop and go traffic, especially if it more stopped then go's.

    I had managed to pick a hotel 10 miles out of my way for the next morning's journey back north to home. Luckily, the shower worked great and any fragments of loose, burned flesh washed down the drain. Had a late dinner, but took some Ben and Jerry's back to the room while I caught up on MOL.

    I slept in the next morning to avoid the rush hour - construction - poorly designed highways around downtown St. Louis. Four hours later I was home. What a great time. Would recommend it to anyone. Perhaps next year, I'll do more than one leg of the tour.








    Couldn't leave for the Power Tour in a dirty car. Cleaned the interior, cleaned glass, protected exterior and interior vinyl, cleaned and protected leather, cleaned and polished paint and waxed once with Ultimate Wax and once with M26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax.

    Wheels and wheel wells - Rubbermaid degreaser followed with Gold Class Shampoo
    Wash - Gold Class in a Gilmour foam gun
    Clay - Professional Mild and Last Touch lubricant
    Correction - D300 and microfiber correction pad
    Polish - M205 and black foam pad
    Glass - Perfect Clarity
    Interior plastics - Quik Interior Detailer and Natural Shine
    Carpet mats - Carpet Out
    Exterior Plastics - Ultimate Black
    Interior Leather - Woolite and Lexus branded cleaner and conditioner
    Rims - Ultimate Quik Wax
    Tires - Liquid Endurance
    Door jambs - Ultimate Quik Wax
    1st Wax - Ultimate Wax
    2nd Wax - M26 Hi Tech Yellow Wax
    Clear Bra - Plexus
    Headlights - Ultimate Compound w/yellow pad, M205 w/black pad, Headlight Protectant













    "fishing for swirls in a sea of black"
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    David

  • #2
    Re: Hot Rod Power Tour - One Leg

    Great write up David.

    Your pictures and narritive are a lot better than what will be in the magizine.

    Thank you...

    Bill

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