Tag Archives: DreamWheels!

WKTV’s Metro Cruise 2018 coverage included a look at possible ‘future’ classics

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By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

While the 2018 Metro Cruise was all about classic cars of the past, a scan of this year’s Cruise entries, especially the muscle cars and sports cars, makes evident that what was once futuristic in style and technology has always been part of what has made a car an eventual classic.

 

As part of its DreamWheels 2018 coverage of the Metro Cruise event, held Aug. 23-25, WKTV took a look at how technological advances in automobiles have always been, and continues to be, a desirable element of classics cars. We also looked at electric cars, delving a bit into the past but more so into the present and future.

 

It would not be far-fetched to say early 2000s cars such as the Dodge Viper, Ford Shelby GT and Corvette Z06 are all destined to be considered classic cars. And one thing they all had in common: evidence of the expansion of carbon fiber body parts from being a Formula 1 racing advantage to being a way to make street-legal muscle cars lighter in weight and, some would say, a bit cooler.

 

WKTV visited one local company — Walker’s Plasan Carbon Composites, Inc. — which makes carbon fiber body parts for a wide range if cars and talked with Adrienne Stevens, President & CEO of the company.

 

Then WKTV looked at the past, present and possible future of electric cars, ultimately asking the question: Is Tesla a classic-car must-have of the future? To find out, we asked a young — real young — car collector, Byron Center’s own Blake Dahlquist.

 

View both segments below:

 

 

Cruising through DreamWheels!

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2016 DreamWheels for newsWith Metro Cruise upon us and WKTV’s DreamWheels! set to film on Saturday, we take a look back on the stories of the people and cars who make the cruise such a large attraction. From the history surrounding the inception of Metro Cruise to the shops and talents it takes to rejuvenate the beauty of a classic car, and everything in between, our full coverage is below:

 

DreamWheels! comes to the red carpet

History of Metro Cruise

Art Cruise

Engine House No. 9

Steve’s Antique Auto Repair

Pal’s Diner

The ‘artwork’ of Dom Federico

Lowriders come to DreamWheels!

Metro Cruise Pin-Up Girls

SoCal Speed Shop comes to Metro Cruise

DreamWheels! Lowriders make a special appearance in this year’s show

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https://youtu.be/MjFohF2Akxo

Wyoming resident Anbrocio Ledesma remembers as a young boy going down to the local party store and getting the latest copy of “Lowrider” magazine.

 

“I would flip through the pages, looking at the cars and think to myself, ‘One day, I am going to have one of those cars,’” he said.

 

Anbrocio Ledesma with his 1951 Chevy Deluxe
Anbrocio Ledesma with his 1951 Chevy Deluxe

Not an uncommon dream for a young Mexician-American boy from a family of six living in the Grand Rapids area. In fact, the time that Ledesma was growing up, the popularity of lowriders — a car that sits low to the ground and often has hydraulics to raise and lower the car — in the late 1970s and early 1980s, lowriders had become part of the mainstream car culture thanks in part to “Lowrider” magazine.

 

“It’s a dream to have one of these, to have a lowrider,” said Holland resident Pablo Lopez, who is considered the founder of the West Michigan lowrider movement. Lopez owns a 1963 Impala SS that has taken him about 30 years to get “where I can say it is done.”

 

Lowriders came out of post World War II with the Mexican-American Barrios of East Los Angeles credited with creating this unique take on an automobile. It was the mid-1940s, Detroit had moved back into production of cars with a lot of used cars available on the market. Returning Mexican-American veterans applied their mechanic skills to build lowriders, filling the trunks with sandbags and cutting the spring coils to make the cars go as low to the ground as possible. “They are low and slow,” Lopez said.

 

There was backlash to the new style and in 1958 California lawmakers passed a vehicle code making it illegal to drive a car with any part lower than the bottom of the wheel’s rims. That combined with the fact that lowriders would scrap the ground lead to customizer Ron Aquirre to develop new hydraulic techniques to lower and raise a car with a flip of a switch. Salvage yards became popular as young lowrider enthusiasts looked for hydraulic pumps from lift gates and aircrafts.

 

“In order for it to be a lowrider, it has to have hydraulics,” Lopez said. “At least according to me.”

 

Pablo Lopez with his 1963 Impala SS.
Pablo Lopez with his 1963 Chevy Impala SS.

Lopez’s car, built in the L.A style, is what one would expect a Lowrider to be. It features wire rims, 13-inch wheels, with a 327 V8 engine. Custom paint by his son Manny Lopez tells the story of Lopez’s heritage and life including the loss of his daughter Rosa Linda Lopez at age 37 to cancer. Even the inside is customized from the poke-dotted red suede seats to a 1940s microphone as the gearshift. The car also includes a record player that plays 45s, brass skulls on the door locks, and fringe on the mirrors.

 

Ledesma never gave up on his goal of owning a lowrider and while in the process of searching for a 1964 Chevy Impala — ideal for lowering because of its x-frame — he was given the opportunity to purchase a 1951 Chevrolet Deluxe. Called a Bombita, It took Ledesma “a good 10 years” to get the car to where it is now. It is a light metallic purple, paint done by Ted Aguliar, with silver accents and white interior. It has a 327 engine out of 1967 Corvette.

 

To create a smoother ride, Ledesma did take out his hydraulics for air bags. “That and when the line breaks with air bags, it’s just air coming out,” Ledesma said. “With hydraulics, when the line breaks, you have a mess to clean up.”

 

Both Ledesma and Lopez said that while there are still lowriders around, the interest has waned.

 

“It is a real expensive hobby to get into,” Lopez said, adding it is the reason why it can take several years for a person to get a car completely transformed. “Many of those I worked with have gotten married, gone off to college, started families and they just can’t financially keep it up.”

 

Even for Lopez, he didn’t get involved in the hobby until after his children were grown.

 

“I saw these antennas at a show in Lansing,” Lopez said pointing to an antenna from a 1956 Oldsmobile. “They were $90 at the time. I had enough money to either get the antennas or a hotel room for the night. I bought the antennas, drove all the way home and then came back to the show the next day.”

 

Lowriders are also associated with bad behavior which Lopez said those who own them are not interested in working with “bad kids.” “I’m not interested in helping bad kids,” said Lopez whose family owned Familia Lopez Slow & Low. “This isn’t about that. It’s about tradition, It’s about family. It’s about talking to people and having them sit in the car and connecting with each other.”

 

Make sure to check out the “DreamWheels” show which will be broadcasting live Saturday, Aug. 27 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at Pal’s Diner, 6503 28th St. SE, and Rogers Plaza, 972 28th St. SW. The show will air Saturday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. on WKTV Channel 25.

DreamWheels!: Pin Up Girl Contest set to take place at Rogers Plaza

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Pin ups
The preliminary round for this year’s 28th Street Metro Cruise Pin Up Girls Contest featured 14 young ladies who were narrowed down to 10 finalist. Those finalists will compete for the title this Saturday.

 

A few years ago, Stacey Davis was walking through the 28th Street Metro Cruise when she happened upon the Pin Up Girl contest at Rogers Plaza.

 

“My dad restores classic cars so I grew up going to car shows like the Metro Cruise every summer,” said Davis, whose stage name is Ginger Snaps. “I grew up seeing the girls in the poodle skirts, the Marilyn Monroe impersonators and I saw the Metro Cruise contest and decided to sign up.”

 

Last year, the former Grand Rapids resident, who recently moved to Midland, was crowned Miss Metro Cruise 2015.

 

“It definitely helped with my confidence to know that I had won that title,” Davis said, adding that it has been a fun time visiting with little girls and meeting new people. “It was a great experience.”

 

This year Davis is joined by Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll and Jeremiah White, owner of Reflections Salon, to judge the 2016 Pin Up Girl Contest which is part of the Metro Cruise fun. The even takes place Saturday, Aug. 27, from 1 – 3 p.m. at Rogers Plaza.

 

ginger snaps
The 2015 28th Street Metro Cruise Pin Up is Stacey Davis a.k.a. Ginger Snaps.

The Pin Up Girl Contest has been a longstanding tradition at Metro Cruise, said Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce Bob O’Callaghan. And it makes sense. Flip through any car magazine and within the first few pages you will see a very pretty girl next to a candid apple red street racer or a bright green hotrod.

 

The pin up girl is an interesting American phenomenon which was born in the 1800s through magazines like Life, boomed in the 1930s due to the calendars of Brown and Bigelow, and peaked during World War II. Today, pin up girls remain a fabric of the American cultural and an ode to what many have called “a simpler time.”

 

For the 28th Street Metro Cruise Pin Up Girl Contest,  there was a preliminary contest in July where the number of girls were narrowed down to 10 finalist who will compete for the title on Saturday. The girls come from all over to compete in the contest, which this year is being organized by JA PR Group.

 

Spectators are welcomed to watch and cheer for their favorite.

 

Rogers Plaza serves as the central spot for the Metro Cruise with a host of activities taking place all around the mall. The “DreamWheels!” television program will be broadcasting live from Rogers Plaza as well Cascade’s Pal’s Diner from 6 – 7:30 p.m. Pete Chapouris from So-Cal Speed Shop will be signing autographs at the Rogers Plaza tent for Steve’s Antique Auto Repair.

 

For more, visit 28thstreetmetrocruise.com.

DreamWheels!: Restored local diner setting for this year’s ‘DreamWheels!’ show

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https://youtu.be/m1V7Nnp5QjQ

Some people restore cars. Barry Brown and his wife Sam Choi-Brown took it one step further — they restored a diner.

 

“Diners fit with cars, cars fit with diners,” said Brown, the owner of Pal’s Diner, 6503 28th St SE, the home of this year’s “DreamWheels!” production. “They’re both restored items. They’re both unique to look at.”

 

Those classic American diners that dotted much of the United States landscape in the fifties and sixties actually were an extension of the wagon carts that would come to sell food to employees at businesses and manufacturing sites. Walter Scott is credited with creating the first diner in 1872, a horse-pulled wagon he would bring to employees at the Providence Journal in Rhode Island.

 

However, it wasn’t until the late 1930s that the diner began to be prefabricated into the familiar shape of a railroad car.

 

“People often think that the diners were old railway cars,” Brown said. “They weren’t. They were just designed to look that way.”

 

In fact, it was Roland Stickney who inspired by the streamlined trains, especially the Burlington Zephyr, who designed a diner in the shape of railroad car calling it the Sterling Streamliner. That railroad-style would carry on much through the history of the classic diner until about the 1970s when fast food restaurants began to dominate.

 

Like a mobile home, the original diner is narrow and elongated to allow for roadway transportation. In fact, it was by road in 1993 that the Browns transported Pal’s Diner from New Jersey to Grand Rapids. It was a 950-mile trip that included getting permission from four state road commissions to shut down major roadways and utilize the highways, not to mention a cost that was well into six figures.

 

And while the move was about 23 years ago, Brown can still remember it like it had happened yesterday.

 

“It took a lot of guts,” Brown said with a laugh. “But I will tell you that Sam and I were partners in this together. I sat down with her and we talked about it and we knew, that if we did this, we had to be partners.”

 

The couple could sense that if they did not move the now 62-year-old diner it would be lost like so many others. The land lease where the diner sat in New Jersey was up. Several others had looked at moving it, but passed. The Browns were the last ditch effort to save it with Pal’s former patrons and staff knowing it.

 

“It was a sad day when it left New Jersey, but it was good because it was going to be saved,” Brown said.

 

When the diner finally got here was when the real work started for the Browns because just like a classic car, to rebuild you have to start from the ground up taking everything down and putting it all back together the right way. The restoration and finding its current home took about three years.

 

Now open since 1996, Pal’s Diner succeeds in allowing each visitor to touch the past. Like traditional diner floor plans, the service counter dominates. Accented in pinks, seating is along the sides of the car with a Wall of Fame area — featuring pictures of celebrities such as One Direction who have visited the diner along with the diner’s history — just before the bathrooms. The main kitchen is through the swinging doors.

 

Brown takes pride in that they still make shakes the ol’ fashioned way — by hand — and the restaurant features classic fifties’ fare.

 

But the true success is just like the diner owners of the past, the Browns have made a lot of friends, sharing a lot of stories and memories with all who have walked through Pal’s doors.

 

“The people we’ve gotten to know, the people we’ve lost that have passed away they are like family,” Brown said. “My wife knows birthdays and everything with a lot people. That means a lot.”

 

Come to Pal’s Diner Saturday, Aug. 27 as WKTV shares more stories about the people like Brown who are dedicated to preserving a piece of American history by restoring classic cars. The show runs from 6 – 7:30 p.m.

 

Make sure to check out the “DreamWheels” show which will be broadcasting live Saturday, Aug. 27 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at Pal’s Diner, 6503 28th St. SE, and Rogers Plaza, 972 28th St. SW. The show will air Saturday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. on WKTV Channel 25.

DreamWheels!: Sparking the fascination of firefighting is Engine House No. 5

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Get a group of young children together and ask them what they want to be when they grow up and inevitably at least one will say a “firefighter.” Attend an event and its the fire engine all the kids want to climb on. Even adults cheer as the bright red truck with the siren goes by in a parade.

 

But what is the fascination about being a firefighter?

 

“It’s their courage, their dedication,” said Jeff Blum, who is the board president of the area’s only fire house museum, Engine House No. 5. “I went on a 24-hour ride with the Grand Rapids firefighters and they got a call to a neighborhood that I was looking around going this isn’t safe and when are the police going to get here.

 

“As I sat there, these guys were already out of the truck, running into the house without any regards to anything else. It’s that dedication that is amazing.”

 

It with some of the same dedication that Blum and the volunteers at Engine House No. 5, located at 6610 Lake Michigan Dr., Allendale, share the history of firefighting. The 6,000 square-foot building contains displays from the various nozzles to communication equipment along with a photo displays of the history of the first 11 stations and major fires in Grand Rapids.

 

Engine House Board President Jeff Blum stands next to the 1976 Silsby Steamer which will be part of this year's "DreamWheels" production.
Engine House Board President Jeff Blum stands next to the 1876 Silsby Steamer which will be part of this year’s “DreamWheels” production.

The original watch room on the main floor is dedicated to the history of Engine House No. 5, which was built in 1880 on the corner of Leonard and Monroe avenues. The station served the Grand Rapids community for about 100 years before being slated for demolition in 1980. Museum founder Jeff DuPilka purchased the building and moved it to its current location.

 

But the main attraction is the fire engines, of which the museum has seven, ranging from a manual hand pump from Plymouth, Mass, that was featured in the 1934 Chicago World Fair to a 1972 Ward LaFrance pumper sitting out front.

 

In fact, the museum’s 1876 Silsby Steamer will be featured at this year’s “DreamWheels!” television show. Part of the 28th Street Metro Cruise, the show is set to record Saturday, Aug. 27, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at Pal’s Diner, 6503 28th St. SE. The Silsby Steamer is part of a tribute to David Knisley, a former “DreamWheels!” host and Grand Rapids firefighter who died in a boat fire this past May.

 

“Actually, firefighters originally pulled their own equipment to a fire,” Blum said. “They felt that using animals was beneath them which shows how manly man they were. In fact, if you used a horse to pull your cart, you were often ridiculed.”

 

Eventually as firefighters acquired steam pumpers, it was decided animals were better at moving the equipment. In 1910, Engine House No. 5 was the first in Grand Rapids to get an Oldsmobile outfitted to carry hose, called Hose Cart No. 5. It marked the end of the horses at fire stations with many stations converting the hay lofts to lounges for the firefighters.

 

The two-story museum has been cleverly designed to give visitors a sense of what firefighting is about, its history and why the American public remains fascinated with the profession leading many, like DuPilka, to want to preserve its past.

 

“We really want this to be a destination spot,” Blum said. “Travelers are looking for those unique, special spots, especially as they are going from one place to another. We want to be one of those places.”

 

Blum, who got involved with the museum four years ago, admits he is not a curator, but a person with “an insane passion” for firefighting and its history and most of what he knows he has learned along the way and through the questions that people have asked, such as one boy’s about where the water comes from that lead to the discovery of why a hydrant is called a “fire plug.”

 

To discover that connection and much more about the world of firefighting, you’ll have to go to the Engine House No. 5 yourself.

 

Engine House No. 5 is open from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Wednesday – Friday and 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturday and by appointment. For more information, visit the website or call 616-895-8121. Engine House No. 5 is marking its 30th anniversary with a Birthday Bash Sept. 17 from 7 – 11 p.m. Tickets are $30 per couple or $15 per individual.

 

Make sure to check out the “DreamWheels” show which will be broadcasting live Saturday, Aug. 27 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at Pal’s Diner, 6503 28th St. SE, and Rogers Plaza, 972 28th St. SW. The show will air Saturday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. on WKTV Channel 25.

DreamWheels!: History of Metro Cruise

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https://youtu.be/uYhqQpqpsV8

As the sun sits high in the sky, radiating down on the blacktop of 28th Street, hundreds of thousands of people bustle up and down the road taking in the sights. More than 15,000 cars waxed, shined, and ready for primetime cover the street and parking lots as spectators take in the grandeur of these classic beauties.

 

For the past 11 years, the 28th Street Metro Cruise has brought together generations of people by allowing them to a trip through memory lane by cruising down 28th Street in a classic car. While the event is now ingrained into the fabric of 28th Street and the communities that participate, not everyone was initially onboard.

 

“When the idea [for the Metro Cruise] came up, I was thinking, ‘this is not going to work,’” Bob O’Callaghan said with a laugh. Callahan, who now serves as the president of the Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce, was a Chamber board member during the creation of Metro Cruise. “But I turned out to be wrong.”

 

With the completion of the M-6 highway in 2004, there was concern that traffic would dissipate from 28th Street and turn a street that was once the second busiest in Michigan into an afterthought. The Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce set out to find a way to continue to drive traffic down 28th Street and to the local businesses in the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood. The Chamber saw a problem, and the solution would hinge on the local car culture.

 

Metro Cruise“The idea for the Metro Cruise came from the Woodward Dream Cruise” said Charlie Steen, one of the main think tanks behind Metro Cruise. “We were looking for promotion for 28th Street and the businesses on the strip, and we felt it was an opportunity for merchants to benefit from the event.”

 

Steen, the former Economic Development Director for the City of Wyoming, approached then Chamber President John Crawford with the idea for the Metro Cruise. With the help of Dan Van Dyke from Fruit Basket Flowerland and Todd Duncan from Consumers Energy, the Chamber went all in to make the event a reality.

 

“We were very fortunate with the help of the city mayors, councils and governments, and the Chamber of Commerce,” said Steen. “We had to work with Wyoming, Kentwood, Grandville, Grand Rapids, and Cascade Township to make the Metro Cruise a reality.”

 

With everyone on board, it came down to one thing: Would anyone show up?

 

“During the early planning stages for year one, we actually hoped that we might get a couple of thousand people to show up and hoped to have a couple hundred cars,” stated Todd Duncan in an interview in 2014 reflecting back on the 10th Anniversary of Metro Cruise.

 

Turns out, the initial estimates didn’t quite comprehend West Michigan’s love for cars. The Metro Cruise went live in 2005 and 85,000 people came to see what it was all about.

 

“Without the car crazies from West Michigan, the Metro Cruise wouldn’t happen,” said Steen.

 

Metro CruiseWhile the participation was better than expected, and getting the inaugural event to make it from concept to reality was a success in itself, the first year of Metro Cruise didn’t accomplish its primary task.

 

“It was not a success with the Chamber, we lost money that first year,” explained O’Callaghan. “We thought we’d go in all the way with 16 different locations around 28th Street. It was too much and we scaled it back the second year with the Chamber staying in and focusing on Roger’s Plaza.”

 

The Chamber saw the potential of Metro Cruise, and instead of dumping the idea after losing money in year one, they adapted and continued to build the event. Since 2005, Metro Cruise has grown from 85,000 participants to more than 250,000, and well over 15,000 vehicles as well. The increase in event traffic has led directly to an influx in commerce for the local businesses.

 

“The Chamber did a survey three years ago and found out that $3.3 million was spent on the 28th Street corridor on the weekend of Metro Cruise,” said O’Callaghan. “It’s doing what it’s supposed to do as far as the financial side and the awareness.”

 

As the cruise prepares for its 12th year, car lovers from all over the state, and the country, will pour onto 28th Street to enjoy automobiles from generation to generation.

 

Make sure to check out the “DreamWheels” show which will be broadcasting live Saturday, Aug. 27 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at Pal’s Diner, 6503 28th St. SE, and Rogers Plaza, 972 28th St. SW. The show will air Saturday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. on WKTV Channel 25.

DreamWheels!: WKTV brings the red carpet event right to you

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2016 DreamWheels for newsFor the fifth year in a row, WKTV Community Media and the Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce host the red carpet classic car event, “DreamWheels!” in conjunction with the 2016 28th Street Metro Cruise.

 

The event will be broadcast live Saturday, Aug. 27, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. from two locations — Pal’s Diner, 6503 28th St. SE, Grand Rapids, and Rogers Plaza, 972 28th St. SW, Wyoming. The show will air at Saturday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. on WKTV Channel 26.

 

“As one of the largest and most proactive community media centers in the state, WKTV prides itself in being able to provide high-end, community-focused television into people’s living rooms,” said WKTV GM Executive Director Tom Norton, who is the producer of the “DreamWheels!” show. “‘DreamWheels!’ is a true WKTV original; community media designed to make people love where they live. Our hundreds of volunteers it takes to pull this off year after year always look forward to making it happen.”

 

Returning to host is Kim
Returning to host is WLAV’s Kim Carson who is joined by WLAV’s Tony Gates.

This year’s event spotlights some of the finest classic cars from the past century — from luxury models of the 1930s to some of today’s fastest and sportiest rides. Owners from across the Midwest have gathered to show off these wonderful vehicles and to share with us their one of-a-kind stories.

 

Some of the classic vehicles on this year’s red carpet are a 1937 Packard 120; a 156 Lincoln Premiere; a 1979 Ferrari 308; a 1973 Chevy Corvette Stingray; a 1947 Dodge Power Wagon; and a 1958 Package Hawk.

 

Additionally, Ziegler Auto Group in Grandville, one of the underwriters for the production will be bringing a Maserati Grand Truism Convertible, an Alfa Romeo 4C Spider and a Fiat 124 Spider for the red carpet.

 

There will be a number of classic and xxxx cars heading down this year's red carpet at "DreamWheels!."
There will be a number of classic cars and even some of today’s sportiest rides heading down this year’s red carpet at “DreamWheels!.”

A special treat will be three lowriders built by West Michigan residents. Holland resident Pablo Lopez, a.k.a. Mr. Lowpez who is known for bringing the lowrider movement to West Michigan, will bring his 1963 Impala SS. Wyoming resident Anbrocio Ledesma will have his 1951 Chevy Delux and West Michigan resident Derrick Bickham will bring his 1953 Chevy Bel Air.

 

There will be a special tribute to former “DreamWheels” host David Knisley who died in boat fire accident in May. The Engine House No. 5 Museum, 6610 Lake Michigan Dr., Allendale, will be bringing a 1876 Silsby Steamer pulled by two draft horses.

 

“Participating in this tribute to David Knisely, an individual whose community service both as person and as a firefighter which has touched so many lives is a great honor to all of us at Engine House No. 5 Museum,” said Museum Board President Jeff Blum.

 

Hosted this year by WLAV FM’s Tony Gates and Kim Carson, “DreamWheels!” combines a Hollywood- style movie premiere with a classic car show.  For more about the show, visit dreamwheels.org and visit the Facebook page.

 

Make sure to check out the “DreamWheels” show which will be broadcasting live Saturday, Aug. 27 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at Pal’s Diner, 6503 28th St. SE, and Rogers Plaza, 972 28th St. SW. The show will air Saturday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. on WKTV Channel 25.

Classic Cars and Renovations abound at Leadfoot Muscle Cars

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Leadfoot Showroommike_dewittWhat was once a night club, pumping the bass and serving drinks to thirsty patrons, is now a car showcase full of muscle and metal. Classic muscle cars and exotic Ferraris and Porsches fill a room teeming with energy. While the nightclub is no more, it’s impossible not to feel the thrill of rising heart rate upon entering, no loud music necessary.

The cars in the showcase are all road-ready. Some needed tweaking here and there, but they’re eagerly awaiting a driver – after all – cars are meant to be driven. Where they currently sit, it’s impossible to tell if any of them have had any work done. They’re all in tip-top shape and manicured to a ‘T’. The horses have all been stabled and primed, and now are ready to be unleashed!

Leadfoot Muscle Cars 2
A nightclub has been turned into a jaw-dropping showcase

Welcome to Leadfoot Muscle Cars, a classic car dealership located in Holland, with a little something for every car lover.

“It’s always fun working on these muscle cars. These are what I grew up with in high school, and now they’re classics!” Explains manager Marty Boysen, his passion revving up and hitting second gear. Before Leadfoot, Marty owned his own dealership in the 90’s. Some of his former employees came with him to Leadfoot when the dealership opened a little over a year ago.

For Marty and the rest of the crew at Leadfoot, to say cars are an important part of their life might be the understatement of the century – like saying the Titanic hit an ice-cube. Cars are so integral to their existence that if you cut them open, an engine might purr in place of a heart!

Leadfoot Muscle Cars 3
A warehouse full of classic cars awaiting renovation

Leadfoot started a little differently than most dealerships, with an initial purchase of an 80-car collection. Some were ready for sale while others needed a full renovation, which Leadfoot was more than happy to furnish in their full detail and body shop. A warehouse a mile down the road houses more classic beauties awaiting their renovations, in addition to those in the showroom.

In total, Leadfoot owns an astonishing 250 cars.

As a young company, albeit one ripened with experience, Leadfoot is gearing up for Metro Cruise this upcoming weekend to entrench their name in the West Michigan community.

“We’re looking to get exposure and present our cars out at Metro Cruise. We’re bringing our five-car trailer. Expect to see some Mustangs and Chevelles,” mentions Marty. “We’ve sold our cars all over the country, but our home is in West Michigan. Metro Cruise will only help us connect to our community.”

Leadfoot Muscle Cars and their trailer will be next to WKTV’s DreamWheels! red carpet event at the old Klingman’s parking lot.