Corky Coker, the president of Coker Tire and chairman of SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) was presented with the Meguiar's Award, which honors him as the 2004 Person of the Year for the Collector Car Hobby.
More than 3,000 "car guy" celebrities, VIPs, event promoters, car club members and collectors gathered in the Kodak Theatre to celebrate the collector car hobby and to honor its heroes.
The event will air as a Meguiar's Car Crazy television special on the Speed Channel on Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. The show will also re-air on Nov. 4 at Midnight EST, November 5 at Noon EST, November 7 at 10 p.m. EST, and at 2 a.m. EST on November 8.
Lowrider legends Julio and Fernando Ruelas and Nellie Jackson, matriarch of the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auctions, were honored as "Treasures of the Hobby."
The event was emceed by Barry Meguiar, president/CEO of Meguiar's, Inc. and host of Meguiar’s Car Crazy which airs weekly on the SPEED Channel
The internationally acclaimed Meguiar's Awards are held in countries around the world, honoring car hobby legends in each country. The recipient of the Meguiar's Award is always chosen by an independent panel of leading automotive journalists, who evaluate the impact each nominee has had on the visibility, growth, orchestration and quality of the collector car hobby in their country. In the U.S. alone, the collector car hobby enjoys more than 30 million participants.
Julio and Fernando Ruelas, founders of the Duke’s Car Club, the world's oldest and largest lowrider car club, were honored as "Treasures of the Hobby" for their 40-year commitment to building the lowrider movement here and abroad. The brothers generated the next generation of lowriders and expanded the phenomenon worldwide from Germany to Japan, ultimately inspiring the sport compact "tuner" car customization craze that has swept across America.
The evening also honored Nellie Jackson as a true "Treasure of the Hobby." Nellie, along with her late husband Russ Jackson, and the late Tom Barrett, created the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction back in 1971 where they auctioned off the first ever classic car to sell for more than $100,000, which was seen live on national television. Today, she is still just as active, serving as the "Grand Dame" of the auction and a close friend for most of the leading personalities in the car hobby.
As guests entered the theatre, they passed by an appropriate backdrop of prized classics, hot rods, lowriders, and tuner cars displayed on Hollywood Blvd. and down the famous red carpet. The hobby was well represented on stage as well where four cars displaying the breadth of the collector car hobby were placed. A 1912 Oldsmobile, the Evil Z sport compact, a 1939 Chevy-Barrio style and a 1954 DeSoto Adventurer II concept car formed an appropriate backdrop for the special Father's Day video tribute and festivities.
Closing out the evening was a Beatles tribute concert to Corky Coker and the collector car hobby by the Fab Four who interrupted their headlining act in the showroom of the Las Vegas Hilton to join the festivities. The crowd, from celebrities to car club members, were on their feet dancing in the aisles to the nostalgic music.
For more information on the Meguiar's Award or how to purchase tickets for next year's event, please call Kim Milman of JMPR at 818-992-4353.