During the first few minutes of walking into the ‘Torres Empire Car Show’ I was amazed at the variety it held. I didn’t really know how I was going to approach the show first hand because it was held at the LA Convention Center. A large venue can be intimidating and meeting old school cats can be tricky when approaching them for an interview.

I walked in and from a distance I saw a beautiful, shimmery gold car and as you can tell by the pictures alone, this classic speaks for itself.

Owner and President of the ‘Classics’ car club, Joe Perez shared what greatness this ’64 Impala held. Joe showed me that his prize beauty had been featured on the front cover and had a full article in LowRider Magazine- an honor he carries with him wherever his car goes. 

It’s obvious that Joe has a lot to be proud of. My hat went off to this sweet dapper man. 

by Ryan Cash

The 'Gatos- SoCal' is that one car club that you can just sit back and crack jokes with. When I met with the men from the 'Gatos' they were blaring some great tunes and enjoying the sea of cars at the 'Pomona Fairplex Classic Car Show'.

The men gathered around to answer a few questions for 'Style Me Classic' and the answers were pretty interesting, however, some things I just can't write about.

It started about 4 years ago at a BBQ when they realized they all shared the same passion for classic cars. Fred Hernandez initially started the club with the intentions of gathering friends and having a laid back hang out. With 12 members and 12 cars these men are hands on (on the cars that is).

Victor Ramos owns a "1950 GMC Pickup" that took 2 years to build. His love for classic trucks made his search a perfect find. "I was looking for this model, however, this just had the frame and cab so everything else I built."

Robert rode in a '60 Corvair. A family heirlum that had been passed down through his wife's grandfather and that one day Robert plans to pass down to his "future kids" and if that doesn't happen then "Fred will inherit this classic car." 

These gentlemen attended the 'Pomona Fairplex Classic Car Show' to support their neighboring community. As "Robert" explains, "we are just buying stuff, displaying our cars, and hanging out with friends." Something they also contribute to their hometown, *Chino.

Omar Cortez is the one with the 1955 "Pink" (according to the group) Cadillac which Omar likes to say is a "Salmon" color, but its debateable.   

Jose Gonzalez has a '53 Mercury which is still a working project, but one that he plans to restore and sell. 

These men were exactly what I anticipated in an ALL male car club. They were friendly, jokesters and gentlemen. What more can a girl ask for? 

*If you'd like to meet these cool cats- on July 27, 2013 they will hold their 4th Annual Rockabilly Car Show in Chino.

by Ryan Cash

Since I can remember when I would hear people talk about ‘Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend’, I always wondered what an annual show of that magnitude could possibly hold. I will admit that the “VIVA” experience always seemed so out of reach. However, by the grace of God and some wonderful people in my life, this year, the dream of attending “VIVA” became a reality.

Leaving work in the mid afternoon made for a long road trip ahead. My friend Stacy and I pre-packed for the trip and with her ONE duffle bag- I somehow packed 6 bags worth of stuff (Yea, I wasn’t too fond of the idea once I had to carry them all to the room). We checked in at 'Ballys Hotel and Casino' around 11:30pm which didn’t give us too much time to explore Vegas as we had hoped, but we arrived and got ready.

We walked over to a few casinos and started to gamble. I made a quick $45 win, but soon lost when I wanted to gamble some more. Eventually, we met up with some friends at the ‘Paris Hotel and Casino’. Soon our late evening turned into 6am and we walked over to our room exhausted.

The BIG car show awaited us the next day. Stacy and I woke up at 9:30am and started the process of getting ready. A couple of hours later and Stacy had capris jeans, with a black halter, a red bandana over her updo of curls. I wore my orange dress and beige Mary Janes (featured in "Great Finds in Fullerton") and had my hair in side part victory rolls. We were ready to paint the town red (red lipstick, that is).

We arrived to the 'Orleans Hotel and Casino' and the line was long to enter, but luckily for us, we had purchased our tickets online and walked right up. We were greeted by the friendly security that checked us in and gave us our official “VIVA” wristbands. Before we entered I saw the lovely, ‘Doris Mayday’ whose classiness made me want to go play dress up all day with her. I introduced myself and asked if I may take a picture of her and instead of turning me away because she was already on her way out, she agreed and offered to take a picture with me. We talked for a few minutes and then with a kiss on the cheek we said goodbye.

Stacy and I walked in and right at the entry I met ‘Darling Danika’ and 'Jolee Blon’ (above) that were also on their way out, but were sweethearts’ and took a picture for ‘Style Me Classic’. Once introductions were made we walked into a crowd that was watching ‘Dick Dale’ perform, “House of Rising Sun” on stage- an EPIC moment for me. As we continued to watch I met some lovely dames by the names of Janet, Stephanie, and Laura (below) who were enjoying the performance and each others company.

The afternoon was setting in and I made the rounds to meet some vendors. The variety I came across made me want to meet them all, unfortunately, a girl can only walk so long in heels. I met the good looking men of the ‘Trakaleros’ (above) who gave me a quick picture to represent their car club. Soon I passed the talented, ‘Satin Dollz’ (blog coming soon) who are, as they described, “modern day Andrew Sisters.”

The afternoon was coming to an end and I was in awe to see the many classics that were lined up. Many pinup models were taking pictures with these cars and I couldn’t help, but get a few shots of my own of the lovely Kristin and her dapper boyfriend Nate (above) and 'Stevie Rosalie' and her handsome boyfriend Tom (below).

During my walk I met the stylish dames, "ReeRee Rockette, Lucie Luella, and Pipa Jolley", who traveled all the way from London for "VLV16". They were friendly, a riot, and just plain adorable.

The feet were becoming numb and I knew I had a few more things to cover. Not wanting to miss the icon, ‘Little Richard’ perform on stage; I chatted with a few more vendors and came across the extremely talented, ‘Leobarda Grijalva’ (blog coming soon) who is the embodiment of rocka/psycho-billy RAD.

Evening had soon approached and I was able to catch Little Richard perform, “Tutti Frutti” on stage- the man, still had it. My next stop was to catch up with the lovely Nicole from 'NicCoCo Creations', but to my amazement I met with the gorgeous pinup model, ‘Gia Genevieve’ who was, once again, the most darling person to talk to- making it the perfect ending to a day filled of laughs, smiles, talent, and networking.

 by Ryan Cash

When most people think of car clubs they think it’s a bunch of “gangsters,” “juveniles” and of course, “men”. However, this is not the case with the ‘Gasoline Girls.’ Yes that’s right, a club full of females! 

It started with President Kristin Cline, who decided she wanted to work with other females with the same passion for cars. She got her first classic, a 1955 Studebaker (photo courtesy of Gasoline Girls website), when she needed a car after her move from San Francisco to the South Bay and instead of buying a modern car that she would “drive all over town until it died” she decided to “invest in a classic that may/may not last as long but since it is a classic it can be restored and become an investment in itself if sold.” 

Being into the rockabilly scene when Kristin would attend car shows, she noticed that a lot of the car clubs were ALL male members. Being one of the many females in the scene with a classic car, she asked herself, “Why aren’t there more girls who work on cars?” A realization that made her start, ‘Grease Girl’ a blog that, as Kristin explains, “Allows me to be the bridge and share what I am learning because there may be other females that want to learn, but don’t have the tools or information available to them.” 

Hearing Kristin explain the very frustrating thing for me as a single parent who always thought that there were no resources for a passion I wanted to pass down to my son, the great concept of ‘Gasoline Girls’ made me want to reach out and connect.

Originally as a 4 member club, these women were brought together by fate. The laughter, stories and tears shared among this creative bunch showed me the true meaning of friendship.

I had to get to know these girls and I went in for a learning session at ‘Edelbrock Headquarters’ for some lessons from the pros that would teach about carburetors and tuning. “Usually a girl club, but the workshops are open to both men and women.”

‘Gasoline Girls’ welcomes perspective members from ALL skill levels -- from beginners, intermediate, and/or advanced learners -- to fix up their own cars . “When I started, ‘Gasoline Girls’ I did look into other girl clubs, but a lot of them didn’t have working cars and I wanted to make sure my club had cars you could drive around in.”

Being taken seriously is something Kristin and the other lovelies don’t fret on. When a girl makes an appearance at car shows they get the typical heckling from the ALL MALE clubs, but little do most know that they will quickly get schooled by the vast intelligence and beauty these women exuberate.

I was unable to meet all of the girls, however, Kristin, Jenn, Rochelle, and Rosa were such wonderful company that the notion of the "Gasoline Girls being a car club that not only teaches, but also empowers women” was something I witnessed first hand. 

There’s no better American tradition than when a father and son spend quality time restoring classic cars.

...and Mike & Gary Brown are the best example.

I’ve known Gary for a couple of years. The day we met we were going to crash into each other- literally. I was pulling up to the toll booth in the underground parking, where we work, and Gary tries to cut me off from the side. I roll down my window to give him an earful until I notice his metallic blue ‘69 Mercury Cougar Convertible. I yelled out, “That’s your car?! I didn’t know you had good taste!” and he replies, “Yea, this is one of many that I’ve restored.”

…and right there I knew, we’d be friends (with the exception of him trying to kill me).

Since the age of 4, Gary was tinkering with carburetors’ and other car parts.  By the age of 8 he restored (with the help of Mike) a ’69 Mercury Coupe and at the age of 11 he had already bought and sold his first car- a blue ’69 XR7 Cougar Coupe 390. Obviously, these skills came from a man he looked up to and respected- his father Mike.

I made plans to visit Gary and check out his latest project, a ’69 Mercury Cougar XR7 351. He and Mike had decided to chop up the car to begin restoration, however, due to unforeseen rain we had to reschedule.

When I got to Gary’s house he had a 1987 Mercedes Benz 560sl parked in his driveway. In the garage he had a, candy apple red 1969 Ford Torino Cobra 428cj. A beauty that made me want to take off with it.

After showing me around his garage, his grandmother’s garage (project cars), we decided to take a visit to Mike’s house to check out 2 other cars, a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 Fastback 351 4v and another 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7 Convertible.

When we arrived, there I met  the man with the stoic face yet laid back, funny personality, Mike "Maverick" Brown. Mike by the age of 18 had already known all the tricks of the trade. He sold his first car (a’63 Ford Galaxy) at the age of 16. Mike’s hobby became a full time passion in which he passed down to both his son's, Gary & Jason. When Mike is not with his car club the ‘SoCal Cougar Club, he and Gary spend time finding the next great project. Between these two men they have a total of 11 cars and it’s clear that they know what they are doing. 

Spending my afternoon with these wonderful, smart, passionate people (mom & wife Sharon, brother Jason, Gary and Mike)- I really wanted them to adopt me.

by Ryan Cash