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Kit Car Magazine Award Winners And Isca FinalsOf the multiple World of Wheels and AutoRama indoor car shows scheduled around the country, many have already celebrated their 45th and 50th anniversaries, making this series of annual shows among the largest, and certainly the most consistent, group of indoor car shows ever.
For some time now, Championship Auto Shows, Inc. (CASI), the event organizers and promoters, have awarded a selected few attendees a KIT CAR Magazine Award, recognizing the car's high build quality for which the shows are known. Kelsey Hatzinger from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, recently took home the award at the Green Bay World of Wheels with his '72 Fiberjet Dune Buggy, and the winner of the KIT CAR Magazine Award at the Omaha World of Wheels was Dennis Strauss from Omaha, Nebraska, with a '55 Porsche Spyder (above, left). The winner at the Pittsburgh World of Wheels was Ken Kasunick of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a '65 Cobra (above, right).
The AutoRama and World of Wheels shows use judging criteria determined by the International Show Car Association (ISCA) which recently also held its annual awards banquet and Championship Finals in Overland Park, Kansas. Fran Speer from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, won the 2005 overall championship with his one-of-a-kind '33 Ford coupe. For more information, photos, and a complete list of finishers from this year's ISCA Championship Finals, you can go to the official ISCA Web site at www.theisca.com and click on "2005 Finals."
Boyd Coddington Cops Plea In Fraud InvestigationAutoweek's Bob Gritzinger recently reported in that magazine that California hot rod builder Boyd Coddington became the first big name to cop a plea in a wide-ranging title-fraud investigation California prosecutors and Coddington's own attorney say could involve 70,000 illegally registered vehicles.
Coddington pleaded no contest April 7 in the Sacramento County Superior Court to a misdemeanor charge relating to submitting counterfeit vehicle titles to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. The star of American Hot Rod on the Discovery Channel paid $3,000 restitution to the DMV and must perform 160 hours of community service (which includes explaining to hot rod enthusiasts how to correctly register their cars) in the next year.
Authorities say some custom car owners used phony, out-of-state titles to identify their cars as much older or less expensive than they reported to the DMV. The fake titles allowed owners to pay lower registration fees and less sales tax, and to escape air-pollution regulations.
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), an advocate for hobbyists and hot rod owners, disputes whether the practice is widespread. SEMA is working with California officials to find an equitable solution that allows owners time to properly retitle their cars. SEMA also stated that California's convoluted vehicle registration laws have created confusion among state hobbyists and those charged with applying these laws at the ground level. There are divergent opinions among hot rod industry sources and state officials regarding how many vehicles have been mistitled.
Get more information by contacting SEMA at 1575 S. Valley Vista Dr., Diamond Bar, CA 91765-0910; call (909) 396-0289; or visit www.sema.org.