Bernie's Car Show Coverage: 2012 Gold Rush Rally Meetup: Atlanta

This past Wednesday was the Atlanta stop for the Gold Rush Rally. Because I was a virgin to automotive rallies, I didn't know what to expect, so I went in positive AND with an open mind. And you know what? I'm glad I did.



I got there a little too early. Despite media registration being open from 10-5, I got there at 2, knowing I should have gotten there by 5. The Gold Rush Rally participants have partied way too hard in Vegas (well, who could blame 'em) and they got to Atlanta uber late. Which meant, when I got there, there were only 6 cars. But those 6 cars carried a bit of weight to them.



To park within the area and to partake in the actual rally aspect, you had to get decaled. Gold Rush Rally was smart, and they brought with them Vinyl Styles, a automotive graphic company out of San Francisco to decal every single car at every tour stop. Let me repeat that. Every single car at every single stop. I asked them, how many decals do you put on each vehicle. Their answer... 25. And they decaled every vehicle- from the stock Chevy Surburban that confused me to the matte black Bugatti, and all those in between.



There were 19 cars that showed up- not counting the Subaru that belonged to one of the media and the factory Chevy Surburban and GMC Yukon. There were Lambos, Ferraris, A Rolls Royce Phantom, An SLS or two, an Audi R8 that had a questionable front license plate (the Georgia Flag), a Mercedes S550 that had the AMG accessories, a Mercedes Benz CL63 that was actually the AMG level, and the car that stole the show- the Bugatti Veyron that stole the show. But everyone knows that a racing event can't be considered a racing event without the two vehicles that are considered God of the import world- the Nissan GTR and BMW M Series, and they were both there as well.



We're all friends here, so we both know that when it comes to shows, I'm a critical person. I like cars to be at shows. However, even though there were 19 vehicles there that totalled to over 5 million dollars (if they were brand new), the Gold Rush Rally stop was the most productive show I've been to since SEMA. I met some great people- The Vinyl Styles guys, The Vossen Wheel guys came (the same Vossen Wheels that I feature on my site often), Jason from ATL Autorsports, Sunny from Speed Mischief, and I did meet more but I'm horrible with names. Basically the people who showed up are those who truely had a love for cars, not guys who customize cars to get girls.



I really hope that Gold Rush Rally comes back to Atlanta. Rallies don't come here, those are mostly a West Coast thing. That's why I made sure I attended. If they do come back, I hope they listen to the Gold Rush Rally volunteer who suggested for the Rally to be in Buckhead as opposed to Midtown. Midtown Atlanta is okay, but it was a business area- everything closes early in a business area.

P.S. I wish Gold Rush Rally would have given me a gift bag. Certain media members got one and I didn't. For more photos, well not much more (I mean, there were only 19 cars), click here to check out my Gold Rush Rally gallery

713 Motoring Battles It Out With Two Gorgeous Mercedes

Customizing Greats, 713 Motoring, filmed two separate videos of gorgeous Mercedes Benzes. The first video is a white Mercedes Benz S550 with black accents. The one thing that I can really say about 713 Motoring is that they have a sick attention to detail. Watch the video and look at the accents that they customized- outside of the black Strut Grille and the matching Strut vents.



They customized the door handles- not the side that you mostly see on a car, but the top part... the part that no one thinks to customize.

The second video is of my favorite Mercedes body style- the CLS. This particular CLS63 is sitting on carbon fiber Forgiato Wheels (the one that look like a star).



As much as I adore the CLS body style, I love what 713 Motoring did to the S550. Giving credit where credit is due, although they didn't send me the videos, and I had to search for them. But 713 Motoring will make sure that your vehicle is customized.

Serious question: how many licence plate styles does the state of Texas have? I know it's big, but it ain't that big.

Hipnotic Wheels Shows off a Mercedes Benz S550

Hipnotic Wheels released photos of a Mercedes Benz S550 wearing their popular Blaque Diamond BD-7 wheels. Blaque Diamond Signature series built with new ULW Technology which makes the wheel 25% to 35% lighter then regular cast wheels. Check them out....

Butler Tire Shows off a Mercedes S550

Butler Tire released photos of a Mercedes S550 wearing 22 inch Asanti DA177 Wheels. Check... It... Out...

How We Roll (Video): 713 Motoring

I've been talking about them a lot lately on this site, but as long as they keep customizing cars and send me the photos and videos, then they'll keep appearing on this site. It is free advertising, but some companies don't believe me when I say that.

Out of the goodness of their hearts, Houston's own 713 Motoring sent me a video entitled How We Roll. How We Roll would be a great commercial for the shop- Four fully customized cars parked outside with the Vice President of 713, Brandon, walking around and talking about the cars.

Brandon decided to show off a Blacked Out Mercedes Benz S550 with the smoked out tail lights, a White Chevy Camaro with a body kit, white wheels, and smoked tail lights, A Red Cadillac XLR with red wheels (rumor has it, the interior is red as well), and a White Rolls Royce Phantom that I featured on here before. Watch the video...



I haven't been to Texas yet, and I know that 713 Motoring is somewhere in the Houston area, but I can assume that this isn't the first time they've worked on a S550, a Phantom, the XLR, and a Camaro and it certainly woon't be their last. Well, maybe the Cadillac XLR- let's be real- how many of them have you seen on the road within the last 30 days? Go ahead, I'll wait while you count. Within the five years Cadillac produced them, they haven't been popular. I bet if you add up the total sales from 2004-2009 of the Cadillac XLR, Cadillac probably sold just as many Escalades within a year. I know the XLR was close to $100,000, but they were ugly. A CTS-V looks so much better and the difference in money you save- you can take the car to a reputable company like 713 Motoring to give it a fully customized look. Like how I came full circle with that one?

Also, no matter what day or what time of the day you drive past 713 Motoring, I can easily say that they will always have a stable of cars around. But I honestly don't think that they'll have a Phantom parked in the doorway..

Update: Lexani Shows of a Mercedes S550

Lexani finally released some photos, and this time, it's photos of a Mercedes Benz S550 sitting on their R-Six Wheels...

Updated material: Lexani released a video as well...



I love ADV.1 Wheels' photos, and I love Lexani/Asanti videos. Their videos are extra dramatic but they sell the car and the aftermarket accessories.

This Mercedes Benz S550 loves to change her shoes...

ADV.1 Wheels released shots of a beautiful Mercedes Benz S550 wearing a temporary set of ADV10 Deep Concaves in a conservative 22X9, 22X10.5 figment for the week until her actual shoes are done in the warehouse. The finish is their new Brushed Titanium center spokes with brushed gunmetal lips and inners. For a temporary set of wheels, these look a lot better than most folks permanent set.

Gorgeous as always...

Giovanna Wheels Shows off a Mercedes S550

Giovanna Wheels released shots of a Mercedes S550 sitting on Gianelle Trentino Wheels. Check it out...