Feature: Muscle Mania
February 1, 2008
"My wife called me an idiot after
I told her that I wanted to organize a week long muscle car rally," says Chris
Hoskins, founder of the Muscle Car 1000. "But the end result was more
collaboration than compromise."
For the last three years, owners of early American muscle cars
have followed Hoskins and his wife Michelle to the best hotels, attended lavish
winemaker dinners and driven 200 miles a day at the helms of their Corvette
Stingrays, Pontiac GTOs and Shelby Cobras, all as part of a five-day tour.
Last October, the rally began in San Diego and the participants
traveled the full gamut of Southern California landscape, making their way
through the mountains and the desert before reaching their final destination:
the infamous Playboy Mansion. Aside from the five-star lodging and evening
soirees, participants are given a selection of events designed to showcase their
classic car. "My car is parked on the front lawn," says Frank Chirat, owner of a
gold 1968 Ford Shelby GT500. "A lot of the guys chose to drag race on the deck
of the USS Midway, but having my car photographed at the Mansion was just too
great to pass up."
This year’s event, which is scheduled for October 5-10, will
start at the Four Seasons Resort in San Francisco and wind down to Half Moon
Bay. In fact, Muscle Car 1000 has already rented out Alcatraz for the opening
night. "We’re going to have a 120-foot table down the middle of cellblock D with
flowers and candlelight," says Hoskins.
The $6,450-per-couple entrance fee does not cover entertainment
alone, however; 50 percent of the proceeds go to Hunger Relief Organization
(HeRO), a charity for children in third-world countries. According to Hoskins,
several of the participants make donations above and beyond the price of
admission. And although space for the rally is limited to 35 cars because of the
overwhelming demand, another rally is being finalized for Florida in 2009 and
plans for Chicago and New England are already in the works. "My wife probably
still thinks I’m an idiot," Hoskins says, "but it has all been worth it."
Muscle Car 1000, 949.838.7076,
www.musclecar1000.com
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