Modified, cruisers meet in New Kingston

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  Strong turnout for Heelz and Wheelz automotive show

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

The pulse-racing notes of modified engines pouring their power through oversized tailpipes cut through the thumping basslines of powerful car stereos last Sunday at the Modified Meets Cruisers edition of the Heelz and Wheelz automotive shows, organised by Kno Option Entertainment.

It was a melting pot of rides and the associated lifestyles at the UDC parking lot, New Kingston, pulling in not only a wide cross-section of cars, but also the persons who drive them and those who admire the vehicles.

So the bikers had their spots, parked neatly in rows with the front tyres turned in the same directions. The off-roaders each had a tyre up on a concrete block and sprinter Asafa Powell with his Benz was under a tent. So were many of the other special cars - Dean Shaw's 1969 Camaro which runs on methanol and puts 1500 horsepower to the tarmac, a V-12 E Type Jaguar and the Ultimate Warrior, the trophies that the car's sound system has won displayed on a table before it.

The BMWs had their spot, a black drop top 650i with cream interior attracting a lot of attention, the Subarus were in the house and a few persons took a seat behind the steering wheel of a 1968 Dodge Dart, driven by Kevin Campbell.

Sound off

In the mid-afternoon, some of the modified owners started their machines to sound off and a throng of thrill-seekers moved from one car to another, cheering as the exhaust notes were punctuated with thumps - and, with Kemar's 1996 Evolution IV, flames from the tailpipe. Dwayne Newell's 1991 Skyline had its share of listeners as well.

On the big side, the famed RV truck, a literal house on wheels, loomed large at one end of the field.

Modified Meet Cruisers

Heelz and Wheelz' Modified Meet Cruisers was scheduled to run from noon until 8 p.m., attendance increasing considerably close to dusk. Strings of blue, green and white lights were arranged in three cars' engine bays and the house sound paused for a fashion-show cause. The car stereo face-off, the day's only competitive section, was won by Marcel 'Bulbie' Coomarsignh with his Honda Integra.

Orville Francis of Kno Option Entertainment told The Sunday Gleaner that Modified Meets Cruisers is one of a number of events that the team of five persons puts on, the competitive event happening on Ash Wednesday. After the most recent one, held at the Michi centre on Washington Boulevard, "we decided we needed to do a little more for the public, so they can see the cars of yesterday and today and see how people take pride in taking care of their vehicles".

They divided the island into regions and culled each for cars. "We went and met with owners personally. We hand-selected cars, in addition to the clubs we met with," he said.

"We wanted to sensitise the public how to take care of their cars, so we had sponsors with various products," Francis said. Among these were JIIC with its insurance offerings. Superior Auto Parts, Jamaica Tuner, 3M, Revo Techx, Scotiabank, NCB, Tyre Warehouse, Courts, Magnum, Vibes racing, RX Jamaica, Wilmotor Off-Road Trucks, Leesingh Concepts and Stash also gave their support. In addition, there was a children's area and the police were on hand to give road safety instructions.

Francis defines a cruiser as "an old or new car. It is more about you going around somewhere as a low ride. It is not about speed, but nice, easy driving around town". Modified cars, on the other hand, "have been tuned to look good, sound good and have performance".

Francis is pleased with last Sunday's turnout, "despite the rain". Looking towards more events of that kind, he said, "the public certainly wants more cars. They also want more of a sort of competitive sort of thing - which is what we were trying to move away from".