It's fair to say Kansas has been good for the Kustom Kemps of America. The organization was formed in Wichita, and that's where its first national event-the Leadsled Street Custom Spectacular-was held more than a quarter-century ago. And while the Leadsled Spectacular would have many homes in many states for the following two decades, the event experienced a significant rebound in 2005 when it returned to Kansas, this time to the city of Salina.

It's no secret the Goodguys PPG Nationals is a huge event. With roughly 6,000 vehicles rolling through the gates of the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus every July, the show has quickly become one of the largest hot rod and custom gatherings in the country, and the biggest get-together on the Goodguys calendar. Fortunately for all who attend, there's more to this show than just its size, though. A positive vibe and a laid-back atmosphere are equally important elements in making this one of the summer's hottest happenings.

Custom cars and California may go together like candy paint and chrome, but you would've been hard pressed to prove that back in the early 1980s. Just as it had nationwide, the California custom scene had dozed through the '70s. As a new decade dawned, a fledgling custom revival was beginning out in the Midwest following the first Merc/Deuce Reunion and the formation of the Kustom Kemps of America, but for the first time in history the West Coast seemed to trail in its tail-dragging enthusiasm.

It's easy for publications to preach about enjoying rods and customs out on the road, but it's a much bigger undertaking to actually do something about it. Our friends over at Rod & Custom put their money where their mouths were in the early 1990s by creating Americruise, a summer event where more than half the fun was caravanning down the road to get there.

Have you found yourself wondering lately whether the custom and hot rod hobby has become a bit too bloated and pompous for its own good? We've got car builders who are television celebrities, owners who fret about the best show at which to "debut" their latest rides, and six-figure customs that are so trick they need to be toted around in $10,000 trailers pulled by $40,000 pickups. It's enough to make you long for the laid-back, carefree days when custom cars were built to drive and events were merely a means for fun and fellowship with your buddies and other like-minded rodders.

The end of March means many different things to rodders across our country. Folks in the Northeast region are running rich on cabin fever, while Midwesterners can usually start thinking about firing up their rides and taking a cruise around the block for the first time of the season. Left Coasters could be in for rainstorms, mudslides, 'quakes, or possibly even sunshine.

We've come to expect a lot of things from the Grand National Roadster Show in its 57-year history. We know there will be debuts of great new rods and customs from top car builders in the Western U.S. It goes without saying that there will be heated competition for the coveted America's Most Beautiful Roadster award. And there's bound to be plenty of pomp and tradition considering that this is the longest-running indoor car show in the world.

Every winter for more than four decades there has come a point when the custom car and street rod world starts "Livin' On Tulsa Time." For 2006 it was February 17-19 when the 42nd annual Darryl Starbird National Rod & Custom Car Show rolled into Tulsa, Oklahoma.

With the recent surge in poker popularity-tournaments seemingly run round the clock on cable TV-it's little wonder the phenomenon has spread to the indoor car show circuit. Rick Perry, the promoter of the San Francisco Rod, Custom, and Motorcycle Show, recently raised the ante by having two different amounts of cash that could be won by the owner of a show-winning car.

The Detroit Autorama is one of the premier indoor events in our hobby, and countless enthusiasts and car builders through the years have yearned to find themselves at Cobo Hall earning recognition for their efforts. Most would be thrilled with a class trophy; a select few can realistically dream of winning the Don Ridler Memorial Award, a well-recognized barometer of hot rod and custom car construction excellence. Aside from the obvious--a check for $10,000, new GM Performance Parts engine, custom trophy, and personalized jacket--the award's prestige is an acknowledgement that you have competed with the best in North America.

Every year during the winter show season, several Primedia magazine titles team up with Championship Auto Shows International--producers of the World of Wheels and Autorama events across the country--to sponsor a series of specialty awards. Custom Rodder has been pleased to be a part of this tradition, and once again sponsored the Custom Rodder magazine award at CASI events in 2006.

Much like Biblical shepherds and wise men followed a heavenly star to Bethlehem, Southern California rod and custom enthusiasts faithfully follow a certain moon every December to one of the biggest auto-oriented holiday parties around.

There are few more enjoyable pastimes for a rod or custom enthusiast than spending a weekend at their favorite car show. Certain shows get to be our favorites because of what they offer. Some have great collections of vehicles, others have good swap meets, while still others attract large groups of vendors. Some even have a little bit of all three.

Can your custom car handle?

April in Southern California is a time for warm weather, long days & and cool cars. This year will be no different as hundreds of hot rods are expected to fill the front and back Fairplex parking lots at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum for the first Twilight Cruise Night of the year, Apr. 5.

Autumn is a great time to visit the southeastern United States. The air is crisp, the evenings are long and cool, and the leaves on the trees are beginning to make their brilliant transition to hues of amber, bronze, and gold.

Good car shows are not necessarily big, and big car shows are not necessarily good. But the Goodguys PPG Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, has both qualities and then some.

Sometimes it's good to get back to your roots. A quarter century ago, Jerry and DeVona Titus launched the Kustom Kemps of America from their home in Wichita, Kansas, providing a much-needed kick-start for the revival of the custom car movement. The organization's first "nationals," dubbed the Leadsled Street Custom Spectacular, was held right there in Wichita in 1981. As it grew, the annual custom extravaganza went on the road, landing in alternating locales in Iowa, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Michigan with varying degrees of success. Lancaster, Ohio, was the show's home for the last few years.

The West Coast Kustoms' Cruisin' Nationals event is a bit of an anomaly in today's rodding environment. Put on by a relatively small, regional custom car club, the show has no corporate sponsor and does not charge spectators an admission fee. Additionally, limited space means official show registration is capped at about 850 vehicles, making it common to find dozens of latecomers and overflow vehicles scattered around town outside the official show area. Despite all this, the event, held every year on Memorial Day weekend in Paso Robles, California, has more clout than many larger events, and is a must-attend affair for thousands of dedicated custom and hot rod enthusiasts.

Everyone who participates is a winner. That's a phrase often used to encourage youngsters in sports leagues--a way to bolster self-esteem and focus attention on the activity, rather than the end result. Unfortunately, as we grow older and more jaded, we often hear those words with a cynical ear. Not everyone can win, we think to ourselves; someone is always going to lose. Our world-weary perspective seems especially true in the competitive arena of indoor car shows.

There's something about willingly flying to Detroit, Michigan, in the dead of winter. Downtown Detroit is a cold, gritty place with all the refinement of a chipped tooth on a bastard file. Mean-looking taverns tucked away in nooks and crannies forbid outsiders. Down-and-outers panhandle at nearly every corner. Salted roads melt away cars practically before the break-in period ends. It's an inhospitable place for flora, fauna, and ferrous metal alike, although things are changing for the better (witness GM's Renaissance Center for proof).

The San Francisco Bay Area is arguably the birthplace for car shows that cater to the custom car scene, as it was in 1949 when the first custom show was held in Oakland. Similar shows popped up nationwide soon thereafter, but there has been at least one custom show (and sometimes more) per year held in the Bay Area for more than 50 years.