When Todd Ratliff was growing up in far southwest Virginia, his grandfather nicknamed him Hot Rod Todd. Todd had caught the car bug from his grandfather, a car salesman, and his father, who loved to tinker with old cars. The nickname is still appropriate today as Ratliff has just finished a years-long project restoring and modernizing a 1938 Chevy two-door sedan, utilizing a combination of original styling and modern technology. “It’s been my lifelong dream,” he says. “I wish I …
Rides
-
Text by Karl H. Kazaks | Photos by Tom Wallace When Johnnie Self Jr. was in high school, he loved playing football for the Christiansburg Blue Demons, and he loved driving …
-
Text and photos by Nathan Cooke When exploring Blacksburg, you often notice three things: maroon and orange outfits, gray limestone aka Hokie stone and city-style buses. Blacksburg Transit (BT) is responsible …
-
Watching Dr. Daniel Hurd drive his 2001 Ferrari 360 Modena is to experience the sublime. In every sense, the machine gives the impression of being a mechanical marvel. Its engine, even at …
-
Text by Karl H. Kazaks Photos by Tom Wallace “Instantly, instinctively, you know.” So says the narrator of a 1959 television ad for Ford’s new top-of-the-line, full-size car, the Galaxie. As …
-
Text by Karl H. Kazaks Photos by Tom Wallace You can tell a lot about people by the possessions they keep. Raymond Bishop owns three VW Beetles – orange, burgundy and black …
-
Text by Karl H. Kazaks Photos by Tom Wallace [realpixs.com] With his sinewy build, trim mustache, clear blue eyes and collected manner, Tony Royal comes off as a man of action. …
-
Text by Karl H. Kazaks Photos by Nathan Cooke Reginald Davis knows what it’s like to feel a calling. He’s been a devoted religious man since 1977, when, as he says, “I …
-
Kelly Donoughe’s 2009 Smart fortwo passion has a name: Mrs. Einstein. The smallest four-wheel car available for sale in the U.S., she originally called it Einstein for the physicist. When she added …
-
Don and Chris were meeting one another for the first time for breakfast at Mabry Mill in late spring of 2012. He rode from North Carolina on his 1800cc Honda Goldwing, which …