July 6-8, 2023: Iola Car Show – Iola, WI

Ron Piasecki, Jeff Martin, Mike Maul

Ron, Jeff, and Mike M. attended and assisted vendors at this year’s Iola Car Show. This is a very good event that year-over-year has continued to grow. This year, 2023, was no exception as this event was well attended, even though it fell on Fourth of July weekend. As a huge car show with over 2,500 cars and 4,000 swap meet spaces, it’s estimated that there are over 120,000 spectators who made their way through the show this year.

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July 7-9, 2023: Goodguys 25th Summit Racing Nationals – Columbus, OH

Bob Harrell, Jon Kunzman, Cary Exline, Mike Sherrill

We had the Kunzman & Associates trailer on the main road leading into the Columbus Fairgrounds at this year’s Goodguys 25th Summit Racing Nationals. With a great location we had almost all the 5,000+ registered vehicles drive past us on the way in and out. With an estimated 50,000 spectators we had a chance to talk to many people about their projects. Attendance seemed a little lighter than in years past, but the event remains one of the best shows in the Midwest.

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July 22-23, 2023: Texas Heat Wave – Austin, TX

Steve Bornowski

Steve was in Austin, Texas for the 2023 Heat Wave Show at the Travis County Expo Center. There were around 1,600 pre-registered cars that made it out, despite the record heat outside. There were a variety of vendors (automotive and non-automotive) in attendance, and Steve had the chance to chat with spectators about their vehicles.

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July 22, 2023: Eastwood Summer Classic – Pottstown, PA

Adam Brown, Jay Lambert

Adam and Jay had the small trailer and displays set up at Eastwood for their Annual Summer Classic. Great show. Weather was perfect and people were lined up to get in. There were around 300 cars and traffic in the booth was strong. Our display made up most of the performance parts on display and sales were directed to the store.

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July 20-22, 2023: Motor State Challenge – South Haven, MI

Cary Exline, Jason Sugden

Cary and Jason had the big trailer and the Kunzman C10 at the Motor State Challenge this year. This is a great event that consists of a cruise night, road course day at Gingerman, and auto cross at Tire Rack. They limit the number of vehicles to 100, which creates a family-like environment where you see the same people year after year. Cary and Jason both had a chance to drive the C10 before the power steering decided to fail and the vehicle had to be retired. Getting to participate and communicate with the other drivers as a peer is a unique way for us to interact with customers. The C10 is always a popular attraction, and our parts get a lot of attention. Motor State appreciates our continued support, and we look forward to this event each year.

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June 1-4, 2023: Silver Lake Jeep Invasion – Silver Lake, MI

Adam Brown, Jeff Martin

Adam and Jeff worked the manufacturers midway with Lane Automotive at the Silver Lake Jeep Invasion in Silver Lake, Michigan. We had rolling displays as well as table top displays. There were over 1,100 registered Jeeps and many more on the dunes throughout the weekend. We spoke to many Jeepers about their vehicles and participated in the activities on the dunes!

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June 3, 2023: CARS Inc. Open House – Rochester Hills, MI

Jason Sugden, Bob Harrell

The weather was good for the CARS Inc. Open House, with about 400 cars at the event. The trailer was steady throughout the day, with mostly restoration customers who are looking to upgrade various parts of the vehicle from stock. Suspension and engine performance seem to be the focal point for most! 

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June 9-11, 2023: Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival – Slippery Rock,

PA

Jay Lambert

This long-running event always draws a large crowd with about 2,500 Jeeps, 120 vendors, and 29,000 attendees! The weather was great this year, but traffic through the booth was a bit light on Friday and Sunday. This year, we participated in some of the trail run events by putting on winching clinics on Thursday and Friday. The groups consisted of novice Jeepers and the presentation was very well received. The show itself gets a mixture of life-long Jeep owners and first timers, with many bringing their entire family to check out the vendors. 

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June 23-25, 2023: Back to the 50’s – St. Paul, MN

Mike Maul, Matt Ross

The was not a normal year in terms of attendance for the Back to the 50’s event by MSRA. The total car count when registration closed on Saturday was 9,824, which is down considerably from last year. Friday was better than usual for foot traffic and was normal on the car side. Saturday’s forecast called for rain, which likely kept the car and foot traffic down. Much of the conversation with customers varied – plenty of muscle car and pick-up questions, with a lot of interest in driveshafts. The standard Mustang II questions along with asking questions about why we don’t have tubular products for their 1941 (fill in the blank) where common. 

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June 30 – July 2, 2023: Classic Truck Throwdown – Conroe, TX

Steve Boronski

The Classic Truck Throwdown is a spinoff of the Spring Lone Star Throwdown event. The main change is that all vehicles must be 1998 or earlier – any brand. This was a first year event with expectations being quite a bit lower than the Spring Throwdown, but they had over 600 trucks pre-registered for the event! Despite the extreme temperatures, turnout was not bad for the first year. We’re looking forward to seeing this event grow in years to come. 

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May 20, 2023: Clemson 4×4 Show and Jeep Run – Seneca, SC

John Iannotte

The 13^th Annual Clemson 4×4 Show and Jeep Run consisted of a 25-mile on and off road drive in the foothills of Clemson, SC. The drive ended in three different steep rock runs, depending on the driver and Jeep capabilities. The event put on in partnership with the Clemson 4×4 store, where John also displayed his own 2018 JL.

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May 27, 2023: Dedona Enterprises Jeep & 4×4 Show – Middletown, NY

Jay Lambert

This inaugural event, hosted by Dedona Enterprises, had strong attendance from families and local Jeep enthusiasts. The event featured a small vendor area, a variety of activities and attendees enjoyed the many Jeeps on display. The show was a success and we look forward to watching it continue to grow each year.

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April 12, 2023: Go Fast Solutions – Middletown, CT

Jay Lambert

Go Fast Solutions holds this event annually for their customers to come in and check out new products from their vendors.  A big part of the show are the training sessions put on by the manufactures. This year had a great mixture of vendors which included the addition of new racing-oriented lines.  This is still primarily a 12v show but they do have a broad customer base. Jay had the opportunity to have conversations with many of their customers and noted that business continues to be fairly solid in this space.  The lighting category in particular seems to be a top focus for 12v installers.

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April 22 – 30, 2023: Jeep Beach – Daytona, FL

Bill Eagan, John Iannotte, Duane Blalock & RJ Sebastian

Jeep Beach continues to be one of the largest Jeep0only events in the country, attracting over 200,000 people and25,000 Jeeps! Jeep enthusiasts gather every April to check out new products from over 100 vendors and help raise money for local and national charities. Kunzman & Associates had a great team onsite to answer consumer questions and promote the latest products to this market segment. This is a great event that continues to grow, and we look forward to it every year.

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March 3-5, 2023:

World of Wheels – Chicago, IL

Ron Piasecki & Jeff Martin

Jeff and Ron attended the 60th Anniversary Chicago World of Wheels. This is the second largest World of Wheels show, held annually, and this year did not disappoint.  The spring-like weather resulted in a well-attended show, featuring over 1,000 custom cars, trucks and motorcycles.  Cars at the ISCA Chicago World of Wheels Show compete for the Top Twenty, Select Six, and Legend Cup. The premium cars on display and strong consumer attendance are a sure sign that the automotive aftermarket is going strong in northern Illinois.

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March 10-12, 2023:

Goodguys Spring Lone Star Nationals – Fort Worth, TX

Steve Bornowski

The 2023 Lone Star Nationals was bigger, better, and louder than ever! With the addition of OBS pickups, the Ultimate Truck Showcase and Autocross Shootout, as well as the Truck Cruise and Burnout Competition, this show had something for everyone! The weekend was busy all three days, with Saturday being the busiest, and the weather was perfect for it.  We had a good amount of booth traffic with people inquiring about products for their specific builds.  This event continues to grow and become more popular.

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March 24-26, 2023:

Open Season Sportsman’s Expo – Wisconsin Dells, WI

Ron Piasecki & Jeff Martin

This is Wisconsin’s largest annual Sportsman expo, featuring the region’s best hunting and outdoors equipment. The MKA vendor displays were part of the Toys for Trucks booth and sales area. This was a 3-day show, and even though most of the state was hit with a snowstorm on Saturday, we still managed to have nonstop booth traffic throughout most of the weekend. Jeff and Ron stayed very busy all three days and helped customers choose the correct products for their trucks, Jeeps, and even performance projects.

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February 10 – 11, 2023:

Keystone BIG Show – Aurora, CO

Jay Lambert, Skip Scafidi, Matt Ross & Mike Sharp

Keystone’s annual Big Show found a new home in 2023.  After many years in Grapevine, Texas, it was moved to the new Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado.  There was a good assortment of vendors filling the new space.  The bulk of the customers in attendance appeared to be truck accessory shops, but at the booths the team spoke to a fair amount of people regarding their speed parts as well.  Ordering has moved completely over to electronic entry, which makes things simple for vendors but a bit harder to track. One other bi-product was that it was very easy for jobbers to price check their deals with a phone in their hand, and we noticed a few doing so during the event.  Friday’s “happy hour” open bar time always draws a big crowd, and it was good to see such strong attendance in the new venue. 

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February 24-26, 2023:

Detroit Autorama – Detroit, MI

Jason, Bob, Jon, Adam, Tim, Cary, Michelle, Quin & Phyllis

With over 800 hots rods and custom cars as well as the prestigious Riddler Award, gearheads from all over the country (and Canada) headed to the Motor City for the 70^th annual Detroit Autorama.  This year we also had the honor of showcasing Michael’s class winning Nova in the Milan Dragway booth. Despite the snow, cold, and higher ticket prices, the turn out this year was still strong, and our team was on hand to discuss product, answer questions, and hand out literature. 

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February 24-26, 2023:

Lone Star Throwdown – Conroe, TX

Steve Bornowski

Featuring 2,000 registered vehicles and over 100 vendors, this show is a must for all truck enthusiasts! What started as a mini truck event, the Lone Star Throwdown has grown over the years to feature full-sized pickups, diesel haulers, classics, custom builds and much more. Each day of the show was welcomed with perfect Texas weather, which made for an exceptionally busy weekend. There was a ton of foot traffic in the booths with very specific build questions. As Steve noted, “the thing about this show over others we do is that these people know their products, you have to give them the correct information or they will call you out on it. It definitely keeps you on your toes!” 

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January 21 – 29, 2023:

Barrett-Jackson – Scottsdale, AZ

Mike Sharp

Mike Sharp kicked off the 2023 show season by attending the biggest car collector auction of the year, the world-famous Barrett-Jackson! Car enthusiasts from all over the globe ascended on the Scottsdale area to check out some of the most expensive and one-of-a-kind cars in the world.  This record-breaking show brought in over $180 million in sales, including $1.89M raised for charity.  Mike noted that this was a fantastic show with a huge turnout.  Booth traffic was steady, and they sold a lot of products during the 7-day event. 

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January 27, 2023:

Smiley’s Motorsports Open House

Steve Bornowski

This is the one and only consumer event that Smiley’s Motorsports hosts each year.  There was a swap meet outside and small vendor tables inside. While the weather was a little cool and rainy, it didn’t seem to deter anyone. Steve had a lot of foot traffic and was able to talk to a lot of people about our products.    

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January 29, 2023:

NPW FAST Expo

John Iannotte & RJ Sebastian

The National Parts Warehouse FAST Expo is Florida’s largest traditional, performance, and truck show. More than 150 vendors packed in at the Miami Airport Convention Center which brought in large groups of jobbers and consumers. Our booths stayed busy with a steady stream of enthusiasts asking technical questions and requesting literature.  John and RJ were happy to talk shop as were the attending vendors.  This hands-on opportunity for the consumer to learn more about our products will definitely make an impact in sales.

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November 1-4, 2022:

SEMA Show – Las Vegas, NV

The Kunzman Team

SEMA is our main and biggest industry trade show, with every manufacturer from performance, truck accessory, wheel and tire, electronics and electrified specialty attending. Like most of the events this year, conversations are focused on new products and latest trends for 2023. 

The Central and South Halls are still the main hub for the show, and the new addition of the West Hall still wows with more truck-related manufacturers displaying.

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November 18-20, 2022:

GoodGuys – Scottsdale, AZ

Mike Sharp

The last event for the GoodGuys event schedule, this Fall show is the one to attend! With approximately 4,000 cars showing over the 3-day event, there are more vendors looking to get the exposure every year. There tends to be more draw of participants to Scottsdale from across the South and Southwest where the field is continually at capacity early morning. Plus, if you are looking for that hard to find piece, we’ve seen a ton of odd-ball parts in the outer ring that is the swap meet of swap meets! MKA continues to support (and enjoys!) seeing everyone out on the road.

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Summit Cruise Night – McDonough, GA

Duane Blalock

This weekly event hosts a variety of Cruise-Ins that take place every Monday night at the Summit Racing retail store in McDonough. The event additionally had a live band that provided an extra level of fun and relaxation.  Attendees enjoy kicking off their week with Chick-Fil-A and a nice gathering of fine cars and trucks!

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September 30 – October 1, 2022:

Auto Value Tech Expo – Grand Rapids, MI

Cary Exline and Adam Brown

Cary and Adam have been part of this annual expo for several years!  While normally held in winter, this year’s event was moved to the first weekend of October.  Designed as two events in one, those in the Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper network are able to talk with a variety of vendors during the trade show portion, along with signing up for over 60 different classes with exclusive training across the automotive disciplines.  It is a perfect venue for those who want in-person professional training.  Contact Cary or Adam directly if you’d like to join in the next expo!

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September 29 – October 1, 2022: Pumpkin Run: Clermont County Fairgrounds, OH

Mike Sherrill and Jason Sugden

The 46th Annual Pumpkin Run weekend had 2,400 cars registered. The show brought in donations of $1,380,000 to the Shriners Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati!  Show cars had to be of 1974 vintage, or older.  Registered participants had the opportunity to win a classic 1937 Ford Coupe as the grand prize, and with spectators looking for something to do – Mike and Jason were in full display mode with the MKA trailer.  A great show to walk and check out the cool cars in the Cincinnati area!

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September 1 – 4, 2022: Sheriff’s JeepFest – Crawl for the Kids 2022 –  Jasper, GA

Duane Block

The Sheriff’s JeepFest is a 3-day event that takes place each fall in Pickens County, Georgia. This year, JeepFest was held on Labor Day Weekend. The event is staffed by volunteers from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, public safety offices and local Jeep Clubs from all over North Georgia who put on a high-quality, family-friendly event!

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September 9 – 11, 2022: Frankenmuth Auto Fest – Frankenmuth, MI

Jason Sugden and Adam Brown

The Kunzman and Associates team attends the Frankenmuth Auto Fest each year, bringing the MKA trailer with all the goodies! The event is fun for all ages, and enthusiasts enjoy show off their toys before the season winds down.

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September 14 – 16, 2022: Fall Hot Rod Run – Pigeon Forge, TN

Mike Sherrill

This year’s Fall Hot Rod Run took place at the Leconte Convention Center. The weekend before was the Shades of the Past held at Dollywood, which makes for a big 9-day car show in Pigeon Forge! Now running for 9 years, both events are very well attended, especially the Fall Hot Rod Run. Our team saw and heard a lot of interest in products despite what is being said about the current state of the economy.

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September 16 – 17, 2022: Goodguys Lone Star Nationals – Fort Worth, TX

Bob Harrell, Steve Bornowski, Ed Monte

This is a stretch of September where Texas Motor Speedway hosts Goodguys this with an in-field full of hot rods and classics, followed by NASCAR weekend and the Cup Series just one week later!  The weekend proved to be beautiful, hot, and sunny! Goodguys always draws attendees and enthusiasts from across the country. If you’ve never been, there are two Texas stops every year – one in March and the other in late summer.

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