It’s been a while since we have had an update here at CheckeredStrip. A lot has happened in the last few months. We worked hard to get the Gas De Naco sedan as a complete car. As some of you have been following on Instagram, the sedan had its #gasdenacosedan. With a lot of followers, one of them reached out, and a deal was made, and Gas De Naco is on its way to its new owner, who will finish out the sedan with his personal touches and should be on the road soon. With this now out of the shop, the Hunt is on for the next project to build, so stay tuned and see what we come up with.

On the digital media side of CheckeredStrip we have been picked up by the band Magnetos for all social media management and light concert booking work. Check them out here at https://www.facebook.com/nitroinjection

Check out the newest page on the site where we will begin to show the current projects we are working on here at CheckeredStrip. Stay tuned for more updates as we get more work done.

While 2020 has been really rough for a-lot of people there is some good out there. In December I finished the Master’s Degree in Digital Audience Strategy from ASU Cronkite Center. Here is to looking forward to 2021.

As we get things set up here at Checkered Strip we are now going to have a parts and products page. Check back often to see the latest parts we have sourced or obsolete parts we will have reproduced.

It’s always nice to update your tools when you can. Thanks to Bob over at One Stop Automotive Refinsh for getting me hooked up with a new gun. Now we wait for cooler weather and we can do some more paint work for the coupe. Stay tuned. #hotrods #customculture #semashow #hopuplive #hopupmagazine #hamb #1932Ford #checkeredstrip #hot_rod_ron #roddersjournal #traditionalhotrodsandcustoms #traditionalhotrod#sema2021 #1932ford #1932 #1932hotrod #1932fordcoupe #hotrods #hopup

As some of you know I was in the Petersen Concourse De Elegance show this past weekend. You can now vote for your favorite car that was featured and watch the entire 4 hours show on their channel. Here is the link to the show and how to vote. If you are so inclined, you can vote for mine under 1932 Ford 5 window in the hot rod class. The show is 4 hours long so if you want to get straight to the hot rod class go to the time of 4:15.23.

Thank you Petersen Automotive Museum for the amazing week of online content since the auto week in Pebble Beach was canceled for this year. It was an honor to be part of the virtual Concourse De elegance with the written and video feature of my coupe.
article.
https://lnkd.in/gzBvu5V
You can start the Video Link at the beginning or start the video at 4:16.15 for the hot rod class and I am at 4:34.41
https://lnkd.in/gX6-2_m

I believe that you should never stop learning or pushing yourself to do things way out of your comfort zone because the payoff can be huge. As some of you know, over the last year and a half, I have been pursuing a master’s degree in Digital Audience Strategy at ASU Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Today, I met with my graduate advisor, and she informed me that I would indeed be graduating in December.

This degree makes me marketable to a whole new career in social media management with the strategic science to significantly impact the bottom line of a company and manage the persona of a company, both of which drive profits. Any business that wants to stay in business will need to effectively manage their online persona. I walked away from a very successful career in the auto collision industry for this degree. The handwriting was on the wall. The industry was changing, and I needed a change. The collision business is being severely impacted by technology, a new generation of non-drivers, and now most recently COVID-19.  When I first started my degree program two years ago, I could have never had predicted how fast the changes would have come.

Now my ultimate goal is to combine my extensive automobile knowledge with my academic experience to promote car culture and the importance of the automobile and transportation. In doing so, check out the website I built along with its new Instagram page.

https://checkeredstrip.com/

https://www.instagram.com/checkered_strip/

Like it or not, social media has changed the landscape of hot rodding/ custom culture forever. When I say hot rodding, custom culture let me clarify what I mean. Hot rodding and custom culture are anything that is not stock and personalized to the owner of whatever the machine is. It could be anything a traditional hot rod, custom motorcycles of all types, tricked out muscle cars, custom trucks of all kind, low brow art of all types and medium, fabrication and the tools that go with it, custom imports old and new, retro 80’s/ GEN Xer and anything that is hand built.

Just look, here we are using computers and social media to connect like never before. We can use it for making new friends, finding parts, finding business contacts, business opportunities, and even promote a business or event. My questions for you all are the following:

1. Do you think social media and the internet has helped or hurt hot rodding/ custom culture?
2. As a business owner, do you hate doing social media and wish someone did it for you?
3. If yes to answer two, what would you pay to have it done if that person or company could show you a return on investment (ROI)?

I am writing this post as a lot of you I know are small business owners and the face of hot rodding/ custom culture is changing drastically. I am afraid of it going away, and small businesses will not survive. Hot rodding and custom culture are a big part of who I am and don’t want it to go away. A lot of my close friends are business owners in this market and are struggling and not sure where the next consumer base is coming from. I am interested to see what you all have to say.

Please on a final note DO NOT MAKE THIS POLITICAL!!!!! I don’t care about your politics.