PPG awards Hot Wheels Spectraflame Paint Your Ride Contest trophy

PPG’s automotive refinish business recently awarded the 2008 PPG Hot Wheels Spectraflame Paint Your Ride Contest trophy Nov. 5, at its exhibit booth for the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas. Larry Wood, Mattel, Inc., Hot Wheels chief designer, presented the trophy to Jim and Melinda Cooper of Laguna Hills, CA, co-owners of the winning 1956 Chevrolet Handyman two-door station wagon.
Contest entrants created original paint schemes for their vehicles using the Hot Wheels Spectraflame colors in the Vibrance Collection of automotive coatings by PPG. The Coopers’ car featured a striking finish of Hot Wheels Spectraflame Medium Sapphire with contrasting silver flames. It was selected from among 12 finalists including entries from custom painters, car builders and hot rod enthusiasts.
“All the entries were truly spectacular, so it is a real honor to be named the winner,” said Jim Cooper. The Coopers received a trophy case with an exclusive Hot Wheels 1/18-inch scale model of the winning vehicle. The paint scheme will be reproduced on a future production Hot Wheels toy car Mattel, Inc., will introduce in 2009. The car, which was on display at SEMA and featured in a recent PPG Repaint Reporter magazine article, will also be highlighted in full color along with the other finalists in a 2009 PPG calendar.
Paint Your Ride Contest entries were reviewed by a panel of judges well-known in custom car circles, including Wood, Dave Perewitz of Perewitz Cycle Fabrication, PPG’s custom painting trainer Paul Stoll, Brian Brennan of Street Rodder magazine and Ed Capen of Goodguys Rod & Custom Association. PPG originally announced the winner at the 11th Annual Goodguys PPG Nationals in Columbus, OH, in July.
Wood acknowledged how hard it was to select a winner, saying, “We were so impressed with all the finalist cars. It was a very difficult decision, but in the end we all agreed on the Chevy Wagon. It had everything—awesome paint, cool graphics and a great overall look.”