It's November 16, the hills are on fire just a few cities away, the atmosphere is littered with ash along with the distinct smell of burning brush, but somewhere in the middle of Cerritos, California, there's a car show going on. Despite the shut-down freeways and smoke-filled sky, some of SoCal's finest braved the 2008 firestorm just to make Norm Reeves Honda's third annual car show. The Norm Reeves Honda dealership crew knows how to bring together high-quality cars and combine them with friendly faces yet never lose sight of the laid-back vibe this place has become famous for. Organizer and Norm Reeves accessory parts manager Brian Khou, along with the rest of his team, pushed forward with the event despite the uncontained blaze just a few miles away.
Rows of high-caliber Honda builds lay under the onslaught of ash, each grouped by their respective chassis. A line of age-defying fourth-gen Civics sat on one end, a cluster of tastefully modified S2Ks at the other. In between was Bisi Ezerioha's mind-numbing Insight record breaker, Danica Patrick's Indy car, a fleet of fully restored 1970s-era Civics, and various Honda builds including Elements and Accords, something we simply don't see often enough. There is no bigger juxtaposition than seeing an open-wheel, carbon-fiber race car sitting next to a vintage hatchback. Our hats are off to the Norm Reeves staff for taking the firestorm head on and coming out on top. Check out www.normreeveshonda.com and click "events" for information on upcoming shindigs.