Excellence in LXs

Words: Darren Jacobs

The 2007 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) trade show, held October 30 – November 2, 2007 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is a sprawling showcase of what’s hot in the $36.7 billion automotive parts and accessories industry. So a group of die-hard Chrysler 300C, Dodge Charger and Dodge Magnum enthusiasts decided to kick off their trip to SEMA with an 82-car strong caravan to the Vegas strip. After all, what’s hotter than a fleet of modified and tricked out Chrysler LX platform vehicles?

For John Fortuno, event organizer of the 2nd annual LX Bull Run to SEMA, nothing is hotter.

“The event was unbelievable,” said Fortuno. “People were excited. They enjoyed the drive and can’t wait until next year. They like the attention you get on the highway. It’s pretty obvious when someone sees a car pass them, and then fifty other cars of the same style. People are just staring at you, and it’s very cool. SEMA was awesome. This is our gig, our deal, and we want to continue to move forward with it.”

What’s also unbelievable is that the event was almost completely organized through online forums dedicated to lovers of these Chrysler LX platform vehicles.

Fortuno is a senior member of forums such as www.lxforums.com, www.300cforums.com and www.chargerforums.com. He posted information online about the LX Bull Run, which took place on Saturday, Oct. 27, before the start of the SEMA show, and the response was overwhelming. Not one, but several caravans made the cruise to the Vegas strip from starting points such as Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Arizona and Northern California.

All the caravans joined up outside of Las Vegas to make the final leg of their journey to the Hilton hotel, where they staged before heading over to the “Gold” lot at the SEMA show. There, the real fun began, as owners showed off the mods or upgrades they had made since last year’s event, and also scoped out the mods their fellow forum members and owners had cooked up. Friends who knew each other only from their online handles or who only get the chance to meet in person a few times a year finally meet face-to-face.

“These forums are today’s modern day car club,” said Fortuno. “It’s about people meeting and enjoying each other’s company. At every new event, they’re meeting new people. And you get to see old friends you only see once or twice a year, or who you only talk to on the Internet. Some of these people aren’t even attending SEMA. They’re just coming out for the drive and the camaraderie. We held our first annual LX bowling tournament at the Orleans, and it was a blast—40 people took part.”

The car count has expanded from the inaugural LX Bull Run last year, which featured about 64 cars. The 82 car (all LX platform vehicles—Chrysler 300Cs, Dodge Chargers, Dodge Magnums) total would have been even more impressive, but many pulled out due to the devastating wildfires that were raging in Southern California at that time of the event.

“What started as 14 car events is now up to 44, 100 and now 300 cars,” said Fortuno, who this March will stage the 3rd annual Spring Festival of LXs, a mega-meet of more than 300 plus LX platform vehicles held in Irvine, Calif. “We had 140–150 people at this LX Bull Run event.”

The LX owners are a diverse group that skews young. The average age is early 30s, with a lot of owners in the twenty-something age range.

“We have a lot of women who own these vehicles and come out to these events,” said Fortuno. “It’s a pretty good mix of individuals. We have a very diverse group of cars as well. It’s not just LX vehicles with HEMI® 5.7s or SRT8s. The lines that we cross are many. We cross every barrier. It doesn’t matter what you’re driving, come on out and join us. It’s everything from stock to full blown modifieds.”

Las Vegas resident Jeanette Chelew, a recently retired accountant who is now a stay at home mom, recently purchased a 2007 Black Pearl Dodge Magnum SRT8, her first Chrysler vehicle, to go along with her Ferrari and Lamborghini (“It says a lot about Chrysler if I own a Lamborghini and I’m driving an SRT8,” said Chelew). She learned about the LX Bull Run from the forums. She attended and was blown away.­

“The event was extremely impressive. Wow!” said Chelew. “Even after the devastation with the [Southern California] wildfires, the turnout was extremely impressive. I signed up on the forums and started posting, and I met some amazing people. I think the most amazing part of all is that they don’t discriminate. They accept you for who you are.”

Chelew led a small group of twenty cars from the caravan for a drive through the Valley of Fire, Nevada’s largest state park, where they were able to get in “a little spirited driving on the road.” Chelew now spends about an hour-and-a-half on the forums every other day.

The forum users were busy posting following Mopar’s announcement at its SEMA press conference of the new HEMI Evolution program, which will bring the HEMI legend, tradition and heritage into the new century and spark the passion of the next generation of enthusiasts by introducing products and technologies for second- and third-generation HEMI engines.

“They hit it right on the head,” said Fortuno of the new initiative. “The performance nuts on the forums are drooling over these parts. The people I talked to at SEMA, every one of them is very, very positive about the direction Mopar is going with the HEMI and bringing us performance parts. The people I’ve talked to really feel that they are getting some love and attention now.”

“One of our goals is to get the loyal, active LX owner community more tightly integrated with their Mopar muscle car brethren. The LX community is carrying on the torch first lit by muscle car owners. The enthusiasts who buy LX platform vehicles such as the Chrysler 300C and Dodge Charger and take part in events like the LX Bull Run are the exact market we are trying to reach with our new HEMI Evolution program,” said Jon Clark, Mopar Performance Parts Manager. “The parts and complete crate engines that we are introducing for third-generation 5.7-liter and 6.1-liter HEMI engines offer this next generation of enthusiasts a variety of choices when they’re looking to upgrade their rides.”