Top 10 Musclecar & Pro-Touring Cities

[Chevy24]

This is going to be an interesting debate, but what are the top 10 cities for musclecars & pro-touring cars, & hotrods, & classic & collector cars, etc? Its obvious there are a bunch of key criteria; such as:
* Good or reasonable weather
* Number of musclecars & pro-touring cars, etc
* Good roads
* Reasonable regulatory laws
* Manageable traffic gridlock
* Car-related events
* Interesting cruise destinations nearby (beaches, mountains, etc)
* etc.
Other positive factors are:
* Attractive housing prices
* Low crime
* etc.
What are your views? Which places are the best, or the top 10?

[-The Stig-]

I'm going to say Southern California, but all of California works as well. Good weather, good car hangouts, decent amount of tracks within a couple hour drive and of course some great driving roads once you get out of the concrete jungles.

End of thread. ;)

[Fesler built]

I would have to say that Scottsdale, AZ has to be one of the best places to live. We do shows all over and some of you guys have the worst roads I have ever been on and the farther back east you get the worse they are. We have very clean and nice roads out here with lots of cool scenery so if you just want to get in your car and drive for a few hours lots of cool things to go see, lakes, mountains, cactus, desert, rocks and route 69 is our here so you can spend a complete day just enjoying the scenery.

Positives:
· Great streets all year round
· Great weather all year round
· Freeways and streets to get anywhere in town
· Housing prices have never been so low
· Lots of hang out spots and places to go with your car
· Snow is under 2 hours away so your car is safe
· Mountains we have those
· Not many carjacking cause we all have guns around here
· 2 Good-guys shows a year
· Las Vegas about 4 hours by car
· Ocean is only 5 hours away by car
· Crime is really not that bad the news makes it worse
· Mexico is 3 hours away
· NASCAR comes here
· Lots of sports here
· Sheriff JOE one of the best in the nation
· Baseball Spring Tanning is here lots of teams

Negatives:
· Mexico is not far so we have the huge drug wars
· 100+ degree for a month but good testing for your cars if they run here they will run anywhere
· Not enough freeways
· Houses are in the dump for sales buyers market right now
· Jobs suck
· To many illegal’s running around

[406 Q-ship]

Southern California or Florida

This is going to be an interesting debate, but what are the top 10 cities for musclecars & pro-touring cars, & hotrods, & classic & collector cars, etc? Its obvious there are a bunch of key criteria; such as:
* Good or reasonable weather Both have it good, FL humidity is a PITA
* Number of musclecars & pro-touring cars, etc Western US cars are the best for numbers and quality.
* Good roads FL has great roads, Cali used too (where does the gas tax get used?)
* Reasonable regulatory laws CA and FL very good for laws, CA tougher for anything after 1976
* Manageable traffic gridlock LA can suck for traffic, Tampa isn't too bad
* Car-related events CA is awesome for events.
* Interesting cruise destinations nearby (beaches, mountains, etc)
* etc. CA is unbeatable, FL is cool but not as deverse
Other positive factors are:
* Attractive housing prices Cali is still out of this world for home prices, FL is very reasonable.
* Low crime This depends on where you live in either.
* etc.
What are your views? Which places are the best, or the top 10?

If I were looking for a new place to land and price were no object (and I could handle the government crap) California is really hard to top for the car culture. In the real world I would look to the southern US for the weather and mass of events. In places like FL you can drive in one day to events all over the Southeastern US and home prices and alot easier to swallow. I am in So Cal and will someday end up landing in Southern US if I ever want to buy a house.

[AM.MSCL]

Austin, TX would need to be in this list of Top 10!
Great Hill Country Roads for cruising, carving some corners and views for miles upon miles.
Great top down weather during the spring and fall; Summers require A/C most of the time.
Housing ranges all over the income range.
3 Hours to Houston or Dallas, 4 hours to a decent Coastal Beach. An hour to a great water park or Into San Antonio for the River Walk or more car clubs to do even more with.
If you can't find a Car Club doing something on a weekend between Mid Jan to end of Nov then you are not looking or don't enjoy driving your car enough!
Austin also is the Live Music Capital of the World (South by Southwest Music festival going on right now!).
Huge Collage and Pro Football State!
Ray

[sik68]

It has to be between Northern CA and Southern CA for #1. There are a lot of upsides to Socal, but congestion down there is . Up here in Norcal, it only takes 15-20 minutes to find entertaining backroads, no matter where you are. Oh yeah, bonus points for overnight shipping from Summit.

[BA.]

well it AIN'T Dayton Ohio I can assure you of that.

[alowerlevel]

And it aint Jersey either thats for damn sure

[yodas little brother]

I would have to say that Scottsdale, AZ has to be one of the best places to live. We do shows all over and some of you guys have the worst roads I have ever been on and the farther back east you get the worse they are. We have very clean and nice roads out here with lots of cool scenery so if you just want to get in your car and drive for a few hours lots of cool things to go see, lakes, mountains, cactus, desert, rocks and route 69 is our here so you can spend a complete day just enjoying the scenery.

Positives:
· Great streets all year round
· Great weather all year round
· Freeways and streets to get anywhere in town
· Housing prices have never been so low
· Lots of hang out spots and places to go with your car
· Snow is under 2 hours away so your car is safe
· Mountains we have those
· Not many carjacking cause we all have guns around here
· 2 Good-guys shows a year
· Las Vegas about 4 hours by car
· Ocean is only 5 hours away by car
· Crime is really not that bad the news makes it worse
· Mexico is 3 hours away
· NASCAR comes here
· Lots of sports here
· Sheriff JOE one of the best in the nation
· Baseball Spring Tanning is here lots of teams

Negatives:
· Mexico is not far so we have the huge drug wars
· 100+ degree for a month but good testing for your cars if they run here they will run anywhere
· Not enough freeways
· Houses are in the dump for sales buyers market right now
· Jobs suck
· To many illegal’s running around

i love it my vote goes too AZ

[Payton King]

Charlotte, NC is a very nice place. Not too big, not too small. Big lakes close by for boating. 3 hours to the beach, 2 hours to the mountains. Great weather. Pro sports and good concerts. Great city for families.

Hub of NASCAR meaning anything and everything you could want for a car is suppied somewhere around the city. If not you can have any number of people or shops make it for you.

If you are into road racing...45 minutes to Carolina Motorsports Park. 2 hours to VIR. 3 hrs to Road Atlanta and 5.5 hours to Barber in Birmingham Al.

Drag strips: Mooresville 1/8 strip about 5 minutes from DSE. Pageland 1/8 and of course the Mac Daddy Z Max with 4 lanes.

[Norwoodx55]

I was thinking Tennessee would be a good starting point. I grew up in Arizona and will never consider living there again, summers absolutely SUCK!, and not for just one month either. I remember 100 degrees in March one year.

[critter]

Little Rock, Arkansas. Say what you want but we've got a good thing going and if you don't check it out you're missing out. This weekend is a decent example. We have Cruisin' In The Rock on Friday night. We take over the River Market with a couple hundred cars and fill the pavilions and River Front Park. Price? Free. That Cruisin' In The Rock is a monthly gig. There are tons of local shows. Saturday we have Smoke On The Water, a nationally recognized BBQ cooking contest and we have a cruise in associated with it. Price? Free.

We've been a stop for Hot Rod Power Tour and will be again. The O'Reilly's Fall Street Machine Nationals has moved here. We have an annual indoor car show that features some of the top show cars on the circuit.

Cruising? From Little Rock you're an hour away from some of the best roads in the Ozarks. Check out highway 7 in particular. Also, anything that takes you near the Buffalo River National park is a bonus. We did one cruise where we pulled over to watch the newly established elk herd cross a farm pasture up there. Pretty cool.

If there is a draw back it's the lack of a great motorsports park. We're working on that. We do have a couple of 1/8 mile tracks within an hour or so.

[93Polo]

Charlotte, NC is a very nice place. Not too big, not too small. Big lakes close by for boating. 3 hours to the beach, 2 hours to the mountains. Great weather. Pro sports and good concerts. Great city for families.

Hub of NASCAR meaning anything and everything you could want for a car is suppied somewhere around the city. If not you can have any number of people or shops make it for you.

If you are into road racing...45 minutes to Carolina Motorsports Park. 2 hours to VIR. 3 hrs to Road Atlanta and 5.5 hours to Barber in Birmingham Al.

Drag strips: Mooresville 1/8 strip about 5 minutes from DSE. Pageland 1/8 and of course the Mac Daddy Z Max with 4 lanes.

Atlanta is much the same. Year One event if it comes back at Road Atlanta, Run Through the Hills a few hours away, north Georgia mountains close by. Petit Le Mans is in your backyard, 12hrs of Sebring/24 of Daytona ~7hrs. Roebling Road is down in Savannah and Little Talladega is ~2hrs away.

Saturday Cruise Nights are also on rotation around the suburbs especially on the North Side of the City. Peach State challenge went to the Canton cruise night 100+ cars last year and will go to the Cartersville Cruise night this year also ~100 cars.

Foreclosure rate is high and the real estate market is down. You could make a great deal. Traffic can be a pain. Vehicle inspections are very lenient down here IMO. No emmission 25+ yr in the metro area and no yearly safety checks.



I like Charlotte if I were moving down from Canada it would be near the top of the list but being an SEC football fan I'm not sure I could live in the heart of ACC basketball country. Raleigh is very nice too.

[73z-6sp]

I would have to say that Scottsdale, AZ has to be one of the best places to live. We do shows all over and some of you guys have the worst roads I have ever been on and the farther back east you get the worse they are. We have very clean and nice roads out here with lots of cool scenery so if you just want to get in your car and drive for a few hours lots of cool things to go see, lakes, mountains, cactus, desert, rocks and route 69 is our here so you can spend a complete day just enjoying the scenery.

Positives:
· Great streets all year round
· Great weather all year round
· Freeways and streets to get anywhere in town
· Housing prices have never been so low
· Lots of hang out spots and places to go with your car
· Snow is under 2 hours away so your car is safe
· Mountains we have those
· Not many carjacking cause we all have guns around here
· 2 Good-guys shows a year
· Las Vegas about 4 hours by car
· Ocean is only 5 hours away by car
· Crime is really not that bad the news makes it worse
· Mexico is 3 hours away
· NASCAR comes here
· Lots of sports here
· Sheriff JOE one of the best in the nation
· Baseball Spring Tanning is here lots of teams

Negatives:
· Mexico is not far so we have the huge drug wars
· 100+ degree for a month but good testing for your cars if they run here they will run anywhere
· Not enough freeways
· Houses are in the dump for sales buyers market right now
· Jobs suck
· To many illegal’s running around

I dont live in Scottsdale but can say it is a nice place. Im in Tucson which could be a great place for hot rods. The roads are so-so. I love Arizona...there is so much scenery here.

[Taman]

The weather may suck in winter but I like the Chicago area in the summer. Every week from April till October there is at least 75 car shows and cruise nights within an hour of my house. I have traveled to other states and have never seen so many car cruises and shows every week.

[kochevy67]

The weather may suck in winter but I like the Chicago area in the summer. Every week from April till October there is at least 75 car shows and cruise nights within an hour of my house. I have traveled to other states and have never seen so many car cruises and shows every week.

I live here in Chicago and I can say one thing I don't know of any show in the city itself. I will say one thing there are shows but they are all in the burbs. While they may be good they aren't great. My vote goes to the Phoenix area.

[montessaj]

+1 For team Austin, TX. I live about 40 minutes north of Austin and there are car things to do EVERYWHERE in this area.

[showa]

Vegas.
Roads nearby aren't very fun but plenty of tracks nearby.
THINK Arizona without taxes and humidity...
SEMA
optima Ultimate
Some HOT conventions...

[asifnyc]

+1 for bay area overnight shipping from summit racing (out of reno, nv)

[MCMLXIX]

Vegas.
Roads nearby aren't very fun but plenty of tracks nearby.
THINK Arizona without taxes and humidity...
SEMA
optima Ultimate
Some HOT conventions...

+1