Trucks are cool.

In fact, tricked out trucks, cars and bikes are cool.

Americans have been fascinated with these vehicles since the days of the Model T. Boy, have we come a long way since then. And there is no better place to see just how far we have come than the Espino Las Milpas Spring Break Jam held at the South Padre Island Convention Center March 7th and 8th.

Even if you are not a truck or car aficionado, there are still plenty of great reasons to attend this fine event.

The custom car community has been good to David MacDonald and others involved in this year’s Custom Sounds & Tint Texas Heat Wave. David, founder of the Texas Heat Wave and his series of custom car shows in Texas, likely never saw this anniversary date coming. But yet, here he is, only one month away from kicking off the 30th Texas Heat Wave custom car show since his inaugural event back in 1989.

Whether you own a lifted pick-up truck, a custom lowrider with an impressive hydraulic setup, or even a classic muscle car, there’s one man behind the scenes who’s helped make custom car shows in Texas possible: it’s David MacDonald.

People have long been going to car shows practically since Henry Ford brought the Model T to market. Now, car shows and cars themselves looked quite different back in the early 1900s, and though the automotive industry as a whole has come a long way since then, something remains the same: we have pride in our ride.

And why shouldn’t we enjoy, and even boast about, what we drive? Sure, some people simply see their car as a mere way to get from point a to point b, but here at Heat Wave Inc., we value our vehicles so much more than that. Our cars and trucks are an expression of who we are. Whether or not you’re modding your car or taking it to one of our custom truck shows in Texas, it’s true that what you drive says a lot about you as the owner.

The screech of burning rubber. The deafening blast of multiple subwoofers. The billowing tire smoke. The pride of owning and maintaining a clean, unique vehicle. These are dynamics that you’ll encounter when you attend one of our custom car shows in Texas, and takeaway experiences from people who have attended our shows in the past. There’s a lot of action and fun that goes down here at Heat Wave Inc., and to put it simply, people love our custom truck shows because they’re badass.

We think that many of our attendees and participants would have a hard time disagreeing with that.

It’s not too uncommon that we get asked the following question, “Why mini trucks? Why pour money into customizing a truck that you can’t even take off road?” Sure, it’s true that mini trucks don’t see much action off the paved road. However, mini truck culture is still massively popular around the United States and even all over the world. After all, Heat Wave Inc. hosts a number of custom truck shows in Texas every year just to celebrate vehicles like the mini truck!

Mini trucks didn’t get popular out of nowhere. Over time, compact pickup trucks started to gain traction for practical and aesthetic-based reasons and now, we celebrate the advent of the mini truck through custom car shows like the upcoming Corpus Christi Heat Wave. David MacDonald, founder of Heat Wave Inc. and orchestrator the Heat Wave custom car show tour, is an avid mini truck enthusiast and that’s no secret among the community. Starting with a 1970 Datsun Hatchback that he wasn’t initially very keen toward, he eventually managed to purchase a brand new 1986 Mazda B210 truck. The rest, in a sense, is history.

Speaking of history, that’s the focus of today’s blog post. From a commercial and custom car mod enthusiast standpoint, the mini truck has an interesting history that deserves its own spotlight. While this is by no means a comprehensive essay touching on every aspect of the mini truck, continue reading on to learn a little bit more about something that the custom car community values dearly.

This Texas city tucked alongside the coast of the Gulf of Mexico holds somewhat of a special place in our hearts here at Heat Wave Inc. If you’ve attended the Corpus Christi Heat Wave before in recent years, then you’ll know why we’re so partial to this area of Texas and that’s because the custom car community heads there every October for fun, amusement, and of course, awesome custom vehicles.

If you live here and you’re wondering what’s going on in terms of events in Corpus Christi, our custom truck show is a can’t-miss event — trust us.

If you’re a custom car enthusiast and you enjoy your fair share of chili, then we have great news for you! Pflugerville is hosting its 11th annual Pfall Chili Pfest and there’s going to be much more than chili at this cook-off event. As a perfect place to showcase your custom truck or other vehicle, the Pfall Chili Pfest serves as both a chili cook-off and a car exhibition. There’s a lot more going on this year, too!

Here’s the answer to that question: not much. Once you’ve experienced the sheer tire-screeching thrill that is a burnout competition at our Texas custom truck shows, well, you’ll know that little to nothing compares from a spectator standpoint. As a participant, it probably is just about one of the most exciting things that you could do. As the rubber on your tires, well…we’re sorry.

For those of you who are heavily involved in the custom car show scene down here in Texas, you probably know what Heat Wave is and who we are. Uniting car and truck enthusiasts since 1989, we’re proud to spread our roots in Austin, TX, beginning with the very first Custom Sounds Texas Heat Wave car show. That’s the event that got us on the map, and it’s a landmark day that we’ll never forget. Since the late 80s, as automotive technology has progressed and advanced, our love for burning rubber, building ridiculous engines, and showing off all of the hard work put into our custom vehicles has only gotten stronger.

While our passion for the custom car and truck scene has remained all the same, our car shows have come a long way since David MacDonald, Heat Wave founder and custom car enthusiast hero, decided to host his own event. Now, people travel all over the country (and even from Canada and Mexico) to check out the excitement that only one can find — and experience — at one of Heat Wave’s thrilling auto shows.