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HPX 2026 Puts Education in the Driver’s Seat of the Automotive Industry

The High Performance Expo isn’t just coming back in 2026—it’s doubling down on what made the inaugural event hit so hard in the performance aftermarket world. HPX 2026 has officially unveiled a stacked education lineup for this year’s show in Charlotte, North Carolina, bringing together shop owners, racers, manufacturers, builders, executives, and industry disruptors under one roof for three days of high-octane networking and next-level learning.

BUDDY’S BUILD

They say don’t mess with it if it isn’t broken. This straightforward build of a 2006 Honda Ridgeline RTL puts that advice into practice. Honda’s foray into the truck realm seems to have tapped into something big: that some people really want their truck to be more like a big, spacious car. Those people, for whatever reason, like the idea of driving a truck, but deep down they prefer something more comfortable and more refined. That is exactly what the Honda Ridgeline delivers.

So when Buddy Rice, Honda and Fesler Built started talking about customizing a Ridgeline, the conversation didn’t involve an all-out overhaul. Instead the team wanted to rely on the designed-in features that have made the Ridgeline so popular.

THE BUZZ IN WINDOWS

There was a time not all that long ago, between station wagons and SUVs, when big conversion vans were the family transportation of choice. In the beginning, the Big Three considered vans to be commercial vehicles, fitted with rubber floor mats, vinyl seats and short (if any) side windows, not the decked-out, posh family transport they would become.

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Showing Off

Story by Matt Emery | Photography Supplied by Todd Emmons

Installing a Bruce Horkey Show Deck

One of the best things about vintage trucks is that the floor of the bed was made out of wood. Sure, the steel floors found in new trucks are arguably tougher, but they just don’t look nearly as nice as ones that feature stained and polished wood held down with equally polished metal strips. It may be odd to think of a truck in terms of Feng Shui, but the melding of steel, wood and placement is central to the principles behind the century’s-old discipline.

But those who have trucks that came from the factory equipped with steel beds were out of luck until Bruce Horkey heard their plight and set about to bring the wonders of wood to them, too.

It was back in 1988 that Horkey realized that the manufacturers didn’t offer the wood floor option on their trucks anymore. But the wood-crazy Minnesota-based supplier had an idea that would give even those with steel floors the chance to have a show-winning wood floor. That is why he called it the Show Deck.

The Show Deck consists of three separate components. The specially selected, kiln-dried hardwoods are completely machined to fit the truck. American ash or oak is the standard featured wood, though other species such as cherry, mahogany, purple-heart, rosewood and walnut are available at an extra cost. The skid strips are die-formed stainless strips that are cut to length and have holes punched. The stainless is a 304 grade, which means they are true stainless and will not rust. Polishing and buffing to a mirror finish is optional. At the base of the matter is the rubber-padded, extruded aluminum subframe, which prevents scratches as well as allowing proper air movement to ensure moisture control between the wood deck and pickup floor.

Bruce Horkey has been offering great-looking and well-fitting wood bed kits since 1980. In that time its facility has expanded to four times its original size, and the company now has eight people working to provide you with quality parts in a timely manner. And speaking of parts, Bruce Horkey offers much more than just bed kits. Those who have vintage pickups in need of entire steel beds and tailgates, fenders, running boards, roll pans, wheel tubs or even grilles and much more can get them by calling Bruce Horkey. To see exactly what the company has to offer, check out its website or call for a catalog.

Follow along as the owner of this killer ’74 Chevy makes it even better with the addition of the Show Deck by Bruce Horkey’s Wood and Parts.