RADICALLY DIFFERENT
December 11, 2024
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
Too Cool
When Billy Durant approached Louis Chevrolet about designing a new automobile, Chevrolet was a famous race car driver whose exploits in the Indianapolis 500 were legendary. The year was 1911 and Durant, who could see the writing on the wall for his horse-drawn buggy business, figured who better to design an all-new, high-performance vehicle than a successful driver. Chevrolet, a company that was founded by racers and has produced some of the best high-performance vehicles ever to hit the pavement, has once again gone where no other manufacturer has dared to venture. With truck sales making up nearly 50 percent of their sales volume each year, Chevy wanted to create a Flagship vehicle for their pickup line. It had to be a totally new idea in pickups. But what was to be the angle? Luckily, someone at Chevy figured that since the Corvette holds that title for the autos, maybe the new truck should be equally as high performance. With that, the new Chevrolet Silverado Coolside II was born.
SMOKIN’
Allen Cornelius wanted to make a statement that his shop, AC Customs in Shreve, Ohio, could blend old-school Ford muscle-car performance with a new style truck, giving it the performance and looks to match.
Instrumental Insurance
All of your hard work and efforts could go up in smoke before you have a chance to do anything about it. That is, unless you have a quality set of gauges to monitor initial and ongoing engine parameters. Gauges allow you to know exactly what is going on within your engine at a glance. Is the oil pressure too low? Is the engine running hot? Is the battery charging?
Spotlighter
The Great Smoky Mountain Jeep Invasion Hits New Heights
Mud, Muscle, and Memories: Highlights from the 2025 Jeep® Invasion
The 2025 Great Smoky Mountain Jeep Invasion stormed into Pigeon Forge with record-breaking energy. What began a few years ago in Townsend, Tennessee, with only 165 Jeeps has transformed into a jaw-dropping three-day spectacle at the LeConte Center. This year’s Invasion, held August 21–23, 2025, drew an unbelievable 50,000+ attendees, filling the town with the rumble of engines, the shine of custom builds, and the unmistakable buzz of Jeep® culture at its peak.
Author
The Auto Builder Staff
Photography by Scott Killeen
A Celebration of the Jeep® Lifestyle
Inside and outside the LeConte Center, attendees explored wall-to-wall custom Jeeps, cutting-edge aftermarket gear, and game-changing off-road innovations. Vendors from across the country packed the show floor, showcasing everything from hardcore lift kits to the latest lighting tech. The atmosphere was electric as families, Jeep clubs, and first-timers all came together to celebrate the adventurous spirit that makes the Jeep® lifestyle so addictive.
Trail Thrills at Mountain Mile
If the show floor was the heart of the Invasion, the 7th Annual Jeep® Trail Course at Mountain Mile was the adrenaline shot. Nearly 80 acres of Smoky Mountain terrain — twists, climbs, steep descents, and epic overlooks — put Jeep® rigs through their paces. It was stock-friendly but still wild enough to test skills, proving that adventure doesn’t stop at the pavement.
Drivers walked away with mud on the tires, photos worth framing, and stories to last until next year.
Cades Cove Jeep Parade Tradition
On Sunday, the event wound down with nearly 300 Jeeps rolling through Cades Cove — a perfect exclamation point to the weekend. This scenic drive has quickly become an Invasion tradition, showing that no matter how wild the event gets, there’s always time to reconnect with the Smokies’ natural beauty.
Mark Your Calendars for 2026 — It’s Going to Be Huge
The Great Smoky Mountain Jeep Invasion returns August 20–22, 2026, and it’s already shaping up to be even bigger. More Jeeps. More vendors. More trails. More epic memories. If 2025 was any indication, 2026 will be an off-road takeover no Jeep® fan will want to miss.
Attendees are encouraged to book their stays, rally their crews, and get their Jeeps ready — because the Smokies will shake again in 2026.
Jeep Scrambler 392 Concept
We couldn’t walk past the Jeep Scrambler 392 Concept without stopping in our tracks. This V8-powered throwback to the CJ-8 Scrambler takes everything we love about Jeep’s off-road attitude and cranks it up to eleven. Picture a chopped roof, raked windscreen, carbon fiber hood, and a bed out back — then bathe it all in a wild shade of green and bolt up 470 horsepower of 6.4-liter HEMI thunder. It’s part hot rod, part rock crawler, and all attitude, with a transparent hood showing off the muscle underneath and bronze “Brass Monkey” wheels wrapped in 40-inch tires for an unmistakable stance.
Inside, it’s just as bold. Dark leather, lime-green stitching, and plaid seat inserts echo the exterior’s punch, while a giant “392” across the dash reminds you this isn’t your average Wrangler. Add in an AccuAir adjustable suspension that lets it hunker down or lift sky-high on command, and you’ve got a one-off Jeep that’s pure fantasy garage material. We spotted it, we fell in love — and like you, we wish Jeep would just build the thing already.
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