CANDY COUPE
November 8, 2024
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
JOHNSON & JOHNSON ’CUDA
Say what you will, but function is back! We find more high-profile cars built to be driven, and driven hard. Everywhere you look, car owners and builders are searching out new ways to put the fun back into driving the wheels off the rides they build, and they’re looking to the past for their inspiration as they recreate older brands to kick the snot out of new, overpriced super cars. It’s an old technique, as aged as the hobby itself.
Keeping Your Cool
Even though we all dream of blasting through the desert at 130-MPH like Robby Gordon, most of our 4×4 adventures take place at a much more reasonable pace. Unfortunately for our engines crawling along a boulder strewn dry river bed or climbing a goat trail through a mountain pass does not always allow enough airflow to keep our engines cool with a belt driven mechanical fan. Belt driven fans are designed to keep your engine cool when traveling down a street or highway not while crushing boulders at 3-MPH and 1,500-RPM. So what can we do to keep our rigs from boiling over this summer? Follow along with us as we install a pair of 11-inch electronic cooling fans along with a programmable fan controller both from SPAL USA.
RODS ON THE RIVER
A look back at the 2006 Strawberry Festival in Dayton, Tennessee, where The Auto Builder hosted the first Rods on the River car show, drawing crowds, classic cars, and community spirit.
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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