Mean machines hit road

A dozen muscle-car enthusiasts had the opportunity to flex their

charitable strength by taking part in the inaugural Muscle Car 1000

rally, which started Tuesday from Newport Beach.

Newport Beach Mayor John Heffernan raised a green flag at the Back

Bay Cafe as a handful of muscle-car owners took off for a five-day

California journey.

The Muscle Car 1000 will cover 1,000 miles -- from Newport Beach

to the Napa Valley and back -- with several stops and lavish hotel

stays along the way.

Each person or couple participating paid an entry fee of about

$4,400, organizer Chris Hoskins said, and half the proceeds will go

to the Hunger Relief Organization, a nonprofit founded by Hoskins.

The other half will go toward next year’s rally.

Newport Beach resident Hoskins worked with Costa Mesa’s Jan

Kingaard for the past 10 months, organizing it.

Hoskins said he got the idea for the nonprofit during a stopover

in Katmandu before a mountain-climbing expedition. While there, he

noticed a lot of poverty, and in one section of town, he saw beggars

with deformed limbs that looked as if they had been broken. After

asking local storeowners and hoteliers, he found out that poor

parents in the area maim their children to be more effective beggars.

Hoskins said he knew he had to do something.

A couple of years after founding the Hunger Relief Organization,

he began putting together charity golf tournaments to raise money. An

avid car collector, Hoskins dreamed of putting together an event for

muscle-car owners that would also raise money to fight world hunger.

“We’re not going to end world hunger, but at least I can be a cog

in the wheel,” Hoskins said.

He said he works with other organizations to maximize charitable

dollars by finding ways to feed as many people as possible. For this

event, he is working with the World Hunger Organization on getting

rice shipped to Third World and poverty-stricken countries.

Kingaard said once they grab muscle-car owners’ attention with an

event like this, it is easier to talk about subjects such as world

hunger and the need to address it.

“We like to have fun and do good at the same time,” she said. “We

decided that comfort and fun would lead to a lot of interesting

conversation.”

She said the route was planned with couples in mind, which is why

it includes museum stops, a private party at the Monterey Bay

Aquarium, a winemaker’s dinner in the Napa Valley, shopping breaks,

drag races and beautiful scenery.

Being the inaugural event, this year’s Muscle Car 1000 is small,

with only a dozen cars and about 25 people participating. Both

Hoskins and Kingaard said they intend to keep the event small --

limited to 50 cars and 100 participants -- so it can continue to be

an elegant vacation package. Hoskins also said participants’ cars

should be rare and exciting.

“It will always be a different route,” Kingaard said. She said

next year’s event will probably go south to San Diego.

Hoskins said within five years, he plans on holding four muscle

car trips a year -- one in Florida, one in California, another in the

Northeast and yet another in the Northwest.

“I’ve been a car nut my whole life,” said Hoskins, who owns three

muscle cars and four other classic or collectible cars.

For the five-day journey, he is driving a Shelby GT 500 KR

convertible, which he bought about a year ago and had restored to its

original color and condition.

“This is our maiden voyage,” he said.