A BMW 850CSi, aka the BMW Motorsport M8, at RADWOOD
RADwood is unlike any car show you’ve ever attended. At RADwood SoCal, held at the Port of LA in Southern California this past weekend, there wasn’t a single late-model Lamborghini, Porsche, or Corvette in sight—some may consider their absence car show blasphemy. Instead, I spotted a tired BMW E36 M3 coupe with torn Vader seats. A dozen steps away was a stunning V12-powered BMW E31 850 CSi near a faded Nissan Sentra SE-R. A rare supercharged Toyota Previa minivan was parked around the corner, fighting for space with a Toyota Xtracab SR5 4×4 pickup (complete with KC HiLites lighting and tube bumpers).
At this point, you are likely picking up what I’m putting down—RADwood isn’t about today’s cool cars. Instead, it celebrates the automotive culture of the ’80s and ’90s. Each event is a collection of cars, trucks, and bikes from 1980-1999 that capture the era’s essence. In the most basic sense, it’s a gathering of daily drivers from when cars, trucks, and vans had personality, character, and charm. Manual transmissions were quicker than automatics, sunroofs were panels of opaque steel, and nobody questioned a crank window. Of course, none of the quirks mattered because the vehicles were… RAD.
A Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet parked next to a Volkswagen Scirocco 16V
The first RADwood event was held in 2017 at a marina in South San Francisco. Its success led to a follow-up show in Anaheim later that year. By 2019, there were 10 RADwood events—each was unique, as the diverse local attendees supplied the exhibit vehicles. Hagerty, a brand that serves millions of Americans who consider themselves “car enthusiasts,” acquired RADwood in 2022 to expand the venues and preserve the unique automotive culture—a phenomenal idea.
The RADwood spectacle celebrates more than just gnarly transportation. In fact, the mindset of “totally rad” doesn’t stop with the exhibit. Attendees are encouraged to show up in costume—brightly colored period-correct leg warmers, spandex shorts, and Lycra leotards—a wild fashion show with a judged contest for “raddest-dressed!” A live band, playing ’80s and ’90s music (of course), provides period-correct background music.
RADwood SoCal brought together hundreds of vehicles from the celebrated era and thousands of attendees. If you can imagine your favorite car or truck from your youth, there’s a good chance an example was at the waterfront venue. (My show favorites include a BMW E28 M5, Porsche Type-964 911, first-gen Acura NSX, and a Saab 900 Turbo.)
Mercedes-Benz E-Class / S124 Estate next to a Porsche 944
Complementing the display cars were vendor exhibits (Honda brought its very first concept car, the 1984 Honda HP-X, designed by the renowned Italian design house Pininfarina), Meet & Greet area (Larry Chen attended with his iconic Toyota Supra Camera Car, and American professional racing driver Patrick Long was signing posters), concession taco trucks, and a VIP hospitality corral with Pixy sticks at each table.
There was also a ride-and-drive opportunity, with special vehicles of the era (a Mazda Autozam Az1, a Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R, and a Mazda Miata) fitted with new Vredestein tires—the premium European tire brand makes tires specially designed for a classic look with contemporary technology. (I climbed behind the wheel of the right-hand drive R32 to finally live a childhood dream—yes, it was worth the 40-year wait.)
As someone who has attended hundreds of car shows and concours events at global venues, I’ll confess that RADwood was refreshing. Instead of strolling through row after row of rare and expensive vehicles in a keep-your-hands-off-the-car environment, the concrete docks of LA hosted enthusiast-driven vehicles that were paraded to the venue by their passionate owners (each an individual encyclopedia of knowledge about their beloved car or truck).
The ’80s and ’90s were fun—RADwood was an opportunity to travel back in time, reminisce, and smile.
