If there's a better free car show or cruise taking place anywhere in the United States other than the Donut Derelicts held every Saturday and Sunday at the corner of Adams Avenue and Magnolia in Huntington Beach, California, please let us know.
Around 20 years ago, our friend Rick Finn invited us to come down and hang out with a group of guys who were informally known as the Donut Derelicts. The idea was to show up before the crack of dawn and have a little fun chewing the fat and checking out what the other local hot rodders were cruising. When 9 a.m. rolled around, it was time to clear out and let the businesses surrounding Adams Avenue reclaim the parking lot for their customers. The guys who had shops still had the rest of the day to conduct business, and the "honey-do" guys could run home and appease the little woman.
Since Rick was already a budding graphic designer producing T-shirt designs and developing combination marks for local companies in need of a cool new logo, it was only natural that Rick trademarked the Donut Derelicts name and launched a gearhead lifestyle clothing company featuring his distinctive style. Throughout the years, it was kind of an unwritten rule that all of us automotive photojournalist types wouldn't publicize the Donut Shop so that it wouldn't get ruined. In spite of our efforts, the Donut Derelicts would occasionally get some mainstream ink or end up on a TV show.
Thankfully, the exposure hasn't produced the ill effects we'd all feared, and today the Donut Shop is still a thriving phenomenon. On a sad note, Rick Finn passed away on September 23, 2006, but as with all of our hot-rodder buddies who've passed away through the years, the ones who are still standing show up religiously and continue to carry the torch. For anyone who might ever find themselves in Huntington Beach, California, we extend an open invitation and a reminder that it's customary to buy any magazine editors present a cup of coffee and a donut.