{"id":27973,"date":"2019-09-20T09:00:40","date_gmt":"2019-09-20T13:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=27973"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:24:16","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:24:16","slug":"cadens-car-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/events\/2019\/09\/cadens-car-show.html","title":{"rendered":"Caden’s Car Show"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This summer, the Congenital Heart Center and C.S. Mott Children\u2019s Hospital hosted the 6th annual \u201cCaden\u2019s Car Show\u201d<\/a> event. The hospital is in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the car show was held on the top deck of one of its parking garages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show is in honor and memory of a young boy,\nCaden Bowles, who passed away in 2013 as an 11 year old. He was born with a\ncongenital heart condition that left him with half of the organ. He received a\nheart transplant as a baby, but the medicine necessary for the body to accept\nthe heart also led to cancer. He then beat cancer, but after having the new\nheart for ten years, it began to fail. He died while waiting on another heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTeam Caden\u201d has three main goals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Use the magic of cars to create\nextraordinary experiences for sick children. <\/li>
  2. Increase awareness of the need for\norgan donation. <\/li>
  3. Increase investment in congenital\nheart research and pediatric heart transplants.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Why cars? Because Caden Bowles was also an\nautomotive fanatic. I mean, he created his own\nnewsletter <\/em>called \u201cFull Throttle\u201d while a patient at Mott Children\u2019s Hospital! He drew the\nthing by hand while also breaking down the latest and greatest in the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"childrens'<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    To pay tribute to Caden\u2019s battles and to help\nyoung patients now in similar situations take a respite from their daily fight\nfor survival, everything from exotics to hot rods to 4x4s and classics were on\nhand; and unlike a traditional show, many of the cars were open for the\npatients to explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cBeing able to come out to the car show gives\nthem a break from the hospital. They\u2019ve been seeing the same room and the same\npeople, so getting even a short time to come out and get a different scene can\nreally be good medicine,\u201d said Dr. Mark Norris, the Medical Director for the car\nshow and the Director of OutPatient Cardiology for the Congenital Heart Center,\nas reported by MLive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"children<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Members of the FCA Design team donated their\ntime and talents to the cause, which included art auctions, a benefit dinner,\nlive sketching, helping patients color in their favorite drawings, giving clay\nmodel sculpting lessons, building Play-Doh cars and racing Hot Wheels. They\nalso brought a handful of FCA\u2019s custom hot rods for the kids to check out!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"vehicles<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Built for the 2016 SEMA show, the orange CJ66\nhas also been to MOAB for the Jeep\u00ae<\/sub> Easter Safari. The body is from a 1966 CJ5,\nbut it sits on a TJ chassis. It\u2019s powered by a 5.7L HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> attached to a 6-speed\nmanual. A 2\u201d lift with 35s give it a proper look, and the driver and rider are\ntreated to Dodge Viper seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Jeep<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Quicksand was there, too; it\u2019s possibly my\nfavorite Jeep vehicle they\u2019ve built for the Safari. The thing looks like a vicious hot rod.\nThe roof and front grill are chopped, and along with the staggered mud tires –\n32\u201d in front and 37\u201d in the rear – with old-school magnesium wheels and knockoff\nhubs, give it a mean, classic muscle car stance. The 392 HEMI engine is fed air\nthrough tall velocity stacks that stand proud through a cutout in the hood.\nLong tube headers are clearly visible through the giant front wheel openings\nand shoot the exhaust out just behind the front tires. There are way too many\ndetails to list here, but if you ever get the opportunity to examine this Jeep vehicle,\ndo it. The attention to detail is perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"banner<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The design team brought out Shakedown, too! It\u2019s like if today\u2019s tech was available to Dodge in 1971, a reverse-retro-futuristic look. Like both of the Jeep vehicles, it has a 6-speed manual; and like Quicksand, it\u2019s powered by a 392 HEMI crate engine. A lowered ride height and staggered wheel sizes result in a proper stance, and the \u201cbitchin\u2019 black\u201d body has been subtly exaggerated for a forceful presence. With asymmetrical black and red stripes and shaker scoop poking through the hood and carbon fiber trim and black leather with red stitching Dodge Viper seats, it\u2019s evil inside and out. I\u2019ve been angling to drive it, but it\u2019s been a process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"jeep<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    After the show, all of the cars do a parade\naround the hospital for all the kids and their families to enjoy! FCA design\nmanager Tim Doyle let me ride shotgun in Shakedown. Darla followed behind us\nwith our good friend and FCA designer Ren Stone in his Dodge Challenger SRT\u00ae<\/sup> Hellcat. It was pretty\ncool, as Ren was the lead exterior designer on both Shakedown and the Charger\nSRT Hellcat!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Just riding in Shakedown brought out the\nlittle kid in me, and I\u2019ve been around the car a lot. To see Tim rev the engine\nfor the young patients lined up on the sides of the streets was so rad. It\nbrought smiles to them all! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is an annual event, but raising awareness for children in the same position as Caden was is a year-round endeavor. If you\u2019d like to help, check out his page on the Mott Children\u2019s Hospital website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n