Carlisle Performance & Style, held May 5-7, 2006 at the Carlisle Fairgrounds, was an event designed to introduce the latest in customization, tuning and in-car entertainment trends to enthusiasts of all ages. See show quality compacts, customized SUVs and modified high-end luxury rides.

The latest trend in the automotive hobby industry is modifying stock luxury sedans (like a Mercedes CL55) or high-end SUVs (maybe a Lincoln Navigator, a Range Rover or a Cadillac Escalade). Even Old School Ô60s rides like Impalas or Buick Regals are likely targets for these new alterations. The customizations can be anything from a pair of oversized custom wheels, tires and trim, to a total interior makeover, which includes ICE (in-car entertainment), maybe upgrading to a superior sound system to adding several TV monitors in the headrests with DVD input. These modified upgrades can range in price from a few hundred dollars for a rim or wheel to a total ride renovation of $50,000 or more.

Chicken wings, bikinis and burnouts don't have a lot in common in most circles, but at the inaugural Performance & Style show they played to a full-house. The show began with a contest of who could eat 25 buffalo wings the fastest. Tyler Hopkins of Marysville, PA ate the wings in record time. "I was hungry and the wings were excellent," quipped Hopkins. The wings for the contest were supplied by North Hanover Street Grill.

Beauty abounded on the stage of Carlisle Fairgrounds for the traditional Beauty Contest. Ten lovely ladies donned their swimsuits for the competition. The winners were chosen by a combination of judges and crowd approval. The following ladies took home the trophies Ð and cash. First Place went to Amanda Lawson of Carlisle. Runner-up position went to Ashley Baxter of Ephrata and third place to Kara McKenzie of Upper Marlboro, MD.

The Burnouts contest, a beloved tradition at Carlisle, didn't let the crowd down. After the smoke cleared, Mikie Swartz of Carlisle took the winner's circle with a '96 Acura Integra. Second place went to Charles Diaz with a '90 Nissan 240 ZX and third place was filled by Nick Meyer driving an '02 Mustang GT.

"Our inaugural show is not just new to Carlisle Events, but is in fact a new market segment taking the automotive-hobbyist marketplace by storm," John Detrick, Carlisle Events CEO. "Everywhere I look, I'm seeing aftermarket alterations being made to cars.

Over the past 10 years, it was mainly our younger audiences making modification to compacts, but now we're seeing this same audience... maturing a few years... and their parents tuning high-end luxuries, euros and SUVs. It's really been an remarkable transition in the hobby."

This year's Performance & Style show is set for May 4-6, 2007. Check out more information at www.carsatcarlisle.com.