Americans have a thing for beauty pageants. While some, such as Miss America and Miss USA, have become American institutions, others are a bit less mainstream: Miss Hell Hole Swamp, Miss Outdoors, Miss Catfish, Miss Snake Charmer, and Miss Klingon Empire, just to name a few.
From Planet of the Apes-themed pageants (pictured, 1972) to the local folks at the State Fair, everyone loves a good competition, even the trucking industry. Enter the Shell ROTELLA Superrigs Truck Beauty Contest.
Now, it could be argued that a beauty contest for trucks is less like the Miss America Pageant, and more like a car show, but trucks undoubtedly have personality. Drivers who spend days and weeks on the open road with no one for company but their rig are the first to acknowledge that these beauties deserve a little adoration and recognition.
Rather than engineering-based contests like the Michelin Design Challenge featured in last week’s post, the Shell ROTELLA contest is reserved for custom trucks, both working and non-working. Custom paint jobs, enormous smokestacks, and other features make these trucks not only the best, but the brightest around. Sometimes literally the brightest, like in the case of this winner from last year: Best Lights!
Or this flashy cherry red beauty who took home the Best Engine ‘crown’:
Other categories include People’s Choice and Hardest Worker, making it clear that there’s more than just beauty in this competition – good work ethics count, too. It’s one thing to be a pretty show truck, but these workhorses actually do the drives, day in and day out.
The Top Twelve rigs are photographed and featured in the Shell ROTELLA® SuperRigs
calendar for the upcoming year. I like the idea; next time someone asks about your calendar of gorgeous beauty queens, you can show them your favorite prize-winning trucks!
Wave to the judges this weekend,
~Bob
