It’s difficult to fathom, but a full trip around the sun has already transpired since I penned a column reviewing the inaugural FallFest Mopar car show.

That event, the brainchild of Eric Landeros, a diehard Mopar enthusiast and owner of Staga Motorsports, a manufacturer of high-performance components for Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler vehicles, attempted to resurrect the spirit of SpringFest.

A legendary event in Southern California that, for 14 years, attracted the LX-, LA-, and LC-body faithful from all over, SpringFest was one of the largest and most beloved celebrations of modern Mopar muscle anywhere in the country. So much so in fact, that top personnel from the Pentastar brands began attending, including Ralph Gilles, Mark Trostle, Tim Kuniskis, and Dan Zimmerman, and new models, paint colors, and equipment would make their public reveals at the show.

Sadly though, mere days before the fifteenth iteration of SpringFest was to be held in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic conspired to see its cancellation, and even after the world-wide plaque had lifted, the show failed to return.

Not in the least bit accepting of this new status-quo, Landeros and a team of organizers put together FallFest last September, which turned out to be an excellent, though admittedly small gathering held in the parking lot of Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.

For this year’s show, Landeros’ goals were clear: retain the quality of vehicles present and the inclusive atmosphere of FallFest 1.0, but hold it in a more inspiring, motorsport-based locale, expand the size of the display, and attract more spectators to the event.

Towards that end, the show was moved from the car park of a Major League Baseball stadium to Irwindale Speedway, about a half hour east of Downtown LA. Home to countless drag and oval racing events including several NASCAR-sanctioned race days and nights, Irwindale was the perfect venue for showing off Mother Mopar’s finest.

Here’s what I experienced at the show.

A promotional flyer for FallFest 2.0. (Image courtesy of powered_by_srt.)

After parking in the area designated for members of the media, I walked into the show area under blue skies and 80º temps, and immediately came upon a car that stopped me in my tracks.

A 2017 or newer Chrysler 300 sat before me, but it wasn’t any old 300. This one had the 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8 dropped in it – the first such transplant I’d ever seen in a 300.

Beautifully complementing that big, blown Hemi was a custom blue-gray paintjob over a red leather interior and five-spoke, 20-inch Matte Vapor SRT wheels normally associated with a Challenger Hellcat or Hellcat Redeye. Finishing touches included a lowering kit, Hellcat fender badges, smoked side reflectors and body-colored mirrors.

The first car I came upon at FallFest was this Chrysler 300 with a Hellcat engine swap. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

This 300 was seriously gorgeous, and I greatly appreciated its understated, sleeper appearance, completely devoid of the stripes or graphics that normally would be found on such a custom hot rod. My complements to the owner and builder.

After taking in this beast for several minutes, I met up with my dear, long-time friend Carlos Rodriquez, who I planned to walk the show with. Carlos told me he brought one of his Mopars to the show and that it was close by, so we stopped so I could take pictures of what must be one of the nicest Dodge Magnums on the planet.

Carlos Rodriquez’s beautiful 2008 Dodge Magnum SRT8. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Mostly stock, save for a Mopar CAI and a Mopar cat-back exhaust, Carlos’ 2008 SRT8 Magnum still looks superb in its original Brilliant Silver paint over a black interior. Carlos informed me that the car was one of only 29 Magnum SRT8s made that year in that color combination.

Aside from a bit of shine on the leather of the steering wheel from years of hands touching it, there is little else to show that the car has covered just shy of 160,000 miles.

Under the hood lurked a 6.1-liter, 425 horsepower, Hemi V8 that was clean as a whistle, and it made me nostalgic for that era when Dodge started getting serious about performance again.

FallFest 2.0’s display of cars was large, and as the day wore on, attendance was too. (Photo courtesy of powered-by-srt.)

At that point we walked into the show area proper, and I must say, I was stunned by the sheer number of cars and folks in attendance. I might be understating it when I say that it was triple the size of last year’s event, with modern Mopars of every kind – Challengers, Chargers, Durangos, Grand Cherokees, Wranglers, RAMs, and 300s – both stock and modified, well represented, and some vintage cars sprinkled in too.

One of the first cars that caught my eye on our walk through the show field was a 2023 Challenger Scat Pack Widebody that had undergone a convertible conversion through Dodge’s factory procedure.

Starting in 2022, this process involved custom ordering a Challenger from a Dodge dealer and ticking the convertible conversion box on the order form.

This 2023 Challenger Scat Pack Widebody was the first factory convertible conversion I’ve come across. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Upon being built at the Windsor, Ontario factory where all LC-body Challengers were produced at, the car would then be shipped to Drop Top Customs, where the roof would be removed and replaced by a power convertible top, and various chassis reinforcements would be installed.

The ’23 ragtop in front of me was the first of such official conversions that I had encountered, and was draped in eye-popping TorRed paint over a black interior. Very expensive looking, black Forgiato wheels added a further dash of spice to the mix.

Close by was an outstanding example of Jeep’s lone SRT model, the WK2-body Grand Cherokee Trackhawk.

This Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Trackhawk looked great in F8 Green. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Featuring the first generation, 707 horsepower version of the 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8, the Trackhawk is one formidable off-roader.

This Jeep was painted in F8 Green with a black interior, and had large, gold-colored “Coast Wheels and Tires” graphics on both sides of the rear quarters. A set of gloss black multi-spoke wheels were also present, and were contrasted by the bright yellow, factory-supplied Brembo calipers.

Also in F8 Green was an example of Dodge’s version of the Grand Cherokee – the Durango.

An F8 Green Dodge Durango SRT 392. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

An SRT 392 model packing the stump-pulling 6.4-liter “Apache” Hemi V8, this Durango was also outfitted with black, multi-spoke rims, and had custom, matching, over-the-top stripe, aftermarket front spoiler, and side skirts that had a “chopped” carbon fiber appearance.

It was significantly lowered, but I couldn’t be sure if it was by springs or air bags.

A bone stock SRT Hellcat Durango sat nearby in White Knuckle paint. It was equipped with the Black Package, which lent the car a black leather and suede interior, black exterior badging, and black 20″ wheels to give great contrast to the paint.

A 2023 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

No modern Mopar show would be complete without examples of the best-selling modern Mopar – the Dodge Charger – and believe me when I say there were there plenty on hand, from the bone stock to the modded beyond belief.

As to the latter, we encountered a day-glo orange 5.7-liter Hemi Charger that was highly customized. From a large front splitter to a granite effect wrap on the hood, roof, trunk, door handles, and “Slaytona” graphics on the sides, as well as Lamborghini-style scissor doors, I was mightily impressed by the work done to this car, apparently by an outfit called “Ghost Customz.”

This Charger was the most thoroughly modified one at the show. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

The car was also bagged, and had custom LED headlights, side skirts, and gloss black painted 5-spoke SRT wheels.

The Mopars_Of_Cali car club was in attendance, and member Mike Sanchez’s Charger also stood as a highly modified example of the model.

Starting life as a Granite Metallic 2017 Charger R/T 5.7-liter Hemi, Mike’s car sported an AFE carbon fiber intake and 90mm throttle body, a 180º themoststat and a Billet Technologies oil catch can. DiabloSport tuning was customized by Sean at Hemifever Tuning. Continuing to the back of the car, Mike installed Flowmaster Super 10 mufflers and deleted the resonators.

Mopars_Of_Cali’s Mike Sanchez brought his gorgeous, highly modified Charger.. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Stock suspension was replaced with Bilstein B6 shocks with Air Lift Performance 3P bags with an Air Lift management system, and upgraded sway bar links and upper arms. R1 Concepts Geo-Carbon rotors and pads were installed for superior stopping power and were surrounded by Ferrada staggered wheels.

On the exterior, Mike’s Charger wore an aero package and wickerbill, a widebody-style front bumper and a gorgeous Tinybot Ruby Red Metallic wrap with satin carbon fiber hood, roof, trunk, and spoiler. I especially loved the old-school Fratzog logos Mike applied to the front fenders behind the wheel arches.

Inside was custom Katzkin leather, a Barton ball shifter, a carbon fiber steering wheel and paddle shifters. JBL Speakers, subwoofer, and amps completed the interior quarters. Quite a car!

This Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody looked great in nearly stock form. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

On the stock side, one Charger in particular caught my eye.

A Redeye Widebody painted in Smoke Show, this car looked great in factory form, with the only visible modifications being a carbon fiber cold air intake, a few Billet Technologies Octane-Red aluminum caps underhood, and a deep, dark, all-around window tint.

It goes to show that even a mostly stock car can make an impression at a show like this.

A similarly wide spectrum of Challengers attended FallFest 2.0 as well. In fact, it was Roman Mercado’s Challenger that undoubtedly stood as the most modified car of the entire event.

Ramon Mercado’s Challenger. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Nicknamed “Badd392” this car, which left the factory as a T/A 392, quite literally had every part of it modified from stock. Underhood, the original 392 cubic-inch V8 was replaced by a 6.2-liter shortblock with a Whipple 2.9-liter supercharger riding on top, and an ATI 6% overdrive pully affording added boost. A Fore fuel system with dual pumps sends E85 gas, and FIC1000cc injectors shoot it into the combustion chambers. A cold air intake and oversized throttle body provide the air, while a custom exhaust system allows for the exhale and brings the noise.

Air Lift performance suspension was installed, as were custom LD97 3-piece wheels.

The wild interior of Ramon’s car. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

On the outside, Roman installed a Hellcat front fascia with a deep carbon splitter, a Demon-style hood, widebody wheel arches, scissor doors, bold graphics, and a full KNG aero kit. On the inside, he opted for Braum racing seats, a half-cage, and carbon fiber interior trim. A massive sound system shared space with the airbag pumps in the trunk.

Coolest of all was the fact that Roman did the entirety of the work himself.

A number of Demons were on hand too, including several Last Call Demon 170s, the fastest, quickest, and most powerful factory muscle car ever built. Some were in stock condition, and some prepped for racing.

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Which leads me to the biggest upgrade between last year’s FallFest and this year’s FallFest 2.0: the drag strip. Yes, the show’s entrants were all invited to take their cars onto Irwindale’s 1/8 mile drag strip and see what their rides could do. It was pretty awesome to watch, as there were numerous matchups between Mopars new and old.

As to vintage Mopars, there was plenty on hand, including a wild, blown 1970 Charger, numerous Vipers from the 90’s, and even some post war Coronets too.

FallFest 2.0 was wildly successful, and represented an exponential step over last year’s show. With a variety of food stands, a DJ, and vendor booths aplenty on site, there was something to satisfy everyone.

If my radar is correct, then FallFest is well on its way to becoming what SpringFest once was – the premier Mopar show in Southern California – and having Stellantis participate directly in the proceedings.

I for one can’t wait to see what next September brings. Hope to see you there!