What is Area Rides?

It is a public portal to just about all things the local car enthusiast finds interesting. The main goal of Area Rides is to help build and support the local car enthusiast community. For more information you can read our About Page and Mission Statement.

Who is Area Rides?

We are a small, but dedicated group of photographers, video producers and/or web geeks who love cars. This site give us a place to share our work and in turn help Area Rides support the community.

These days, the photo and video staff has dwindled. The photographers have moved on to focus on their own respective businesses, but there is always room for more. If you would like to submit your event coverage, contact Steve for more information.

How far will Area Rides travel to cover an event?

Depending on the weather, the size of the event, the crew schedule and a few other factors the best estimate- as the crow flies- would be that we do not know. So far, the longest distance from, say, the Gateway Arch we have traveled would be to Louisiana, Missouri for their Colorfest in 2008. We plan to travel to more locations even further away. However, since this is a local site we would like to keep it within 60 miles of the Arch.

How do I get my club's link listed?

If your automotive club is currently in Missouri or Illinois then just email Steve with the information. Please provide the Club's name, the URL you wish us to link to and a brief description. This is free and we welcome any automotive club- no matter the style of vehicle it caters to.

How do I get my event listed?

To have your local cruise, show, swap meet or race listed on the Area Rides Event Calendar just email Steve with all the pertinent information. The more info the better! You may include your logo, links, contact info, downloadable flyer and more! There is plenty of room on our calendar.

The coverage area has expanded! It is no longer restricted to the St. Louis Area. It now covers all of Missouri and Illinois!

• Images should be no larger than 725 pixels wide at 72 DPI
• It is best to have all the information in text format- not just on an image
• Provide contact information and links for more information

Can Area Rides help me organize a show/cruise/event?

Not directly. Although, we would be happy to direct you to people who can. We are always meeting more and more people in the local car scene. We have a growing list of vendors like food and drink concessions, DJ's, printers, promoters and more. We will continue to add to the list. If you would like to find someone to help or have us add your business to our list please let us know.

We are developing a much larger section on the site to help event organizers create shows. Register with Area Rides to be notified of any new site features via our newsletter.

How can I advertise on Area Rides?

We offer numerous advertisement plans to fit virtually any budget. Your business's ad can be on this site, our newsletters, flyers, videos and more. With every passing month our hit counts increase. That means more and more qualified potential customers that will see your ad. Get your ad placed now while the cost is still low. As the hit counts grow, the ad space prices will go up! Get more info here.

A Mohawk? Really, Steve?

Yes. It was a phase. It did prove to be the best way to be seen in a crowd. In 2008, I would tell people to look for the fat guy with a Mohawk. Instantly recognizable. You can see the ridiculous 'hawk in the archives.

How do I get Area Rides to photograph my car?

The short answer: Just ask.

If you see an AR Crew member at a show or cruise just ask. You may even get wrangled into telling us everything about your car on video too! 

You can also schedule a photo shoot of your car. For a fee we can give your car, truck or bike the special treatment it deserves. We can do it on location or in a studio. We have a few models that can pose with your car too! Just ask!

What can I do to help support the local automotive community?

There are many ways you can help. One easy way is to keep visiting Area Rides. We will continue to provide as much information on the site for local events, businesses and clubs that cater to us Gearheads. Most of the groups that advertise or list on Area Rides just want exposure. Your being on the site is support enough.

If you want to go the extra mile then there is plenty of opportunity to help. If you can create content in the form of writing articles, shooting video or videos or editing then there is a place for you at Area Rides. Keep in mind you will be doing it all for free (for now at least). You are, however, welcome to promote your services/talents/skills as much as you like. 

Keep us informed. Let us know about shows, clubs or just about anything that would be of interest to your fellow automotive enthusiast. You need not be a part of the organization. We'll contact the people in charge to get all the low-down. Sometimes we miss a few things from time to time. 

Your input is most welcome. If you feel Area Rides could help the community more by adding a new feature or service please do not hesitate to contact us and tell us.

Can Area Rides help with my car related website?

There are several ways Area Rides help you with your site. If you have a site already, we can list your site on our links pages (see above). We can also design and build you a new website and instruct you how to update the site yourself! We also have hosting plans available. We can even migrate your existing site over to our host for you! There are many options and we would be glad to discuss them with you. You let us know what you need and we'll go from there.

Can I model for Area Rides?

If you are a woman you are most welcome to model. You need not any experience or be of any particular body style. We do prefer you be eighteen or older. We will never ask for nudes and although we like to push limits, we will never have you do anything beyond your comfort level. For more information click here.

We will eventually like to offer paid modeling gigs, but we can at least give you a disc of everything to use for your portfolio. Area Rides wishes to have the models promoted just as much as the cars. To do so all of our models will have their own section as well as the cars. 

What happened to some of the features of Area Rides?

The site is always in flux. Things will change to keep it fresh and to weed out the stale items. In the beginning there were big plans for Area Rides. So everything was put on the site. Some sections received little response. Others failed completely. Many are still on the site, but just turned off for now. Trimming the fat off the site and leaving the popular stuff makes for an easily navigatable experience. Some of the features may get reintroduced at a later date.

Your feed back is greatly appreciated. If there is something you would like to see on this site please feel free to contact Steve with questions, comments, accolades or insults.

What's next?

Frankly, who knows? Area Rides will always strive to get bigger/better/stronger/faster. There are many plans for future development and growth. For the most part, the "bigger/better/stronger/faster" plans are stunted because of financial restrictions. But as long as Area Rides grows in popularity it gains advertisers or sponsors, it gets paying gigs and has more of an impact on the community thus getting revenue. At present, Area Rides is just barely paying for itself let alone keeping it's management out of debtors prison.

As previously stated, there are plans for growth. You can increase that growth by telling every motorhead you know about Area Rides. The more people who visit the better it will be.

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You can always contact Steve if you have any questions not addressed here.