Small Business Stories -Kaucher Kustoms

Alex Fees: I am Alex Fees on Small Business Television. We're coming to you from SEMA '08, that's Specialty Equipment Market Association in Las Vegas, Nevada. And joining me here now is Keith Kaucher. Keith, I appreciate you to being here. Keith Kaucher: Hi! Alex, good to see you again. Alex Fees: Keith is the owner of Kaucher Kustoms at Santa Monica, and Keith tells me that we met before, a year ago in fact, here at SEMA. Keith Kaucher: That's correct. Alex Fees: In addition to that, you've also done an interview with my colleague Ivy Hartman. Keith Kaucher: That's right. Alex Fees: Keith, first of all, here before we get to the Kaucher Kustoms, how has that exposure on SBTV.com worked for you? Keith Kaucher: It's worked pretty well. I have had a few people mentioned to me. If you actually Google my name Kaucher Kustoms on there on the Internet, you actually, it pops up right. Alex Fees: Up pops your interview on SBTV.com. Keith Kaucher: Yeah, it pops up in strangest places. Alex Fees: Alright! Oh, yeah. We're glad to hear that. What about Kaucher Kustoms, what's new? Keith Kaucher: Well, it's new with this year is, we've been working for about three years on a product called the Korona Airstack, Korona Airstack with a K. Alex Fees: Korona Airstack. Keith Kaucher: It's a custom airstack. It's made by K&N Filters. I designed this air filter. It's basically a custom static stack that goes on open engine hot rods. I got a little picture if you'd like to see. Alex Fees: Please do. Show us, what you've got here? Now, Keith, what does an airstack do? Keith Kaucher: Well, an airstack is basically a filter. Alex Fees: Hold that a little bit. This one? Keith Kaucher: That's the one. Yeah. Alex Fees: Okay. Keith Kaucher: This is the actual -- this is actually a display. This is a 6 carbureted motor with 6 of these little stacks. Each filter filters down at 20 microns, but it gives the illusion that is an open element stack, kind of the old school cars as back in the 50s. But you're actually getting filtration. The beauty is you can run these things forward facing and not have the motor lean over on the top end. Alex Fees: Oh, yeah. Keith Kaucher: And this is the packaging. Alex Fees: Okay. Keith Kaucher: My fingers aren't aware. Alex Fees: I see, Korona Airstacks. Keith Kaucher: Yeah. Alex Fees: Alright! Go ahead, if you have got more pictures you want to show us here. Keith Kaucher: Yeah, so that's our new product for this year. It's actually hit the market. Then we have this Firebird is called Screech. This car should be ready by April, coming up in the April 2009. Alex Fees: Really. Keith Kaucher: It's a 900 horsepower car. I did all the design work on the car. It's been built by, let me get the name, right, it's Hot Rods & Custom Stuff at Escondido, California. Alex Fees: Oh, yeah. Keith Kaucher: So this is going to be a quite an incredible car. It's going to be a different color than this. We've changed the color since its drawing was first done, but anyway that's coming up for 2009. Alex Fees: Okay. So we've got a lot going on there? Keith Kaucher: Yeah, we've got about 23 cars that are actually in process, but I am showing you the ones that are probably the closest to getting done. Alex Fees: Well, in light of that, how many employees do you have at Kaucher Kustoms? Keith Kaucher: There are just the two of us, my brother and I. Alex Fees: And you got how many cars? Keith Kaucher: We don't do the build work. We only do the design. Alex Fees: Oh! I see, okay. Keith Kaucher: We are strictly in the design. I do the initial concept drawing and I work with the builders on liaison on between the design and actually getting the car finished. Alex Fees: Right. Keith Kaucher: So let me see what else we have here. Alex Fees: Is there a lot of demand for this in Santa Monica, California or do you have clients? Keith Kaucher: Not Santa Monica, Southern California and East Coast as well, where the car has been done. Alex Fees: Yeah. Keith Kaucher: Now this car is an interesting one. This is called the Green Hornet. Alex Fees: The Green Hornet. Keith Kaucher: Now reason it's called the Green Hornet is it actually is alternate fuel vehicle. This is car, which is going to run on natural gas or hydrogen. It's going to have a twin turbo charged late-model Hemi motor in it. I did all the design on this body. It's a combination of Dodge Charger. It's obviously of 69 Satellites, which has got Dodge Charger roof. It's got Challenger rear window glass and Barracuda parts and what not. I tried to stay all Mopar, keep it Mopar people happy. Alex Fees: Sure, absolutely. Keith Kaucher: But this is going to be quite an incredible car. It's going to run on 110-octane natural gas and it's going to be kind of making a statement for Hot Rod across the United States and the world for that matter. Basically, we're going to keep driving these cars, and keep this party going, and we don't have to have gasoline from oil to do that. Alex Fees: Exactly, yeah. Make it easiest designs in the 50s and 60s and take it in the 2010 and beyond. Keith Kaucher: It's right, right. Alex Fees: Keith, what you're back on? How did you get into this? Keith Kaucher: I got involved with this when I was a kid. My dad told me how to draw, when I was about 5 years old. So I start drawing cars, and then when I was about 9 years old I started building model of them. Then when I was 13, I started taking and drawing the model that I was going to build and then cut them all up and building the car from there. So there was just something by enabling my head, I love designing and customizing cars. I basically turned my passion into a business. Alex Fees: Boy! I tell you that's a small business owner's dream right there, or is it not? Keith Kaucher: Yes, absolutely. Alex Fees: College education involved in your process? Keith Kaucher: Yes, Cal State,Northridge, I went and got a degree in industrial design. Alex Fees: Really? Keith Kaucher: Yeah. Alex Fees: So you've just been really consistent at every level, I mean industrial design and --? Keith Kaucher: Yeah, absolutely. I kind of knew what I want to do at very early age and I just kept sticking with it. Alex Fees: Tell me about your involvement with SEMA. Keith Kaucher: I am actually on the -- I am a SEMA member and I am also Hot Rod Industry Alliance member. That particular industry or I guess -- what's word for it that -- Alex Fees: You kind of do a liaison with SEMA? Keith Kaucher: Yeah, that board deals mostly with the Hot Rod Industry in itself. We are dealing with people who are builders, manufacturers of my high performance parts for Hot Rods, custom cars, accessories, that type of thing. Not so much for Late Model but more for the older vehicles. So I got involved with that, because it's right up my alley and I meet people who have like-minded ideas, who want to do the type of cars I want to be involved with, and it's a good place to network and I have met some great friends there. It's really helped me in my career in the last couple of years being involved with that. Alex Fees: Now, Keith I don't know enough about automobiles or history. All those designs you're talking about, are all those all cars in the 50s and 60s? Keith Kaucher: I think everyone I showed you was a 60s. I have cars from going back as far back as in 30s. Alex Fees: Well, that sounds like you would know this. What is it about that era of automobile design? Keith Kaucher: Let me tell you what happened and this is my theory only, but essentially cars got very automated in the way they built. Most cars don't really get touched by human hands as they are being built now. They're being built by robots. Thus, there is no personality imprinted on those cars. The cars back in the 50s, 60s, in the 30s were all hand build and I think every person who touched those, left a little bit of their identity involved in that car. That's why they say cars of those periods have a personality. Alex Fees: Yeah, because you kind of imagine that there is never going to be a time when people are going to be talking about the automobile designs of the 80s or 90s or what have you, but they are still talking about the 50s and 60s. Keith Kaucher: Right, they were the heydays; they were the days when we really could tell a Ford from a Chevy. Now they look pretty much the same. I think America has just got too corporate and too afraid to really push design and induce things to the cars and make them unique. Alex Fees: Alright! Good deal, Keith Kaucher. Keith Kaucher: Nice talking to you Alex. Alex Fees: Glad to have you on SBTV.com once again. Again, he is Keith Kaucher with the Kaucher Kustoms at Southern California. Keith Kaucher: Yes. Alex Fees: Alright! You're watching Small Business Television. Keith, how can we go to your website here? Where we can people get more information about Kaucher Kustoms? Keith Kaucher: It's kaucherdesignwerks.com. Alex Fees: Kaucherdesignwerks. Keith Kaucher: That's all one word. Alex Fees: But works with an e? Keith Kaucher: That's right, that's right. Alex Fees: Because otherwise you are not going to find it. Keith Kaucher: Yes, that's right. Alex Fees: Alright! Good deal. You're watching Small Business Television. We're coming to you from the SEMA 08 in Las Vegas. You're logged on to SBTV.com.