Tim and Bonnie King's Hot Wheels in Las Vegas

Welcome to another side of the owners of Salem-News; take a journey through the heart of the Las Vegas motorworld and a ride back in time for Tim and Bonnie King.

(Salem, Oregon) - Hot Wheels in Las Vegas was a half hour television program produced by Tim and Bonnie King in 2000/2001 for Las Vegas' independent television station KFBT Channel 33.

Julie and Tim were the hosts

The thirteen -week series had one run on that station, and a second thirteen-week run on a popular Las Vegas cable TV station.

Tim King was a News Photojournalist/Reporter for Las Vegas station KVVU FOX-5 when he left to produce this entertainment program along with yours truly, his wife and co-producer, Bonnie King, while I worked simultaneously as the Production Manager for KVWB (WB LasVegas), and KFBT Channel 33 where "Hot Wheels in Las Vegas" aired.

A lifelong hot rod and sports car fan and the son of an antique car collector, Tim said at the time that Las Vegas seemed like the perfect place to produce a really interesting show about great looking cars, and he also thought we should throw in great looking women.

"Having worked for the FOX station in Vegas and the NBC before that, I knew many really smart, attractive women who worked behind the scenes at the stations and had no "on-air" time as the reporters did, yet still had aspirations to appear in front of the camera for a change, rather than behind it. Bonnie also knew several qualified ladies at her station."

So Tim ran an ad in the LasVegas paper to find a few more models, and soon we had "The Hot Wheels Girls". Suddenly a lot of talented people were being seen on television for the first time. The show was good promotion for many of the women, as they had aspiring modeling and acting careers.

Soon we were showing up at car shows, motorcycle rallies, motocross races and classic car museums, always with a string of beautiful models in tow. There was no end to the compelling stories, and each show featured a new and sometimes unknown aspect to the auto scene in Vegas.

Our genius behind the computer was Clark Buchanan, whose combination of artistic and technical skills outreached even the flash and flames we aspired to present. Clark was also webmaster for the program's impressive website.

The show was definite "eye candy" in every respect, but it encompassed all of the different auto related interests in Las Vegas... Sin City, ranging from cruising the famous illuminated strip with its myriad lights, to all sorts of car club activities, racing, and other events, not to mention the multi-million dollar classics.

Story continues below

The program was sponsored in part by The Auto Collections at the Imperial Palace and Las Vegas Harley Davidson. Two of the commercials in this program shot and produced by Tim and Bonnie are the Goodfella's Bail Bonds and Fast Freddy's Car Wash spots.

Hot Wheels in Las Vegas was hosted by Tim King and his co-host, Julie. Other models receive first name credits at the end of the program. Tim and Bonnie King no longer own or operate the Website vegaswheels.com which is advertised frequently in this program. This is presented for non commercial purposes as an example of a program in the television history of Las Vegas, Nevada.

The first 13 week series involved hours that nobody should keep. Much like Salem-News.com, we performed many duties with a very small staff of people, and two programs were completed with just minutes to spare, before airing on broadcast television. If you've ever seen the movie Broadcast News, you know what I mean. Producing Hot Wheels in Las Vegas was almost like working on a news program, with stringent deadlines to meet for the weekly show.

Many of us recall the whole time period as a real blast, and Tim says he couldn't agree more. He definitely enjoyed the experience. He drove dream cars and associated with a lot of automotive history and celebrities with similar interests. While it was fun, the show accomplished something few programs do.

By mixing the exotic rolling masterpieces of the rich with the edgy and biting hot rods that kids drive today, "Hot Wheels in Las Vegas" brought people together. Don Williams, one of the owners of the Auto Collections at the Imperial Palace, is one of the world's leading experts in early Mercedes Benz cars and other highly collectible automobiles.

He stated in an interview with Tim, "A car is the ultimate expression of who a person is. People are often personified by the kind of car they desire to own and drive, and that is why the value of so many cars has appreciated over the years to where it is now."

As a resident of Oregon, Tim says he would be very interested in creating a similar program for the Northwest. The biggest difference may be the fact that the program can be published on the Internet for a worldwide audience. Anyone who would be interested in partnering in such a venture should contact Tim King at: tim@salem-news.com

So for now, sit back and enjoy a program that truly showcased some of the most beautiful attractions of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, with Hot Wheels in Las Vegas.

Watch the show, this is Episode 7: