Family focused car club hands young content creators the keys

As any Utah teen with a learner permit can tell you, they need 40 hours of practice to qualify for a driver’s license. Taylor Killian and Noah, his 16-year-old son, made the most of those hours in the car. Not only did they discuss the rules of the road, they also talked about their shared interest in fine vehicles. And in all those hours of bonding, they came up with an idea. Why not start their own car club?

“My son and I would drive together every single day, almost like an obsession. And the conversations we would have, that’s really what started the Roads Collective. We realized how amazing the time was that we were spending driving these cars, and we wanted to bring other people who kind of had that same family approach,” Killian said. “Let’s go out with friends, let’s go enjoy these cars.”

Car clubs are nothing new to Utah, but the Killians’ vision for the Roads Collective is. You don’t need a supercar or a muscle car — or anything impressive — to join in. And, while it’s certainly a place for friends to gather, they hope it will be much more. Meet some of the members and their vehicles in Around the Hood With KSL Cars.

Supporting the younger dog

“When we first started talking about what we wanted the collective to be, the thing that kept coming up was, what if we created an ecosystem for all these content creators?” Killian said. “Utah has so many brilliant photographers, videographers. We wanted to give them a platform where they could showcase their work.”

The collective is for enthusiasts, but it’s also “for high school and college kids who can’t afford fancy cars yet,” Killian said. Young creators are invited to make contacts, conceptualize ideas and make content using Roads Collective resources — including the cars. 

Taylor Killian said the Roads Collective gives 'kids who can't afford fancy cars yet' access to the members' varied collection. Photo by Chad Hurst

“It’s giving more of these kids exposure in a way that’s outside of their own page that they’re pushing, making it a little bit more legitimate because they’re doing it for an actual brand,” he said.

Car talk

Currently, 10-15 friends regularly meet as part of the Roads Collective. Among their vehicles are supercars and classics, but they aren’t museum pieces. “We drive our cars,” Killian said. “All of them are going to have chips all over the bumper. We need to do resprays every now and then; they all have plenty of blemishes. We keep them as nice as we can, but they are definitely driver’s cars.”

So happy together

Brandon Allred said when they meet up for group drives, they swap vehicles on occasion. “There's not really anywhere else that you can go and do that, where someone's just going to hand you the keys to a car and say, ‘Hey, here you go. Be careful,’" he said.

Brandon Allred bought this 1991 Acura NSX 23 years ago, although his teenage kids are just discovering how cool it is. Photo by Chad Hurst

Sharing gives everyone a chance to experience the different way each vehicle drives. Allred’s black 1991 Acura NSX, for instance, is a mid-engine that “handles like nothing else.” He said, “It’s got the feel of an F1 car … the go-kart feel. It’s definitely not the fastest, but you get it onto a track or in the canyon and it is one of the funnest cars you will ever drive.” 

Allred first rode in a similar one as a teen and decided then and there he would own one, one day. That day came a week after he turned 21. “I’ve owned this now for 23 years, and it’s definitely my favorite, and it’s going with me until the day I die. It’s probably the longest relationship I’ve been in,” he laughed.

It’s only recently that his three sons, ages 12, 15 and 17, noticed that the car in their garage was the same as the one in their video games. “They’re starting to really realize the importance and kind of how cool this car is, which makes me happy as a dad.

“My 17-year-old is still like, ‘So Dad, when are you going to teach me how to drive a stick?’ and I’m like, ‘Never, because you’re not going to take the car.’ But no, in reality, eventually this will be passed down to them. There are three boys that are ready to start driving it today if they could,” he said.

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Oldies but goodies

When you start young, you tend to attach a bit of sentimentality to your car. Just ask Nate Gracey, whose business The Wheel Shop has been featured in some Roads Collective photo shoots.

He’s owned his 1975 Chevy Caprice since he was 16. Named after his first girlfriend, this Vanessa is a convertible lowrider, something he’s wanted since he was a kid. And while he typically owns 10 or so vehicles at a time, none are as treasured.

Collective member Nate Gracey has owned plenty of cars, but his 1975 Chevy Caprice remains his favorite. Photo by Chad Hurst

“Of all the cars I’ve had over the years,” Gracey said, “this is definitely the one that I’ll never sell. I've been through a lot with this car. I've been in a couple wrecks in this car, I've had people run into this car. I’ve done some of the work myself, had some friends do some of the work.”

Working on cars is part of the deal. “When I first got the car, I always wanted to do air suspension but couldn’t do it. So I put some Jeep Wrangler springs on it and cut those in half,” he said, laughing. “When I got older, I could afford air. I did that myself the first time — it turned out terrible.”

He also added a gear shift that was once a Schlitz beer tap handle — a gnarly, carved antler — which definitely gets the most reactions from passersby. The rearview mirror sports a pair of hand-knitted booties, a gift when he was asked to be godfather to the baby of Matt Zamora, a fellow collective member.

It’s the ride that Gracey appreciates most. “Never in a rush with cars like these. You get out and just relax. These cars just cruise. The way they sound, the way they smell — it's just super chill driving on a lowrider like this. It's cool. There’s no soul in newer cars.” 

Zamora, owner of a 1966 Chevy Caprice, said it’s “like sitting on a giant couch cruisin’ down the road.” “Yeah,” Gracey laughed. “That’s exactly it!”

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More caprice

Zamora bought his black lowrider from Gracey and promptly named it after a girl too. “This is La Sancha, it means side chick,” Zamora said, smiling. Keeping things in the family is kind of a big deal with Roads Collective.

Now a custom painter by trade, this is the vehicle Zamora learned his craft on, by hand-painting intricate pinstriping along both sides of the lengthy vehicle. He added some bling too: gold plating on the steering wheel, mirrors and bezels around the headlights.

Matt Zamora honed his custom painting skills by working on his own Chevy Caprice, 'La Sancha.' Photo by Chad Hurst

His love for lowriders was inspired by extended family in California. They’ve been creating showstoppers for years, he said, some of which are worth upward of $150K. His car? It’s not quite there yet. “There’s always something wrong with it,” he said.

On this particular day, he had to hot-wire the suspension so it would lift and he could drive it to our interview. But he has big plans for it, including custom paint and chrome, a new interior, motor and suspension. “This will be probably the biggest, most time consuming thing I'll ever get into. So next year or the year after, we'll be getting crazy with it.”

Zamora is the official painter for the collective. “Anytime I’m doing any artwork, they’ll come film me while I’m painting,” he said. On our visit, he showed a couple of helmets he recently finished for a monthly giveaway on his Instagram; they were welcomed by an appreciative crowd. Because that’s what the collective does: Share projects and support each other.

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Coming together

Andy Coates brings some flash to the Roads Collective. His yellow 2001 Second Generation Dodge Viper RT/10 is one of only 840 made. “This was my dream car basically, my first on my bucket list growing up. I knew that I would always have a Viper, [even] in high school. That’s when they came out with the concept.”

Owning a 2001 Dodge Viper is a dream come true for Andy Coates. Photo by Chad Hurst

The roadster has lived up to his expectations. “I love the handling, it’s raw. There’s no traction control. Brakes [are] about all you get and two airbags — and some AC when it works. Most of the time it doesn’t work.”

The speedometer goes to 220, but Coates said he’s never made it past 120. “You can do 60 in first gear, and I haven’t gone beyond third. Unfortunately, on the street you really can’t get it to its full potential. You know, a track is what it’s really for.”

Like father, like son

Coates and his son, Eli, are a prime example of what the club is about: getting families involved and excited about the car community. “I love what Roads Collective is doing. I think it's something that gives kids, especially younger kids, an avenue to come and learn about cars or just be around cars and have a safe place to be.” 

Together, father and son take the Viper out for drives and participate in car shows. You may have seen them at a supercar event at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Exotics at City Hall or even a pop-up. Coates said he’s especially happy to support shows with younger organizers. 

“I think there's a long time where … kids weren't involved in cars, and I love to be able to see cars and kids getting involved in cars again. So anything I can do to support a young kid, you know, starting up his own little car show or something, I like to do that.

“Every year we go and do something new,” he said. For now, 16-year-old Eli is just a passenger. “He wanted to take it to homecoming, and I said ‘not yet.’ Soon. Hopefully.”

Crew cuts

Eli, incidentally, is a main photographer for Roads Collective. He and Noah Killian also happen to be friends and classmates at Roy High. See what we mean? Keeping it all in the family.

Roads Collective photographers Fernando Nevarez and Eli Coates take their job seriously, even hanging out of car windows to get the perfect shot. Photo by Chad Hurst

In his role, he gets an assist and professional advice from Fernando Nevarez, a photographer in his own right. Together, they take photos and videos for the collective. Both agree that rollers — filming the cars while driving — are their favorite part of the job. They do their work in Nevarez’ camera-outfitted 2016 Subaru STI. 

“The most exciting shoot that I've done was when I was starting with Roads Collective,” Nevarez said. “We were going up Ogden Canyon, and at that time we didn't have the car set up. So, I just hung out of the trunk itself with about a couple grand worth of camera gear and we made it happen.”

Now, whoever is filming wears safety harnesses so they can hang out of the unrolled windows, and they don’t travel over 55 mph. “We try to make this thing as safe as possible.” And it’s fun. The best part of the job? They both agreed it’s getting to drive the cars. “That’s one of the perks for sure,” he said.

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Noah’s park

Killian said he grew to love cars while hanging out with his father. “My dad sang muscle car songs to me,” he said. “‘Little GTO,’ stuff like that. So I grew up a muscle car guy.” His son Noah’s interest doesn’t go back to cradle, but he did follow in his dad’s footsteps with his first set of wheels.

Last July, Noah bought a 1996 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, a right-hand drive model from Japan. It’s a homologation — a street legal variant of a race car. “And for a 28-year-old car, I think it performs amazing,” Noah said. “I think as it sits right now, it’s one of the best daily drivable older Japanese sports cars.”

His dad had an Evo, although Noah was too young to remember it. “I always heard stories about his cars, always wanted to get into them.” When Noah was in junior high, his interest in cars really began, and he started saving to buy one. This summer, they purchased the ‘96 Evo together — although Noah is working to buy out his father’s half. “I think that this is something that I can relate to my dad with, both having Evos."

Nearly 30, this 1996 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is still a great ride, if you don't mind a right-sided steering column. Photo by Chad Hurst

The right way to drive

Is it challenging driving on the wrong side of the car? Well, “I let one friend drive it so far, and I’m not sure when I’ll let the next,” he said. Still, “It’s not a whole lot different. I drove this car more than any other cars in the collective [while learning to drive]. So I think that out of all the cars, I’m probably most comfortable driving this car.”

Despite the Evo’s age, Noah hasn’t made many changes — just a few things to make it louder, including removing the catalytic converter. Previously, “It sounded like a vacuum,” he said. “Now, it’s a good amount of loud.”

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Family ties

Today, the older Killian owns a 1999 996.1 Porsche 911 factory Aerokit in Guards Red — one of only 200 that were originally imported to North America. It once belonged to Gracey, and when he was selling it, Killian jumped in. “I didn’t want to see it go somewhere else. This car is super special.”

The rear-wheel drive car was once reviled by Porsche enthusiasts, he said, because they didn’t like that it was water-cooled or the fried egg headlights. “Funny enough, this is now one of the favorite cars of all the Porsche people … Everyone’s realizing how good it was. This was the car that made Porsche become what it’s become today.

Taylor Killian purchased his 1999 Porsche 911 from a fellow club member, not wanting to lose the 'super special' car. Photo by Chad Hurst

“This car is really fun to drive,” Killian said. “You have to pay attention. It doesn’t have all the things that the Porsches of today have, like all-wheel drive. It’s a raw experience. It doesn’t feel numb like most of the cars do today. You definitely feel the bumps in the road.”

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Creative headquarters

Aside from the vehicles, Roads Collective has turned the garage headquarters in Riverdale into a social hub. Gracey said, “Taylor [Killian] provided a space for all the local car guys and creators — a central space — to hang out … and come together.” It brings people back together, too. Killian, Gracey and Allred all went to the same elementary school and were reunited in the collective.

But even if all the members weren’t friends before, they are now. “Everyone here has the same passion for cars,” Allred said.

Conversation pit

In the lengthy garage space, there are couches for lounging next to an area set up for photo shoots — people or products. An open loft will offer an editing bay; you can record a podcast there too.

The Roads Collective also hosts car shows, but they are different from the ones you’re probably used to. Instead of an agglomeration of vehicles, these are purposefully curated to look good on social media.

Members of Roads Collective lounge in the Riverdale garage headquarters. Photo by Chad Hurst

Recently, they hosted a show exclusively for classic Japanese car brands, held at Kirt’s, an old-fashioned drive-in in North Ogden. These events are where they do much of the content. “It's more authentic that way, it's real, and it shows the people really doing life around their cars,” Killian said.

Next up, “We're gonna be doing a pop-up drive-in, where we have a 20-foot pop-up screen, and we're gonna have four rows of four cars, and we're gonna have a family drive-in where people get to bring their kids. We're all hanging out, kids are playing, we're watching one of the first ‘Fast and the Furious’ movies or ‘Cars,’” Killian said.

“The Roads Collective isn’t just about a bunch of buddies getting together. We actually do a lot of family stuff, a lot of father-son groups come out. Everything we do is definitely something the whole family can enjoy.”

More to come

Aside from the focus on content creation, the collective also recently introduced an apparel line called Roads Co. They hope it will become the go-to brand for car enthusiasts. Need a funny T-shirt or hat for your car loving friend? They’ve got you covered. “We’ve taken a lot of race history and kind of done parody pieces.” They’ll also feature select car brands.

Matt Zamora brought his custom painted helmets to show his handiwork to fellow Collective members. Photo by Chad Hurst

Get involved

Killian is quick to point out that Roads Collection is for anyone who wants to join in — young or old, male or female. It’s a safe space for everyone. “It's really simple. When somebody wants to be involved, we just invite them out to come experience what we're doing and see if it's kind of what fits their vibe and the thing they're trying to do,” he said. You can contact him with a direct message @roads-collective.

Know someone with a car collection we could feature? Send us a note on Cars@ksl.com.

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