Something has to be said about a car that makes it into an all truck show. Not because of some sort of mistake and not even because the show promoter felt sorry for someone who drove hundreds of miles to find out a car show is actually a truck show either. Nope, Mark's ride made it into the 2007 Havoc show because his car is considered to be in the top 25 of mini-inspired cars, so he was invited to participate in the car class. Now that is saying something. Of course, like most best-of-the-best, Mark Cassidy is a pretty modest individual and even told ESM in an e-mail that his car was "nothing special." Well, since Mark isn't up for a brag session, I guess ESM will just have to do it for him!

Cutting right to the chase, Mark's 1993 Honda Accord easily fits right in with the mini-truckin' crowd if for no other reason than the fact that it hugs the ground just like an ass draggin' mini. However, this car doesn't use bags, instead it uses a hydraulic system. The car has a ProHopper 2-pump set-up with 8-inch cylinders up front and 10-inch cylinders in the rear. Powering the system are three Optima yellow top batteries which are mounted in the trunk. All suspension mods were performed by Chad Jessee of Illicit Customs located in Bluff City, Tennessee.

Once the suspension was squared away, the next item on Mark's list was a reworking of the exterior. The body received a complete shaving of door handles, hood squirts, antenna, license tag box, and all emblems by Steven Hamilton. A custom body kit was molded into place that consists of an Octane front bumper, and Black Widow side skirts, rear bumper, and rear spoiler. The stock grille was swapped for a billet type and the taillights and corner markers were replaced with JDM parts. The body was then massaged and prepped for paint by Lou Fernando of City Boys Customs in Kingsport, Tennessee. The paint scheme consists of a two-tone House of Kolor Black on Candy Apple Red with a "chrome-like" airbrushed strip that divides up the two colors beautifully.

Under the hood, Mark kept the stock 2.2 liter Honda engine, but added a little chrome to dress up an otherwise boring engine compartment. An air intake and a Matrix strut bar help with engine and suspension performance respectively. Finishing off the under hood upgrades is a polished heat shield and an Optima red top battery.

The interior is also heavily modified, too. The stock seats were chopped down and covered in black tweed with black suede inserts. The door panels, dash, and center console were smoothed and painted House of Kolor Candy Apple Red by City Boys Customs. The dash trim was also smoothed and painted black by Nate Powers of Great Paint by Nate in Wise, Virginia. Once the paint dried, black tweed inserts were installed in the door panels by W.R. Bingham and Mark Cassidy of Unique Interiors in Kingsport, Tennessee. A billet rearview mirror and steering wheel tops off the interior refinements.

Keeping Mark entertained is a Kenwood in-dash DVD head unit that spins tunes to MB Quart 6½-inch component speakers, powered by an A2100 JL Audio amp, and an 8-inch JL Audio subwoofer that is powered by an E1400 Class D JL Audio amp. Since the door handles were removed, Mark hired Brent of Dashboard Audio in Gray, Tennessee, to install a keyless entry and remote start system that would pop the doors on demand.

Of course no custom car is complete without a set of chrome rollers! Mark went with 20-inch TIS 03 wheels wrapped in 225/30/20 Nanking rubber, which fill up the wheel wells nicely when this import is lying on the asphalt.

In a world dominated by trucks, it is nice to know that there are still mad props given to those who prefer to drive vehicles that have four doors and a trunk. Mark would certainly agree!

Shout Out: "Special thanks to the love of my life, Misty, my parents, W.R. Bingham, all of my friends, and the guys from Acrophobia that helped to get it here!" -Mark Cassidy