Chip Foose Customized and Signed 'MAKERZ' Edition Ford Mustang to ...

Chip Foose Customized and Signed 'MAKERZ' Edition Ford Mustang to ...

New Car-Customizing Retailer To Offer Special RZ 2007 Foose Stallion Ford Mustang RIDE For Auction On Ebay to Benefit the Progeria Research Foundation ST. LOUIS, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- RIDEMAKERZ(TM), the first-ever car-customizing experience for kids ages 6 to 106, announced today it will auction five MAKERZ Edition Ford Mustangs on Ebay to benefit the Progeria Research Foundation (100 percent of the proceeds will be donated).

Only 100 MAKERZ Edition RIDEZ were made, which have never been sold in shops. Designed by Chip Foose, legendary car designer and host of TLC's popular TV show "Overhaulin'," it is RIDEMAKERZ' first-ever MAKERZ Edition RIDE and has been created to commemorate the July opening of the first RIDEMAKERZ mall-based Shop at the Mall of America. Of the 100 manufactured, five are being auctioned on Ebay, and the remaining are being given to RIDEMAKERZ crewmembers and VIPs.

Foose designed, signed and individually numbered the RIDEZ. The auction of these collectible Chip Foose MAKERZ Edition Mustangs will begin on Sept. 10 (ending Sept. 19) with a starting bid of $.01 and no reserve.

In addition to designing the MAKERZ edition, Foose personally selected the five RIDEZ to be auctioned. He chose numbers "67" and "68" to celebrate the 1967 and 1968 model years when Ford introduced the Mustang GT with the American muscle car design, and he selected "05," "06" and "07" to recognize the 2005, 2006 and 2007 model years when Ford re-introduced the classic body style.

"What a fun and worthwhile opportunity," said Larry Andreini, ZEO (CEO) of RIDEMAKERZ. "The Ford Mustang GT is a classic American muscle car and having Chip Foose personally choose from among our 649 million customizing options to create, sign and number his own one-of-a-kind Mustang RIDE is very exciting. Auctioning them on Ebay for such a good cause, however, is what makes this so fulfilling and a dream come true for RIDEMAKERZ."

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome ("Progeria" or "HGPS") is a rare, fatal genetic condition characterized by an appearance of accelerated aging in children. Children with Progeria die of heart disease or stroke at an average age of 13 years.

"I lost my sister Amy to Progeria, so the Progeria Research Foundation is a cause very near and dear to my heart," said Chip Foose. "I am so grateful that RIDEMAKERZ is donating the proceeds from this unique event to help such a worthwhile cause."

Ford Mustang GT Replicas

Each MAKERZ Edition Ford Mustang RIDE is a precision die-cast plastic, custom-painted and varnished car of approximately 1/18th scale. The detailed paint job is inspired by the Foose Stallion with its silver/gunmetal colors, original Chip Foose blue hockey sticks design, red pin-striping and the official Foose logo printed on both sides.

Each RIDE is also equipped with custom Wheelz, Treadz, working headlights and tail lights and RIDEMAKERZ SONICPOD(TM) (activated by depressing the hood vent). This is the ultimate display piece to celebrate one of the world's most prized muscle cars.

In addition to the MAKERZ Edition, RIDEMAKERZ is offering 100 Limited Edition Ford Mustang GT's with the Foose Stallion paint scheme, which can be purchased for $35 online at http://www.RIDEMAKERZ.com . The Limited Edition RIDEZ feature the exact same body as the MAKERZ Edition, but are not signed or numbered, and have a reversed paint scheme identical to the real life Ford Foose Stallion Mustang.

Currently in the midst of a highly-successful inaugural year, RIDEMAKERZ has opened Shops at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minn. Two additional Shops are slated to be opened by the end of the year -- one in Indianapolis, Ind., at Castleton Square and the other in Fredericksburg, Va., in Spotsylvania Towne Center.

The RIDEMAKERZ Experience

RIDEMAKERZ is a new retail experience where "Customizers" visit the ultimate car-customizing shop where they can CHOOSE, SONICIZE, MOTORIZE, MOBILIZE, CUSTOMIZE, PERSONALIZE and CRUIZE one-of-kind RIDEZ. After accessorizing their RIDEZ, Customizers then create Personalized License Plates and receive their own Certificates of Title and unique RIDE Identification Numbers (RIN), which can be used to view and interact with their RIDEZ online at http://RIDEMAKERZ.com .

Combining body styles and colors, tires and wheels, lights and sounds, accessories and decals, company officials estimate there are more than 649 million possible unique combinations -- not including decal placement.

"The RIDEMAKERZ experience is pure fun," says Andreini. "Our process is designed to spark creativity, encourage collaboration and build confidence."

Customizers can enjoy the complete RIDEMAKERZ experience and leave the shop with a car ranging in price from $12 to $28, depending on body and paint style chosen. Radio remote control can be added for an additional $25, and custom accessories range in price from $2.50 for grill guards, spoilers and hood scoops to $5 for a set of monster tires and chassis to $10 for a Street-Glow light kit to $15 for a deluxe "Muscle Kit" that includes a blown engine, spoiler, side pipes, muffler tips and roof vent. With more than half-a-billion combinations, there is a tricked-out RIDE for everyone's budget. RIDEZ measure approximately 10 to 12 inches long, about the size of a shoebox, and right around 1/18th scale.

Additionally, no matter where you are in the country, RIDEMAKERZ.com extends the car-customizing fun. Online customizers can trick out and purchase their own RIDEZ and they will be shipped, or they can customize RIDEZ for free and email them to friends. They can also learn about car history and alternative fuels in the RIDERZ ED section and join the RIDEMILEZ CLUB where they will receive special screen savers, have a chance to win limited edition RIDEZ and be among the first to receive RIDEMAKERZ information.

About RIDEMAKERZ(TM)

RIDEMAKERZ' mission is to have great fun making cool RIDEZ -- with the ultimate vision of contributing to the positive development of kidz. Inspired by Build-A-Bear Workshop(R), a partner and investor in the concept, RIDEMAKERZ is about the joy and fun of creating something great, something artistic, something unique and something original. RIDEMAKERZ recently opened two stores -- one at Broadway at the Beach in Mrytle Beach, S.C., and at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minn. Two additional store openings are planned for later this year at Spotsylvania Towne Center in Fredricksburg, Va., and one at Castleton Square Mall in Indianapolis, Ind. For more information visit http://RIDEMAKERZ.com .

ABOUT THE PROGERIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION

PRF is the only non-profit organization established to find the cause, treatment and cure for Progeria -- a rapid aging disease that causes children to die, usually by their early teens, from heart disease or stroke. In just eight years, PRF has done a tremendous amount to help save these children, and in 2003, accomplished the first part of its mission by identifying the gene that causes Progeria. Recent studies have also uncovered a drug that may be a treatment for this devastating disease, and PRF is now working to raise funds for a first-ever clinical drug trial at Children's Hospital Boston, which began in May 2007. Please visit http://www.ProgeriaResearch.org for more information. Website: http://www.RIDEMAKERZ.com/

Website: http://www.ProgeriaResearch.org/

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