Gates' Crown Jewel, Her Revamped Ford Bronco, Outplays, Outlasts, Outshines Other SQ Vehicles at Spring Break Nationals
Woodbury, NY April 27, 2005 -- Way across the street from Ocean Center, the site of the Spring Break Nationals in Daytona Beach, Fla., nearly 20,000 watts of power was rocking the crowd. But no one even considered shouting out orders to turn down the volume; it simply
sounded too good. It wasn't a live concert ¨C it was Alma Gates, the 69-year-old world-famous car audio competitor, and her very loud Ford Bronco. (Team Gates website:
http://www.teamgates.net)
Gates' retired Ford Bronco used to make hair stand on end during Sound Pressure Level competitions, but at the Spring Break Nationals 2005, her new Bronco debuted with Team JBL to take the cake in sound-quality competition for the first time ever.
Months after CNN and other national press dubbed her the "Boom Box Granny," Gates' Bronco emerged with an all-new look ¨C and sound. The exterior of the Bronco features full-range audio, delivering concert-worthy performance. JBL Pro speakers are mounted underneath each of the Bronco's doors, while the cargo area is home to six W15GTi 15-inch subwoofers. Also inside, and further playing up the Bronco's "wow" factor: a combination of JBL c508GTi component system speakers and JBL Pro 2118H speakers, two television monitors and a DVD player. But it doesn't end there. Seven JBL Power Series? and GTi amplifiers deliver almost 25 horsepower ¨C that's nearly 20,000 watts ¨C of audio amplification.
There are two audio systems in Alma's Bronco. The PA system outside is enough to rock any neighborhood block party while, at the flip of a switch, the inside system provides high-quality 7.1 surround playback. The system inside the Bronco allowed Gates to sweep the MECA SQ competition, where she won Best SQ and first place in the Master class. The Bronco also won first place in Tuner Jam and second place in the IASCA Bass Boxing competition just behind Team JBL's Mike Bartells, who placed first.
"I'm still bouncing off the walls!" Gates exclaimed from her home in Phoenix after her unprecedented SQ wins. "I want to thank Andy Wehmeyer, Gary Biggs, Mark Eldridge, Mike Maxwell, Kent Bulla and all the others involved in making this comeback possible. Although the Bronco belongs to me, it's nothing without my team. I was excited to finally be able to share this beautiful system with all my friends, and was absolutely thrilled to be called onstage for a first place in Sound Quality, and then for Best of Show. What an exhilarating weekend!"
The following is a list of products that made Gates' Bronco number one in SQ in Daytona:
Seven c508GTi 5-1/4-inch JBL GTi component system speakers
Three JBL Pro 2118H midrange drivers
Four 10-inch JBL Pro midrange drivers
Four JBL Pro 2426H compression drivers and 2370A Bi-Radial? horns
Six 15-inch JBL W15GTi subwoofers
Two JBL A6000 GTi amps
Four JBL Power Series PX300.4 amps
One JBL Power Series PX600.2 amp
One 17-inch Panasonic? monitor
One 8-inch Panasonic? monitor
One Panasonic? head unit
One Panasonic? DVD player
Tsunami? wiring, distribution and charging system
Twelve Eagle Picher? batteries
Neon courtesy of Lite Glow?
Alarm system courtesy of Viper?
Sound-damping material courtesy of Dynamat?
(View JBL products here:
http://www.jbl.com/car/products/)
The Harman Consumer Systems Group (HCSG) is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a wide range of high-fidelity loudspeakers, audio and video components, and multimedia systems for use in homes and automobiles, and with computers. The group's brands include JBL, Infinity, Harman Kardon, Mark Levinson, Revel, Audioaccess and Lexicon.
HCSG is a division of Harman International Industries, Incorporated. Harman International (
www.harman.com) is a leading manufacturer of high-quality, high-fidelity audio products and electronic systems for the consumer and professional markets. The company's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HAR."
¨CHARMAN INTERNATIONAL¨C
JBL, Power Series and Bi-Radial are registered trademarks of Harman International Industries, Incorporated
)