By Renee Saunders, Staff Writer

Billy Ferguson of Taylor had a hot ride — for about a week.

It only took that long before the front end of the vehicle was smashed to bits, and he was booted out of the Hypnotic Kreationz car club.

"I was at Wick and Beech Daly when the girl in front of me rear-ended the guy in front of her," the 20-year-old said.

"I couldn’t swerve because it would have put me into oncoming traffic. I was forced to hit her."

The accident not only destroyed his car, but it also removed Ferguson from the club, at least technically.

But despite his change in membership, he continued to participate in Hypnotic Kreationz activites.

"I was temporarily out of the club until I bought another car," Ferguson said. "But when I did, I was let back in."

Ferguson, who has been affiliated with the club for two years, said the most important thing about Hypnotic Kreationz is not just cars, but, also, participation.

"Billy is a special case," said Julius Martin, president of the club.

"Most other clubs would have kicked him out for good when that happened to his car, but he kept coming to meetings and participating. That is what’s most important to me, participation."

Last year, the club joined a walkathon and also donated toys during the Christmas season to Toys for Tots.

"Not only do we modify our cars and show them off, we also try to do things for other people," Martin said. "To be in a group, and to be seen, means that you should do something to help others.

"The thing is, we’re not just out there trying to show off fixed up cars and a sticker. We’re also trying to do things."

According to Martin, Hypnotic Kreationz is much like a business, thereby making community matters a responsibility of its members.

"Car clubs are advantageous to a lot of people," he said.

"Members can get better deals on items for their vehicle than stores, we try to make an effort to volunteer, and there are other businesses that get help from us as well."

What happens is that an individual can go to the president, place an order for items such as new speakers or amps, and the president can get them from a wholesaler for the wholesale price, Martin said.

"It works out for both us and the manufacturers," he said.

"Take the stickers on our cars, for example. Not only does it show everyone our logo, but when someone sees it, they see the work that the guy who owns the sticker business did.

"We advertise for him, too, when we drive around with that decal on our cars."

Registered as a legitimate organization in the city of Westland, members of Hypnotic Kreationz often believe that other car clubs don’t take them seriously.

"Classic car clubs tend to look down on us sometimes because they don’t like the new style," said Joe Smith, vice president.

"It’s a relatively new trend to fix up the newer model cars.

"We’re just showing everybody that you can you can do the same stuff to a new car just like you can with an older car."

With the many things that Hypnotic Kreationz represents, according the president of the club, it is of all things, a hobby.

"It’s also referred to as a sport," Martin said. "We have a lot of fun."