Car Shows... Going down hill ?

[imported_memnuts]

Originally posted by Pats300zx

Thats all I seem to see anymore. Its big rims, TV Screens, and Neon. Whatever happened to the classics.

They sit in my garage for my personal enjoyment. No flash,no neon, no added chrome, no fancy wheels, no psycho paint job, and no fingerprints.

[Richt]

I cant believe no one on here seems to appreciate stock vehicles. The car that i use for shows in a standard 1999 Peugeot, I have done my best to restore it to Factory condition and dont plan any mods to it apart from keep it clean, clean and more clean. I can apprecite any vehicle of any age modified or standard, i look at one thing how clean it is! In our show and shine and concours automatic pints are issued on both age and mileage, this combined with the fact some of the older cars are cheque book restorations and only ever about 500 miles a year means , that even with a 5 year old car i find it hard to compete.



I can understand the dismay of entering in a class with a brand new 2004 car straight from the factory, i have a feeling i will be up against some of them this year.

[imported_Blake]

Agree that the neighbours Civic with a juice can exhaust doesn`t cut it. So far we haven`t got too bad up here in the Great White North but I know it`s coming.

That`s why I get in my vehicle and drive 10 hours one way to see The Street Rod Nats in Louisville. If you`re into cars or in some cases Automotive Art do yourself a favour and go there.

NSRA and Good Guys still produce good shows. We just have to be selective.

[AndyC]

Originally posted by RichPug306xsi

I cant believe no one on here seems to appreciate stock vehicles. The car that i use for shows in a standard 1999 Peugeot, I have done my best to restore it to Factory condition and dont plan any mods to it apart from keep it clean, clean and more clean. I can apprecite any vehicle of any age modified or standard, i look at one thing how clean it is! In our show and shine and concours automatic pints are issued on both age and mileage, this combined with the fact some of the older cars are cheque book restorations and only ever about 500 miles a year means , that even with a 5 year old car i find it hard to compete.



I can understand the dismay of entering in a class with a brand new 2004 car straight from the factory, i have a feeling i will be up against some of them this year.

Hey Rich - I appreciate factory vehicles and yours is damned clean my friend! It`s clear you`ve put in a great deal of work to retain a factory appearance (I`ve only seen 1 or 2 XSi`s in that shade of blue) plus you have no garage to keep the car in so hat`s off to you as far as I`m concerned.



The debate between stock, custom etc will always be there, simple as that really. I love cars period, whether they`re old, new, standard or customised, doesn`t matter to me - love em all!



Put it this way, I can go to a FOC event and see standard and racing Ferraris, a Peugeot Club event and see road, race, custom and all sorts of different cars. I can then go to a VSCC show and see only pre-war vintage cars - they`re all wonderful cars whose owners clearly love them and cherish them so who am I to criticize what gets shown?



I said in another thread that maybe judges/clubs etc should consider entry criteria carefully to avoid this sort of argument and mean that anyone who wants to show their car can compete against similar cars - I understand entirely people`s concern with competing against a brand new car which is factory fresh - obtaining that sort of result on a 5 year old car must be hard enough, let alone anything older.



Mind you Rich, if the chap I seem to hace upset over at PSC is one of your judges, I`ve gotta say I`m surprised that he can even judge your car as his head`s so far up his a$$.......meow!



I`d thought seriously about concours with my own car and to be frank it`s scared the **** outta me - at this point I just don`t think my car`s anywhere near that level - maybe 2005 - but it`s a standard car, no modifications or custom parts/features so should I ruin a low mileage contemporary classic for the sake of it being "different" or as Lynn said simply concentrate on removing years of grime and grease, dirt and neglect to restore the car to its former glory?



As for quality over here, I don`t think it`s slipped. A lot more car events have sprung up but most aren`t concours, more gatherings with a show & shine. The "real" concours events have opened up to allow more modern classics to enter which I know has upset some of the purists big time but I believe they`re being short sighted as a lot of cars of the last 20 or so years can rightly be regarded as classics in their own right and should therefore be eligible for showing.



You pays your money, you takes your choice.

[togwt]

~One man’s opinion / observations ~



There used to be divisions or classes at car shows, Concourse d’élégance(usually trailered to show) Street, Un-restored (10 years old+) and Wash/Shine (Entry level) with a best of ‘class’ and a ‘best of show’ awarded.



I no longer compete in US car shows anymore, as most of them (Porsche being an exception) are just new shiny cars that compete with a ‘80s Jag and the 2004 wins best of show cause it has ‘no faults’ (from experience I took my ’02 XK8 to a ‘car show’ and competed (and won) against a MB that was in better show condition than my ’84 SL)



~Hope this helps~



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect *so I question everything*

[jlfrogy]

I`m not sure about all this but I bought a PT cruiser 8 weeks ago and got caught up in the mod fever. I have spent about $3k in mods like lights and engine stuff. I have entered in 2 old Ford club shows that have a class for late model and have won 2 trophies thanks to all the wonderful stuff I have learned here in the past 2 years. I feel a little awkward but the PT people tell me that we all support each others shows and that they are all usually for charity. There were over 100 cars last Sunday and like 20 PT`s so I feel like me and the wif have done a good job so far.

[jlfrogy]

Last week when I thanked everybody for all the help i`ve gotten and I was asked for pics. Well here they are. Not the best camera so I will try some with my friends when we go to Daytona next week. Again thanks to all.

[Matt M, PA]

Many of the shows have gone to "popular vote" judging...which in my opinion is a cop-out so that the people holding the event have less to do. I only attend popular vote shows infrequently. The import-compact clubs show up and vote for each other.



Another thing that has seemed to change the car shows around here is no longer having classes....just top 40 or the like. I avoid them too.



I prefer judged events with classes.



I have shown for 15 years, last year only attending (only?) 12 shows. At none of these shows did a curent model year car win Best of Show. (I was fortunate to win that about 5 times last year.)





At least in my area, they don;t allow a new car to win Best of Show.

[MidLife Cruiser]

Depends on what you like. I disk jockey a Street Rod Run in October (have since 1984), and must admit my preference for the older vehicles (25 years or older). They only allow pre-1949 entries, so there is obviously some preservation and workmanship evident in the entries. Granted, I see a lot of the same cars from year to year. Even so, many of them have evolved from primer and parts missing to polish and chrome over the years.



Frankly, what makes a car show to me is not the age or the condition of the vehicle. It`s the love and pride the owners take in their vehicle and the blood, sweat, and tears put in to presenting it for others to enjoy. A lot of the folks at the rod run have a "baby book" that shows the growth of the vehicle from "Barn Fresh Rust Bucket" to its present state.



Finally, if it`s about trophies to you, that`s fine. But to me it`s the comraderie among folks with a love of vehicles that makes the car show. If you`re so concerned about keeping score and taking home trophies, it`s a competition; not an exhibition. :xyxthumbs

[zesty-man]

here in hawaii, i believe we have two major car shows. one during christmas time, and one sometime in march. the one in march is just a "new cars" show, where they showoff the latest years cars, so its nothing much. the one during christmas time is more of a ricer show, with lots of girls around (hehe), you know, that kinda stuff. i dont think there are too many classics going around hawaii. on the road, here and there ive seen a few, but i dont know about a classic show being in hawaii. we have a musthang club and a camaro club (my dad`s friend is president), that they both have shows. i would love to see all of the older cars. not saying that the ricer cars at the christmas show are crappy, but its like sorta the same thing everytime. lights, tvs, subwoofers, rims, neon, drops, suspension, exhasut, engine swap, nice paint etc. ill probably keep gonig to the carshows in hawaii because theyre the only two that are around :\. i pretty sure that cars are still judged by classes during the christmas show, but im not really sure

[Corey Bit Spank]

I asked my grandfather when I was 10 or 11 why he didn`t go to shows because he always had one or two cars he was working on that were great looking. 25 years ago or so (before I was around) he was the best auto body guy in the area. His reply to me was "I never bought a lawn chair." The truth was, he`d rather be doing things to cars then sit around and talk about them.

[ImolaGTI1357]

i have showed my last two cars mainly at Volkswagen only and import car shows but also others like world of wheels and custom bring anything shows.



I agree with some of the statements up top. If you just drive a 2004 civic off the showroom floor and add wire loom and ghetto neons inside the car then no it is not show worth. My car looks 100% OEM but there are a lot of little things i have done that many will never see or even care if they did see. But my last car on the other hand was a supercharge 1997 GTI VR6 with full roll cage, sparco seats, custom stereo and a helluva lot more and that car screamed for people to look at it and look further into what was in it.



no neither of them are a 1968 camaro but they dont have to be. A car that the owner has pride in, modified or stock, is showable but no not a basic model anything with some bling bling is considered a "SHOW CAR". The owner may think so but the general public just laughs as they walk away

[imported_Aurora40]

Originally posted by Lynn

Whether it`s Afshin with his 90s Benz or the guy on Autopia with the old MG .. that`s what gets my jets racing.

Just a note, I got to see Afshin`s car (and meet him, what a nice guy) out in Irvine. Man, that car looks mint!

[imported_Blake]

Anyone in the midwest or willing to drive to Louisville should see the Street Rod Nationals. Nothing later than `49 and some of the nicest cars in North America. I drive 10 hours one way to take it in and believe me it`s worth the trip.

I agree that many local shows are not worth the bother but I`m not knocking enthusiasts that focus their attention into imports or later model cars but Please do it Right. Some import stuff is too jazzed up.....kinda like Snoopy`s Christmas Display.

[HotRodGuy]

Also, i`m way over the politics in shows these days. There was a little show down here w/ a few hundred cars a few months back. My suburban broke down ont he way so I brought my dads 48 merc woodie. There was a best of woodie class and there was only one car competing against us. The car was horrible, the paint was peeling, it was an ugly pink, the wood was in horrible shape, etc, etc.





Well my dads car is basically flawless. When the awards came around people were talking to me everywhere how I had it in the bag, etc, etc. Well they gave it to the other one. First time i`ve ever heard a crowd Boo at an awards ceremony at a car show. Turns out the other woodie was friends w/ the judges!!