Local car shows

[wayfast1500]

I've walked around a few local shows and started to wonder what would qualify a car in your opinion as a cruise night/car show car?  At the shows I've seen, there have been a lot of 60's-70's muscle, mixed with 80's fox bodies/f-bodys, and then new challengers/chargers/mustangs.  The new stuff is usually all stock, I've seen some new mustangs with blowers but most of it is all off the showroom.  In my opinion a show is for stuff you can't see in every parking lot on a daily basis.  If someone does custom work to the new stuff I can see why he would want to show his or her craftsmanship, but I don't see how the grocery getters fit?

[Dans 68]

I think it is a bit of the new owners pride of ownership with their new, muscular rides. That's all it takes to show it off. 

Dan

[ChgrSteve67]

Usually the people that put on the show lists the criteria on the entrance form.

Cruise-Ins are for the most part fair game.
Generally people that should not park with the show cars are curtious enought to park somewhere else.

[68X426]

What the heck, it's one big tent and we are one big loving family, so let them all in.

That's why there are Mopar shows for pre-74s and then there are cruise nights for everybody.

Yes I get a belly laugh out of the guy who drives in with a 2010 Camaro with the dealer advertising plate still on and the sticker still on the glass. He's soooooo happy because he has a show car.

[wayfast1500]

I have nothing against the guy who just bought a brand new charger and wants to show it off, but I can imagine it would be a kick below the belt to the guy he parked next to who spend 15,000 hours restoring a muscle car.

[ChgrSteve67]

I don't care if he parks next to me.

The kids will look at his and the adults will look at mine.

In the end everyone knows I built mine and he is still paying for his.

Its actually nice when they are sitting side by side so you can really see the differences.

[FlatbackFanatic]

 

[BrianShaughnessy]

In my area it's anything goes at cruise nights.  Unless there's some kinda rules elsewhere that I've never seen.     Car shows tend to segregate themselves between the classics (25 years and older) and the tuner shows that are put on by the younger guys.   

Us Mopar guys tend to stick together in a group whereever we may be. 

[41husk]

I try to encourage kids here at school to show off there cars.  I would much rather have them at the local show or Cruise hanging out with friends and enjoying cars, than doing burn outs in the McDonald's parking lot, smoking dope and vandalising neighborhoods

[Khyron]

I have nothing against the guy who just bought a brand new charger and wants to show it off,

i do  how about if i bring my wifes 4 door saturn? can I put that in the show?

[Cooter]

I have nothing against the guy who just bought a brand new charger and wants to show it off, but I can imagine it would be a kick below the belt to the guy he parked next to who spend 15,000 hours restoring a muscle car.

First off, let me say AMEN!...I totally understand your point...What pisses me off are the Weekend warriors..You know who they are, (the ones that Have all the latest Sniper software on their computers so they can Gip you out of that part you've been looking for for the last 5 years, then relist it for Double the reserve), Who just "Buy it now" out of a 401K Retirement that I'll never have the chance to even enjoy, as my generation will be working right up until I die, And park right beside you...Then, it happens...They kick your ass and take first place over your 15K hours you invested in your ride...Kinda like getting the chance to finally get into the low 6's 8th mile, only to have the track officials tell you you are "too fast" for your class and bump you up to Super pro.,  and your next round is against a Rail with a blown alcohol BBC....Don't even get me started on the "Viewers Choice" Shows where the average public votes on cars based on which one THEY prefer, or that the paint job matches a shade of their fingernail polish...I have won at car shows before only to tell others that their cars/trucks should have won over my own, as they had ALOT more time in them and more attention to detail, etc...But, I recognise things like that, the average public does not...

Then, there are the "Trophy Chasers" that show up from a little car club that got started back in my hometown...They get about 50 of their "people" to come to the show in their cars, and the rest come in regular vehicles and they all get about 15 Ballots each and vote for themselves....I once saw one of them actually TELL my buddy who was gonna win 1st,2nd,and third place, as if he had ESP or something....Well, his prediction came true and that was the last time I ever entered another show when that bunch is there...
I lost in CHRISTINE to a broken down, ragged out, rusty Cragar wheel having, Spray Bomb paint jobbed, Flame decals from the local Auto Zone, 1979 Camaro, that had spray painted Wire loom all under the hood along with the rest of the Radiator hoses painted blue and Chrome spray painted intake manifold......I wasn't looking to take Best in show, but I can't stand to see a car that is CLEARLY a lesser car win over a car that CLEARLY shoulda won over IT....

[Dans 68]

What it all boils down to is how you feel about your car. Don't worry about the next guy. My car(s) aren't perfect, but they're mine. I work on them. I know them. It's kind of having an homely child. Others may see just the external appearance, but you know, and love them. 

So I always complement others rides, even if I have to look hard. They love their cars also. 

Dan

[Brock Samson]

 see, that's why I'm a lone wolf... around here, if you aint a multi-miliionaire finishing a trailer queen Hemicuda or such every yr. and don't belong to the club since your daddy got you in,.. you don't stand a chance. 
my cars ratty and I don't care, i just drive the crap out of it an I'm happy. 

[skip68]

I 100% agree about having new cars at a show.       

If I had a new charger, mustang or camaro, who the hell is going to want to see that.       It's not like it was one of 10 in the world or exotic but a car that can be seen in the parking lot or dealer lot.   

[wayfast1500]

I judge a car by the work the owner put into it, not the car.  As I said in my origional post I've seen brand new mustangs with blowers and custom things done to it which the owner did themselves, and I appreciate the time he put into it and feel the car belongs there.  The ones I'm talking about are the brand new, totally stock cars which are only displayed because of the charger/challenger/gto/camaro badge.  To me a car show (not talking a cruise night) is a time for someone to show their craftsmanship vs. How well someone peeled their window sticker off.   My charger literally has different colors on every body panel, nor do I care if someones project is perfect.  As long as it's a car the owner worked on I'll share my time with them to learn off eachother and appreciate eachothers work.

[skip68]

As I said in my origional post I've seen brand new mustangs with blowers and custom things done to it which the owner did themselves, and I appreciate the time he put into it and feel the car belongs there.  

I should have made the same point.   If it was a brand new off the showroom floor car that had been tricked out/custom built then that's fine with me.       Then you have something people will want to see and talk about.    And I mean CUSTOM !!!!!!!!     This does NOT mean buying some blingy dingy 26" wheels and tinting the windows.       OR, getting those Autozone/Checker smoked out "performance" tail light covers and "RACING PEDALS".        

[41husk]

My Daytona clone will be a turn Key car.  I will be able to take it off the hauler and enter it in a show, but because I did not do the work, I shouldn't enter it in a show or take it to a cruise.  I just think the hobby is for every one who appreciates there ride.  I don't want to look at the new Camaro at a show but some one might.  I like shows that have Student classes and under restoration classes, so the kids with there fixem while I drive em cars can still show and take pride in there cars. I will be just as proud to show my Daytona that I bought finished as I am the 73 and 70 Challenger that I can't even imagine how many hours I have labored over.  If i am not interested in a car or truck at a show I don't look at it, and I always try to avoid bad mouthing some ones car at a show or cruise.  I figure some one was proud enough of the car to take it out, who am I to judge?  I can say I have seen some butt ugly rides at shows.    

[wayfast1500]

To each their own, not trying to stir the pot just wanted to see everyone elses opinion.  When I see showroom stuff I never snub or be rude with the owner, I just always end up wondering why it's there.  Oh and 41husk, it was bad wording on my part, I don't mean survivors/shop builds ect shouldn't go to a show.

[41husk]

No problem, just throwing my  in.  I have listened to people at shows say, after I said something was real nice, " He diddn't build the car he just wrote the check".  I like to think if people don't pay for cars to be done, people like us wouldn't be able to sell or finished projects and move towards our dream cars. 

[twodko]

I completely agree with wayfast1500, Cooter, skip68 and especially Brock. Our area is flush with high dollar-high rollers who wrote the check for a full-on trailer queen that rarely gets driven and that they DAMN sure didn't restore themselves. Then they snub you if you drove your painstakingly, personally restored car to the show and dare to park next to their car.
These people are snottier than vette club types.
Cruise-ins are for everybody but car shows are specific to a bracket of vintage true muscle cars. IMO

Tom

[68charger383]

I can't get into shows anymore. Way to clickish and I can't stand paying $20-$40 to sit around all day. I kind of like the cruise nights since you can come and go as you please and the people walking around are not the normal car show people. They're usually someone coming out of a restaurant with their kids just checking out the cars etc.

I also like that you see a little bit of everything at the cruise nights: old/new, restored/under construction etc.

[41husk]

I agree 68charger383, but shows are great if you have a group of guys to go with.   

[Black Charger]

I know what some of you mean when it comes to local shows. A good friend of mine purchased a low mileage 100% original 1967 GTO back in the early 90s from a local Pontiac dealer. This was a true "little 'ol lady" story, where she bought the car when she was in her 40s, then she drove it quite sparingly, before trading it in on a new car. This GTO was IMMACULATE to say the least.  My friend stopped entering it in shows because the judges had no clue what they were looking at. Most of them voted for the car with the most chrome, expensive paint jobs and fat tires. They had absolutely no idea they were looking at a real time capsule.

I also prefer cruise-ins to shows simply because its a much more relaxed environment.

[68blue]

Never been to a cruise in or a show, something I will have to try once I get the car done.