Just took my car to our first local car show. I can accept the fact that not everyone enjoys classics, however when I see a brand new Subaru STI competing against a beautiful vintage car for best "stock" car of show, it annoys me. Then when having more speakers in your car than Best Buy has on the shelf, justifying a modified win, I am at a loss. I am not trying to come off a sore loser because I will be the first to say my '64 was completely eclipsed by the most beautiful '71 Cutlass I have ever seen, a perfect '55 Chevy Pickup, and a '68 Vette I had to snap a picture of for my wife, among at least a dozen other beautiful restorations; however I do not understand the method to the madness in these new cars winning over the classics. I feel they don't belong, its like walking through the parking lot at the grocery store; nothing about them stand out. Anyway, my two cents.

 

I did car shows my first year with my car it got boring so I hit the drag strip. It gets more compliments when I take out to run errands etc.

 

Maybe the classic car hobby is out of fashion in the USA as it seems to be here in the UK.
I have been going to American car shows in England for over 20 years, I have seen a decline in numbers over the years. The mid '90s were undoubtedly the peak years with as many as 6000 cars at some national events, the same venues might attract 500 cars now.
The price of fuel ($11+ per gallon over here) and current economic climate no doubt are important factors, but the fashion now is for ricers and sound systems that can shatter concrete from 100 yards.
Hot rods and customs are having a similar decline, classic British car shows are also less well supported than they were although not to the same extent.

It doesn't help that the bigger national clubs have fragmented over political and personal issues, and entry level American cars (V8 powered rwd cars that don't look like European or Japanese ones) are harder to find. This probably discourages would be enthusiasts from entering the hobby in the first place.

It may be the car hobby is evolving in a way users of this and other classic forums don't like. Over here American shows see a lot of PT Cruisers, Chrysler 300s and the like. But they were available from regular dealers in rhd form which doesn't make them classics in my view.

I know availability isn't nearly as much a problem for you guys but there are only going to be less cars around as they wear, rust and occasionally are wrecked.
However, do any regular show goers have a view of the overall car scene?, particularly numbers and quality of cars at shows compared to the past.
I've just voiced my opinion, no doubt plenty of you will have your own views and I'd be pleased to hear them.

Roger.

 

http://www.route-66.org/ This is the area's largest car show and has every thing. But it is 60 percent chevy 10 percent ford 10 percent chrysler and 10 percent other. Lots of customs lots of hoppers and a cruise down the city streets. The only thing is they are lossing some entry's due to cost for the event. There are rumors that this may be the last year as the city is crying they are not making any money. But i have notice that the hobby is changing as more folks buy in to it there are less folks who even know how to use a wrench and only do the shows for self gratification. And then we buy them after they have been parked for 10 years haha.

 

The last several shows and swap meets I've gone to I see very few people under 40 years old (maybe even 50). The majority of us who still have hair are showing a lot of grey! Many of us either had these cars in high school, or wished we could have had one. I think as we grow older the car hobby will shift to what the next generation has focused on. In my part of the country the clubs for restored to original Model T's and such are going away really really fast. Many of those guys are in their 80's now. At least that's the conclusion I've drawn from attending events. John

 

I feel your pain. I don't do local car shows, except the local OCA show if I'm not stuck at work, just for this reason. I get hassled by the ricers about my car, plus I think their cars are ugly and a victim of daddy's checkbook.

There was one show by my hosue a few weeks ago I would have minded being in though. Plus it was 3 blocks from my house which was even better


ditto

 

Car shows in Albuquerque are nothing like the OCA Nationals. My car has won awards with OCA yet was uninteresting to the attendees in Albuquerque. OCA has objective judging sheets for each class. If you have the time, a trip to Iowa for July 4-7 could be well worth it. There will also be an OCA-sponsored race there, and Gasser Wars with two Olds powered ******, like in the 1960s.

 

This isn't necessarily a new thing either. In Ottawa where I got grow'd up, back in the early nineties there was a weekly cruise in where typically 50 or 60 cars would show up on a warm night. At the time I had an '84 cutlass calais with chrome rallys but I always parked off to the side to let the vintage iron take center stage. Eventually 3 or 4 Hondas and/or Suzukis would show up with their ridiculous paint jobs and window rattling sound systems and park dead center. Nobody wanted them there but they showed up week after week. My friends and I stopped going.
It doesn't seem to be as much of an issue these days where I am. The disposeable cars have their own venues and the classic cars generally rule. Around here they wouldn't hesitate to ask you to leave if you showed up in a freak show toyota or similar.

 

Thats why I only go to shows that allow cars 73 and older and usually no motorcycles or at least only classic bikes most are well attended.
Judging is a very subjective thing and if you play in a place that tends to promote ricers and brand new cars you will always be disappointed. Pick your fights wisely.

Show and shine car shows are always a crap shoot on judging but are often the most fun for me and if I get a few comments and some comradely I'm good to go, I don't need another award it's good enough to know others have enjoyed my car also.

I live in California, good or bad it does allow me many choices, I could go to multiple shows ever weekend, I pick the shows that best fit my style of car and my personal attitude.....Tedd

 

I see no point in bringing a new car to a car show, I mean what did you do to it? restore it? Keep it original for 30-40 years? I like the year limited shows, but it seems that the show organizers don't want to offend anyone, so they let everything and anything in.

 

I go to mostly local car shows! I don't expect to win a plastic trophy or plaque, I go to see other cars, and enjoy the company of other motor heads. If you go to the local shows with expectations of winning, you are setting yourself up for deep disappointment. The shows are a great venue to make new friends and see other cars! The plaque or trophy is a perk!

 

What cracks up up and I mean really cracks me up is the political crap at the shows. Homecoming one year, when it was still judged, a friend of mine, his car won in that class, he wasn't from Michigan, all hell broke loose, meaning a lot of people "dropped their binkies"

A local OCA show I attended last year. I was in the same class as 2 Auroras. One was owned by an old man. I parked my car next to the cone of the class I was in, took my son to the playground to come back 30 minutes later to find the cone on the other side of my car and turned so that it looked like I wasn't in the class. I moved the cone back and then a few minutes later, it was moved again. I mean really? I ended up winning that class, boy was that old guy pissed.

I like winning the shows, but it's not really neccessary. I perfer the judged shows over peer voting. This way I can find out exactly what is wrong with the car and fix it

 

I know all about how you feel - I feel the same way.
I wish the ones judjing these small shows would consider the hard work it takes to restore a car, or the effort to maintain a survivor for 30+ years, or owning a very unusual vehicle that you hardly ever see.
I have seen some awesome restorations and 190x survivors lose to 20xx cars many times. How can one compare the work of transforming a rust bucket to a show car to a new car with a bunch of electrical do-dads taped and screwed in? I guess the silly modern trendiness here in the big city is what the judges like, which is a reason I have given up on several shows I had once frequented. My last time at one of them, I was in convertible class, along with a very nice 1964 Chevy survivor with a straight 6 and a plain orange 2003 Vette with a big TV in the back. The latter won I guess because it had a TV in the back - how original!! About 6 20xx Mustangs also won that night, and a fer new Camaros as well. Most had the boomy radios and LEDs everywhere. A few other older cars won in their classes, but only Mustangs, Camaros, and Vettes. There were some nice orphan models there that had never won, and probably never will. I will not be back to that one.
The shows I want to attend will be advertised as "antique car shows", which most people would not consider entering with their new wheels that they are still making payments on.

 

I'm back - wanted to chime in again! I have the same sentiment. On a parallel, I used to bring my classic Jaguar out to the All British field meets here, in WA and Portland but they all lump the XJs in one category. My classic RHD series 2 XJ competing against a car you can buy at a used car lot ? 40 yr old cars and 4 yr old cars should not be judged equally. I honestly don't care about trophys - my car is still way cooler than yours.....

 

Way cooler than this? The Plymouth had one a closet full of trophies, sure it got beat by the politics, and the groups that vote for each other. But like I said , I just go for fun of it!

 

I think you've hit the nail squarely on the head.

We're all aging, but the era of cars of interest to us is not. The era of Oldsmobile generally celebrated on here, 1950s to the early 1970s, is now at least 40 years ago and as much as 60 years ago. Very few people who might have been old enough to purchase one of these cars new is still with us today, especially for the '50s and early '60 cars.

As the years go by, interest in these cars will inevitably wane as the people old enough to remember even riding around in one new as a kid get older, and the availability of restorable examples decreases. After all, they're not making any new '69 442s. As cars from this era are located and restored, parted out, or whatever, that's that many fewer for the new hobbyist of 10 and 20 years from now to find.


Another factor, which is always true, is cost. It's not cheap to restore a car, and the type of person who has the time and money to do it is usually older and relatively well off. The kids are grown and gone. They're later in their careers and have more time.

Few people in their 20s and 30s, who are also trying to establish a career, start a family, buy a house, and all the rest are able to devote the $100s or $1000s necessary to buy an old car, let alone bring it back to life.



The newest Oldsmobiles are now 8 years old, and what Oldsmobile made during the last, say, 20 years of the brand's existence was memorable in any significant, mainstream way? The Aurora? Perhaps. But, for the most part, the reason these very late model, nearly new cars win trophies is because, for most of the people at these events, these are the cars they know.

 

If OCA and other clubs don't welcome newer people and their preferences somehow, who will know about our Oldsmobiles and buy them from us when we die? I'd hate for my cars to have no one wanting them, and to go to the crusher when I die.

 

Agree that most muscle car era owners are reliving their youth. My car would have been 8 years old when I got my license. Don't worry, there's hope for the future. 30-40somethings are snatching up Smokey and the Bandit T/A's. Look how many 20somethings are into the hot rod / rat rod scene these days. Car shows vary greatly so I tend to prefer cruises and other less formal gatherings without judging

 

As a response, and as the other side of the coin I wrote about above, I wouldn't worry TOO much. Packards and Studebakers, for example, haven't been made in many years. Yet those ends of the hobby are still going strong. I think somebody will still want to collect an old Oldsmobile 50 and 100 years from now.

 

This is an interesting philosophical discussion.

FWIW, I couldn't care less about own'in a Model A.

I always figured it was us ole pharts playing with toys we couldn't afford at the time.


Some day, some younger folks may be reminiscing about “That cool ricer, I had way back when with the woofers that could crack glass a mile away.”

Personally, I’m glad I won’t live to see it.

 

Change its going to happen like it or not just look back, when I was a kid car shows were full of brass era cars,Model T's and just a few hot rods and customs. The hot rods have hung in there but when is the last time you saw more than a couple brass era cars at a show and you need a Shriner to find a model T. I don't know where the old out of favor cars go but they do go away and are replaced by the next newer fad like our era,and this too will pass....Tedd

 

For the record I'm 22 I got my cutlass when I was 17 I restored it built etc. There is a lot of car shows in the area good ones too. All classics. Granted I do live near chicago and we do have a lot of restoraton and resto parts shops in the are so classic cars follow . The only thing that bothers me more than ricer guys is vette guys. I occasioanally go to a cruise night and around here most ricers stray away from them but its just boring., you see the same people every week at every event it gets old. There are a few diffrent car shows where the crowd is diffren a lot of retro gassers rat rods etc. Those crowds are fun.Most of these are at bars so you can atleast have a few beers and some good coversations. At most of these cruise nights the crowds are young and very diverse crowd. Between 20-35 is the majority of people. We have lot of car shows here and good ones but parking my car shooting the breeze aint my stle. Smoking the tires and blasting down the 1/4 mile is where it's at.

 

Story about Vette guys:
I was visiting a friend in Florida several decades ago, and we were leaning on the rusty Toronado in his yard while talking. He said to me, "uh, oh" and told me how the guy approaching us loved his Vette and sneered at Oldsmobiles.

Sure enough, the first words out of his mouth were, "Whaddaya think?" I decided to play: "Think about what?" He replied, "The Vette." So I said, "I guess they are OK if you can't afford a metal car."

 

The Car Hobby goes in cycles, as long as there are cars there will be a hobby, it constantly evolves. Muscle cars will always be collectable, as the True Hemmings Definition of Classics will be (Packards, Duesenburgs, etc)! No one can predict the future of everything in between!

 

Hahaha!!-nice one
At a car show, and two things I noticed.A category called best driver was introduced and awarded-never heard of this-in response to trailer queen?
And, 10 rat rods showed up.IMO, they well, they , I know this sounds bad, took away the aura of the show...I am usually pretty open minded about cars, shows etc, but the rat rods rubbed the show differently-maybe I am not use to them......

Ted

 

My favorite is a brand new car at a car show with a die cast model on the engine cover!! Makes me laugh- but if everyone is having fun,then thats what it is all about.

 

Been there & done that ! The last car show I went to was the Corvette Nationals up in Sebring Fl. I owned a 72 Stingray with 32K orig miles on it & was 100% bone stock & flawless ( the car was 30 yrs old ). I woke up early & hit the field to set the car up & start my ritual of cleaning & detailing for the judges. The one thing I will say without any prejudice is that the car that took first in my division did deserve it, I took second & was proud of that. The thing that killed me was this, keep in mind that there were almost 200 cars out on the field that day. Some were top flight split windows & etc I mean true classic beauties that would drop your jaw. Guess what won the best overall for show? A 1 year old deep yellow Corvette that was taken in on a trailer ! Are u kidding me or what ! I seen much of this go on for the years that i showed the Vette, the politics & the who's who of what town when the event happens is sickening. Today I roll into a car show, I look at th eoldies & respect their longeviety & I walk on. I havent signed an entry ticket since that day & probably never will...As far as ricers go, well i guess if these kids like them then so be it but it does nothing for me...

 

The muscle car hobby is fine and will be fine. More and more parts are coming out every year. There are more TV shows about restoring and modifying them than ever before. And the internet has made finding parts impossibly easy.

Im 35, bought my first 65 when I was 28. I have no connection to them when they were new nor had I ever rode in one until the first time I drove it out of the garage. I love muscle cars and love being different. My old man loves Oldsmobiles so it was a no brainer for me.

Model Ts, in stock form do nothing more than putz around and billow blue smoke. Muscle cars in the same form burn tires and make loud sounds. That will always be cool.

1970 was 42 years ago. If I was 21 in 1970 Id be 63 today. I see more guys younger than 62 driving muscle than I do over 62.

 

Well said young man... Keep up the good work....

 

My car is older than me by 8 yrs so it appears there is some youth with good taste in cars!

 

lol and both my cars difference in age is 15 and 14 years from my birth so ditto sir

 

My Car has me by 18 years too... Muscle will always be cool.

People that have these cars MUST be mechanically inclined to own them which I believe is what eliminates more than half of the ppl in there 20s

 

Nobody has mentioned that the car that is considered the "first" muscle car was the 1949 Super 88 .

Not a Chevy, Not a Ford, Not a Chrysler, Not an AMC, IT WAS AN OLDSMOBILE, BABY!!

 

It can be argued that it was the GTO that kicked off muscle cars..... Im an olds guy but as far as I know it has always been the GTO

 

Restoring olds is just like old school. Back in the day we built hot rods, mustangs, chevelles, everything. We would scower the wrecking yards looking for parts to fix what was broke.
Now you can order every single possible part to build an entire mustang or chevelle sitting at your computer. 200 line items and a credit card = brand new car.
Not so much with the 73-77 Olds.
I like old school better.

Mike

 

Let's not get this started again!

 

I am 45 now and barely 3 years old when my 70 SX and 70 Chevelle were built. I had this same conversation with a Mopar friend about how you want what you drove in high school or whatever and hence the Model T's are out of favor now due to aging out of the potential buyers.

However, his point was good and he felt musclecars will always have a good following. They are "fairly" modern looking compared to brass era or 50's fins, etc. so should always have a following from a looks standpoint. In addition, he said the biggest thing is that how will you restore a computer controlled modern car 20 years from now. Computers will break, you won't be able to find the crank position sensors, fuel injection parts, O2 sensors, ABS, airbag sensor parts, etc. at some point in the future. Everything is computer controlled. Even the gauges are all computerized. I suppose there might be some restoration house that might make those parts someday, but I would doubt the demand would be there for every little part required to make modern cars run. My father is a Corvette nut and has a friend with a "new" 91 Vette who cannot get it fixed because they can't find some computer control module - discontinued by GM and not available aftermarket or reman.

Maybe I am a dreamer, but since the every day backyward mechanic can fix an old musclecar, the demand should still be there. The modern cars will always require a dealer with the machines to diagnose every stupid check engine light issue.

 

Parts supply houses will spring up that will make generic antique car computers, with adapter plugs and software that let them mimic (okay, "emulate") any computer made. They will give discounts to people who lend them their well-preserved originals for them to duplicate, just like parts houses do now. You will buy a computer, a plug adapter that plugs into the factory harness, a software package (with many customizable settings), and optional accessories, if desired, like gauges the car never came with and improved audio systems.

You may bemoan the low quality of todays "junk," but I still clearly remember my grandfather in 1970 telling me what crap modern cars were because of all the thin sheet metal, and flimsy plastic parts.
He was right, of course, and I still don't consider cars made after the fifties "old."

- Eric

 

I gotta agree with TK 65. I'm 36 and have been doing car shows since I was 18. I got alot of respect and made alot of friends with the old guys, and my car was an 82 s10, but it ran 9's and would smoke most of the cars at a cruise night. Now I have a 62 f85. The worst experiance I had at a show was with a guy that owned a new Gt 500, He used the roof of my 67 f85 wagon to write his phone number on a card to give to another jack>ss Gt 500 owner. I didn"t say anything becuase If I started I wouldn't of stopped.

 

I would have returned the favor, and wrote my number using his car.