yammiman

I'm looking at sponsoring a car show this summer and was just curious to get some feedback from you guys on what makes a good car show - right now it is planned for a small shopping center with a grocery store, an ice cream shop, a couple of pizza places - thought about grilling burgers, hot dogs, brats and maybe hooking up with the ice cream shop - got room for 60-100 cars - any ideas or thoughts?

67 Cutlass

One of the cruise nights I go to has a 50/50 raffle (don't know where the other 50% goes but maybe you could do the 50% to some charity). They sell tickets for a $1 each. They don't so any cooking but there's a "roach coach" caterer there all the time.
Hope that helps. Keep us posted on how you make out with the show.

firefrost gold

I like a select car show not being into rice rockets or low riders We have a car show for 74 or older cars here that we go to every friday jmo . what are you sponsoring it for ? Is it to promote your business or club? Good food and beverages cant hurt .

BOOWAH

Don't put the grill anywhere near the show cars. It covers them with grease.

Assign individuals to distribute fliers advertising your show at other shows within your area. Color fliers attract more attention than b/w. And for God's sake look behind the cars for the owner and hand it to them rather than throw it in the car.

Offer a discount for pre registration and have seperate lines for pre and day of show registration as they enter.

For the day of show registers, give out class number stickers upon entry. They can claim their goody bags when they peel the sticker from the windshield and pay at the registration tent AFTER THEY PARK.

Announce the trophy presentation at least a half hour before giving them out and adhere to it. No delays! Include a "Drive Up" if space allows. Participants enjoy showing off their winning vehicles and spectators love it!

If you do "Peer Judging" insert the ballot in the goody bag, include a cheap pen, and assign no more than 2 classes to be judged. Hand out a dash plaque when they turn the ballots in.

Space allocation on the show field is difficult to judge on your first show, but should be no problem on your second. A ball park estimate would be to expect large turnouts in the Mustang and Corvette classes and generally a larger turnout of 60's & 70's cars vs those from the 50's and earlier. Try to restrict registration to 25 years and older. Owners of older cars resent having to compete against and judge brand new vehicles that are supposed to look brand new.

Jamesbo

Don't forget a Fire extinguisher requirement for every car.

mugzilla

Good thing about an olds is you will attract attention ...

Bluevista

Insurance, release forms.
Otherwise all you need are lots of good cheap trophies.

cutlassgal

.....What makes a good car show?


Lots of Oldsmobiles!!!!!

Most of the shows and cruise-ins around here have door prize like drawings where they pick a ticket from a jar every so often and announce it, and you get to pick from an arrangement of items if your number is called, and they all seem to have the 50/50 raffles. I like dash plaques, but not all shows have them. I think they should. Some sell food and drinks, others are in plazas where the local retailers (some are sponsers) get a lot of business.

oldsonharmont

I'm a parts hound, so I like a little swap meet action at my car shows. It also gives you something else to do after you've seen all the cars.

Red Delta

I dig when the older imports are all done up. A gear head is a gear head, no matter what they choose to work on.

Blk71SX

as stated before, a goody bag. everybody likes free stuff. Dash plaques for pre-registrations.

FATRATMATT

Discount for Pre-Registration (that way you know about how many cars are attending.) Small dash plaques (Everyone likes to get something for their registration fee) A good PA system, Food, Music, 50/50 drawing, Raffles (Try and get sponsors to donate for free business plug) A shade tree or two dont hurt either, A sunny day, Best Of Show, Best Of Class, People's Choice trophies if affordable. And most importance IMO... NO DOGS in the car show area! I've been to many shows where dogs are present and well you know what happens when dogs and tires are involved!

aliensatemybuick

I think the only ingredient needed for a good car show is a good bunch of people. I agree with Red Delta, no need to restrict the entries (ESP. if its for raising money for charity). If trophies are an issue for some people, have categories for newer vs older cars so they don't compete with each other.

FATRATMATT

Another thing that makes a good car show is my 68 Delmont 88. Why you ask?......cause it's the ONLY one you ever see! At least in my area anyway!

71rocket

What BOOWAH said.

A raffle for something nice is always good.


obtw, nice goodies bring 'em back.

hamm36

Get the word out in your area. Yesterday just happened by a car show 3 minutes from the house. Just happened to be in the Olds, and did a drive by in the parking lot. Got a lot of looks, but I had no idea there was anything going on that day. Maybe next time.

Jamesbo

X2

I think alot of car shows are the same ole people at the same ole places. Try to get some new blood by getting the word out

yammiman

Wow - thanks for all of the ideas guys - alot of good ones - probably won't happen until mid summer, but I'll keep you all posted!!

jaunty75

I agree very strongly with this. Trying to compare a 2004 Chevy Silverado pickup truck with horses painted on the side to an all-original '60 Studebaker sedan (which I've seen happen) in one of those "Top 30" or "Top 50"-type shows where all the cars and trucks are thrown into one big heap and judged together is nonsense.

I understand why show organizers like the "Top whatever" concept because it makes having to create classes and then worry about whether or not you will have enough cars in each class something you don't have to worry about. But at least create TWO classes, as BOOWAH suggests. One for cars 25 years old and older and the other for the younger cars. Or have one class for cars and the other for trucks.


Now if you REALLY want to have a show where everyone goes away happy (and this, in my opinion, should be the #1 goal), and you don't want to give everyone a trophy (which I saw happen once when 45 cars showed up for a Top 50 show, so, at the end, they just asked everyone to walk up and grab a trophy), have enough door prizes so that everyone gets one. Doesn't have to be much. Give out paint stir sticks or something. But everyone likes to be called by the PA announcer to come up and get a prize.


P.S. This is a GREAT topic.

ed burke

I go to a lot of car shows and the better ones are the ones that attract outside people. (not car people) You need to promote your show. By bringing in regular people, you can bring in more money for whatever you
are sponsering, Get more people interested in classic cars. (young and old). Also get to show your OLDS to people who haven't seen or even new there were such great Oldsmobiles out there

agtw31

have your car show at a local dragstrip

66ninetyeightls

AGREED!!!! I don't know why more shows aren't done this way/

bcracing

You really need to have classes. I just went to a large show this past weekend, was a nice show, but they did not have any classes, There was 120 vehicles, my 71 cutlass was judged against chopped and channeled 32s, tubbed and blown 67 vette, and numerous 80 and 100 thousand dollar cars. Alot of them trailer queens. Don't get me wrong, they were very nice cars. but sure makes it hard for a driven car to win. Use independent judges also.

jaunty75

You have some good ideas, and a contradiction.

First, the contradiction, if you can call that. Your driven car loses to a trailer queen. I've got news for you. This SHOULD happen!!

If the idea is that the best car wins, then a trailered-always, never-driven car should beat an equivalent driven car every day of the week! If you want to win, you need to get a better car. Just because you have a nice car doesn't mean you're going to win if there's a better one.

About classes, that's a very good idea, but I can see the practical difficulties for a car show that is open to ANYTHING. The organizers usually don't have much idea of what's going to show up, so what kind of classes should be created? By model year? All '60s in one class, all '70s in another, etc.? How about by truck versus car? Modified versus stock? Sedan versus coupe versus convertible? No matter how classes are created, you'll almost invariably end up with a few classes that have most of the entrants in them and many classes that have few or none. Then you have place trophies for each. If you give a first, second, and third in each class, the class with two cars in it has both guys getting a trophy, including the guy who brought his beater, while the class with 20 cars in it, including 15 trailered cars, has 17 guys going home without a trophy.

I've been involved with staging car shows. It is impossible to come up with a scheme that pleases everyone. At least with single marque shows, like Olds shows, it's a little easier to come up with classes, and there isn't much disagreement about which cars go in which class. (But I have seen some heated arguments about what's modified and what's not and how modified cars should be judged.)


The main point in all this is that one should go to a car show to enjoy the day, the other cars, the shopping, the new people you meet, and the compliments you get about your car. You should NOT go because you want to win a trophy.

bcracing

I agree the trailer queen should win, thats why you have classes, most of the shows I go to are for cars 1985 and older, they have it broken down to. years, and then orginal, stock, modified stock, and modified. that way everybody feels the have a chance, just because the guy that payed $3000 in the 60's for his car new, and kept it nice all this time, should have his/her car judged against the car that the most it is run is from the trailer to where they show it. While I was at this show I talked for a long time with a gentleman that was 64, turns out he lives 20 miles from me, he has a all orignal 69 98 that he bought brand new, and 70 Catalina he also bought new, he said he use to make the 100 mile drive to the show for 5 years, and he quit bringing his cars to the show because of this reason, He invited me to stop by his house on the drive back home, which I did. his 98 looks like it just came off the show room, has 112000 orginal miles, but it looks like 112 miles. Yes I agree, the enjoyment of a show is to meet new people and talk about your cars, but everyone wants to atleast feel they have a chance to win also.

wmachine

What make a "good" show? Good for who? the minority that "win" or the group as a whole. I disagree with what seems to be the majority opinion here that the cars should be judged. That does *not* make for a fun meet. Trophies for all kinds of odd entries, and popular votes appeal to the broadest spectrum of people. I'm seem my share of deep pocketed trophy hunters and without a doubt they are not the kind of crowd I'd want to attract and share a car show with. "Best car" my $$#. So what!
Draw a car and have fun. Bad enough that people don't want to bring cars out because they don't think their car is good enough. Can you blame them when their entry fee is going to be used to buy the trophy for Mr. Deeppockets?
As far as I'm concerned, you can leave out the trophies and have a better show. But personally, I think that having trophies that "go around" to more than to the "best" cars please the majority much better.

Olds64

Kurt has a good point. I don't go to shows for trophies. If they give out little "appreciation plaques" or something to everyone that attends then that is cool.

jaunty75

A nice sentiment, and I don't, either, but most people who take their car to a show do want a trophy, or at least the chance to compete for one. Otherwise, why is there so much complaining about judging, classes, and everything else? Yes, show organizers could throw up their hands and say to hell with it, we're going to have a show with no judging. Then they'd watch their show's attendance shrivel.

Look at the older guy with the '69 98 that bcracing was talking about. He won't go to the show anymore because he feels his car can't compete or is being judged against cars for which it's not appropriate to do so. Think trophies don't matter to him?


Even the OCA wrestles with this. I remember back when the Centennial show in Lansing in 1997 was being planned. There was a lot of back and forth over whether or not there would be judging at this show as there is every year at the OCA Nationals. They ultimately decided not have judging, mainly because the show was not actually OCA-sponsored, but rather was being handled by Oldsmobile division itself. But they got complaints. Some of the old-timers in the Mid-Ohio Chapter, with which I was closely involved at the time, were upset. I thought to myself, "couldn't you just go to a show and enjoy it for once," but these guys wanted their trophies.

wmachine

Yes, you know that for sure.....that's why the largest show my area (The Mill Hollow Run) draws 4,000-5,000 cars and has NO JUDGING and NO TROPHIES.

jaunty75

OK, anyone with two neurons to rub together can realize that this is about as atypical a situation as there could possibly be. Not many car shows draw 400 cars, let alone 4,000. If you're using THIS as an example as to why there should not be trophies at car shows, you're nutsy.

wmachine

I guess you're too busy being offended and handing out insults to realize that I just showed you how not having judging does *not* make attendance as you said "shrivel".
Please show us how it does.

jaunty75

You gave one HUGELY atypical example. Big deal. Anecdotal evidence doesn't make for a trend.

I don't have to show you "how it does." That's already been done. We've got two very typical examples above in bcracing himself and his friend with the 98, both of whom, apparently, consider trophies important, and, in the case of the guy with 98, he won't go to the show anymore because of the award and judging situation. I have been involved in the planning and putting-on of car shows. This is the typical reaction. People get mad about judging, but they get madder if you even suggest not having it.

wmachine

There are 4,000- 5,000 out my way that don't agree with you. Go ahead and have your judged shows. Just don't try to dissuade someone from not doing it your way based on your unsupported opinion (that you don't have to support, I know.).
I think 4,000-5,000 vs. your opinon speaks for itself, no matter what you call it.

jaunty75

The fact that it's a 4000 to 5000 participant car show in itself means that it's an entirely different kind of show that people will attend regardless of whether or not there are awards. But it doesn't mean that the local cruise-in or car club show that draws 50-100 cars can get away with the same thing.

And, oh, I may not support my arguments, but then neither to do you.

wmachine

"Here's your sign......."

jaunty75

Yeah, fine. Means nothing.

bcracing and his friend and the experience of OCA with the Centennial and 10 years of my own experience putting on car shows are my sign. Just as valid as your "sign."


I suggest you go and study up on the meaning of "anecdotal evidence." Definition number 2 on this page applies here.

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionar...dotal+evidence


In short, in may very well be true that 4000 people will attend a car show without judging. It doesn't mean, though, that that should become the general policy of car show organizers.

19Starfire62

I go to at least 2 shows a year. Some bigger and some smaller. I have won a trophy in the past and it was gratifying to do so, but that was not the show that I enjoyed being at the most. I go to let others see my car. There are very few Olds at most shows. The trophy is a bonus if you are fortunate enough to get one.

jaunty75

Tell me about it! I've been to (admittedly small) shows where I'm the only Olds. I STILL remember to this day when a guy came up to my '64 Jetstar 88 at a car show more than a decade ago and said "where'd you get the unusual Impala?"

TK-65

One thing for me that makes a good show is NO OLDIES MUSIC!! Look around at most shows and the cars are 60s to 70s with more 80s cars showing up. But the deejays insist on playing music from the 50s, and usually cranked to 11. If you were 21 in 1957 that would mean youre 74 today. I dont see many 70-80 year old people at car shows anymore. So why play that old *** music?

I was invited to the Eyes On Design concourse show two years ago. They played classic rock at a low listenable level. Best show Ive ever been to.

And since Homecoming went to no trophies the numbers have went nowhere. Same level of cars attending as before. No trophies is the way to go. That eliminates the wrong class beefs, the trailer queen beefs, and the "clique" beefs. The last one really pisses me off, the who you know and not what you drove trophy.

aliensatemybuick

Best shows by me (here in NJ) are no-trophy shows (Jackson Outlets, Freehold). Maybe they are best called "cruises". They draw hundreds of cars, and there's always something different to see showing up. Typical "trophy" shows I see draw a few dozen cars, usually the same 'ol same 'ol.

Of course, this is what is called "anecdotal evidence".