Event Coverage What is important to you when attending a car show

But here you are posting and so am I. Lots of other forums have a separate area for chat and off-topic discussions, but that doesn't drive people off their site.
Not as many new builds going on. People are bored?

 

I did that last year as we were heading home from the hot rod Hill Climb in our 51 Hudson. Pulled in to a Dairy Queen that was having a local cruise-in and it was mostly late model Challengers, Camaros and Mustangs. We didn't know it was happening, we just wanted ice cream.

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Playing by the rules of the question:
1) Friends and family.
2) Cars in motion.
3) Nice venue.

Unsolicited information:
The three things above make the annual Great Labor Day Cruise --> http://www.occa-inc.com/, my favorite car show/cruise of the all time. This show is a DIRECT link to traditional street cruising:
When the cops shut down cruising on Van Nuys Blvd. and Whittier Blvd, cruising was fragmented through out SoCal. Angelos Burgers (with car hop service on skates) in Anaheim on State College Blvd. was a great cruising spot until Anaheim PD shut it down --> the cruising, not Angelos, which is still there. Everywhere a new cruise spot was tried, the local PD shut it down. People wanted to cruise and with no place to do it, the Orange County Cruisin' Association and the Great Labor Day Cruise was born as a result. 2017 will be the 35th year of the Great Labor Day Cruise. I believe this is the only show of its kind with 3 days of camping and provisions of 175 campers, all set up on the cruise route. Cruising for 18+ hours a day! 3 days of fun with friends and family. Our camp has upwards of 10 cars and 75 friends/family on Saturday. Awesome time!!

I also like informal cruise nights/mornings and where I can pull in and park, enjoy a meal, look at the other cars and head home.
I like driving events --> Poker runs, shop tours, etc. Because I'm out driving and checking stuff out with other guys doing the same.

I prefer regular rock 'n' roll (aka: "classic rock") over '50s do-wop music.

 

The better car show around in my area. That is free is. Hot august nights in reno nevada daytime walk around. Look at most of the customs. Then walk into a casino to be in the a.c. mayby gamble. Then eat at a casino buffet take the kid around to play arcade games keep them cool as well let them win something. Then evening come around the cars cruise around and throw out candy and madigraw beads.

 

If you don't like the topic of a thread just pass it and move on to the next one because there are obviously a lot of other people here who like to discuss car shows, tools and snow tires....

 

The HAMB is dedicated to spreading the gospel of traditional hot rods and kustoms to hoodlums world wide. That's right; TRADITIONAL. If you've come here to discuss anything other than Hot Rods or Customs built in a style representative of 1965 or before, you've come to the wrong forum.

I don't just move along, as Ryan and other mods have stated, (if you see an OT post report it) and I do.

 

1. pre '59
2. no trailered cars
3. no hot rods with a/c

 

Most of the local shows around hear are kind of boring. My coupe is usually the most uncivilized car, and the oldest real hotrod there. Wish we had more HAMB type cars around here. I would rather be at the drag strip then a show anyway.

 

I use to do a lot of the national type shows . Cost has gotten to prohibitive . I won't waste a day going to the local hundred car trophy chase's. So about the only shows I attend are back to the 50,s in Saint Paul with my wife a dozen other couples who make the four and a half hour cruise with me. And my buddies and I do the meltdown weekend. That replaces our trip every year to Indy when Goodguys had the show at the dragstrip. And I still do the Jefferson and Iola swap meets, even though I rarely find anything worth buying anymore. I guess I can thank the internet for that. Larry

 

1. Cutoff year
2. Live but not obnoxious bands
3. Reliability run, drag race or some sort of driving event associated.
4. Swapmeet

I know I listed 4.[emoji12]

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I used to go to car shows....maybe I have changed, instead of the shows...not sure on that....I'm not the same person I used to be, and have found more enjoyment out of a smaller arena of life.

That said...the car shows I used to go to every year.....I'd drive my car and park on the street among other cars, and immediately got a very ''unwelcome'' notice that my car wasn't ''finished''...and I'd have to park elsewhere! I had primer, and no wheel-covers, and hadn't had my seats re-upholstered as of yet....I couldn't understand the point, since EVERY car there had at some point been re-built....mine was just not finished yet (60' T-bird)....I got the feeling that nobody was supposed to see a car ''in the process'' and what the public might visualize as a ''work in progress'' and hurt the feelings of other car owners next to mine by those in charge....just the odd feeling I got about it....p*ssed me off, and still does.

Anyways.....I miss the simple, friendly, and carefree days when cars were a ''process'' and driven at different levels due to funds, skills, or time. I almost get the feeling it's about the ''pristine'' and high-value (beyond the budget of normal people) these days...which it is clearly not...it's hard work getting these cars to a ''nice'' condition on our individual decisions every day, but that's part of the ''owning up'' to a car we put together ourselves!

So....my 3 things I would like is:
#1....acceptance of entry level cars as driven
#2....prices kept in realistic pocket-book $$$ at the gate AND swap meets
#3....keep the attitudes at home!

I would go to car shows again, if they focused on potential ''new'' and younger members who might not have the ''right kind of car'' that fits hot rod status ''yet"....sometimes we just can't afford anything else, and young people/newbies gotta start somewhere, and see/learn by example, and not get the cold shoulder from the hard nosed promoters, who have already achieved their dream cars.....just keepin' it simple, and the basics will fill in the blanks I believe.

***To clarify....NOT all car shows are like my own experiences of course!!!....but, it's what sticks in my craw, and what I've seen first hand, but it is ''out there'' sometimes...cold shoulders are an ugly thing to find in any car show!....just my opinion, and remarks as I've experienced them.

 

I just go walk through them and go home now. I still have many friends that still do the car shows and I enjoy seeing them. The only shows I spend the whole weekend at are the Hot Rod Dirt Drags and Hill Climb here in Colorado but those are really events not shows. How ever if I'm out of town I like go to what ever show is going on Like GNRS in about two months.

 

Perhaps you could do a Citizen's Arrest.

 

seems to me there are a lot of people here who don't like car shows where there is nothing to complain about.

 

1. Being able to leave early.

 

Some of these guys are pretty damn funny and a little bit if laughter isn't a bad thing. I also see that the very same comedians jump in to help and offer good advice quite frequently. This post is opinion based just like most of the recent posts we see. You know your wide open when you ask or reply to an opinion. So lighten up on the report button and instead post a topic that is dear to your heart and let the cards fall where they may.
Sorry back to the regular program, my top three
1. Sex
2. Drugs
3. Rock and Roll

 

1. I'm also not interested in the post 65 pony or muscle cars. I prefer a HAMB type of year limit, but I prefer the Jalopy Jam Up criteria for cars, and their idea of having an "alternative" lot for cars that don't meet the criteria.
2. Reasonable entry fee. HRP mentioned his club doing a show with a 10 dollar entry fee, that included a t-shirt, that sounds great to me.
3. I'm really not interested in the awards, though I understand that is the main point for many others, the whole reason they go to shows, so I don't know how you get rid of that. I like somebody's idea above about giving garage items instead of trophy's.
4. I understand the other's criticism of the music, and though I'm not against music altogether, in fact since I'm a musician that loves to get gigs like this, I'd say go ahead and keep the music, but KEEP THE VOLUME DOWN! Hire musicians that actually know how to play without blasting ear drums (that leaves out punkabilly). Ideally you could place the music somewhat away from the cars, in an area with food vendors.
5. Family friendly atmosphere. I'm not opposed to beer sales, in fact I appreciate a cold one as much as the next guy, but guys that can't handle their beer can spoil things for everybody, so keep an eye out for that and discourage over consumption, maybe set a time limit for sales like they do at some ball parks.
6. Good quality food vendors. There are so many good vending trucks these days, there's no reason for 6 dollar hamburgers that consist of a frozen patty on a 3 week old bun.

 

There was a thread started this morning covering watermarks on photos. Have you reported it yet? Oh wait-it was started by Ryan. Never mind....

 

Theres always an undercurrent of truth in satire. If there isn't, its not satire. That's why it makes people angry...

 

The best is when you travel together with friends. Camp a least two nights. Eat lots of chili, and burnt hot dogs, on a camp fire. tell lots of lies. Sleep in the Hot Rod. Buy something at a swap meet that you don't need. And make lots of good memories with old friends. It doesn't get better than that!

 

I went to one in a small town a few weeks ago,It was well attended ,perfect night . Held along main street and people staggering out of bars all night . Dogs leash's getting tangeled up with the people walking. Worse case was a roundy dirt track racer decided every 20 minutes to start his car up and rev it up.

 

Like most big cities you can probably find a car show in Dallas, Tx every weekend. I attend only a few. I've seen so many cars but there is usually the "one". and that is all i go for.

 

I prefer a driving / tour / cruise event to a static park and sit. If there's an admission price for a good cause (like Iron Invasion), that's cool.


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I think for me the main thing I want is something new. Then A nice venue, I hate big parking lots. And the third is to be with people that are there for a good time not an award. Untill the last couple years I had been going to local shows up to about 200 miles from home and its always the same cars. If I went to a show around here few people would even walk over and look at my car because they have seen it so many times and same for me. So I seldom go any more. That is why I enjoy the HAMB so much, I get to see cars I have never seen before and will probably never get to see them in real life.

 

Food Booths. Shade. Number of cars. Music too loud. Type of crowd. People taking way too much space.

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Would any of you rather just go for a long drive? That's why a lot of people don't go to car shows.

 

People who build their cars, good talent, not a bunch of rich people that went "shopping" and then had the car flatbedded to a shop for their "twist". Then I get to walk around with a bunch of soft handed car "guys" that tell me all about how great their car/truck is. I like shows where people innovate using very little. Make something simple and cheap look mind blowing....the car scene is getting taking over by a bunch of collector's, not builders....and that's were the true tradition is dying.

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Hello,

The last several outdoor car shows (Labor Day, San Clemente) that we have gone to had too many people and that ruined the experience. Arriving early helped, but, by the time noon rolls around, the crowds just make it impossible to enjoy the cars. Well, at least we could go to an outdoor restaurant and people watch…that is always interesting. So, our plan was to arrive early, casually look at the cars and call it a day with a nice lunch.

We used to go to the Early Times Picnics and Breakfast Runs, but that too, got extremely crowded. The LA Roadster Shows and Meets were fun to go and talk to our friends, but wow, now it is a destination not the experience. Even the beach cities car shows were pretty cool,(Seal Beach, LB Belmont Shore, Santa Barbara, San Clemente) but the longer it runs, the more people come for the shows, then it gets crowded.

Some of our memories from back in the early days were pretty outstanding. The indoor shows had set up days on Thursdays for the weekend shows. The press, mag writers, photogs, all had special passes for entry. That was the way to see the show. Also, early Friday mornings before the public was allowed had all of the displays put up and everything was presentable. The SEMA show is pretty outstanding as we see the photos streaming out of the places. But, the set up days look so appealing to this old photojournalist. Yea on the people putting on these shows. This is a great hobby to have been part of and enjoy seeing all of the creativity. There are no bad or good cars, they are all individual ideas of what appeals to the owners.

Keep putting on these gatherings for all of the generations. One day, a spark will fly to someone just looking and the shows/hobby continues for another generation.

Jnaki

 

Making it to the show with my car with out breaking down!!!!!Bruce.

 

and new camaro's if i want to see them ill go to the lot