That they do, and then some! I'm glad I was able to help you out.

 

Corvette ED I go to the car shows for the same reason you do, to help out with a charity and to have fun with other car people, I never care to win a award. Great looking car BTW lol.

 

Your actions,attitude and the education for your daughter is spot on. Keep rolling on.

 

I just like to park on the grass.

 

Good post, Ed. I've run into a few people that have exactly the opposite perspective of what the shows are all about - what a sad life they must lead.

 

But.. if you would have won over the truck you would of felt like this...

 

Nicely said!!! Good luck on your job search!

 

Great post, Ed. Thanks!

 

Years ago I was really into the whole club thing, auto-X, concours, did it all. I went home from a show just really PO'd due to the politics, unfair judging by the host club, etc. The details don't matter anymore, but I did take this to heart and that was the last show entered for a good many years. Now my expectations are much different. I expect a good parking spot, and enjoyable afternoon with other car people, and sometimes a new t-shirt. Life is good, pull in, wipe it down and watch others sweat their butts off cleaning their cars. I don't need nor want trophys, plaques, or any other type of award.

 

Eh, it would have been cool, but I got more of a kick out of watching the kids run back and forth between the truck and my car, trying to convince each other to vote for their favorite. I just love watching kids' enjoyment of cool cars; the reactions are priceless.

 

I like going to car shows/cruise nights to see all the cars and talk cars with everyone there. I get a kick out of the events that have signs " Classic Cars" parking, I always ask the attendant where I should park, always the response is with the "Classic Cars", I say to the guy/gal but my car is not a Classic. Every time they say to me it's a Vette park with everyone.

I have friends with C8's that go to these things(stock car) and get a little upset when they don't get a trophy, I tell them sure your car is cool, but all anyone has to do to have your car is go to the dealer and buy one, they get mad at me.

I go to several events that charge to park and be judged, I don't mind the money goes to charity and I never fill out the info sheet for the judges.

I will be long departed from this world before my C8 is considered a true collectable.

None of this matters to me, bought the car because I'm into bikes and cars and mostly I really think it is a very cool car.

 

I know this is an old thread but here is what I have learned about the Corvette and shows. Not to slight anyone but a friend years ago was a Corvette club president. He would host a show every year and he would have Corvettes on one side of he street and the other cars on the other side. He kept them apart as Corvette people tend to be difficult and he did not want that to bleed into the other show. This was the Corvette president.

Today I kind of can see that as the Corvette shows I have been to so far are just popularity contest. I have shown other cars and been a paid judge for 30 years and often the cars that win are not the best. Most use popular vote and that is never a good way to run a show.

I generally keep to shows with pro judging and on a higher end event. This means only 2-3 shows a year. I just mostly do it to see if I can be competitive yet. But even then I have lost when I should have won and won when I should have lost so it balances out. To be it is not so much win or lose but just the challenge to be competitive.

The national shows are the ones that matter to me. When go to the local stuff it is just for fun.

There is nothing wrong to wanting to compete and win. But you need to also consider the events you attend and the results will vary. Often the local stuff is run by people who are not car people and they have no clue what is going on. Also many local events have a difficult time finding judges let alone qualified judges.

When you find a good event go and support it so it continues and if there poor ones just forget them.

But to this point I could show my Vette easily. It is cleaner and more detailed than 95% of the driven cars. But the lack of true judging is lacking at most events.

Even at shows like Pebble Beach cars can win not due to the condition but due to their story. See how that feels when you spend $500K on a restored car and get beat by a Barn find. LOL!

What I liked was when I was in a Fiero Club we would compete with each other and we even helped each other with fixing up our cars even if we competed with them. We would go to national events and clean up but we had fun and often we had the best cars due to our sharing and friendship.

So winning is fun but not everything. Do not be shamed not to show but also don't get upset if it is popular vote and you are no there with friends.

The toughest show I ever judges was a Camaro show. There was one car that was cleaner than anything there. But the lady put color convoluting hose on all lines. It looked like someone puked Crayola's. But the criteria for judging was clean and detail not taste. So we had to award her the award. So know your rules too when you judges.

 

I'm new to CF, only a couple of months now. I believe there is a lot great perspective with the members, and for that I'm grateful for. I'm entering my C5 into a local car show, where they are expecting around 100 cars, and this is the 1st time I will be a participant. I don't expect to win anything, but looking forward to the experience. I've also joined a local car club, but with the weather being so crappy, I haven't done any of the events yet. Thank you all for your input on this, as it reminds me of the reason of going to these. The event I'm going to sponsors Future Farmers of America, and I'm happy to contribute to the cause.