Car show; help to understand
 

Will someone, please, help me with this one. Need to understand, HOW judges at car shows determine a winner when all cars look the same. Was at a car show yesterday and NO modified cars were there. I could have gone to a dealership. I am proud of my C-6, but, would not get in a car show without modifications. What do you think?

I stopped competing in car shows when I noticed the following things:

1. At one show, all the club members were winning, regardless of the quality of their cars. One member won both 1st and 2nd place in his class, despite the fact his cars looked like they should be on the end of a hook, on their way to the dump.

2. At another show, all of the sponsors were winning, again regardless of whether their cars deserved it or not. Lots of high fiving between the sponsors and the club members. Not a club member? Forget it.

Add in the insufferable '50s music, having to watch your car(s) to protect them from belt buckles, dirty fingers, grubby kids etc., and standing around in the sun in a parking lot all day just to (hopefully) win a $5 plastic trophy, it all equals a colossal waste of time.

I would have to agree with you about new stock cars winning shows. I can understand old classic stock cars winning but not the ones people just drove off the showroom. :crazy:

It depends on how the show is ran in my opinion. But I look at it as another way to meet and share with others who have the same interest when it comes to maintaining the cars. I love competing at shows when they are judged fairly, I don't have to win it just has to be fair. I have been at shows where judges cars are in the competition and win, they may not have judged there own car but hey...a fellow judge did judge there car,(to me that opens a thought of fair or not to me).That being said if its fair and judges are not participating then I'm in. As far as how they are judged when like you say they are all stock C5,C6 etc. The shows I enjoy most have stock and mod cars seperate and as an example the stock cars are being judged on cleanliness and overall condition. Like way down in the engine compartment, inside fender wells, wheel barrells etc. Just don't take it personal as long as it fair and enjoy the added fellowship.

First thing is you should not take your local shows so serious. Most shows that I have been to have a stock class for all years. If you mod it all you have to compete in modified. To me when I showed my stock vettes it is more just to hang out and if I get a trophy that is just extra. I showed my 79 coupe and I got mostly 1st or 2nd place but when I showed my C-4 I never got better than 4th. I also showed my big rig in Vegas a couple of years ago and received 1st place in my class. I keep my 2006 coupe clean but don't feel like showing anymore just too much work. Now I go to a few shows just to see the cars and babes.

After struggling with that particular problem for four previous shows, our Atomic City Corvettes club this year went to a format in which entrants vote for five (5) Corvettes entered in our show, "Corvettes In the Jemez" (excluding their own cars). We tally up the votes at the end of the show and the car number that gets the most votes wins one of our "Piston Cup" trophies. We also have a "Peoples Choice" award, the winner of which is the car that gets the most votes. My Jewel blue '61 won this award at yesterday's show. I'd post pix of the winning C6s, but another club member did the photo shoot and hasn't made the pix available as of today (Sun.). Our trophies are "hand fashioned" by several of our talented club members and have become highly sought after.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...esChoice-1.jpg[/IMG]

It's like everything else in life..it's fixed!!:thumbs:

Don't think of them as "shows". They're really just social gatherings of folks who have Corvettes where they can spend time talking shop. The prizes are just tokens of appreciation by the organizers to thank people for showing their cars. There aren't many Corvettes where I live so "shows" are a place to go to see a few Corvettes; modified or not. Enjoy the ride...

Corvette Shows are mainly just for fun and Charities
 

At most of the shows I have been to, they are mainly for fun and to raise money for charities. My old club in Louisiana we had a great show and we always had a good turnout. The judges were just members of the club who were not experts, just people who loved Corvettes. We also had a class for People’s Choice so that all of the spectators could vote on their favorite. These shows are great places to meet people and visit with old friends. I have never won or placed, but I have always had fun at the shows. My former club has been raising $8-$12K per annual show for local charities. We picked a different charity each year and they helped us sell raffle tickets which all of the proceeds went to them.

These are really social events and a chance for the local communities to see our cars up close. For the most part, if you really want to go to a professionally judged show, the NCRS stuff and the big national shows are where you should be.

To make it fair and more fun, my old club instituted period classes. This allowed the C4 guys to compete against each other and not against the C1 and C2 cars that showed up.

BTW, our local club cars did not compete against the other cars, but had a separate class, so it was not "fixed."

I think Jack Casa has a good system for the local club shows and SSTEVEGS and CRAWFISH prolly have the right attitude.

I always think of the professional car shows as showcases for restored cars that people have spent years and $$$ fixing up.

It is just a popularity contest. Friends vote for their friends cars, especialy if they are in a club.

I took my prestine C4 (under 4,000 miles) to several car shows and was beaten out by other C4s with spider cracks in their paint!:willy:

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...88/Number1.jpg

Have never taken my modified Z06 to a car show and probably never will. Now when I go, I take the 4-Runner and just enjoy the other cars.:thumbs:

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...06Enhanced.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...IMG_2033-1.jpg

:bs These guys want the trophies, you can go to a car show and say "I don't want to be judged". :yesnod: I nice guy in the ZR1 section just won a 7 foot trophy for his show room stock ZR1 that had a different rear spoiler and blackouts. It is a nice factory stock car, but there is no way in hell it should take a trophy away from someone who spent a ton of money, and hands on work to modify or restore his car etc. Anybody can wash and shine a stock vehicle. I say, be the better person and say "I am here to support the show. but please do not judge my car." Just my thoughts. :cheers:

I dunno but I was in a show yesterday and found out after that engine compartments were not judged. The eliminated one of my car's better features. The 1st 2nd and 3rd winners all had hoods closed. Oh well, shows are not really my thing anyways.

There is no logic to how or why people with brand new stock Vettes get a trophy at these shows. I go to enjoy the cars and car talk, however I mostly attend car shows with all different classes of cars. Not a big fan of all Corvette shows.

6 foot trophy :D

I don't really care to each their own. That car isn't just off the showroom. I've put thousands of dollars into it already and more to come. Had it not been for the ZR1 in the show and a few other sweet cars it would have been so so.

Maybe it's just me but I could care less about older cars (except for the 67-68-69 Camaro), to me they are just old cars no matter how dolled up they are. Didn't see any other car having a ring of people around it all day long.

To each their own, old car guys at shows hate the new cars in there, new car guys don't care for a lot of the old crap in there. If it's that big of a deal then maybe all car shows should have in the rules your car has to be so old in order to enter. Oh wait, all the younger generation wouldn't go then because they want to see the hot new super cars out there but if they aren't allowed in then hmmmmm

Sorry 6 foot, I tend to exaggerate. :D

I don't think anybody said new can't win, there are two GS's on this forum for example, that are show winning quality cars :yesnod:, they have a ton of work done to them and they deserve trophies. If your nice ZR1 was mine, it would of been in the car show, I would just say to them, "DO NOT judge my car, I am here to support and have fun, not to steal trophies away from people who deserve them".
Enjoy your nice 8 foot trophy :D:thumbs:

That is one great looking Z. :thumbs:

Sweet looking exhaust tips!

Well Racer I did want a trophy and that's the only reason why I went in the show. Corvette club awhile back when I had my first Vette went to a car show and that car of mine got a small trophy. So I thought well let's get this car a trophy as well. Thought it would be cool in a nostalgic sort of way I guess. That being said, those are the only 2 car shows I've ever been in and will never enter again until I get another new Vette some day.

However, I didn't know you could ask not to be judged and if I ever did go in again with this car as part of the Vette club or something then I would request that since I already have a trophy for the car.

Oh and Racer, don't change your avatar for awhile. I know you do and I'm liking this one and haven't grown tired of it yet :thumbs:

I avoid the shows and just stick with the cruise nights. No entry fee, no trophies, no classes, no sitting around waiting for awards. Just a bunch of cool cars.