I would like to know the consensous opinion of the NECOA members on whether a late model car has a place in car shows, and under what conditions.

Yes - under all conditions

No - under all conditions

Yes - but only when competing against their own class, but not competing against classics

yes they need to be in their own catagory. The road kings car show in arcadia at the santa anita race track. my father has a mint 1981 Porsche 911 SC entered in the sports car catagory and he didnt even place. you know what beat him? A F&^%ING MONTE CARLO!!! THATS A MUSCLE CAR NOT A SPORTS CAR! Car shows in my oppinion need to be better regulated

I voted no. A few of my reasons are One I'm old enough to remember when to have your car in a show the car had to 18 or 20 years old depending on the show. This made for good shows with nice cars that were no longer seen every day.
Then new vettes and vipers started finding their way in. Granted you don't see a viper everywhere and its nice to see one so up close. Vettes are everywhere. Then here comes the new retro mustangs. Followed by the charger. I don't get the whole charger thing either! It doesn't look anything like the original and it's a 4 door! Now we can expect to see challengers and 2010 camaros. Why?! If you want to see new cars go to the International Car Show when it visits your town.

If I want to see a new car I'll go to the dealers showroom. JMHO

I voted yes, in their own class. But in an open show there is no controling it!
That said I have been to many small shows that were open to all and some new Escalade with a big wheel and huge stereo system wins or a new Mustang with nothing done to it wins. It is irritating but just how it goes sometimes!
In my humble opinion anyone who goes to a show expecting to win a trophy is just asking for a big let down!
Go for the cars and the people, being around other car people and enjoying the day of showing off your hard work or well spent dollars!:cool1:

We have every easter an American Car Show, here in Finland's capitol Helsinki. I haven't been visiting inside in a few years, since there is too much everything else, not so much cars anymore as it was way back when there was only American made vehicles. Now there are european and japanese cars too and they are taking more and more every year. I found that best cars you can find in a show are in the parking lot. And that show changes every day(four day event) and doesn't cost anything!

Ken, how should I answer this? ...LOL :texas:
Well, I believe that any vehicle of interest that people enjoy looking at should be in a car show as long as it's appropriately classed. As we all know, sometimes people enter some off the wall class because they know they will trophy. I don't agree with that. New trucks should compete against new trucks, and old trucks against old trucks, etc. These vehicles appeal to two entirely different groups of people. Take for instance the show we both were at Saturday...I spent a lot of time looking at the muscle cars and custom trucks, but I didn't have much use for the Scions, Dodge Magnums, or late model trucks with airbags.

BTW, Ken..I really enjoyed visiting with you and looking at your Elky. Your '68 is just stunning!

i think all cars do have there place at a show new car dont belong with old car or suvs ,rice burners belong with them selfs. my cousin has a 34 plymouth pe coupe all steel and he has to show his with new fiberglass want a bes and thats not right so there does need to be diffrent classes and make them fair for all. i know like that would ever happen :dontknow:

I voted for Hell no but that catagory wasn't there ????:poke:

I voted yes, in their own class. But in an open show there is no controling it!
That said I have been to many small shows that were open to all and some new Escalade with a big wheel and huge stereo system wins or a new Mustang with nothing done to it wins. It is irritating but just how it goes sometimes!
In my humble opinion anyone who goes to a show expecting to win a trophy is just asking for a big let down!
Go for the cars and the people, being around other car people and enjoying the day of showing off your hard work or well spent dollars!:cool1:
very well said, couldn't agree more.

as a longtime car show enthusiast, but a rookie to entering a car in a show, i'll offer my opinion; i started restoring my '87 about a year ago, and i'm looking forward to bringing it to Carlisle, this car has been mine since it left the showroom in 87 and after all my hardwork and money invested, the only thing i expect from entering my car in the show, is a good time, an opportunity to meet folks with similar interests, and maybe a few "nice car" 's thrown my way. or, nice truck,:???:
papajohns77, pretty much nailed it, imo.

Its OK to have lates as long as they compete by year break, model or under late models less than 25 to 30 years old. This buy a car and wash it and bring it to the next show and win is a little dicy for me, but its and every week thing any more. I still like the 78 and older and 78 to 200? break. The other item that always bothers me is the glass reproductions of all kinds should have there own class. No glass car should ever win over a real steel car. But they should be in there own class and year breaks as they or very cool and are very asome cars with great workmanship, but they are a copy no matter what you say.

I've been in at least 200 car shows over the last few years and never once did a new car compete against an old one. They have always had their own class and that's fine. My 1997 Lincoln has a class of it's own in most shows, 1990-1999 in most cases, sometimes the spread is a bit bigger but it always seems to be fair.

Baby Blue... a Monte Carlo beating a Porsche only means the organizers of the show were idiots and they mixed foreign and domestic. Obviously they don't know how to properly class the cars. One local show here does that and they've lost a lot of attendance because of it.

Also, I've seen many new cars compete and loose because they weren't as clean as cars 10 years older.

Last year I took my El Camino to a car show and the two cars that won top 30 was a PT Cruiser and a 2006 Van. The PT and van were all stock and there were so many good muscle cars that should of won. This is a freakin joke. I think we need to get cars shows back the way they were intended. Only for muscle cars or old cars that are over 20 years old.or any car past 1990.

If you must have newer cars in a car show then make their own class and not have them judged and take trophies away from someone who has an old Mustang or El Camino that they work on to keep nice. It is harder work to keep a 25+ year old car running well and not look like crap. So they deserve it more then people who bring in lets say a z07 Corvette that they payed 76,000 for.

I voted for Hell no but that catagory wasn't there ????:poke:


Well, there's a way to make that happen for you. If the car show welcomes late models, don't go. Car shows always put out a flyer showing available classes. If you see something that offends you, then skip the show. For instance, Good Guys only allows '72 and older. There are still many shows that adhere to that limit. I go to the shows to look at the cars, not gripe about what is or isn't there. It's their show, they can do what they want. I just go to have fun.

Glenn

right on Rush
Shows that have a flyer usually state what going on and many are more a cruise-in than a show ie picks not judging, but if it says top 20 or 30 and nothing else is stated that is all years in one group. So make a choice if you go to someones sand box than your excepting there rules for that day "so no bitching" as it was your choice to go. Most shows are now split and state so, thus you are not in most cases competing early against late. But even than if the show splits is 72 or 78 or 82 someone is going to bitch anyway just so than can hear themself. It don't think I have ever agreed in full with all the selections at any show but that is human nature. That is also fixable "put the show on yourself" and find out how much work it really is !!!! Now go be thankful that someone likes to do shows and makes money at it and gives all of us some place to enjoy our hobby or is that addiction.

After being involved with putting on a large (150+) elcamino and chevelle only show for the past 8 years I can tell you it is alot of work to do it. The thing to remember is that you can not please everyone. There is always something for someone to complain about.
Most of the times show a judged by the poeple in them so if that new car wins than alot of people like that. The good thing about this is that you have the right to voice your mind on your ballot sheet. I personaly refuse to vote for a car that does not have its hood up. If your gonna show the car than show me the whole car. Also if the years are lumped together has 80 and up I will not enter the 81 elky. But remember all and all this is something we do for fun so try not to take it too seriously.

If you want to eliminate late model cars from car shows then sooner or later there will be no more car shows. Older cars still get wrecked, wind up in collections where the owner doesn't show them, etc and so the ranks are thinning. Also by not letting new cars in shows you'll start turning off younger people to car shows since in all likely hood they will have a newer car. And then they won't want to go them because they can't afford older cars or maybe even be able to find an older car to buy.

I never go to shows expecting to win however I'm always hopeing too!
It's cool to see how much effort people can put into their rides. Old, new, American or other, Lots of people put lots of time, money, and heart and soul into their rides.
Now having said that
http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k326/DONEDEALDONNY/20090409_2.jpg?t=1242179857
:nanawrench::nanawrench:
Trophies Are Cool!!
What gets me is I know El Camino's are (trucks) but people are always saying (cool car dude)
Donny

DONNY!!! What's the matter with you son!!! Get those trophys off that Elky before you scratch the finish!:yell:

Felt bottoms, and luckly for me cheap plastic. LOOOK OUUUT
http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k326/DONEDEALDONNY/20090409_1.jpg?t=1242182669
The funny thing is the 2 big ones weigh nothing, the small 1 is heavy (real marble)
And not 1 of them has a truck on it!:dontknow:
Donny
Ps just so you know not a scratch, bet I don't do that again!!:let_it_all_out:

This has been a debate every year & nothing we say or do with the exception of boycotting every show in america will change anything, (count me out of that solution) however in my opinion new cars do have a place in a show as long as in has some interesting features to it and there is a class for it and never should a car under 20yrs old compete with true classic weather stock, modified, foreign, domestic or orphan keep them in a late model class, another BIG beef I have is cars that enter as Race cars (pro street) but have never seen the track in order to be a pro street car you need time slips. Just my opinion..
http://i402.photobucket.com/albums/pp107/americanhandy/66caprice16.jpg

If you want to eliminate late model cars from car shows then sooner or later there will be no more car shows. ..... Also by not letting new cars in shows you'll start turning off younger people to car shows since in all likely hood they will have a newer car.

Well said. The younger generation is already suffering from the pull to the dark side (imports), so if we can show them that domestics are desirable, both old and new, the car hobby as we know it will survive. If we fail to adapt and change, thereby alienating the young, there will be no car hobby in a generation. It's bad enough we have our government to contend with (with ever increasing safety, environmental, & tax legislation)...the best thing we can do to keep our hobby alive is keep the next generation interested, and make it easy for them to participate.

In my opinion, I think the model year of a vehicle is more or less unimportant----whether someone spent big bucks on a new car to haul around to shows or to have "someone" restore" an older one to haul around to shows means nothing----I think they should be classified as purchased or owner built and show car or driven---otherwise they are all just trophies.......................Dan

I've been to many car shows but only this year I finally took my own. The only trophy I've won was on the first which was more of a NECOA region 6 gathering for me than a show, I was proud that we were well represented when the trophyies were handed out, my first trophy was an inside joke by my fellow regionaires which gets passed on at every show.
Next show I took the elky to was Super Chevy and entered the non judging class, the last show the trophy I won was when I saw a lady taking a picture of my car.
I think a show should be open to all and judged accordingly.

Funny that the first time I took the car to the local cruise night was when it was partially going trough body work and my nephew asked if I was going to explain that it was under construction and I said it would not be necessary.

Looks like 404 people have looked at the POLL, but only 50 have voted. I realize that some of those may be nonmembers, and some are return visitors......but, COME ON GUYS - if you can take the time to look at the Poll, you can take the time to vote your conscience's! Thanks very much to those who have voted..........Ken

Make it a survey and pay the fee and I'll bet you get more responces than there are members:poke:
Donny

Sorry, triple D, but I thought you already had your check. I paid ALL the folks who voted Yes - in their own classes - in the first two days. Maybe you didn't vote soon enough.........Ken :beer:

Where's my check then??:smileyb: (Lemme guess..it's in the mail)

It's funny you called me triple D because my name is Donny Triplett, D triplett not triple D but close:poke:. And I dropped that check you gave me and I think it's still bouncing somewhere around here in Texas, that is if it hasn't crossed state lines!!!:beer:
Donny

Wait until you see what happens when you drop the trophy!

Triple D = DONE DEAL DONNY

I know someone of you read what I said and I like to restate what I meant by it.

First off I do not go to car shows trying to win a trophy. I go their to represent El Camino and show people how proud of it I am of mine. Well when I go to a car show I like to see what all the other people have as old cars.

Well when they give out trophies of course I watch to see if I won. Well when you see and talk to someone who said I have owned this since new or I restored it shows how much they love their cars. They put a lot of time into making it look nice. When they call out that Bob with a z07 corvette wins top 30 it is like okay? Why should he win over someone who put time into making his cars show quality.

Now I feel that any car should be aloud into cars shows, but cars newer then lets say 1990 or limited production cars like 454 SS or GMC Syclone ect.. should not be able to win trophies. With older cars you have to take more time to get it to look mint. With a new cars it seem like if you slap on cool rims on a corvette then bamb your a show car. Now fair to someone who spent years restoring a corvette and putting time into making it look mint.

That is what I am complaining about. Now that I did not win, but that it took the trophy away from someone who actually deserve it more then someone who spent 70,000 for a car plus rims.

The Poll has ended and the members have spoken on this subject a total of 32 times, staking out their positions and sometimes arguing quite eloquently for those positions. Most have made good points, both those for and those against - all but a few have attempted to.

In the end, it was the consensus opinion (84%) of those members who voted that newer cars should be allowed in car shows, but should never compete against the classics. This restores my basic belief in the fairness of El Camino owners that was in danger of being shattered by some of the first few comments to a thread I started relating that the Rushgator had won best-in-class in 2000 to 2009 vehicles (I learned later that the class was actually 1989 to 2009). Instead of congratulations, I was visualizing him being burned in the town square, or maybe serving months in the driver's seat of a Ford Pinto at 35 MPH on the Texas Interstate system, all for having the audacity to enter a 2006 Corvette in a Car Show - a CAR Show. At least I no longer see the Pinto in his future!

This poll was not, and could never have been, a representation of the opinion of the NECOA. To accomplish that, every member would have been required to vote. Thus, the poll simply reflects the opinion of those who voted. My thanks to all who voted, and especially to those who took the time to comment. I believe we're all still friends............Ken :beer: