Three more Car Shows...Three different experiences.
This seems to have been the Year of Car Shows, and mostly, they have been a lot of fun. The last three ran the gamut from well-oiled machine-like operation to first-timer-gallant-effort.
First up, our old standby, the Old Town Monrovia Car Show, put on by the "Street Rods Forever" club. They've been at this for over 30 years and it's run as well as any show can be. Line up at O'Dark-Thirty, roll in efficiently, park, set up, kickback and enjoy the adulation of the masses. It's a BIG show with some 200 cars (not as many as in years past...one year it was closer to 400 cars!).
Since it's so local for us, we've done it a number of times, off and on. It's a good show to guage the changes in the Car Hobby.
Time was that the Street Rods Forever club had very strict rules on membership. The members had to have a FULLY COMPLETED Street Rod (something American and before WWII and nicely modified). No primer, no Muscle Cars, a real purist Hot Rod Club.
Now, few of the members (and entrants) have "proper" Street Rods! As the membership has aged, the guys who grew up lusting for a Bucket-T or a Flathead Deuce have "moved on" (as it were) and to attract members, they've clearly opened things up to Tri-5 Chevies and Muscle Cars. The Street Rod guys were the Teens of the '50s, the newere guys grew up lusting for GTOs, Chevelles, and Mustangs.
The shows all reflect this shift. Fewer Street Rods or Lead Sleds (chopped '49 Mercurys and such) and more and more Chevelles and GTOs. Tri-5 Chevies ('55,'56,'57 Chevies with Big Block Chevy engines) are now all the rage along with Camaros and Mustangs.
Frankly, it makes for rather homoginized shows...row upon row of the same stuff. Showing up with a Foriegn Car of any kind has always made one the outlier (is that word now over worked??) and even more now. Showing up with a bright yellow Citroen Wagon with "Stuff" on it is pretty shocking to one and all.
This year, the Yellow Submarine was shocking enough to WIN A TROPHY FOR BEST IMPORT! No kidding!
We're always surprised when we win something. The Citroen (and the Triumph) are so odd that organizers just don't know what to do.
What's always fun is the interactions with the punters. Lots of "my dad/uncle/neighbor/dad-of-a-friend had one", lots of weird guesses about what it is (for the Citroen, it's "Saab, Opel, or Volvo"...for the TR its "MG or Cobra--of all things").
I get to go into "Lecture Mode" all day, explainging how the Citroen's suspension works, how it sat in the desert for 30 years and our latest 2800 mile road trip ("In THAT? REALLY??"), and the other amazingly advanced features (inboard disc brakes? aluminum hemi-head?). Oh, and the tail-lights and 3rd Brake Light "story."
Its always fun and more people stop to chat and take pictures than at almost all the other cars.
Next up was the new-kid-on-the-block...A fledging show at Monrovia High School. This one had a few teething problems (only 2 weeks after the BIG Old Town Monrovia Show--so only 25 cars showed up, they charged admission for the spectators--we only spotted 5 or 6 punters all day, they weren't there early enough for the set up--they didn't understand how car show people work, and they let everyone park anywhere in a huge parking lot--that spread out the cars too much and made the show look pretty skimpy).
Still, they were very earnest and happy to see all the cars and people, and have high hopes for the future. I hope it works out and they covered their costs! At least (I'm assuming) they didn't have to pay for the venue!
Oh, and we won "Best Imported Car"...again!
Now, on to the 3rd show. This was in Old Town LaVerne and in most ways, mirrored the Old Town Monrovia show. Lots of Muscle Cars, Mustangs/Camaros/Tri-5s and a smattering of other Stuff. Because all week the news kept telling us it was going to rain all day the day of the show, the attendance was WAY down. "Only" 150 or so cars.
The big difference here was that they offered "VIP Parking"--for an extra $40! It was already $50 to enter (sadly standard these days!) and we weren't about to sucker into that! The VIPs got to park on the main drag of Old Town, us peasants down in front of the Fire/Police Station, a good couple of blocks away from the main action. Kinda sucked.
As the day wore on, more and more people discovered that the skys weren't going to open up and drench us (WHEW!) and punters abounded. All friendly and (of course amused-bemused-confused) by the Yellow Submarine. This time, the biggest attention getter was the "Worst In Show" award we proudly displayed (as we did at the other shows!) and we had to explaind that it was, indeed, a REAL award.
Naturally, the same questions about the car from a constant stream of people. A few long conversations, the expected gasps at our bravery in driving 2800 miles last August, and lots of head scratching at the Yellow Oddity before them.
This was also a well run show, but not by a Car Club. Seems the organizers have a business running car shows. They plugged their show in Brea next month...a lot and they did the judging. Sort of. Now, here I'm gonna vent a bit. First, NO, we don't expect medals, plaques, or trophies. The Citroen and TR aren't pristine examples of Automotive Art. Far from it, some (well many) would say. That's fine with us. We enjoy our cars, drive them as they were meant to be driven and have fun. We enjoy interacting with the crowds.
What bugged me here (and at the Montrose show back in July) was that the judges seemed to make only a cursory look at most of the cars. Not just ours, but most of them. To me, it seemed they had a predisposed idea of what was going to win recognition and just didn't bother with the rest. Case in point: Next us was a REALLY nice '63 Falcon. Just a lovely car. No, not the most popular car ever, it had a stock Ford 6 cylinder engine and stock upholstery. No massive big block, no fancy seats. And it was appliance white...just like most Falcons of the day. It didn't, as far as I could tell, get a glance.
Now, look...if I'm paying $50 to show my car, at least do me the courtest of coming by EVERY entrant and aknowledge them! Both Monrovia shows, the Concours d'LeMons, and other big time shows do this. Even if all you do is nod to the owners and smile, maybe thank them for being there (the show we've been to in Burbank, ALL the club members lined up at the exit and waved and thanked the participants as they left--same thing with the Best of France and Italy) it's just a courtesy and will ensure good feelings and a wish to return.
The other beef was that they gave out FORTY(40!) "Best in Show" awards! How can 40 cars be "best?" No categories, just 40 plaques handed out (most were to those who paid the VIP fee...hmmmm?). It was almost like AYSO (everybody wins...so nobody reall wins) was runnning things.
So, Car Shows run a gamut of possibilities. We'll still go to a few every year, we enjoy hanging out. However, we enjoy driving to distant places even more. That is, after all, what Road Trippin' is all about!
