The 2009 car show recap – good and bad

[moparkid25]

Its that time of year we all hate. The weather changes for the worse, we put the cars away, you have to deal with unruly family during the holidays, in my case I become another year older, and we spend most of our time confined to the house. On the bright side, we get Christmas presents, its always fun to watch that one crazy aunt get drunk during a family event, New Years celebrations and resolutions, then comes Groundhog Day, and before you know it you get snow dumped on you in March one last time before it thaws out and once it warms up there’s spring Jefferson followed by Automotion!

What better way to look forward to winter than by recapping the summer car show season of 2009? What did you most enjoy? What did you most dislike? What you change for next year i.e. different shows to attend, what show’s you won’t be back to, etc?

The good:

The shows I most enjoyed this year were Automotion, Portage, Lancaster, Blanchardville, Jesus Built My Hotrod, and Spring Green.

Automotion is the Daytona 500 of the car show season. Its the first big event of the spring, and its a two-day event. I love spending the weekend in the Dells. Granted, the cruise nights haven’t been real exciting since ’06, but those of us who were there remember how much fun it was…until some drunk guy threw a beer at a cop (to clarify, I was there, I was drunk, but I was not the guy who threw the beer at the cop….however I did see it happen). The show is fun with so many cars, and this year was the first year I have ever won an award at Automotion. It was a great way to not only start the season, but also to win showing the 442 for the first time!

Lancaster is a small show. I enjoy the drive out and the atmosphere of the show. Attendance has been slim the last couple years, but they still pulled about 100 cars. They changed the location from the first time I went to this show, and that may have something to do with it. Its a participant judged show, so you gotta compete hard to get the local boy vote.

This was the first year I attended Portage. Also a very well run show. They had a great attendance and I got to see a lot of cars I normally don’t. There is plenty of room for cars, but if it were sunny you would want to bring your canopy as there isn’t much shade.

Blanchardville is my hometown show. Always good weather and a great turnout! Also another show where you have to compete to win. Frank works very hard to make this show what it is, and IMO he will go down in history. This show is the biggest thing to come to Blanchardville since the invention of indoor plumbing :whistle:

I’m not a real religious guy, but I have to say the Jesus Built My Hot Rod was one of the best show’s I attended this year. I could tell that a lot of hard work went into this event from the minute I pulled in the parking lot. The weather could’ve been better, but there’s always next year! Again, plenty of space for show cars on a beautiful lawn. The homemade food was also excellent and a different change of pace from the normal burgers, brats, etc. I also got to meet forum member MRWS6, and we talked Mopars a bit

Spring Green was also a great show! Not too far for me to drive to, great food on every corner, and some damn nice cars! The Newton crew really deserves credit on how great the turnout has become for this show. I talked with Cuda Man the day after while attending Mopars on the Mississippi and him and his lovely bride were both overwhelmed with the response of the show this year!! This is definately a show I’ll come back to year after year.

The Road Apples show, of course, was the best first year show I have ever attended :whistle: Circletrack, Xman, and every other member of the road apples deserves recognition for there hard work. I was honored to be a sponsor of this show, and the turnout was great! I hope to be a part of this show again next year!

Now, for the bad…

I have to say, this year a lot of fellow automobile enthusiasts got there panties bunched up over constructive criticsm. I understand a lot of people were upset by the Rate the Show threads, but that is what they are intended for – to give one’s opinion on a car show and its operations. Opinions are also like belly buttons, everybody has one. Maybe the economy being in a slump had something to do with it, I don’t know. I know I personally took a lot of flack for many a post from my PC, and there’s still some laundry to be washed yet. Whether I was accused of making fun of someone(s), my thoughts regarding a show, my attitude when it comes to piss-poor judging, or whatever it may be, I don’t really care Those that know me know I am a very vocal and opinionated person, and I’m a lot better about being silent than I used to be. Maybe its old age catching up with me :whistle:

Lets start with Albany – Same problems they’ve had the last couple years. DDHemi and I were invited to attend the Lions Club meeting by Abe Runaas, but then he never recieved a phone call. I’m sure it was all smoke and mirrors in a last ditch effort to keep there attendance up… I know that when I invite someone to attend a meeting I don’t play indian giver on it and snub them. By not recieving this call, going to the Lions Club and meeting with them on a personal level, and helping them reorganize there show for next year, I will not attend. I mean, how does a car that scores 100 out of 100 points not get an award, and get outshined by cars of lesser quality?! For the record, this was not my car. This was a car that belongs to a friend of mine from Monroe, and those that know the car I’m talking about would go into cardiac arrest knowing how bad he got screwed. Local boy syndrome was also in play. This show needs:

1. A new class format
2. New judges
3. 5 awards for 4 cars owned by a family who allegedly donated money to the Lions Club….Hmm.

The Hooters girls were a different touch, but there gonna give there award to who ever flirts with them the most. I would’ve won it had Ms. Moparkid not been there… :laugh:

And then there was Reedsburg. I attend this show because in years past it was enjoyable. I also have a history with this show, from running out of oil pressure with the blue Charger and getting caught in the hailstorm in 2006, almost being scared to drive the ‘cuda there in 2007 because of what happened in ’06, to getting bent over a trash can in ’08 and ’09 when it came to judging. If you go back and read my rate the show, that explains a lot. I also liked how the show organizer/city cop got on the forum and tried to lay the smack down. He later contacted Garibaldi asking for my phone number… Andrew didn’t give it up before asking me, and I appreciate that. I have no problem discussing a show or how I rate it with anyone, so I said “sure, give him my number!” …And I’m still waiting for Bernie to make that call
This is also a show I’ll never go back to.

1. Piss-poor judging. Never open a person’s car door without there permission, and know what your looking at!
2. The registration guy set my mood for the whole day. He should be terminated.
3. Don’t eliminate classes listed on your flyer.
4. And don’t put a hacked up ’70 charger in the fast and furious class when its listed as tuners/imports on your flyer!

These two shows were by far the worst shows I have attended this year.

2010 will bring change as every new year does, or at least I hope. Next year I have a plan to attend some new shows, and hopefully bring a new one into the mix. I will definately be attending Aaron Hoff’s Oregon Car Show next year, especially since its held right across the street from Ms. Moparkid’s home. Don’t think I didn’t catch hell for going to Albany when there was a good show right across the street!

Earlier this year there was talks of the Mt. Horeb Chamber of Commerce having a car show during the Summer Art Fair. I have been in contact with the Chamber as they have asked me to help organize it for there first year. As one who is employed by the local Chevrolet Dealer, who owns his own small business, and is a muscle car freak I decided to get on the bandwagon. I hope to meet with the Chamber this winter and get things organized. I am also going to count on the input of ddhemi and rivfan, who are locals like myself, and any other member of the WCC forum that would like to throw me an idea or two.

I said it last year, and I’ll say it again. I want to attend some shows I have never been to. I live in a location where its not far to drive to IL, IA, or even other parts of WI. I like to see how others run there shows – its good to have some variety! I also enjoy seeing vehicles I haven’t seen before, and meeting new fellow auto enthusiasts. Anyone that knows me or has read my bio on my website knows how passionate I am about the American automobile, and I think I’ll have to emphasize that more during my next trip to Blue Lotus.

I bid farewell to the 2009 car show season. I hope to see many of you over the winter, and if I do not I’m sure I’ll see you in the spring!

Topic

[Anonymous]

+1 on Reedsburg and Albany.

Blanchardville, Spring Green, Road apples, Lancaster, Jesus show, Portage, all fantastic shows.

The Armory show was one of my favs from this year also. The Sgt and his crew put alot of work into the show and would like to thank him for that.

Also Pardeeville rocked this year. One of the best!

Mazo was among the favs!

We should get a trophy count from this year as well!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[Eclipse_Tuner]

Beaver Dam, Portage, Pardeeville, Armory, and Boondockers were my favs this year. Mainly because of how well they are organized.

The ones that need work:
Fox Lake

Overall it was another good year, didnt get to go to as many shows as I would have liked, but oh well there is always next year. Now that fall is here I can start reworking and such to get ready for next summer…and get the wife’s Nissan Z in show order.

[circletrack]

I would agree with Zac’s comments on the best shows and appreciate the comment about Saturday in the Park. We plan on putting on the show again in 2010 and have already started planning it.

Spring Green has always been a favorite of mine, and will continue to be. I know they plan on making some changes next year that should make the show more interesting and even better.

I helped judge at Pardeeville this year, a record 525 cars. This is a great show, but I feel it’s experiencing growing pains ~ in that it’s growing TOO fast. I was almost impossible to fairly judge that many cars in the time period we had, and the judges were exhausted by the end of the day. I don’t know if they can limit the years or what, but when you grow by 100 cars each year, it’s really hard to keep up.

Edgerton has always been a good show, but was very disappointing this year. You don’t have anyone off the street judge the cars for less than a minute, give awards to the club putting on the show and so on. I’m hoping the promoters have read our comments and make some changes. I can’t help but think they were hurt by our comments, hopefully they are helpful.

All in all, I would hope some of the shows would break up the classes better, realize new cars don’t belong in the same class as old cars and new cars certainly don’t deserve Best of Show awards. Limit the number of awards per person (no family should walk away with 4-5 awards), keep the show running and on time and life will be good.

[Xman]

circletrack wrote:

Quote:

I would agree with Zac’s comments on the best shows and appreciate the comment about Saturday in the Park. We plan on putting on the show again in 2010 and have already started planning it.

Spring Green has always been a favorite of mine, and will continue to be. I know they plan on making some changes next year that should make the show more interesting and even better.

I helped judge at Pardeeville this year, a record 525 cars. This is a great show, but I feel it’s experiencing growing pains ~ in that it’s growing TOO fast. I was almost impossible to fairly judge that many cars in the time period we had, and the judges were exhausted by the end of the day. I don’t know if they can limit the years or what, but when you grow by 100 cars each year, it’s really hard to keep up.

Edgerton has always been a good show, but was very disappointing this year. You don’t have anyone off the street judge the cars for less than a minute, give awards to the club putting on the show and so on. I’m hoping the promoters have read our comments and make some changes. I can’t help but think they were hurt by our comments, hopefully they are helpful.

All in all, I would hope some of the shows would break up the classes better, realize new cars don’t belong in the same class as old cars and new cars certainly don’t deserve Best of Show awards. Limit the number of awards per person (no family should walk away with 4-5 awards), keep the show running and on time and life will be good.

DITTO….. :huh:

[Amigo2k]

My favorites were

1. Automotion because of the number of cars that it attracts.
2. Hot Rod Power tour; I enjoyed the ride to Racine and was happy my wife was co-pilot for once.
3. Cars and coffee in Fitchburg or Lake Mills, because it is quick and close and also, I enjoyed the cruise out to Lake Mills driving as a group.
4. Oregon and SP shows were tops on my list since they were 1st year shows and both had excellent turn out.

The bad…

I think everyone has covered the items they would like to see fixed in the reviews here. For me it was my oil leak and gas leak that had my car down for the count for a couple of weeks. The first issue I’ve had in 5 yrs of ownership and expected for an old car.

Next year I see myself going to fewer shows again (I think I went to about 4 shows fewer this year than last year). I would like to find more cruises in which there is a route to drive and then maybe a place to have lunch at (as much as I like burgers and brats… I like to try other things too).

[circletrack]

Ryan, I think that’s a great idea. Many times this summer the Road Apples all cruised to a show together, at times having close to 20+ cars and often after the shows we went out for dinner.

The shows are a great way to spend a day with friends, there were plenty of weekends this summer without shows. That might be a great opportunity to take a cruise for the day to someplace different.

What an unbelievable opportunity we had to have the Power Tour right in our backyard. I’ll never forget that cold Saturday seeing thousands of cars at the Alliant Center. No one seemed to care they were getting rained on and the weather was less than ideal, those cars were driven and not trailer queens. The send off on Sunday was equally impressive. How many years before we see that again?

[Anonymous]

The Good for me.

Every show I attended. :laugh: I could care less about Trophies and if I ever get one I know the fix is on. The Power Tour week was my tops. I spent the whole time around Madison and loved it.

The Bad.

Seeing to many people at shows Butt hurt when they didn’t win. Maybe they should have but in reality it is just a show to show off your stuff and too many times judging is opinion based and not based on facts. I talked to a few people at different shows that took it way to personally.

The other Bad. Not getting out enough with the cars this fall. I blame only myself. Every time I turn around it seems something comes up that makes the cars stay home. Thinking it may be time for find a Sunday driver that is functional for the WHOLE family to ride with….

[GTO Man]

Good

I enjoyed the May Automotion show except for the weather. Always a good way to start the year. The Graduation Car Show in early June was a fun day, one that I hadn’t been to before. The host goes out of his way to put on a good show. The show in Sun Prairie and the one in Oregon made for a fun weekend at the end of June. Blanchardville the second week in July is one of the best run shows in the area. For the last weekend in July the Jones Classic Concepts show in Richland Center was a great time. Very well organized it was my second time at that show. In August the Botham show was allot of fun until it started to rain. Later on in August the Spring Green show made for a great Saturday. As for September the God’s Country Pontiac show was set in a nice setting and was a good time.

Not as good

The low points this year had to do with poor judging at many of the shows. Edgerton, Pardeeville and Reedsburg are some that come to mind. Judging is a thankless job and it is hard to find unbiased judges. There are no bad shows, you just can’t take it seriously. The fun part is getting out and drving the cars, thats what they are meant for.

I didn’t attend nearly as many shows this year. Next year it would be nice to hit some different ones.

[Anonymous]

I am going to focus on a few new and different shows for next year.

Right out of the box, I am going to try and get in the Cars on State Street Show. I haven’t participated in this show in years past, so 2010 will be my year to try and get in this show.

I am looking forward to the new and improved 2nd annual show in Oregon next year, as well as a new show in Mt. Horeb that I have been hearing about, here on the forum. I also plan on getting to the Botham Vineyards Show.

I will be leaving my car at home for the the Pardeeville Show next year, and volunteering and working at that show for Jim and Vicki Nelson. Right now, I don’t know in what capacity they want me to serve, but I have been asked to help out with that show.

I plan to skip the Edgerton tobacco days Show, the Reedsburg Show, and the Albany Lions Club Show for next year.

I don’t have an appropriate car for the Back to the 50s Show in Minnesota, but I am going to try and get to that show as a spectator in 2010,for the whole week. Most certainly, I will go back to Iola next year.

Marshall

[circletrack]

Marshall ~ you can still bring your car to the Pardeeville show, I’ve done it the last 3 years we’ve judged…

That’s great you’re going to help out, they certainly need it. Be prepared to have your running shoes on that day!

[Anonymous]

All things considered, it will be easier for me and much less complicated, to leave my car home that day. That allows me to focus and concentrate on what I am really there for that day. Also, I am happy just being around and among hundreds of collector vehicles.

I really like the way Pardeeville uses teams of judges to do an entire class.

[Anonymous]

Hey Marshall, Good for you. I’m sure you will do a great job. Have you judged before? Everyone who likes to show their own car needs to try it from the other side of the fence..Gives a whole new perspective. P.S. Thanks for all your help and kindness this summer. Brad

[Anonymous]

I have judged at a couple of shows, but it has been several years ago. At that time, I was just starting out and hadn’t attended or participated in all that many shows. I’ve been participating and showing the Mustang for five years now, so I have a little experience with judged shows. I really am looking forward to a “different” type of car show experience. I can brag that I have been to every show ever held at Pardeeville and they have all been fantastic, every year!
I am happy to have been asked to help out with next years show. It’s ccomforting to know that this show uses teams to judge, which (hopefully) makes the process fairer and more consistent.

I joined the GoodGuys organization this past year, and dropped my membership in the national mustang association, and I haven’t looked back. Thanks to you, Brad, and everyone else in the GGSRA who works hard to promote the hobby. The GGSRA is a first rate organization,a nd I especially like the fact that you and Deb attend as many shows as possible to recognize cars that might not be able to attend the big shows like Joliet or Columbus.

[Author]

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