Now that I have closed the survey, here are the results and a few of the comments that were made. Keep in mind, unless you have me your name and/or email address, I have no idea how make the comments or how you answered the questions. And that’s the way I wanted it!
Type of Car Show Judging Preferred
This one kind of surprised me a bit. I guess the main reason is that I have talked to a lot of people over the years and most of them weren’t sure about 100 points judging. I really expected Participant Judging to be at the top, but over 60% of the respondents voted for 100 points system.
One of the main comments about judging was:
I like all types of shows, people choice (popularity contest – thats ok have no problem with it) a show and shine (maybe a few “fun” awards given out or not) always the most fun. But the biggest problem I have is with “judged” shows, where they ask someone, a friend or someone that is a body guy, or upholsterer, or a mechanic be a judge, (and they do not give the person direction or instructions on how CORRECTLY judge cars in a car show) they end up judging on what they like or for cars they may have worked on. These shows end up with actual builders of cars being discouraged from coming back to the show because most of the awards go to newer cars that are not modified other than exhaust, wheels and tires, they may even be daily driven and just kind of cleaned up/show up and a new Mustang beats out a nicely built 67 Mustang (recently saw this) Was at a judge show recently and the judges acted like they were not to talk to the entrants and were at most cars less than 1 minute. Most of the shows we attend we are not there to win anything, if we do fine if not that’s fine also, just there to have a good time and hang out with friends and look at some great cars no matter class they are in, but I do frequently see people upset and understand why.
I have personally judged many car shows over the years, and it is a job that I don’t care to do anymore and haven’t done in quite some time. It gets harder all the time to judge the cars to the car owners satisfaction. You either start too early or don’t spend a lot of time judging the car.
Type of Car Show
This question is probably the one that surprised me the most. I expected some sort of classes to be at the top of the list, but there were two answers that were pretty close, Open Car Show (No Classes) and Classed by Year.
As you can tell by all the colors in this graph, there are many opinions on the type of car show. I have personally come to like the Classed by Year option and splitting it by decades. But as you can tell, not everyone likes that way of doing things.
Some of the comments received for this questions:
Corvette gets there own class and there are just as many if not more mustangs that need there own class also
Lowered, lifted, decades, foreign, domestic
Type of vehicle, level of modifications
Class by year and make and style street rod muscle car etc
Again we go to all kinds, as we have a sports car, pre 48 and a truck
Awards Type
You didn’t disappoint on this one, the majority answered just as I thought they would. Although, I am not sure why most like trophies over plaques. Plaques are easier to display if you want, it can take a lot of shelf space to display a few trophies.
Some of the comments on this one are:
give aways
Not a trophy collector so maybe something like gift cards, cool signage gor garage, or useable things like cleaners or tools.
Mix of trophies and plaques
Something unique /cash
Save money on trophies.. just give participation shirts,plaque, etc at time of registration. Better than any plastic trophy
Plaques or trophies
No awards or plaques are best, trophies take up too much space
I do like some of the comments here, like using gift cards or cools signs to hang in your shop/garage or maybe a really nice usable product.
What should be charged for registration
I didn’t know what would happen here, but most of you voted for $25 and there were a lot of comments about the registration fee being based on where the money is going and feeling like you got something out of what you paid and I completely agree with that!
Here are some of the comments about the registration fee:
This is a touchy subject because it depends on how many prizes/perks there are in general. I love to show my truck but dont expect to win on a point system. Because of that, i dont wanna pay $20+ for entry and feel like i get nothing for my $. Id rather donate to a good cause and then just show up to hang out.
25-35. 10 for additional vehicles or categories
$20 pre-reg, $30 day of show
According to what the money goes for. Charity or club
No more than $25 regardless of where the money is going.
if nothing is given.. free.. if participation gifts, awards, or there is a cost of location factor cost rounded to nearest 5 — should not exceed 25 for a local show.. 30 to 50 for larger local event or multi day events ( but I think for that price point you should get at least a nice T shirt )
Dependant on size and location. Indoor or out. What kind of awards are being given away
Depends on the event and if it is for a cause. but most can afford $25.00. or by donation with a minimum of $15-20
Other Comments
Here are some of the other comments you made:
Organization
Shade trees…
Vendors with products and services. Food and soft drinks also.
Club participation, different classes for original and moded.
vendors and good food
Good food
I like to see a variety of cars import, domestic, exotic.
Nice & unique cars
Beautiful cars – that includes Rat Rods. I like to see young people attending shows & interested in all makes & years of vehicles.
Club show cars not entered in competition
Car shows in an area tend to draw the same folks. Don’t care about new cars taking up space. If I want to see your Mustang, Camaro, etc I’ll go to a dealership. Always looking for something different I know will draw other cars I’ve not seen.
Conclusion
I am very happy with the results of the survey and the comments made. I want to thank each person that took the time to fill it out. I have already shared some of this with the car club that I belong to and I plan to share it with others.
If you know me, you know that I am really passionate about cars, mainly old cars, but I love to go hang out with others that are just as passionate about the hobby. As you have heard me say many times, it is more about the people than it is about the awards, and even the cars. I love getting to catch up with friends I have made from other parts of the country.
I hope you enjoy reading the comments and seeing the results as much as I have. Thanks again!