Attended a car show this weekend with my 62 e-type coupe that had 350 cars. At least half were Corvettes. Did not get a big trophy as was told that the fireman like muscle cars. Why bother - anyone else not feel the love of their E-Type at shows?

 

I've been going to car shows for nearly 30 years with many different cars. Yes, its nice if your car is recognized, but generic local shows have sort of too much going on to attribute very much meaning to a little plaque. If it's by popular vote, then your own personal popularity seems as important as your car's and that comes only by attending often. Also the average joe voter rarely has any appreciation for originality, rather the cars with the shiniest paint and the most chrome under the hood get the most popular votes. If the show relies on a handful of volunteer judges, then you stand a greater chance, but even still, the local club that's putting it on tends to favor their own members. Classes play into it too. I often find myself in the 1960's Class with 2/3rds of the entire attendance. And then there's some randomness too. Sometimes the car show jocks who seem to always win just don't show up that weekend. If you go often enough tho, and that's the key, eventually you'll get so many awards you won't care anymore whether you get another one or not. They're generally just cheap generic plaques anyway that say something like "Class Winner" and could just as easily be a bowling trophy as a car show trophy. To me its just about going to socialize with like-minded gearheads. The only awards that I feel like really mean anything to me are the ones I've gotten at national or regional make/model-specific events like NCRS and MCA where there's very structured judging and I can prepare the car to the judges expectations. But I think my favorite was for "longest distance traveled" when I drove from Texas to Toronto, Canada for a club meet. I was just tickled that a car that I'd rebuilt made it so far, tho I did blow a clutch slave cylinder during one of the driving events. Go again next month or to a different show and just enjoy the individual compliments and answering questions about your Jaguar. That's where the fun is.

 

Yes good points. Just frustration...calmer now. Did have many chats with nice people about the car and almost everyone took a picture of the engine.

 

CW, I've been a volunteer judge at several shows, and it's no easy task. The difficulty in picking placement is compounded depending on how many, and what type of categories the particular show has. And let's not forget the biggest factor, which is personal taste. At a sanctioned event for a particular type car, it is easier (just a guess) to judge a car because the grading factors are written in black and white. At an in general car show, especially with customs, the judges pretty much base their picks strictly on appearance.

At every show I've judged at I have had people who have complained they didn't get a trophy or plaque and deserved one. I try to explain to them why they didn't win, and have even taken them over to the winner in their class to show them why the judges thought that particular car was nicer. Generally they are ok with it. You might have $50k and a lot of blood and sweat into your car, and the winner bought their car already done for $150K. It's hard to compete with that. Sure, that isn't equal ground, but as long as humans are judging, they are going to pick the nicest car, no matter what they paid for it.

Let's face it, our cars are quite near and dear to us. Like pdupler said, get yourself in the mindset of going to the shows to socialize, look at other cars, and people watch. And maybe to educate people on your particular car and the Jaguar brand.

 

I have the same issue here, if it isn't old American Iron, new American Iron, or some kind of mix, it doesn't get the attention. That's one of the reasons I justified getting an XKE with a 327. At least they'll find the engine interesting... We'll see what happens... Though I mostly just go to the shows to hang out with other car people and the awards don't mean much to me (at least I tell myself that as I cry into my beer).

 

I on the other hand am kinda getting burned out with the standard fare at car shows and I kind of wonder if I'm not the only one, because attendance is way, way down from what it was ten years ago. I used to stop and look at every car, but now I generally walk right by the tri-five Chevys, 1st gen Camaros, C5,6,7 Corvettes,etc. Yes, lots of them are customized and modified, but its mostly variations on the same theme. Must be a thousand different billet bracket and pulley setups for the Chevy small-block in the Summit catalog. What WILL get me to stop and look is a car that I haven't seen many of or especially if its something I've never seen at all. Doesn't have to be pretty, just has to be different. I really would enjoy seeing any Jaguars just because so few owners bring them out. I'm guilty myself, having been mostly into 60s Mustangs and Corvettes. A Jaguar with a Chevy engine would probably fit right in here in Fort Worth, but I hope nobody lets an original Jaguar engine stop them from bringing their cars out because I'm getting a bit bored with all the small-block power around here.

 

Understood, one of the reasons I did the Thundercat XKR was I really wanted something very different. When I get done with my xke it will be more like a Cobra then a typical E. I used to go to cars and coffee every other weekend but there are only a couple shows here a year so am kind of in withdrawals. But I just found out there is an NHRA track about an hour from here 1/8th of a mile, but it will be fun for my AMG, F-Type and maybe my blown FX so some good car news this week.

 

I agree with you guys. I too have a lumped E-type, for many of the reasons we have discussed. When done, I know it will get more looks than the standard fare Camaros, Vettes, and Tri-5s. I'm in SoCal, and needless to say there is no shortage of nice cars. But it takes something really different to get my attention anymore. We have 50-100 cars at our Saturday morning C&C. Last Saturday, there was an absolute pristine 1962 MK2 that stole the show. I could have looked at that car for hours. Hopefully he brings it out again.

 

The Mark 2 is a pretty car, you can still get them pretty cheap and they have decent room. What color was it?

 

Metallic BRG. If I see it again I'll take a pic.

 

I found a pic of it on our C&C site....

 

That would get me to stop and look for sure.

 

Now that is a sweet ride!!

 

That's a REAL Jaguar. Beautiful.

Graham

 

Yeah, she a nice Kitty!