Jeff F said:

I run the Tuesday cruise night in Mequon (used to be at Highland House, got kicked out of there for being too big, now we're back at the old Brew City Grill/Sybaris location, but anyway...).  I also organize the Concours BMW show for Badger Bimmers, plus a bunch of other stuff.

This is an issue that comes up every so often. I think the answer is - it depends.  A show like our Tuesday night thing always has been and always will be open to any kind of car anyone wants to bring.  Old, new, interesting, boring, exciting, clean, dirty, whatever.  It's a social thing, and we have space for everyone.  A show like the Concours BMW show is obviously for BMWs only (except for a few non-conformists who bring something else and are too dense to figure it out and we're too polite to expel them).  A show like the Saturday night show at the HAWK in Elkhart Lake shouldn't have Subaru WRXs in it, etc. Space is limited and it does piss me off that a WRX takes the spot away from a "more worthy" car.

But the bottom line is that almost all shows are organized and run by volunteers, and it's already aggravating enough to do all the work and listen to people bitch about this that and the other thing (and snap getting a bagel! ), to have to worry about pissing off some idiot by telling them their EconoBox SUX isn't a show car.  Life's too short.  I just don't look at cars that don't interest me and so far I'm only halfway to crazy.

Thanks for your work man.  I haven't been to one of your events yet, but when I do I will make sure to mention how ungrateful I am with a 12 pack of whatever floats your boat:)

Snap said:

Ideal car show would involve enough bagels for all spectators.

Donuts>bagels

Earl said:

^True that! The e30 picnic isn't a car show to me. That is a meet and I don't mind meets at all. In fact, I would love to see more to go to. 

I spose, didn't differentiate between a show/meet

i am guilty of rust  

not a huge fan of the parking garage car show stuff, aka how many levels up before your shit overheats and you look like a noob (i didnt have any issues, small victory)

i tried not to let that shit get to me, had fun seeing John & meeting Ben/hanging in his shop. 

I met a dude with a cool e30 & talked to him for a while about his car and that was about it, didn't really care to look at much else.

out of curiosity...what is everyone's ideal car show? 

i just like smaller bmw shows (such as E30 picnic) & going to shows to chat with friends i haven't seen in a while

Short version: I went to a local GTG this weekend and really thought it was 90% garbage. Maybe I'm getting too old for this type of gathering, but was literally waking around going "really?" at almost everything there. I've never seen so much spray paint, plastidip, rust, and Aisle 4 of AutoZone in one place.

wally509 said:

I spent more time looking at your car than those two new Ferraris at the Lake Mills cars-and-coffee, in fact I walked right by the Ferraris. I grew up around e21's and e28's and now they're all but gone. At that time in the 80's I was driving a VW Mk1 GTI, also all but gone in un-molested condition. I can go to Lake Forest Sportscars and see a new Ferrari whenever, if I want to see an e28 in any condition on the other hand...

I missed this, glad you found it interesting. Just goes to show that any car can be interesting to the right person.

Thanks for all the hard work you do Jeff in organizing these events in MKE. That's one thing I miss about being in Milwaukee.

This is an issue that comes up every so often. I think the answer is - it depends.  A show like our Tuesday night thing always has been and always will be open to any kind of car anyone wants to bring.  Old, new, interesting, boring, exciting, clean, dirty, whatever.  It's a social thing, and we have space for everyone.  A show like the Concours BMW show is obviously for BMWs only (except for a few non-conformists who bring something else and are too dense to figure it out and we're too polite to expel them).  A show like the Saturday night show at the HAWK in Elkhart Lake shouldn't have Subaru WRXs in it, etc. Space is limited and it does piss me off that a WRX takes the spot away from a "more worthy" car.

But the bottom line is that almost all shows are organized and run by volunteers, and it's already aggravating enough to do all the work and listen to people bitch about this that and the other thing (and snap getting a bagel! ), to have to worry about pissing off some idiot by telling them their EconoBox SUX isn't a show car.  Life's too short.  I just don't look at cars that don't interest me and so far I'm only halfway to crazy.

CYoung said:

I can appreciate clean older stock cars at this point since they only become more rare by the day. In the end I go to shows mostly to talk to y'all since I'm sure not many actually look twice at my car.

I spent more time looking at your car than those two new Ferraris at the Lake Mills cars-and-coffee, in fact I walked right by the Ferraris. I grew up around e21's and e28's and now they're all but gone. At that time in the 80's I was driving a VW Mk1 GTI, also all but gone in un-molested condition. I can go to Lake Forest Sportscars and see a new Ferrari whenever, if I want to see an e28 in any condition on the other hand...

ClassE said:

What's equally annoying to the "I'm bringing my stock car to the car show" are the lightly modded cars that appear the owner couldn't be bothered to clean/wash/wax it.

"Check it out - I plastidipped my (fill in the blank) bruh, but I've never clay barred or waxed my car1!!1!1!!"

I am guilty of this besides the plastidip part.

KaiserRolls said:

 18.3 different shades of red. When there's some dust/dirt on it, it almost looks the same red.

same with my miata

My paint sucks bushels of cocks. I buffed it once to "bring back the red"

I found out it is like 18.3 different shades of red.

When there's some dust/dirt on it, it almost looks the same red.

Plus, I can't have nice things. If I ever got a car painted, the next day id scratch it.

"Check it out - I plastidipped my (fill in the blank) bruh, but I've never clay barred or waxed my car1!!1!1!!"

RamenNoobles said:

coming from the man with a shift knob listed as a mod in his sig

A mod none the less!  lol it makes a difference, trust me.

patsbimmer1 said:

I'm not sure what show's you guys are going to but the show's i'm attending has a vast majority of modified cars.  Whether it's just lowered or a full build, the general audience has a passion for the car they brought.

coming from the man with a shift knob listed as a mod in his sig

I have seen plenty of cars turned away at shows that I attend due to not meeting the criteria to get in. People have to learn that they can't drive their fox body mustang to a volkswagen show and expect to be let in. This is a whole different conversation that doesn't have much to deal with stock cars being in car shows=P

patsbimmer1 said:

...

You can blame the organizers for the current selection at car shows because they are not policed but after knowing a few of these organizers for years now I will say that if they were really that strict about who was allowed to show up then the events would be a lot smaller and the crowds would be smaller.  It's hard for an organizer to start out and say, "i'm only going to allow cars that meet 'x' criteria in the show and this is going to be hugely successful."  It doesn't work that way.  There are a lot of costs associated with a show that isn't in your local Culvers parking lot.  Venue fee's, insurance, attorney fee's (if you're smart), marketing, etc.  On top of that, nobody wants to pay to be a spectator and then you hope to break even based on registered cars and vendors...

Thanks for the reminder/reality check that most of these shows are not about passion for cars but for an organizer to profit.  This is why there are so many late model cars such as the stupid Aston's, a Subaru WRX and a brand new BMW M4 at the Sat night vintage races show.  They pay the $50 or $60 and they get in.  I did talk to a guy parked outside the show with an all original, patina'd series 1 or 1.5 Jag e-type roadster that I think he said had period racing history who was not allowed in the show because it was full, so that discussion helped fuel this ranting.  His bro was also going to bring his Healey 100, but again, didn't even drive it because they couldn't get in the show.

patsbimmer1 said:

That Lotus and the 4C were on Water st. about a month back when I was in Eau Claire lol.

Guy that owns the alpha also owns the Porsche I posted. He also has a super old fiat. He's a pretty relaxed guy, he's let a few other people drive it actually.