A few weeks back I went to a car show, which in previous years, has been quite big and popular. However this year it was a bit 'meh' with a slightly better than average turnout - but nothing special. It was also lacking a bit of atmosphere too. The organisers had tweaked it a bit but I feel it was just the same old same old with nothing new/exiting there.

It got me thinking what makes 'the really popular car shows' so popular and why?

So my question is - what, in your opinion, makes a good car show? For example; what activities etc would you like to see there. What would make you want to go again, year after year. What would make you recommend it to friends. What would make you work hand over fist to get your car ready for it etc etc.......

 

static car shows have had their day IMO you need track action / retailers / auto jumble etc

 

i used to go to all the shows and yes after 3 or 4 years you see same cars same people i think track action is needed quarter mile is good too to see i also like to look at stuff for sale find a bargin

 

I enjoy car shows that have a track or a drag strip. It doesnt take long to look round static car shows in a few hours then after that i get bored.

 

location, atmosphere, weather and quality of cars on display. then i'd look at track action.

cumbria rsoc is one of the best shows of the year for me and doesn't entertain track, 0-60 or drifting. it has a great atmosphere and great cars on display.

 

Sometimes it can be as simple as the people you go with. Bit of a laugh convoying to where ever and decent weather to sit about talking crap

 

One of my favourite shows used to be Chatsworth rally show. Lots of different makes on static display plus a live rally stage. If the weather was good me and my mates would get a throw away BBQ and chill out in the grounds of Chatsworth and watch the cars flying by. Because there was lots of different makes, there was something for everyone. Unfortunately its not been on for the last couple of years

 

i only go for the track action.

 

when you go to single mark shows it can be very repetetive simply seeing the same cars parked in different locations, static shows can work if diverse in native giving you plenty to view of varied content such as many of the local runs events as I am taking 30 cars to the Uxbridge autoshow in 2 weeks which is just that, and some venues of historic car scene important will always draw in punters such as the ace cafe london and Dunton as its the only ford venue that welcomes car clubs,

Ford Fair is now a pilgrimage as its europes biggest all FORD show staged at the home of British F1 and as such passionfords stand their will be over 100 cars now as usual, I hear people moan about it though every year but numbers are still rising so they must just be moaners by nature as they still attend and they cant bear the thought of missing out lol, shows do need that bit of spice such as a dragstrip to watch your pals try their luck up the 1/4 mile or a track to watch somebody drive a car they way they should be driven legally, but as sinbad says the other point is making sure you attend with friends and have a laugh as traffic jams and weather are less important, for me personally the biggest no no is seeing rows of identical cars parked inch perfect as its plain boring

 

none track shows need to have something else to entertain the public and club members.

Worth looking at the kit car shows for ideas. A lot make a weekend out of it and provide entertainment at night, allow onsite camping for the club members, bands, bars, hot food etc as well as things like mini off road course, passenger ride drift arena (westfields burning rubber around cones until the passenger feels sick, rather than jdm shite), modifying and technique lectures/presentations on common topics etc. And thats ontop of the usual static car displays, autojumbles, retailers etc.

 

i think ford fair is now too big for it's own good, unless you have one of them 2 wheels scooter things to ride around on it's an awful lot of walking about, especially so if the weather is good and so you only see part of the show before you are either knackered or hungry

that being said, i wouldn't miss it for the world and i've been going since 97 when it was in a field and i got in free as the bloke on the gate said "it's late, do you want to come in?"

the other thing is that the traders and the wares they have on offer tend to be hit and miss, some junk is priced way above what you'd pay for it and some stuff is a bargain, but i feel the whole point of going to a "show" is to make your name and have a laugh with like minded people, sure you'll want to make money if you are a business, but if you take matt lewis* as an example, everyone knows who he is, everyone knows he's going to have cheap as chips stuff on his stall (although going by some prices, chips aren't exactly "cheap" ) and he's always got a minute to spare for a natter, even if it's just "hello mate, how you doing, give me a second, i've just to to serve this customer"

putting a name to a face means that, the next time i was stuck for bits, even though i might have been able to go to the local factor and get what i wanted, i rang matt up and he sorted me out, in fact, matt replied to a post i made about calipers and got me one in time for my mot, so now he knows who i am, i know who he is, sorted

but a lot of traders go to these shows to make a quick buck on stuff that they've had hanging around for eons, it's all about getting to know everyone, putting on a friendly face, shaking hands and generally having a good time

don't forget that we are all going to shows as enthusiasts of motoring, if you can see a business side of that they it's great, lots of folks have made money out of being a motoring enthusiast, but long gone are the days of pitching up a plaque and surrounding it with cars, you've got to offer something "different", that might be an on call nerd to tell you what that light is for, a forum where you can discuss all sorts of shit that's got nothing to do with cars, a pub meet, stickers, something other than just a row of cars and blokes trying to line them up with a bit of string and a spirit level

*other traders are available

 

I find the problem with ford shows these days is it's like walking round your local ford dealership car park and full of st's which interests me in no way at all

 

One of the main reasons i mix up stands so it gives people variety to look at, rows of mk1frs and st's are just so boring

 

Some interesting views here. I agree that if its a static show something else needs to be provided, as theres only so much walking around looking at cars you can do! Having great company is a must for me too, the convoy to and from is as much a part of the day as the show itself, but I suppose you have to cater for some who come on their own or a few in one car.

I suppose the bigger and fancier the show gets, the more expensive it is to attend and also its more difficult for the organisers to organise.

 

I've never understood why people moan about their being rows of a particular brand of car at a car show. No one's forcing you to look at every car! I can see that many people find the rows of STs boring.. but some people have no interest in the older stuff. The beauty of a show the size of Ford Fair is that there is (hopefully) something for everyone, and you can walk past the cars you're not interested in, and look at the ones you are!

Even if you took every single ST out of the show, there would still be a LOT of cars on display. This year there are several hundred more show cars booked than there was last year, which just goes to show that the 'scene' is by no means dying, despite what the moaners would have you believe.

The difficulty of adding new attractions is that they generally cost money - and if they don't actually attract extra people then you're effectively just eating into your own profits, so each new attraction is a risk (It is a business at the end of the day) We have meetings every month about our events, and we're constantly looking for something new and interesting - but it's not easy, and often we'll work at a new attraction for months, only for it to fall through at the eleventh hour.

And then there's the weather. No amount of planning can save your event if it pisses down. I always feel desperately sorry for organisers when their shows are rained on, as show goers kinda blame the organisers for the weather.

As has been said, it's also what you make of it. If you go with some mates, and have a laugh even a shit show in a field can be fun!

 

year before last Dan was prime example of car shows being washed out due to the summers mega heavy rainfall which nobody could have seen coming, we will have to disagree on same model parking but all your points are vaild as we are all different

 

Best answer yet

 

I did 10 years of attending most shows between 1996-2006 then things changed fewer & fewer decent cars & then the sheer misery of the recent crap. So I stopped attending, you do have that choice if all you do is moan . Probably been to 5 shows since 2006 & only Trax was what i call decent. Im doing my only show of the year this weekend at York raceway its got a competative edge so lets hope its a good one.

 

I still enjoy the day out to shows but I do agree with what's been said. I started going to shows in about 2003 and I remember them being much better than recent years, but that's not to say I don't still like to go anyway. The last 5 years haven't seemed as good to me but then the misses's lad is 18 and enjoys them so maybe they do just get repetitive.

I'm going to try and get to york on Sunday to meet a few new people but I'm at a wedding Saturday and possibly a christening Sunday so it's not looking good.

 

at least the st's came in different colours, i think we are all talking about the mk1 focus rs rows, the only difference between many is that some have a slightly darker colour of wheel than the rest

and that's what i've done for the past several years, even before that day at combe when it was all about just chatting about stuff other than cars, with the occasional car catching the eye enough to say "oh, look at that, it looks nice" before carrying on

in any case, i'm coming to find you at ford fair to get a show plaque so make sure you don't run out and send jamie running about the shop to look for one

 

This is why York is a good idea. It has enough room for 100s of cars for static and 1/4 mile so a good all round basis and something for everyone including a bar

 

...unless it rains. Drag strips are very risky venues for events.

 

True but then your still stuck in the same boat with shite weather and a static meet, which could could be said for any venue. Plan for summer and pray like mad

 

I defo think ford fair should be a 2 day show.Shame it would cost a fortune for an extra day.

 

I still doubt it would be as expensive as santa pod usc show i stopped going to that when ticket prices hit Ł50 for the weekend and i think there Ł70 for the weekend which in my opinion is way to much

 

Best answer yet!

Gotta say I cant wait till ford fair! 1st time in 7 years that I'm going as I finally have my health under control (and that's getting better too)

 

Got mine for Ł60 by booking early, it's only Ł20 a day bud

 

thing is some venue event organisers realise the exhibitors is what attracts people through the gates so in the case of silverstone events on BTCC weekend they reduce the entry fees by mega amounts to attract clubs and exhibitors where as at most car shows you get a very slight discount if any for actually being one of the exhibitors in the first place

 

Ford Fair and National Day are 2 great shows at great circuits, to all involved in the organisation of them.